Skip to main content

The Girl the Sea Gave Back (Sky in the Deep) by Adrienne Young [arc review]

I don't even know what to say exactly... my biggest disappointment in 2019 so far...


Blurb:
For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.
 

I don't think anyone likes writing negative reviews, I certainly don't. That being said I am a strong believer that they are needed. I read many books because of negative reviews. What one person doesn't like might just work for another.

So with that in mind, here we go...

The review: 1.5 Stars

The single positive: She is still a very good writer. Everything had this lyrical and almost poetic feel to it. 

The negatives: Everything else? I am kidding... but not really...
- the POVs are rather similar. At the beginning it was hard to distinguish between them. That in turn made them both rather boring.
- there wasn't much of a plot. It was a maddening slow paced book and in the end you can summarize the book in one paragraph (or less even): The were clans on the verge of war, than they fought  One lost and of-course one won but with the help of a third clan because the snow flake in the book was related to them. The end. Oh sh**, forgot... there was some magic. Future reading....sort of. 
- information dump. There are a lot of weird clan names and people mentioned. The sort of thing you would expect on the first book of a long paranormal or fantasy series and not the sort of thing you want on a stand alone. Why? because it takes away important pages needed to develop a story. 
- this is suppose to be a companion to Sky in the Deep. Say What?! you cannot compare this to that at all. They are two completely different things. At times it felt like two very different authors even. This does a disservice to anyone that has not yet read Sky in the Deep and might not give it a try now- please do, that book was amazing!
-  the ending was... I don't even know how to describe it. I guess it was meant to be romantic?! it really wasn't. I closed the book completely lost as to what that was suppose to mean. It really could mean a thousand different things... I guess everyone is assuming it means the two main characters will end up together but since NOTHING happened between them in the book I find that rather presumptuous and ridiculous. 

I will stop now... I think you all get my point. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Romance Catch Up!

 It has been a crazy month and I fell behind badly on my reviews! But here are some highlights for you. Barbarian Lover (Ice Planet Barbarians #3) Ruby Dixon  2.75/5 Although I liked this one it is my least favorite in the series so far. The book was going well until a little over the halfway point when it just doesn't read right. She accepts leaving someone behind too easily and although up to this point the book does a good job at dealing with infertility it all of sudden throws it all out of the window. So good, I will carry on with the series, but not great. A Precious Jewel (Stapleton-Downes #2) Mary Balogh  3/5 This was different, unique. And I like that about it. I have not read any other book quite like it. She is a prostitute;  he starts of as just any other client. The story was sweet and interesting . The MC comes across  rather clueless at times,  but it is somewhat endearing. The romance is believable  and they make a very charming couple! The Gunslinger's Guide to

Radiant Sin (Dark olympus) by Katee Robert [arc review]

This is sadly, not going to be a very popular review. I adore Katee Robert. But this one just wasn't for me. It wasn't a terrible book or anything like that, it just left me wanting more and very puzzled. Every one of the books in this series follows a certain trope and/or subplot genre. Neon Gods is very much a Greek Mythology retelling;  Electric Idol  has the plus size influencer and the sweet bad boy, it is a very modern contemporary romance;  Wicked Beauty , and my favorite so far has that hunger games/dystopian vibe. Radiant Sin  is a murder mystery. The 'one house'/'one train' style that has always been so popular. Here lies problem number one for me, because I don't like murder mysteries at all. Even on my teen years when I read a lot of mystery it was never those. Problem two- there were way too many characters in that house, and they all got their time on the page making it one very confusing mess. It was very hard to follow at times. I think this

The Book Hater's Book Club by Gretchen Anthony

The Book Hater's Book Club  at first appears to be about a struggling bookstore and its imminent sale. Elliot, the co-owner of Over the Rainbow Bookstore, started  The Book Hater's Book Club , a newsletter of reading recommendations for the self-proclaimed non-readers of the world, because he believed there was a book out there for everyone. Something I wholeheartedly agree with! For years he and Irma have kept the store going and always had a recommendation in hand. When you finish this book, you will have yet another list of books to read.  However, this book is about more than just books and a struggling bookstore. It is also about grief, the price of secrets, and a little more grief.  You see, Elliot is gone, and his grief-ridden business partner has agreed to sell the store to developers. Problem is, she didn't tell that to anyone until the deal was almost done. Which is making her daughters ask questions. Why is she selling? Is it grief alone? Is there something else