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A review by shinysue
Promises: The Next Generation by A.E. Via
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
The writing is excellent. The characters are done very well. But the overt pro-patriarchy theme is troubling. I was holding out for character growth. In vain.
It wasn't just a small comment here or there, it was an established theme through almost the entirety of the book. Usually when two characters are the same gender, it erases any gender issues. But in this case Kell was very clearly "the woman". And not just any woman, a submissive virgin Muslim woman who will let Tye lead because Tye is the manly man of the house with grand ideas of what it is to be a man.
Kell is also a man, and yet he doesn't get to do any of those manly things, because the power dynamic necessitates that the two characters take on different roles. The entire book was an ode to convincing the reader that this mentality is acceptable, and the only way that works is to turn the character of Kell into an accessory instead of his own person. He went from being a badass fighter to someone who gets weepy at being proposed to after 3 weeks of knowing a guy? Why? Why would he do this? This doesn't make any sense. And from that point on we didn't see Kell. We see Tye and his woman (sorry, man, I promise you Kell is a man.
It wasn't just a small comment here or there, it was an established theme through almost the entirety of the book. Usually when two characters are the same gender, it erases any gender issues. But in this case Kell was very clearly "the woman". And not just any woman, a submissive virgin Muslim woman who will let Tye lead because Tye is the manly man of the house with grand ideas of what it is to be a man.
Kell is also a man, and yet he doesn't get to do any of those manly things, because the power dynamic necessitates that the two characters take on different roles. The entire book was an ode to convincing the reader that this mentality is acceptable, and the only way that works is to turn the character of Kell into an accessory instead of his own person. He went from being a badass fighter to someone who gets weepy at being proposed to after 3 weeks of knowing a guy? Why? Why would he do this? This doesn't make any sense. And from that point on we didn't see Kell. We see Tye and his woman (sorry, man, I promise you Kell is a man.