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A review by breebree23
Divine Blessings by K.R. Thomson
adventurous
dark
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was interesting, slow in the beginning and hard to stay interested but once it's started picking up towards the middle I began to appreciate the story development. I felt that the characters needed a lot more development, i didn't have the sense that I knew them well. I also wanted more story building, what made the undesirable "undesirable" . How did they stick out from others? What was the history behind it? Why were they constantly living in poverty, what made these kingdoms work together or against each other? How was each kingdom connected? I left with a lot of questions unanswered, hopefully there's a second book that will address this. Otherwise, there were some parts that genuinely made me laugh out loud, and others I highlighted as having a pretty deep meaning that made me reflect a bit.
One thing to mention, the way Nsiria is described sounds like a white man who doesn't know how to write people of color. The first character being described is brown, and that's the first "undesirable " we're introduced to. It has racist undertones and as a black reader i was disappointed by this. So much writing went into describing Elara a white character as beautiful with gorgeous hair and we didn't really get that with the other main character Nsiria. For future books I'd recommend reaching out to BIPOC editors who can guide you on how to write BIPOC characters and give them the descriptions and character depth that they deserve.
I appreciated being able to read an advanced copy of this and share my honest opinion. This was my first ARC and as an avid reader I was excited for this opportunity.
One thing to mention, the way Nsiria is described sounds like a white man who doesn't know how to write people of color. The first character being described is brown, and that's the first "undesirable " we're introduced to. It has racist undertones and as a black reader i was disappointed by this. So much writing went into describing Elara a white character as beautiful with gorgeous hair and we didn't really get that with the other main character Nsiria. For future books I'd recommend reaching out to BIPOC editors who can guide you on how to write BIPOC characters and give them the descriptions and character depth that they deserve.
I appreciated being able to read an advanced copy of this and share my honest opinion. This was my first ARC and as an avid reader I was excited for this opportunity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent