Scan barcode
A review by naiapard
Origins by Charlie Nottingham
5.0
What`s just happened?!
This book terrified me.
I felt like being trapped in a nightmare all the way (it did not help that I read it at night-the entire night, might I ad) while being too engrossed and fascinated by the horror of it all to be able to fully wake up screaming. I did not sleep last night, but I had my dream/nightmare, all right.
I feel like I was trapped in some kind of snare with this book. It looked innocent enough when I first saw it. I picked it thinking it will be a fluff read, just enough to help me fall asleep.
But it started with an entire childhood sequence that lasted a quarter of the book! It had lots of folklore and creatures to present and each with their kingdom/queendoms and their heirs/queens/kings. It was an entire thing!
I can best describe this as a combo between a 90s fantasy [ like [book:Daughter of the Blood|47956], The Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop, [b:Archangel|97961|Archangel (Samaria, #1)|Sharon Shinn|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388606676l/97961._SY75_.jpg|3102308], Samaria series by Sharon Shinnor [b:Kushiel's Dart|58980076|Kushiel's Dart (The Kushiels Legacy Series)|Jacqueline Carey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631474509l/58980076._SX50_.jpg|92963951], Phedre`s Trilogy by by Jacqueline Carey] and the latest trends in adult/mature fantasy.
WHAT DO I MEAN by 90s fantasy?
-there is a lot of back story to the characters (some of it can become really boring, as just a tiny fraction is relevant to the plotline)
-the heroine has enormous powers super unique just to herself and she is special and coveted by many and at the same time feared for them
-the heroine has a lot of sexual freedom. What do I mean by that? She is not restricted to just one main love interest (until the actual main love interest makes his appearance), she is free to explore her sexuality with whomever she wishes and with how many she wants
-there is always a war to wage, something to be found, something lost, someone in danger, and somehow all that is background noise for what is happening with the protagonists` arch.
-the main love interest`s perspective (usually a he) is very present and amorphous (almost as if he is omniscient in regards to everything, except her)
-but the word that best describes this type of book is: “heftiness”. They are really big. I saw that this one was 900 pages only now, as I am writing this review, after I finished the book. But they are big not only in pages but in details and in describing the world of the book.
I have been avoiding these types of books (fantasy from the 90s) because I have to give a lot of emotional fuel on my part. I feel like I have to get really invested in what`s happening and when I finish it, then I am left gapping, struggling to piece myself back together.
They have a sweet-sour combo that I haven`t seen in the contemporaneous books, until now.
This book felt like reading a 90s fantasy but with the added benefit of being a bit more expedient (not by much) and being a bit more honed for a 2020+ audience, used with some tropes (the love interest is very powerful, but he is sweet and caring, not insisting in asserting his dominance; there is not that much spent on describing each individual`s powers; the interest falls more on the characters` development than the plot itself.)
“Because he was my best friend. He was the smile when I didn’t have one, and the laugh when I needed to hear one, and the fun in life I craved as much as I craved blood in my body.”
Why am I saying that this book was MY NIGHTMARE?
For this part I Have to draw the spoiler curtains.
Spoiler
So, we have two main perspectives. His and Hers. She is bound into a marriage contract with his brother with the excuse that it has to be done to protect I don`t know whose kingdom. So, when the protagonists fall in love the main problem arising is that they can't be together because she, as queen, cannot get back from that contract—I can`t stress enough how many times I kept rolling my eyes at this. It was a continuous nightmare to see these two love birds circle this problem, that she was the wife of his brother. Plus, other things happening that are pregnancy-related but which I am not going to write about because there have to be some trigger warning beforehand and I am not really that much in the mood to talk about them.WHY YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE A MONARCHY
It also occurred to me that this book was an excellent example of why one should do away with monarchy, even in fantasy.
The majority of fantasy books tilt towards showcasing the benefits of being royal. This one goes straight into its woes.
Build a social program and instaurate a half-functioning government, for goodness`s sake! Why sacrifice your lives in the name of a "people" that are ending up poor regardless of your royal piety? (because the system is in such a way built for a handful to funnel all the wealth).
“I’m sorry, Nix,” she said. “I really do wish we lived different lives. But in this one, we must do what we have to in order to survive.”
this, coming from the all-powerful Queen
But, boy/girl/NB, I gobbled this book down in no time. It took me four to five hours in one sitting to finish it all and not to add, that I have already started book two, so keep me luck. My heart already cries for me to stop.
