This has been on my TBR for awhile, so I was super excited to win a copy from Bookish First. I thought it would make a good travel companion, so it came along with me over the holidays.
Here's the thing...it was alright. Like, all of it. Was fine. But just fine.
The world and the world building I could tell was well thought out. But maybe almost too well thought out? I felt like I was constantly forgetting what place was where, and which people wanted what. I feel like if I was really focusing I could have gotten everything, but I wasn't in the mood to really focus. I just wanted to be entertained. Thankfully, and a strength of the book, is that even with me not fully understanding the political dynamics of the world, I could still enjoy the story.
The characters...were alright. Caledon is fine. Shadow is fine. They're fine together. But there was nothing about either one of them, or about them together, that really made them stand out for me.
Same with the story. It was interesting. It was fine. Again, well thought out, but it just didn't stand out for me.
Here's my question for you guys...do you think part of this could be because I'm having Fantasy Fatigue? (I just made that term up, but I'm meaning it here like I've read so many fantasy novels lately that they're all starting to blend together into one nondescript blob.) Like, maybe I would have had a stronger reaction to this story if I hadn't been on a such a fantasy kick lately. Maybe I've burned out.
Here's the thing...it was alright. Like, all of it. Was fine. But just fine.
The world and the world building I could tell was well thought out. But maybe almost too well thought out? I felt like I was constantly forgetting what place was where, and which people wanted what. I feel like if I was really focusing I could have gotten everything, but I wasn't in the mood to really focus. I just wanted to be entertained. Thankfully, and a strength of the book, is that even with me not fully understanding the political dynamics of the world, I could still enjoy the story.
The characters...were alright. Caledon is fine. Shadow is fine. They're fine together. But there was nothing about either one of them, or about them together, that really made them stand out for me.
Same with the story. It was interesting. It was fine. Again, well thought out, but it just didn't stand out for me.
Here's my question for you guys...do you think part of this could be because I'm having Fantasy Fatigue? (I just made that term up, but I'm meaning it here like I've read so many fantasy novels lately that they're all starting to blend together into one nondescript blob.) Like, maybe I would have had a stronger reaction to this story if I hadn't been on a such a fantasy kick lately. Maybe I've burned out.