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This story has a strong beginning. A girl trapped on a debtorship, terrified of her captain. The opportunity for revenge the only thing keeping her going after she escapes. She has such a strong personality from the beginning, I’m not sure she ever goes through character development, however, watching her go through her plan and the danger it places her and the other Water Bugs into, is fascinating.
Cayo’s history comes in handy when his family finds themselves broke, but it could mean giving himself up to the very family that led to his undoing. Honestly, between the two main characters, Cayo is more interesting. However, I do find myself wishing I was a little more like Amaya. She’s so brave, she’s nearly fearless. Nearly, as her fear and grief are the faults that leave her struggling throughout the story.
One thing I enjoy about this story is the presence of the LGBTQ+ community in such a way that it doesn’t draw too much attention to it. It isn’t like “Hey look! Here’s a bi guy! Look here’s a pan girl! Here’s a non-binary individual!” It plays it as if it’s a social norm, which, in the story, it likely is. I like that there are markers so that people know what they prefer so they aren’t referenced in the wrong gender. Something that would be interesting in our society, but the implementation of which would probably cause the wrong reaction. It would be another label, or marker, that someone is different. So maybe I take it back but moving on.
Honestly, I feel like this story needs a map. I need a clear representation of this world. Especially as the story continues because they’re traveling to a different land.
I enjoy the lore, the religion, and the excerpts from documentation and stories that exist in the world of the story. It gives it a level of reality that some stories lack.
I like the discussion of addiction in the sense of not only alcohol, but also gambling and the difficulty that comes with quitting. I think it was interesting when Cayo found himself under that influence again and the fact that there are repercussions of his actions.
I look forward to the continuation of the story and I’m excited to see where the author takes it.
Cayo’s history comes in handy when his family finds themselves broke, but it could mean giving himself up to the very family that led to his undoing. Honestly, between the two main characters, Cayo is more interesting. However, I do find myself wishing I was a little more like Amaya. She’s so brave, she’s nearly fearless. Nearly, as her fear and grief are the faults that leave her struggling throughout the story.
One thing I enjoy about this story is the presence of the LGBTQ+ community in such a way that it doesn’t draw too much attention to it. It isn’t like “Hey look! Here’s a bi guy! Look here’s a pan girl! Here’s a non-binary individual!” It plays it as if it’s a social norm, which, in the story, it likely is. I like that there are markers so that people know what they prefer so they aren’t referenced in the wrong gender. Something that would be interesting in our society, but the implementation of which would probably cause the wrong reaction. It would be another label, or marker, that someone is different. So maybe I take it back but moving on.
Honestly, I feel like this story needs a map. I need a clear representation of this world. Especially as the story continues because they’re traveling to a different land.
I enjoy the lore, the religion, and the excerpts from documentation and stories that exist in the world of the story. It gives it a level of reality that some stories lack.
I like the discussion of addiction in the sense of not only alcohol, but also gambling and the difficulty that comes with quitting. I think it was interesting when Cayo found himself under that influence again and the fact that there are repercussions of his actions.
I look forward to the continuation of the story and I’m excited to see where the author takes it.
A very fun, YA fantasy read! I picked this one up from the library and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would have liked there to have been a map of the worlds in the beginning of the book for better clarification of the areas described, but I manged to get by haha!
The world building wasn't the greatest- and some things were left unexplained. I felt like I just jumped right into an unknown place in the first 10 chapters, and then had to work my way backwards to try and figure everything out on my own. Also, it seemed like the book was trying to be based on Asian cultures, but just didn't quite make it there lol
The world building wasn't the greatest- and some things were left unexplained. I felt like I just jumped right into an unknown place in the first 10 chapters, and then had to work my way backwards to try and figure everything out on my own. Also, it seemed like the book was trying to be based on Asian cultures, but just didn't quite make it there lol
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tl;dr
Knife girl and disaster boy find themselves at odds in a beautifully described oceanic setting with some thoughtful LGBT+ rep. Plot loses its way a bit with a lack of distinct villains.
About
Amaya has been living on a debtor's ship for the last seven years, paying off a debt that she's certain her family never owed. When she pulls a stranger aboard, he offers her the chance to enact revenge on the people who put her there. The job seems easy - pose as a fabulously wealthy countess, and lie and cheat her way through town until she finally brings down the family that destroyed hers. But revenge is never so simple.
Thoughts
This is a loose retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, a book I read so long ago that I remember nothing, so I came into this book largely without any expectations. And honestly, the plot did its work. Tasty plot twists, well-timed reveals, and vivid world-building. The two leads were fully fleshed out characters. Amaya is determined, hard-working, but somewhat conflicted. Cayo is a former spoiled child coming to terms with the fallout of his bad decisions, and aiming to be a better person. Their personalities don't exactly blend, but they do complement each other very well. The moment when they go swimming together and manage to be honest and vulnerable is especially well-written, and made me feel for them. The rest, however, didn't land as well for me. There are multiple villains in this book, and none of them get enough page time to be distinct from each other. Boon, in particular, feels somewhat underdeveloped, which dampens his actions in the back end of the book, and makes the climax fall a little flat. In general, it feels more like reading the first half of a book, instead of the first book in a duology. A good read for anyone who likes girls with daggers or starcrossed lovers.
Knife girl and disaster boy find themselves at odds in a beautifully described oceanic setting with some thoughtful LGBT+ rep. Plot loses its way a bit with a lack of distinct villains.
About
Amaya has been living on a debtor's ship for the last seven years, paying off a debt that she's certain her family never owed. When she pulls a stranger aboard, he offers her the chance to enact revenge on the people who put her there. The job seems easy - pose as a fabulously wealthy countess, and lie and cheat her way through town until she finally brings down the family that destroyed hers. But revenge is never so simple.
Thoughts
This is a loose retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, a book I read so long ago that I remember nothing, so I came into this book largely without any expectations. And honestly, the plot did its work. Tasty plot twists, well-timed reveals, and vivid world-building. The two leads were fully fleshed out characters. Amaya is determined, hard-working, but somewhat conflicted. Cayo is a former spoiled child coming to terms with the fallout of his bad decisions, and aiming to be a better person. Their personalities don't exactly blend, but they do complement each other very well. The moment when they go swimming together and manage to be honest and vulnerable is especially well-written, and made me feel for them. The rest, however, didn't land as well for me. There are multiple villains in this book, and none of them get enough page time to be distinct from each other. Boon, in particular, feels somewhat underdeveloped, which dampens his actions in the back end of the book, and makes the climax fall a little flat. In general, it feels more like reading the first half of a book, instead of the first book in a duology. A good read for anyone who likes girls with daggers or starcrossed lovers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, Murder
Moderate: Child death, Death, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Death of parent
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Slavery, Medical content
Minor: Kidnapping, Death of parent
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not super familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo. I have it on my bookshelf. It hasn't been read. I also haven't seen the movie. Is there more than one? No idea. Most of my experience comes from the musical that I saw when it was performed at my university. But I saw it twice. Once because I had to as a theatre major and once because one of my dorm mates loves the book. And I liked it well enough that I bought the concept CD. It doesn't have my favorite song from the musical on there but can't have everything.
This was also years ago.
But I can never pass up a good old fashioned revenge story.
Not a whole lot of worldbuilding going on in the story. But the characters are solid and the plot is pretty tight so I'm okay with the worldbuilding being not as impressive. Honestly, I kept forgetting that this wasn't taking place on Earth.
There were some variations from what I remember of the plot of CoMC. Which is fine. Adaptation. I thought the changes worked well. The one caused an eyebrow twitch of respect, though that also meant my gut instinct was right on the money about other things.
I appreciated the way the two major plotlines intersected and then ran parallel to each other. I thought that was well done. The intersections of the subplots were also well done. I also enjoyed how the reveals unraveled. I wasn't super surprised by most of them, although one did make me screech at my friend "THIS IS GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2". It's really not. Only one teeny aspect was.
The two main characters, Amaya and Cayo, I really liked. I'd even say I love them. Not in a "I would kill for you" way but I did feel a lot of things during the course of reading that. Including an acknowledgement of how easy I am when you have a character caught between love of family and doing the right thing. I'm so easy. So easy.
The other characters, I liked. There were a couple I didn't. But as we all know, it takes a lot for me to not like a character. Again. I'm easy.
This was also years ago.
But I can never pass up a good old fashioned revenge story.
Not a whole lot of worldbuilding going on in the story. But the characters are solid and the plot is pretty tight so I'm okay with the worldbuilding being not as impressive. Honestly, I kept forgetting that this wasn't taking place on Earth.
There were some variations from what I remember of the plot of CoMC. Which is fine. Adaptation. I thought the changes worked well. The one caused an eyebrow twitch of respect, though that also meant my gut instinct was right on the money about other things.
I appreciated the way the two major plotlines intersected and then ran parallel to each other. I thought that was well done. The intersections of the subplots were also well done. I also enjoyed how the reveals unraveled. I wasn't super surprised by most of them, although one did make me screech at my friend "THIS IS GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2". It's really not. Only one teeny aspect was.
The two main characters, Amaya and Cayo, I really liked. I'd even say I love them. Not in a "I would kill for you" way but I did feel a lot of things during the course of reading that. Including an acknowledgement of how easy I am when you have a character caught between love of family and doing the right thing. I'm so easy. So easy.
The other characters, I liked. There were a couple I didn't. But as we all know, it takes a lot for me to not like a character. Again. I'm easy.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
This was an interesting twist on The Count of Monte Cristo! I love retellings, as it’s a chance for someone to reimagine a well-known story and make it their own. And I think this did a great job of retelling the original story.
I got an ARC of this book by accident* and I'm going to do my best to review it.
This book was fun. It wasn't without its emotional bits, but for the most part, it was the adventures of two somewhat oblivious teens trying to do what's right.
The world building was vibrant, even though outside the city of Moray we only get wide brush strokes with the promise of more to come in the next book. I enjoyed the alternative world, and was pleasantly surprised by all but the barest hint of magic.
The two protagonists were both charming in their own ways. Both relatable in their own ways, both a little oblivious to things the readers are going to find obvious (I found myself shouting at them both in the latter half of the book) but not in a way where it seems contrived.
I look forward to reading the second half, but the tragedy of ARCs is this first half isn't published yet so the wait is even longer.
*it was left on a take-one-leave-one book place
This book was fun. It wasn't without its emotional bits, but for the most part, it was the adventures of two somewhat oblivious teens trying to do what's right.
The world building was vibrant, even though outside the city of Moray we only get wide brush strokes with the promise of more to come in the next book. I enjoyed the alternative world, and was pleasantly surprised by all but the barest hint of magic.
The two protagonists were both charming in their own ways. Both relatable in their own ways, both a little oblivious to things the readers are going to find obvious (I found myself shouting at them both in the latter half of the book) but not in a way where it seems contrived.
I look forward to reading the second half, but the tragedy of ARCs is this first half isn't published yet so the wait is even longer.
*it was left on a take-one-leave-one book place
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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