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the_bookishbug 's review for:
A Polar Expedition: and Other Stimulating Research Opportunities
by Kass O'Shire
lighthearted
medium-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:
No
I really wanted to like this book - scientist FMC and a big, cuddly MMC? Sounded great!
However, the relationship between Sirin and Berne is really weak and relies super heavily on them being mates and "just right" for each other, along with a bit of "marriage of convenience". They just think the other is hot and nice and also Sirin would be executed if they weren't mates, and that's it. Like... I wasn't even excited when they finally kissed, I honestly was ready for the smut to end because I felt no connection to these characters and didn't feel compelled by their relationship.
The world presented is fairly unique, with a fairly unique magic system to match. However, the book is working hard to combine science, magic, and religion into a cohesive world and it all falls a bit flat. The descriptions of the world don't feel lived in if that makes sense. The world feels thought-out, but how people exist in it on a day-to-day basis doesn't.
The prose was adequate, but it should have gone through some more edits due to repetitive phrases being used within just a few sentences of each other and the dialogue is often awkward. Surprisingly, I didn't mind the footnotes! In audio, it was occasionally hard to tell where they were, but since they were in first person, it was usually pretty to figure it out. Honestly, the foot notes gave more personality to Siring, and they implied more about Berne and Sirin's relationship than the main text did.
The audiobook quality isn't factored into my rating, but for anyone interested, I would not recommend it. The narrator for Sirin's POV struggles with Berne's accent and it's very distracting.
I'm interested in the general world, but I'm not sure if I'd read the next novels in this series if the rest of the characters are this unimpressive.
However, the relationship between Sirin and Berne is really weak and relies super heavily on them being mates and "just right" for each other, along with a bit of "marriage of convenience". They just think the other is hot and nice and also Sirin would be executed if they weren't mates, and that's it. Like... I wasn't even excited when they finally kissed, I honestly was ready for the smut to end because I felt no connection to these characters and didn't feel compelled by their relationship.
The world presented is fairly unique, with a fairly unique magic system to match. However, the book is working hard to combine science, magic, and religion into a cohesive world and it all falls a bit flat. The descriptions of the world don't feel lived in if that makes sense. The world feels thought-out, but how people exist in it on a day-to-day basis doesn't.
The prose was adequate, but it should have gone through some more edits due to repetitive phrases being used within just a few sentences of each other and the dialogue is often awkward. Surprisingly, I didn't mind the footnotes! In audio, it was occasionally hard to tell where they were, but since they were in first person, it was usually pretty to figure it out. Honestly, the foot notes gave more personality to Siring, and they implied more about Berne and Sirin's relationship than the main text did.
The audiobook quality isn't factored into my rating, but for anyone interested, I would not recommend it. The narrator for Sirin's POV struggles with Berne's accent and it's very distracting.
I'm interested in the general world, but I'm not sure if I'd read the next novels in this series if the rest of the characters are this unimpressive.