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A review by cinder_says
Witches of the Dead Kingdom by Ash Oldfield
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I have a soft spot for stories set in my general vicinity, and a soft spot for fantasy stories set in modern day worlds, so a fantasy half set in current-day Melbourne was always going to be right up my alley!
This was a fun story to read. I really enjoyed getting to meet the characters and found the story pretty well paced. I also felt the scene-setting was really lovely- vivid and full of enough detail to feel like you're there, but not so much that you know how many drops of condensation are rolling down a glass of champagne and the speed at which they fall. It's also a short read, so not a massive commitment (though I will say I would have been happy if it was longer, just to flesh out a couple of areas a little more, but it's nothing drastic.) I was genuinely surprised when the mysteries started unravelling, and had that great feeling of 'ah-ha!' combined with 'oh but wait, what about...?'. I definitely finished this wanted to know what comes next.
I had two challenges with the book, though they are more 'me' things rather than book things. Firstly, I have no idea how to pronounce a lot of the names! And when this happens for me, it takes me longer to connect with the character or the place because my brain goes 'who/what is that again?' and then processes the rest. So if you're like me in that instance, keep a notepad handy while you're reading!
And similarly, the connections and relationships and politics in the Otherworld were a little hard to follow, but again that comes down to me not really knowing how to pronounce names and confusing some people for others.
Thankfully, I enjoyed this well enough to read again, and this time I'll be making myself a little cheat sheet to keep track of everyone/everywhere.
I'm looking forward to reading what comes next in the saga!
~*~Please note: while I received an advanced reader copy of this book, this is my honest review and my opinions are my own.~*~
This was a fun story to read. I really enjoyed getting to meet the characters and found the story pretty well paced. I also felt the scene-setting was really lovely- vivid and full of enough detail to feel like you're there, but not so much that you know how many drops of condensation are rolling down a glass of champagne and the speed at which they fall. It's also a short read, so not a massive commitment (though I will say I would have been happy if it was longer, just to flesh out a couple of areas a little more, but it's nothing drastic.) I was genuinely surprised when the mysteries started unravelling, and had that great feeling of 'ah-ha!' combined with 'oh but wait, what about...?'. I definitely finished this wanted to know what comes next.
I had two challenges with the book, though they are more 'me' things rather than book things. Firstly, I have no idea how to pronounce a lot of the names! And when this happens for me, it takes me longer to connect with the character or the place because my brain goes 'who/what is that again?' and then processes the rest. So if you're like me in that instance, keep a notepad handy while you're reading!
And similarly, the connections and relationships and politics in the Otherworld were a little hard to follow, but again that comes down to me not really knowing how to pronounce names and confusing some people for others.
Thankfully, I enjoyed this well enough to read again, and this time I'll be making myself a little cheat sheet to keep track of everyone/everywhere.
I'm looking forward to reading what comes next in the saga!
~*~Please note: while I received an advanced reader copy of this book, this is my honest review and my opinions are my own.~*~