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A review by burtini
The Thief On the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas
2.0
This book is well written, a quick read and pleasant, however it didn’t leave me satisfied. Quite a lot of this book centres on misogyny and the patriarchy in the Kendrick family/business, there are quite a few strong female characters I liked getting to know, Persephone is an interesting character trying to find her way and I particularly enjoyed Hedwig who often gave men only the illusion she was answering to and obliging them. Hedwig is cunning and driven and gets sh*t done. That said, for a book that was so much about women trying to reclaim status and equality, there is such an awful exploitation in this book that goes so unresolved and by a female character that somehow lets it go unchallenged. In fact when asked how they would feel if said male character had hurt/killed, they reply “I’d love him no matter how he behaved”, it was disappointing to see excuses made by a character the book led me to believe was claiming herself. In fact anything empowering that comes from this book felt somewhat diminished by the romance and I do hate when characters don’t get what they deserve in books.
While I have said that I enjoyed the writing, i didn’t enjoy the pace and at times it feels out of place, again I refer to the romance, it starts off a slow suggestion and then catches you off guard by bursting straight into something, including a bizarre sex scene with language completely out of character. This book is set in modern day too and yet reads like it was set a long time ago, I had to keep reminding myself of this. Also, the thief of the doll was exactly who I thought it would be, which was disappointing :/
Similarly, for a book literally with the character as the title, there isn’t much to do with the Thief on the Winged Horse in the book, when he does appear he’s fascinating, I just feel like it was explored enough and was a wasted opportunity.
To conclude, I enjoyed Hedwig, I enjoyed that this was an easy read, I just wish the execution and ending had been more satisfying
While I have said that I enjoyed the writing, i didn’t enjoy the pace and at times it feels out of place, again I refer to the romance, it starts off a slow suggestion and then catches you off guard by bursting straight into something, including a bizarre sex scene with language completely out of character. This book is set in modern day too and yet reads like it was set a long time ago, I had to keep reminding myself of this. Also, the thief of the doll was exactly who I thought it would be, which was disappointing :/
Similarly, for a book literally with the character as the title, there isn’t much to do with the Thief on the Winged Horse in the book, when he does appear he’s fascinating, I just feel like it was explored enough and was a wasted opportunity.
To conclude, I enjoyed Hedwig, I enjoyed that this was an easy read, I just wish the execution and ending had been more satisfying