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A review by cas_reads_anything
The Final Curse of Ophelia Cray by Christine Calella
3.25
Overall Impressions: I’m generally shocked this is a YA novel. I guess the main characters are teenagers but there was so much graphic murder, torture, gore, etc. The storyline is generally coming-of-age, though. Overall I found this to be very readable, action-packed, and with an interesting examination of what it means to be family. However, the pacing and overall structure felt a little off, which made portions less enjoyable.
Worldbuilding: We don’t know a ton about the world this is set in. There are a series of island nations, ruled by some sort of colonizing force, with the island our MCs come from a penal colony. There are a lot of awful naval characters doing bad things but I wouldn’t say this really delves into any political or structural implications. Some dialogue on class consciousness but it felt a little out of place given that Ophelia is aligned with the working class but comes from a very wealthy family.
Characters: Ophelia (presumably on the ace spectrum) and Betsy (who has anxiety) are half-sisters who fight and resent each other but still deeply care for one another and ultimately find their way to a greater understanding. Side characters include a sapphic couple with minor page time and a host of other pirates and naval crew. Most characters outside of the main ones felt two dimensional (especially the villains, who were very exaggerated) but a few were fleshed out.
Plot: So, I generally enjoyed the plotlines of this. if you just look at the beginning point and the end point, I’d say it had a very satisfying resolution and a lot of work to get there. however, things got fairly convoluted in the middle. Also, incredibly bloody and gory. there was SO MUCH MURDER in this book which I truly wasn’t expecting from the cover/blurb.
Pacing/prose: Prose was fine, very readable. Pacing was great at the start and quick in the end bht dragged in the middle part of the book. A few too many scenes of battles, mutiny, torture, and murder all started to blur together.
Worldbuilding: We don’t know a ton about the world this is set in. There are a series of island nations, ruled by some sort of colonizing force, with the island our MCs come from a penal colony. There are a lot of awful naval characters doing bad things but I wouldn’t say this really delves into any political or structural implications. Some dialogue on class consciousness but it felt a little out of place given that Ophelia is aligned with the working class but comes from a very wealthy family.
Characters: Ophelia (presumably on the ace spectrum) and Betsy (who has anxiety) are half-sisters who fight and resent each other but still deeply care for one another and ultimately find their way to a greater understanding. Side characters include a sapphic couple with minor page time and a host of other pirates and naval crew. Most characters outside of the main ones felt two dimensional (especially the villains, who were very exaggerated) but a few were fleshed out.
Plot: So, I generally enjoyed the plotlines of this. if you just look at the beginning point and the end point, I’d say it had a very satisfying resolution and a lot of work to get there. however, things got fairly convoluted in the middle. Also, incredibly bloody and gory. there was SO MUCH MURDER in this book which I truly wasn’t expecting from the cover/blurb.
Pacing/prose: Prose was fine, very readable. Pacing was great at the start and quick in the end bht dragged in the middle part of the book. A few too many scenes of battles, mutiny, torture, and murder all started to blur together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Child death, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Torture, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Murder, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Animal death, Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Grief