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A review by booksteastories
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a rather odd book - definitely not bad but a slightly unimpressive.
Vel and Cae are both well developed and unique characters. Even if the book did not delegate first person narration to one of them and third person narration to the other, the readers would have been able to tell the two protagonists apart quite easily. Their relationship was also well developed, they made a good pair.
Here's the thing though, this book is quite long and because it's long, it becomes slightly repetitive. Although nothing happens twice, a pattern in the plot progression becomes clear. The final twist is quite predictable but somehow kind of makes one of the characters behave unlike themself in order to make sense.
The worldbuilding is very thorough: the world is interesting and quite novel. Magic is present within the world but is largely ignored unless convenient for the characters. The Ralia vs Tithena debate kind of lacked complexity: one is Bad :( , the other is Good :). It would have been nice to see a more complex approach.
Overall, an interesting but rather longwinded book. Also, be aware that the book handles topics of rape, self harm and suicidal ideation in graphic detail on page.
Vel and Cae are both well developed and unique characters. Even if the book did not delegate first person narration to one of them and third person narration to the other, the readers would have been able to tell the two protagonists apart quite easily. Their relationship was also well developed, they made a good pair.
Here's the thing though, this book is quite long and because it's long, it becomes slightly repetitive. Although nothing happens twice, a pattern in the plot progression becomes clear. The final twist is quite predictable but somehow kind of makes one of the characters behave unlike themself in order to make sense.
The worldbuilding is very thorough: the world is interesting and quite novel. Magic is present within the world but is largely ignored unless convenient for the characters. The Ralia vs Tithena debate kind of lacked complexity: one is Bad :( , the other is Good :). It would have been nice to see a more complex approach.
Overall, an interesting but rather longwinded book. Also, be aware that the book handles topics of rape, self harm and suicidal ideation in graphic detail on page.