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A review by alongreader
The Orphanage of Gods by Helena Coggan
2.0
I really tried to enjoy this. It's just the sort of story I like. But the action is so breakneck, and all the characters are so confused all the time, it's hard to keep a handle on what's going on, or who's who, or who's on what side for what reason. Even the (extremely hurried) relationship was hard to follow or believe in.
This could be a great story if it was expanded out, allowed to breathe, given better explanations. As it is, I'm afraid it's just messy. Even in the excerpt included below...taken from the ARC so it might not read like this in the finished book...the nun is described as 'beside the blackboard' and 'beside his desk' without any intervening movement. It's just confusing. There's a great idea here, but I feel like the book missed a round of edits to really bring it out.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I remember a boy called Janus disappearing from his bed one night when I was younger, long before I met Joshua and Kestrel. We were all curious about where he'd gone, but not scared, not yet, we were too small for that. No one but me was stupid enough to ask. The nurse who taught us arithmetic was young, and had a kind, open face. I asked her in the middle of the lesson, as she stood beside the blackboard. The room was cold, stone grey.
'Where's Janus?'
I must have been about four. She looked at me with that and empty eyes, so terrible a look I was scared to meet her gaze. Then she just said, with nothing at all in her voice, 'Who's Janus?'
She was standing right next to his empty wooden desk.
This could be a great story if it was expanded out, allowed to breathe, given better explanations. As it is, I'm afraid it's just messy. Even in the excerpt included below...taken from the ARC so it might not read like this in the finished book...the nun is described as 'beside the blackboard' and 'beside his desk' without any intervening movement. It's just confusing. There's a great idea here, but I feel like the book missed a round of edits to really bring it out.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I remember a boy called Janus disappearing from his bed one night when I was younger, long before I met Joshua and Kestrel. We were all curious about where he'd gone, but not scared, not yet, we were too small for that. No one but me was stupid enough to ask. The nurse who taught us arithmetic was young, and had a kind, open face. I asked her in the middle of the lesson, as she stood beside the blackboard. The room was cold, stone grey.
'Where's Janus?'
I must have been about four. She looked at me with that and empty eyes, so terrible a look I was scared to meet her gaze. Then she just said, with nothing at all in her voice, 'Who's Janus?'
She was standing right next to his empty wooden desk.