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readundancies 's review for:
Soulgazer
by Maggie Rapier
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
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 was not the pirate story of my dreams.
I disliked the main character, Saoirse, who I think was meant to become empowered but stayed rather pathetic throughout the story. Matter of fact, I kinda disliked most of the characterization in totality - Aiden's incorporation within the last third of the story was not fluid, the surrounding cast of varying villains (see Dermot, Maccus, Kiara) never felt grounded as real characters but just opponents for Saoirse and Faolan to rail against, and even friendly characters like Brona and Nessa never felt like enough was brought out of them for me to really care about them. And Faolan? He was fine, but really inconsistent.
And I think inconsistency is what really plagues this book in terms of why it didn't work for me. The pacing was inconsistent in that the beginning felt incredibly slow, while the ending was overly rushed. The writing was inconsistent in that we're told so many things that are never shown, and thus make certain facts like Saoirse's infatuation with the Wolf King, Saoirse's close relationship with her brothers but Aiden's presence not even hinted at until the last third of the novel, Saoirse's past in her cottage and her wish-washy healing skills, etc. rather unbelievable and random and without basis since these things are just established out of thin air with nothing to back them.
The worldbuilding is a bit of a mess; the magic and the gods and the kingdoms made no real sense to me, and outside of the royal monikers like Stone King of the Unbound Earth and Frozen Hearth and Ashen Flame and Painted Claw - I have no idea about anything regarding their domains, let alone any sort of magic that exists. There are magical adjacent creatures that are killed and whose body parts are incorporated to imbue magical properties into objects like ships, but other than that, I couldn't tell you much more about what is clearly Celtic inspired mythology that doesn't nearly utilize it in an effective manner.
The romance is a very push-and-pull-I-love-you-but-I-am-damaged-and-thus-shall-keep-you-at-arms-length kind of dramatic. Entertaining, sure. Swoonworthy, absolutely not. And the notion of obtaining freedom on both Saoirse and Faolan's parts not only interfered with their growing relationship as the tale went on, but it became so tiring to read about, and I never believed that they should obtain it nor did I particularly want them to since the plot was constructed in a way that neither of them was given a means to rebel outside of their partnership.
And I mean, I dunno. I wanted so much more from this than I got, and I'm kinda bummed about it. Not sure I care enough to finish the duology.
I disliked the main character, Saoirse, who I think was meant to become empowered but stayed rather pathetic throughout the story. Matter of fact, I kinda disliked most of the characterization in totality - Aiden's incorporation within the last third of the story was not fluid, the surrounding cast of varying villains (see Dermot, Maccus, Kiara) never felt grounded as real characters but just opponents for Saoirse and Faolan to rail against, and even friendly characters like Brona and Nessa never felt like enough was brought out of them for me to really care about them. And Faolan? He was fine, but really inconsistent.
And I think inconsistency is what really plagues this book in terms of why it didn't work for me. The pacing was inconsistent in that the beginning felt incredibly slow, while the ending was overly rushed. The writing was inconsistent in that we're told so many things that are never shown, and thus make certain facts like Saoirse's infatuation with the Wolf King, Saoirse's close relationship with her brothers but Aiden's presence not even hinted at until the last third of the novel, Saoirse's past in her cottage and her wish-washy healing skills, etc. rather unbelievable and random and without basis since these things are just established out of thin air with nothing to back them.
The worldbuilding is a bit of a mess; the magic and the gods and the kingdoms made no real sense to me, and outside of the royal monikers like Stone King of the Unbound Earth and Frozen Hearth and Ashen Flame and Painted Claw - I have no idea about anything regarding their domains, let alone any sort of magic that exists. There are magical adjacent creatures that are killed and whose body parts are incorporated to imbue magical properties into objects like ships, but other than that, I couldn't tell you much more about what is clearly Celtic inspired mythology that doesn't nearly utilize it in an effective manner.
The romance is a very push-and-pull-I-love-you-but-I-am-damaged-and-thus-shall-keep-you-at-arms-length kind of dramatic. Entertaining, sure. Swoonworthy, absolutely not. And the notion of obtaining freedom on both Saoirse and Faolan's parts not only interfered with their growing relationship as the tale went on, but it became so tiring to read about, and I never believed that they should obtain it nor did I particularly want them to since the plot was constructed in a way that neither of them was given a means to rebel outside of their partnership.
And I mean, I dunno. I wanted so much more from this than I got, and I'm kinda bummed about it. Not sure I care enough to finish the duology.