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m0t3hb4k4 's review for:
Tess of the Road
by Rachel Hartman
TL:DR - a literal long winding road of a journey that finally arrived at the end - 3.5/5
You know when you truly want to love a book and you continue fighting to like that book and refuse to give up even though you don’t really want to read the book? This was me. I desperately wanted to love this book, even like this book, just because the premise was fascinating. The world building was phenomenal - I loved the lore, countries, the creatures. But what makes a heart of a story? Plot and characters. What did this book lack? A little of both.
Tess was a hellion of a child that ends up becoming pregnant and especially an outcast that has to help her sister get married. A little old-timey but that’s okay! That means she has chains she has to break out of - great! Except...not. In the beginning, she is a depressed alcoholic and you have no idea why she is acting the way she is. She runs away after her twin sister’s wedding and goes on this long, winding, never ending walk to nowhere in particular - just away. I did not connect with her and eventually when Pathka, a dragon-like creature called a quigutl joins her, I gain a character I like and a quest - to find a dragon!
Except it takes 75% of the book for Tess to stop self-loathing and for the adventure to start. I understand this was a self-journey of a novel for a young girl full of rage against society and herself but the book left me feeling just meh. It was only when we arrived in Segosh and meant Josquin did my opinion of the book grow from a 2.75 to a 3.5 in my rating scale. I did not come for a self-discovery but for a roaring, ripping adventure. This book has some deep triggers - alcoholism, rape, premature childbirth and loss, and depression. It was a hard read and not one I will revisit. Give it a whirl but make sure you’re in the right mindset for it.
You know when you truly want to love a book and you continue fighting to like that book and refuse to give up even though you don’t really want to read the book? This was me. I desperately wanted to love this book, even like this book, just because the premise was fascinating. The world building was phenomenal - I loved the lore, countries, the creatures. But what makes a heart of a story? Plot and characters. What did this book lack? A little of both.
Tess was a hellion of a child that ends up becoming pregnant and especially an outcast that has to help her sister get married. A little old-timey but that’s okay! That means she has chains she has to break out of - great! Except...not. In the beginning, she is a depressed alcoholic and you have no idea why she is acting the way she is. She runs away after her twin sister’s wedding and goes on this long, winding, never ending walk to nowhere in particular - just away. I did not connect with her and eventually when Pathka, a dragon-like creature called a quigutl joins her, I gain a character I like and a quest - to find a dragon!
Except it takes 75% of the book for Tess to stop self-loathing and for the adventure to start. I understand this was a self-journey of a novel for a young girl full of rage against society and herself but the book left me feeling just meh. It was only when we arrived in Segosh and meant Josquin did my opinion of the book grow from a 2.75 to a 3.5 in my rating scale. I did not come for a self-discovery but for a roaring, ripping adventure. This book has some deep triggers - alcoholism, rape, premature childbirth and loss, and depression. It was a hard read and not one I will revisit. Give it a whirl but make sure you’re in the right mindset for it.