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faerieontheshelf 's review for:
The Deck of Omens
by C.L. Herman
I LOVE ISAAC SULLIVAN AND VIOLET SAUNDERS!!!
I went into this still struggling with the lingering effects of a reading slump, so the first 100 pages were quite an effort for me. I felt The Deck of Omens took a little while to develop, but once I was securely halfway, I streamed through this book. And I'm so glad about that, because I loved The Devouring Gray, and if I hadn't enjoyed the sequel, I would have been devastated.
Once again, Christine Lynn Herman displays her talent at writing ensemble casts and making each character distinct with motivations, desires and opinions that differ for each. I think perhaps in this book there was a bit more telling what characters thought and felt and wanted rather than showing, but I can't recall whether that was also present in the first book or not. Nevertheless, we get to see a lot more of Isaac Sullivan and May Hawthorne this time around, and I especially loved the development of romance between Isaac and Violet. I love them, they're so cute.
I did feel this book verged slightly more into horror that the previous book did. (I know Rory Power was involved somewhat as she's in the acknowledgements, and there were definitely descriptions of nature horror that felt like they were from Rory's book Wilder Girls.) I wasn't overly grossed out, but I still squirmed at the thought of roots worming under skin and weird hand-shaped flowers and people trapped in trees. The conflict in this plot primarily centres around a corruption of the woods which leads to a sickness, and considering how The Deck of Omens is currently being released during a worldwide pandemic, this may or may not affect whether some readers want to read it right now versus later when everything is back to normal.
The conclusion of the duology's narrative was satisfying and felt appropriate. I really respected the resolution of Harper's character arc especially, as it did feel realistic and suited her character - looking forward to the future and not letting things hold her back, no matter how much she loves them.I still hope in the future they'll be reunited. The epilogue also gave me Feels with a capital F; I loved the mythical vibes it has.
Also I'm just here shipping Augusta and Juniper lmao, gay moms let's go!!
With a complete duology now under her belt, I'm extremely excited to see what Christine Lynn Herman has up next (I've been following her tweets about her upcoming project The Drowning Summer and I am exciteeeed.) She's definitely one of my favourite debut authors from the last few years, and I can't wait to support her in the future.
> 4 stars
a slightly edited version of this review will be up on my blog beyondabookshelf.co.uk for my stop on the deck of omens blog tour on may 7th!
thank you Titan Books for the review copy <3
I went into this still struggling with the lingering effects of a reading slump, so the first 100 pages were quite an effort for me. I felt The Deck of Omens took a little while to develop, but once I was securely halfway, I streamed through this book. And I'm so glad about that, because I loved The Devouring Gray, and if I hadn't enjoyed the sequel, I would have been devastated.
Once again, Christine Lynn Herman displays her talent at writing ensemble casts and making each character distinct with motivations, desires and opinions that differ for each. I think perhaps in this book there was a bit more telling what characters thought and felt and wanted rather than showing, but I can't recall whether that was also present in the first book or not. Nevertheless, we get to see a lot more of Isaac Sullivan and May Hawthorne this time around, and I especially loved the development of romance between Isaac and Violet. I love them, they're so cute.
I did feel this book verged slightly more into horror that the previous book did. (I know Rory Power was involved somewhat as she's in the acknowledgements, and there were definitely descriptions of nature horror that felt like they were from Rory's book Wilder Girls.) I wasn't overly grossed out, but I still squirmed at the thought of roots worming under skin and weird hand-shaped flowers and people trapped in trees. The conflict in this plot primarily centres around a corruption of the woods which leads to a sickness, and considering how The Deck of Omens is currently being released during a worldwide pandemic, this may or may not affect whether some readers want to read it right now versus later when everything is back to normal.
The conclusion of the duology's narrative was satisfying and felt appropriate. I really respected the resolution of Harper's character arc especially, as it did feel realistic and suited her character - looking forward to the future and not letting things hold her back, no matter how much she loves them.
Also I'm just here shipping Augusta and Juniper lmao, gay moms let's go!!
With a complete duology now under her belt, I'm extremely excited to see what Christine Lynn Herman has up next (I've been following her tweets about her upcoming project The Drowning Summer and I am exciteeeed.) She's definitely one of my favourite debut authors from the last few years, and I can't wait to support her in the future.
> 4 stars
a slightly edited version of this review will be up on my blog beyondabookshelf.co.uk for my stop on the deck of omens blog tour on may 7th!
thank you Titan Books for the review copy <3