Tag: plot twist

Review: The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart

Anna and Alexis1 Comment
A stack of all three books in the Drowned Empire trilogy sit on a black bookshelf.

Alexis:

The Bone Shard Daughter, the first book in the Drowned Empire trilogy, is one of my favorite books. The magic system and world are really cool and interesting, and I love the characters, including a talking otter-like creature named Mephi.

I finally got around to reading the last book in the trilogy, The Bone Shard War. I tried reading it on my Kindle, but for thick fantasy books, I really need a physical copy.

To be honest, I struggled to get through the first half of this book. Well I actually liked the multiple POVs in the first two books, I felt like I was drowning in the different perspectives. Jovis and Lin are really the main two characters, and their chapters got a little lost in the middle of the other ones, especially Nisong’s, who I didn’t really care about.

I also thought this entire book would be a war. And while there technically was a war, there really weren’t that many battles. A lot of the chapters focused on traveling between places.

I also find myself frustrated by some of the character arcs. Well I did enjoy the second half of the book, and the ending wrapped up well, the character arc of Jovis, my favorite character, went backwards. But, as always, Stewarts’ worldbuilding and the magic system are still awesome, and there was yet another great reveal.

Regardless, I still love the series. I think if you only want to read the first book, you can. Each of the books in the trilogy has amazing plot twists and reveals, but if that doesn’t make you want to read it, Mephi definitely should!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐/5 


Check out my review of The Bone Shard Daughter and The Bone Shard Emperor!

Review: Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

Anna and AlexisLeave a comment

Anna: Read 12/13/18

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed the beginning, which follows siblings Rachel and Nathaniel after their parents mysteriously leave them in the care of a guardian. I love a good coming-of-age story. The beginning is also when the relationship between the characters had the most tension and intrigue.

I then struggled through the second half of the book, which focuses on Nathaniel uncovering his mother Rose’s backstory. This is where I lost interest, as the narrative completely lacked the suspense of the first half. The complete lack of characterization of Rose, coupled with the lack of empathy we feel for her as a reader in the first half when she leaves her children without explanation, made me uninterested in her life and career.

Something that surprised me about this book, and something that I liked, is the fact that it is set in the near-immediate aftermath of World War II. Going into reading this, I had assumed it was set during the war. I enjoy World War II fiction, but feel that this is an important and overlooked time period, especially since none of the characters were soldiers so it featured no war scenes.

Perhaps I would have enjoyed this more if the second half mimicked the dark and atmospheric half of the first. I just didn’t connect with any of the characters, besides Nathaniel. I just couldn’t, no matter how hard I tried, feel any connection to their lives. And I particularly disliked the twist about the Darter near the end. The story also left a couple loose ends, which felt like an attempt at depth; however, it just further highlighted how undeveloped the characters felt to me.

VERDICT: 3 out of 5 books