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chaiteatea 's review for:
Serpent Sea
by Maiya Ibrahim
11/24/2024 - Updated full review now that I am home
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC! All opinions in this review are my own.
RATING AND OVERALL THOUGHTS:
3.75 stars. I enjoyed this novel and was excited to continue to story! My biggest hang up is the constant POV changes (I’ll expand on that later) and how the plot did drag quite a bit. Nevertheless I liked it and will continue reading the last book in this trilogy and I’ve already ordered the special edition to match the first.
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
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“In the long grass, the serpent is king. If the lion is wise, he will take care where he steps. This is how you become strong: by knowing where you are weak first.”
(I know this was the first line but I felt like it was a fantastic quote that eclipses the novel as a whole.)
WHAT I LOVED:
- Qayn. No need to say more. I will do anything and everything for more of him on page.
- I loved Imani’s character arc in this! She really grew as an individual and flourished! I really can’t wait to see more of her growth in book 3.
- The novel started out extremely strong and the ending made me really excited to learn more.
- The secrets and betrayals that dropped were shocking and I didn’t see some of them coming!
WHAT I DISLIKED:
- I’ll be honest, we got too much of Taha’s POV. I do think a some of it was necessary and did highlight his mental state and what he was going through, but we didn’t need every other chapter being his with the same “he can do nothing but watch as the world burns” kind of vibe.
- For the middle portion of the book that dragged, it was a lot of “I came. I saw. I conquered.” for new stakes every single chapter.
WHAT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT/WANTED MORE OF:
- The trials and games portion of the book felt a little out of place happening at the 70% mark. It would’ve made more sense to condense some of the side plots in the earlier part of the book to have this be more of a focus. I also was a little upset that Imani didn’t get into the trials on her merit alone, Taha saved her and I felt like therefore it caught the attention of their sponsor.
- I am left with some questions at the end with Qayn and how rushed some of the explanations were. It’s like it was all crammed in and there was no time to sit and take it all in.
- I was starting to ship Imani and Qayn until towards the end where it just kind of felt fan servicey and not like a true growth of their relationship. I do hope it doesn’t end up as a love triangle because I don’t think Taha is the one for Imani. You can argue that Qayn isn’t either but they have more in common and respect for each other to build a relationship out of that Imani and Taha just don’t have.
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC! All opinions in this review are my own.
RATING AND OVERALL THOUGHTS:
3.75 stars. I enjoyed this novel and was excited to continue to story! My biggest hang up is the constant POV changes (I’ll expand on that later) and how the plot did drag quite a bit. Nevertheless I liked it and will continue reading the last book in this trilogy and I’ve already ordered the special edition to match the first.
SOME SPOILERS AHEAD
---
“In the long grass, the serpent is king. If the lion is wise, he will take care where he steps. This is how you become strong: by knowing where you are weak first.”
(I know this was the first line but I felt like it was a fantastic quote that eclipses the novel as a whole.)
WHAT I LOVED:
- Qayn. No need to say more. I will do anything and everything for more of him on page.
- I loved Imani’s character arc in this! She really grew as an individual and flourished! I really can’t wait to see more of her growth in book 3.
- The novel started out extremely strong and the ending made me really excited to learn more.
- The secrets and betrayals that dropped were shocking and I didn’t see some of them coming!
WHAT I DISLIKED:
- I’ll be honest, we got too much of Taha’s POV. I do think a some of it was necessary and did highlight his mental state and what he was going through, but we didn’t need every other chapter being his with the same “he can do nothing but watch as the world burns” kind of vibe.
- For the middle portion of the book that dragged, it was a lot of “I came. I saw. I conquered.” for new stakes every single chapter.
WHAT I AM NOT SURE ABOUT/WANTED MORE OF:
- The trials and games portion of the book felt a little out of place happening at the 70% mark. It would’ve made more sense to condense some of the side plots in the earlier part of the book to have this be more of a focus. I also was a little upset that Imani didn’t get into the trials on her merit alone, Taha saved her and I felt like therefore it caught the attention of their sponsor.
- I am left with some questions at the end with Qayn and how rushed some of the explanations were. It’s like it was all crammed in and there was no time to sit and take it all in.
- I was starting to ship Imani and Qayn until towards the end where it just kind of felt fan servicey and not like a true growth of their relationship. I do hope it doesn’t end up as a love triangle because I don’t think Taha is the one for Imani. You can argue that Qayn isn’t either but they have more in common and respect for each other to build a relationship out of that Imani and Taha just don’t have.
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