Started: 22/02/22
Finished: 17/03/22
Spoilers: No
Big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me read an early copy, but unfortunately, I'm going to have to DNF a quarter way into this book.
This was one of my most anticipated books of the year and I thought I'd love this the way I love the Raven's Mark trilogy, but I just can't force myself to read something I'm not enjoying. Please note, this isn't a bad book and I encourage others to give it ago. At this moment in time, this just really didn't click with me personally, but I think I might get on better with the audiobook for this one in future. I can definitely see me trying the audio once the book is released, and I'll probably like it a lot better. But for now, I'm putting this on hold.
Characters
Raine was a difficult character to like. She's a total nihilist, and though she doesn't start out this way, things happen to her earlier on that bring about this new found nihilism. And when she starts waxing philosophical about how nothing matters and everything is inconsequential for pages on end, the narrative can start to feel a little dull, if not utterly bleak. I understand that her trauma made her numb but I just didn't find her constant cynicism very interesting. It sapped her of any personality.
I found Ulovar and Ovitus to be interesting characters and I look for to seeing more of them in future when I retry this book.
I took a pretty immediate dislike to Braithe. You don't get to slap around your woman and then apologise like that's enough and expect things to be okay. You don't slap your woman, full stop. Scum bag. And it just annoyed me when Raine made excuses for him, blaming herself. Classic abusive relationship. I know that was the point, but still annoyed me.
Plot
I struggled a great deal with the opening chapters.
It seemed to me like the focus was on the wrong point of interest. As the reader, we learn very early that Raine can see ghosts, and yet we don't see a ghost until the end of chapter one. I'd say that, by far, the most interesting thing about Raine is the fact that she can see ghosts, but she ends up in a chase scene rescuing a dying stranger and there's not all that much context as to why it's important or what's actually going on. I mean, it's an interesting enough scene, but not as interesting as the ghosts things, so I'm not sure why the author didn't lead with that.
In all honesty, there wasn't a lot in the beginning that intrigued me enough to keep reading other than Braithe being a dick, and I felt like was only reading to see if Raine would finally deck him. Cause Braithe definitely deserved a decking. See how he bloody likes it.
Things started to pick up alot in chapters 5 and 6 and I was beginning to get into it. But then the journey to Redwinter began and several chapters later, they're still travelling, all interest I had died. I don't find travelling sequences interesting at the best of times (unless something fun or exciting is happening), so with a book I was already struggling with, it was pretty much the nail in the coffin.
I'm quite gutted with myself that I couldn't stick it out at least until reaching Redwinter, but this story just really isn't gelling with me right now.
Setting
Loved how Celtic inspired this world was, I've always thought there needed to be more Celtic inspired fantasy and I'm finally getting my wish. It's just a shame that I won't get to experience this world further.
The magic system was interesting and the fact that certain people within this world can see ghosts. I look forward to exploring that further in the future.
Writing Style
This is a weird one for me because I almost instantly connected with the Raven's Mark trilogy. The writing flowed very smoothly and was easy to read. I'd raced through those books. This new book is a different matter. The writing feels very different and unfortunately, I struggled with it at times. Though I did eventually adjust, I still found it a little awkward. It wasn't smooth and I often found myself losing focus and reading the same parts over and over. It didn't quite have the same flow as the Raven's Mark did and there was a sort of choppiness to it. There was just something about this style that never quite clicked with my brain no matter how hard I tried.
Final Impression
Judging by all the amazing ratings this book is getting (which I'm pleased about cause I do think Ed Mcdonald is a writer worthy of the praise), I think this is probably a case of not the book being the problem, but me. I'm definitely interested in trying the audiobook when it's available. I think I'll have a much better time with it in that format.
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