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A review by girlreading
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This was so.much.fun!!!
but also kind of hard to rate..
Voyage of the Damned is my kind of fantasy. It's laugh out loud funny, easy to follow, brilliantly engaging, a little bit gruesome but also surprisingly tender at times. It's fast paced, action packed and the kind of book you day through without even realising and for the first 90% or so, I was dead set on it being a five star read.
Then the twist hit.
It's not to say it was a bad twist. In fact, it was surprising and interesting but it left me feeling somewhat deflated and detached from the characters and relationships for the last part of the story. It's hard to explain without any spoilers but something about it and certain characters reactions to said twist, didn't quite match up for me with what I previously knew of them. It also left me feeling slightly duped out of a certain relationship (again, trying to be a vague as possible here).
It's frustrating that I was left feeling a little flat after reading a book that I genuinely adored for all but its final pages (and even those weren't bad, I think I just felt the disappointment more because of how much I had been loving it.)
That being said, I did thoroughly enjoy my time with this book and I feel as though I'd probably think a lot more of the ending upon a reread. All in all, this was a witty, tender, murderous and diverse fantasy with a locked room murder mystery, romance and mental health rep, and one that has left me very excited to read Frances White's future work.
but also kind of hard to rate..
Voyage of the Damned is my kind of fantasy. It's laugh out loud funny, easy to follow, brilliantly engaging, a little bit gruesome but also surprisingly tender at times. It's fast paced, action packed and the kind of book you day through without even realising and for the first 90% or so, I was dead set on it being a five star read.
Then the twist hit.
It's not to say it was a bad twist. In fact, it was surprising and interesting but it left me feeling somewhat deflated and detached from the characters and relationships for the last part of the story. It's hard to explain without any spoilers but something about it and certain characters reactions to said twist, didn't quite match up for me with what I previously knew of them. It also left me feeling slightly duped out of a certain relationship (again, trying to be a vague as possible here).
It's frustrating that I was left feeling a little flat after reading a book that I genuinely adored for all but its final pages (and even those weren't bad, I think I just felt the disappointment more because of how much I had been loving it.)
That being said, I did thoroughly enjoy my time with this book and I feel as though I'd probably think a lot more of the ending upon a reread. All in all, this was a witty, tender, murderous and diverse fantasy with a locked room murder mystery, romance and mental health rep, and one that has left me very excited to read Frances White's future work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts