A review by mhcraft
The Sea King by C.L. Wilson

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

There are some weird modern concepts that are included randomly, plus some modern idioms that are distracting in the writing. Still thinking about how the FMC asked the MMC a question about genetics? (How do you both know about that?) I found some of the language to be really uncomfortable talking about other people’s in this world, it reads like colonialist, racist, old anthropological nonsense. Using words like “exotic” and “barbaric” to describe the MMC was very uncomfortable to read. The culture was clearly modeled after island cultures of the South Pacific & Hawaii and was treated as less than by the narration. The FMC’s attitude about their “customs” was also very xenophobic but the book’s sympathy for her views was giving “civilize the savages” vibes. I wanted to like the characters, but the racist tropes made it very difficult.     
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