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A review by zenalth
Magic of Blood and Sea by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
This book had way too many "really?" moments. It's super fast-paced, but there's a reason they say slow and steady wins the race.
For a pirate whose first words to the reader are about how she doesn't trust people, Ananna does the exact opposite at almost every turn. She listens to this Random Lady who suspiciously knows her name, threatens her with magic and refuses to tell her anything about why she's so keen on helping a complete stranger. Right.
Then she saves the life of the assassin trying to kill her, and immediately sticks around to have a good ol' convo about why he's no longer going to finish her off. Girl, what are you doing. He just tried to kill you. He could still tie you up like a hog and haul you back to the Hariris. He could maim you. Stop fantasising about his handsome looks and run.
Instead, she saves his life again and then demurely follows him into the unknown. Just 'cause. She's under the false impression that he's under some oath to protect her--yay bodyguard--but then she herself states that oaths can be broken. So what the hell is the benefit of doing your would-be murderer's bidding? Moreover, why is she just blindly trusting what people say? Especially after the catastrophe with the Random Lady?
Not to mention the blasé way she ran away in the novel's opening scene. It felt very sudden. No buildup or foreshadowing. She was sassing Tarrin one minute and stealing camels the next. The abruptness of her decision threw me off; it would have been more digestible if her decision to run away from her entire life wasn't made between one blink and the next.
The fight scenes felt rather ridiculous to me too. Somehow, while being outnumbered and stuck in magical black fog, Ananna avoids being shot and better yet, manages to fire off a shot of her own. Of course she doesn't miss. And after, the ease with which she accessed water magic robbed the scene of any urgency. There was never a sense of real danger or struggle.
Lastly, why doesn't Naji tell her anything? She's not a hostage and the curse obviously needs to be broken. I'm assuming it'd be easier if they, oh y'know, communicated. But nooooo, he has to be the sexy, stoic badass even if it detracts from the story. Because reasons.
Yeah, no. This was definitely not for me. I enjoy fast-paced novels, but this was a bit too fast. It came at the cost of characterisation and worldbuilding. The snappy dialogue was a distraction from the poor plot and illogical decisions. I wish I could look past the flaws for a quick and light read, but alas.
For a pirate whose first words to the reader are about how she doesn't trust people, Ananna does the exact opposite at almost every turn. She listens to this Random Lady who suspiciously knows her name, threatens her with magic and refuses to tell her anything about why she's so keen on helping a complete stranger. Right.
Then she saves the life of the assassin trying to kill her, and immediately sticks around to have a good ol' convo about why he's no longer going to finish her off. Girl, what are you doing. He just tried to kill you. He could still tie you up like a hog and haul you back to the Hariris. He could maim you. Stop fantasising about his handsome looks and run.
Instead, she saves his life again and then demurely follows him into the unknown. Just 'cause. She's under the false impression that he's under some oath to protect her--yay bodyguard--but then she herself states that oaths can be broken. So what the hell is the benefit of doing your would-be murderer's bidding? Moreover, why is she just blindly trusting what people say? Especially after the catastrophe with the Random Lady?
Not to mention the blasé way she ran away in the novel's opening scene. It felt very sudden. No buildup or foreshadowing. She was sassing Tarrin one minute and stealing camels the next. The abruptness of her decision threw me off; it would have been more digestible if her decision to run away from her entire life wasn't made between one blink and the next.
The fight scenes felt rather ridiculous to me too. Somehow, while being outnumbered and stuck in magical black fog, Ananna avoids being shot and better yet, manages to fire off a shot of her own. Of course she doesn't miss. And after, the ease with which she accessed water magic robbed the scene of any urgency. There was never a sense of real danger or struggle.
Lastly, why doesn't Naji tell her anything? She's not a hostage and the curse obviously needs to be broken. I'm assuming it'd be easier if they, oh y'know, communicated. But nooooo, he has to be the sexy, stoic badass even if it detracts from the story. Because reasons.
Yeah, no. This was definitely not for me. I enjoy fast-paced novels, but this was a bit too fast. It came at the cost of characterisation and worldbuilding. The snappy dialogue was a distraction from the poor plot and illogical decisions. I wish I could look past the flaws for a quick and light read, but alas.