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ninetalevixen 's review for:
A Feast of Phantoms
by Kat Ross
I received a review copy for the blog tour through Xpresso Book Tours; all opinions are my own and honest.
This is a solid start to a new series that I will be following eagerly. I absolutely adore the premise, which is unlike anything I can remember reading — though it’s worth noting that the synopsis feels like it’s for the series rather than this specific book, as several of its parts are introduced only briefly and/or towards the end.
But before we really get into it, let me just bask in the worldbuilding for a hot minute. The combination of western and steampunk and fantasy, with vivid settings and complex machinery and spooky phantoms — while it could seem like a lot to balance, Ross really makes it work. The reverence for language / communication and linguists — as a bilingual linguistics major, I absolutely adored it. The questions that remain to be answered in following books — do I ever look forward to investigating them.
Plot-wise the book is a little lighter; I imagine it gets more intense as the series goes on, but this installment felt quite expository. Still, there’s a decent amount of action, balanced by some humorous scenes; although I wouldn’t consider it particularly fast-paced, it has great flow that made it hard to put the book down! And the romance doesn’t really come into play until the later chapters, which I appreciated since it gave me the chance to really explore the world and get to know the characters.
It’s no small feat to make a staunchly-by-the-rules female lead both likable and consistent, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I immediately liked Ruth. Young woman in a big world with something to prove? I can relate. (Though I swear like a sailor whereas Ruth pointedly omits curse words throughout the narrative.)
Lee Merriweather: there’s a reason the prodigal prodigy is a popular trope, and he exemplifies it. Mischievous, mysterious, dangerous … even dreamy, perhaps? I like him a lot, in case you couldn’t tell.
On the other hand, Sebastian Hardin kind of faded in and out of narrative focus, at least as far as I’m concerned. But he made a pretty strong showing as this first book closed, and good things come in threes, so I’m optimistic that he’ll round out the trio nicely as the series progresses. Even if I’m not totally sold on him as a love interest.
(My favorite character isn’t even mentioned in the synopsis, but it's.)
All in all, there is so much to enjoy in A Feast of Phantoms, and I can’t wait to see how the series unfolds.
content warnings:
rep:
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CONVERSION: 10.7 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: 3 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5
This is a solid start to a new series that I will be following eagerly. I absolutely adore the premise, which is unlike anything I can remember reading — though it’s worth noting that the synopsis feels like it’s for the series rather than this specific book, as several of its parts are introduced only briefly and/or towards the end.
But before we really get into it, let me just bask in the worldbuilding for a hot minute. The combination of western and steampunk and fantasy, with vivid settings and complex machinery and spooky phantoms — while it could seem like a lot to balance, Ross really makes it work. The reverence for language / communication and linguists — as a bilingual linguistics major, I absolutely adored it. The questions that remain to be answered in following books — do I ever look forward to investigating them.
Plot-wise the book is a little lighter; I imagine it gets more intense as the series goes on, but this installment felt quite expository. Still, there’s a decent amount of action, balanced by some humorous scenes; although I wouldn’t consider it particularly fast-paced, it has great flow that made it hard to put the book down! And the romance doesn’t really come into play until the later chapters, which I appreciated since it gave me the chance to really explore the world and get to know the characters.
It’s no small feat to make a staunchly-by-the-rules female lead both likable and consistent, so I was pleasantly surprised by how much I immediately liked Ruth. Young woman in a big world with something to prove? I can relate. (Though I swear like a sailor whereas Ruth pointedly omits curse words throughout the narrative.)
Lee Merriweather: there’s a reason the prodigal prodigy is a popular trope, and he exemplifies it. Mischievous, mysterious, dangerous … even dreamy, perhaps? I like him a lot, in case you couldn’t tell.
On the other hand, Sebastian Hardin kind of faded in and out of narrative focus, at least as far as I’m concerned. But he made a pretty strong showing as this first book closed, and good things come in threes, so I’m optimistic that he’ll round out the trio nicely as the series progresses. Even if I’m not totally sold on him as a love interest.
(My favorite character isn’t even mentioned in the synopsis, but it's
Spoiler
DocAll in all, there is so much to enjoy in A Feast of Phantoms, and I can’t wait to see how the series unfolds.
content warnings:
Spoiler
minor character death, racial terms (g*psy, N*gro), ableist language (cr*zy), non-graphic violence, bloodrep:
Spoiler
Hispanic/Romani MC, wheelchair-using secondary character, Black secondary character, Hispanic minor character (MC’s father) with possible OCD, Romani minor character (MC’s mother) with migraines, diverse minor characters-----------
CONVERSION: 10.7 / 15 = 4 stars
Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 7 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10
Diversity & Social Themes: 3 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: 3 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5