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flowerjelly 's review for:
A Ship of Bones and Teeth
by Karina Halle
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was fine. I liked the world the author created, adapting elements from The Little Mermaid into her rendition of the story, and writing what comes after the mermaid gets her ‘happily ever after’—which actually isn’t going so happily when this story begins. As far as darker fairytale retellings go, this adaptation had a lot of fun with changing details—the monstrous mermaids; Prince Eric, who wished his mermaid hadn’t regained her voice; the fate of the syren kingdom Ariel—or in this case, Maren—left behind. The only issue is, I felt like some elements present in this novel were very good, while others only frustrated me.
I did like the introduction and again starting around the 75% mark. However… Some of the content in the middle of the story feels chaotic/random, as many things only happens when its’ necessary to the plotline, even if it doesn't make much sense. The characters (all of them) act as villains when its’ convenient, and flip flop back to compassionate and loyal at convenience, too. The pirates leave their captain in the deal with the sea witch yet are somehow ‘loyal’ even when nobody opposed him being handed over, Maren/Ramsay both act aggressive with each other at random, and Nerissa is painted as a villain until she isn’t—even though she’s been making problems for half the book, suddenly she’s the crews’ friend and cares about everyone!
I don’t mind that both of the main characters are monstrous in their own right—but the characters just say whatever sometimes (such as Ramsay claiming they “don’t torture people for fun” only to be called out for doing so, and then being like “oops, i hoped she wouldnt see that”). I kept wishing he would stop trying to convince Maren he was ethical every now and again, only to then say something contradictory moments after.
I have my own separate issues with Maren. Maren flops between being all-powerful and weak (even with her syren powers), and has no sense of self-preservation; she knows she shouldn’t tell any pirates what she is because they DRINK THE BLOOD OF HER KIND, and yet, as soon as she has opportunity to run away, she instead saves Ramsay and spills her life story to him. Every time she runs away from his ship she fails, even when she is literally in the open ocean and can breathe underwater. I felt like throwing my hands up. I wish the romance co-existed with Maren making sensible decisions, but unfortunately her and Ramsey’s love kind of depends on her not thinking anything through and being really really bad at escaping the boat for a while there.
I did really like the end portion of the book, where she started actually using her abilities and got her 'voice' back, and used it for really cool reasons involving sinking ships, and when she was actually monstrous and ate some hearts. Kind of wished there was more of that in the novel… as well as more of Nill the shark and Skip the cat!
Thank you to NetGalley and Metal Blonde Books for the ARC!
I did like the introduction and again starting around the 75% mark. However… Some of the content in the middle of the story feels chaotic/random, as many things only happens when its’ necessary to the plotline, even if it doesn't make much sense. The characters (all of them) act as villains when its’ convenient, and flip flop back to compassionate and loyal at convenience, too. The pirates leave their captain in the deal with the sea witch yet are somehow ‘loyal’ even when nobody opposed him being handed over, Maren/Ramsay both act aggressive with each other at random, and Nerissa is painted as a villain until she isn’t—even though she’s been making problems for half the book, suddenly she’s the crews’ friend and cares about everyone!
I don’t mind that both of the main characters are monstrous in their own right—but the characters just say whatever sometimes (such as Ramsay claiming they “don’t torture people for fun” only to be called out for doing so, and then being like “oops, i hoped she wouldnt see that”). I kept wishing he would stop trying to convince Maren he was ethical every now and again, only to then say something contradictory moments after.
I have my own separate issues with Maren. Maren flops between being all-powerful and weak (even with her syren powers), and has no sense of self-preservation; she knows she shouldn’t tell any pirates what she is because they DRINK THE BLOOD OF HER KIND, and yet, as soon as she has opportunity to run away, she instead saves Ramsay and spills her life story to him. Every time she runs away from his ship she fails, even when she is literally in the open ocean and can breathe underwater. I felt like throwing my hands up. I wish the romance co-existed with Maren making sensible decisions, but unfortunately her and Ramsey’s love kind of depends on her not thinking anything through and being really really bad at escaping the boat for a while there.
I did really like the end portion of the book, where she started actually using her abilities and got her 'voice' back, and used it for really cool reasons involving sinking ships, and when she was actually monstrous and ate some hearts. Kind of wished there was more of that in the novel… as well as more of Nill the shark and Skip the cat!
Thank you to NetGalley and Metal Blonde Books for the ARC!