melaethonia's reviews
5 reviews

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I fear my expectations might have been a little too high going into this read - I kept seeing people raging about how amazing a read it was, which obviously excited me as well. Who doesn't like a good book dabbling in magic, exorcisms and demons?

While the language of the book was enjoyable, and probably the main reason that I kept reading, I couldn't help but find myself putting the book away multiple times to adventure towards more "exciting" reads. The book itself wasn't slow-paced, but the fact that it felt like they never made progress on the actual plot, made it feel prolonged. The first half of the book felt like a drag to get through, but I was much more excited for the second half where a lot happened - of course, I felt like the pacing could have been better. A lot of exciting things happened in the second half, but why does that matter when you don't even wish to get past the first half of the book?

Rhys, Moira, and David were all three rather interesting characters. Moira was probably my favourite out of the bunch, but I felt a bit of difficulty with their dynamic. I wanted to love Rhys so much because I found him interesting, but I feel he felt flat, having much less character progress than both David and Moira. The dynamic between the three was something that made me scratch my head; forgive me for being no expert on poly relationships, I will steer around that topic cause I am sure people with more knowledge and experience can give their comments on that, but the general tension, dynamic and relationship between the characters just felt... flat. Rhys and Moira have a strong marriage, and I really enjoyed their dynamic together, but as both of them began finding themselves interested in David, it just began being spread thin. Don't even get me started on the whole

cheating

on your wife and Moira basically having no reaction to it. The only time I felt the tension between the characters was whenever there were smutty scenes; otherwise, I did not fully feel what David and Rhys had.

I feel that 3 stars is a solid rating for this book; I felt it lacked in a lot of departments, such as the pacing and the character relationships, which I find was meant to be a rather big part of the story. That said, I enjoyed the world and society that the author had built up, and I sure hope to see a lot more characters such as Lorena, Leda, and Kitty in the future. The plot itself was interesting, maybe a little bit predictable, but I feel most demon-deals are. I'm curious to see how the plot is future dealt with in the coming books if I decide to pick those up, cause I sure hope it wont be forgotten.

Content Warnings

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White

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adventurous funny inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Goddesdammit, Cordelia

This book blew my mind - more than once. My biggest worry when it comes to "murder mystery" books is that they are too predictable, but Voyage of the Damned was in no way predictable. There were multiple times when I thought "Oh, I think I understand it now," just to turn a page and have my thoughts and beliefs completely shattered by a plot twist I could not have expected.

The book is filled with diverse characters who are true to themselves - those who you will hate, those who will make you question yourself, and those you only can love. The characters and their arcs grow as the story goes on, and it helps you understand the plot better. I was impressed with the way we came to get close and learn about each of the characters - some with secrets you would not expect, and others more obvious. Dee made me laugh, and I couldn't help but fall for him as the story went on. I found him to be an easily likeable character.

Voyage of the Damned is a 4.25-star read for me because I felt entertained, and felt myself absorbed into the world. I felt myself snort (laugh) more than once, with tears in my eyes, and filled with shock over some of the twists pushed into the book. If I could read this book all over again, from the start, I would do it. The only downturn I felt was the ending - the solving of the main plot felt very rushed in the end, and the epilogue felt... flat. I honestly think I would have been fine without the epilogue. But, otherwise, the book, its plot and characters carried itself extremely well.

Content Warnings