Ahoy there me mateys! I received this young adult fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

Well, yet again, an interesting cover led me to take a look at this book. Gender-fluid protagonist who is bonded with a giant golden tiger? Yes, please. This book certainly was a quick read at 180 pages. I read it in one evening. It was an enjoyable read for me but not a fantastic one.

The pros:

- Gender-fluid protagonist. Hooray for diversity! Also Tashi is accepted by society and their friends. If only our world could be this way for everyone.
- The protagonist is conflicted. Tashi does cry and get confused and make uninformed decisions. I like that the main character has emotions.
- Tashi didn’t just magically become a kick-ass warrior in a second because suddenly there is war.
- Tashi’s spy training is laughable in a good way because their society has been at peace for so long that Tashi thought those studies weren’t extremely important.
- I loved the best friend Pharo. He is stubborn and rash and lovable and caring.
- Bonds with animals. Awesome of course. I loved all the unique animals that humans could bond with. I also enjoyed the consequences for possessing the animal bond. Not all fun and games but no spoilers here!

The cons:

- The protagonist is whiny. I don’t mind that Tashi cries sometimes or is scared. I did mind that they kept wanting someone else to save them. And yet they would rush into danger at the drop of a hat at other moments.
- An eventual love-triangle thing. It wasn’t instantaneous and there is a love-side and a lust-side. But why! So unnecessary.
- The politics and world-building are not really handled well. Cool concepts but not enough explanation. Plus Tashi becomes both a spy and a trusted companion in a really pathetic way.
- The plot is confusing. What plot there is seems to be driven by the love-triangle. Tashi’s lust gets in the way of rational thought. And plot points occur because they are not thinking. For example, the perspective on the lust-interest is a ‘He tortures people! He is so dreamy!’ kinda thing. Ugh.
- The ending! It was very abrupt and the protagonist makes a really dumb choice. Going from one extreme to another with no real thought. It is kinda explained but is a rather flimsy excuse for me taste.

I would have liked Tashi to use intelligence and wits to overcome their fear and uncertainty. I would have loved Tashi to have become an awesome spy. I would have loved for Tashi to make choices based on others instead of their own simple yet conflicted feelings and desires. That said I did enjoy many parts of this book. I just wanted more. The next novel apparently is from the different perspective of Pharo. It may be interesting to see the world from another perspective We shall see . . .

So lastly . . .

Thank you Harmony Ink Press!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/

Merged review:

Ahoy there me mateys! I received this young adult fantasy eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So here be me honest musings . . .

Well, yet again, an interesting cover led me to take a look at this book. Gender-fluid protagonist who is bonded with a giant golden tiger? Yes, please. This book certainly was a quick read at 180 pages. I read it in one evening. It was an enjoyable read for me but not a fantastic one.

The pros:

- Gender-fluid protagonist. Hooray for diversity! Also Tashi is accepted by society and their friends. If only our world could be this way for everyone.
- The protagonist is conflicted. Tashi does cry and get confused and make uninformed decisions. I like that the main character has emotions.
- Tashi didn’t just magically become a kick-ass warrior in a second because suddenly there is war.
- Tashi’s spy training is laughable in a good way because their society has been at peace for so long that Tashi thought those studies weren’t extremely important.
- I loved the best friend Pharo. He is stubborn and rash and lovable and caring.
- Bonds with animals. Awesome of course. I loved all the unique animals that humans could bond with. I also enjoyed the consequences for possessing the animal bond. Not all fun and games but no spoilers here!

The cons:

- The protagonist is whiny. I don’t mind that Tashi cries sometimes or is scared. I did mind that they kept wanting someone else to save them. And yet they would rush into danger at the drop of a hat at other moments.
- An eventual love-triangle thing. It wasn’t instantaneous and there is a love-side and a lust-side. But why! So unnecessary.
- The politics and world-building are not really handled well. Cool concepts but not enough explanation. Plus Tashi becomes both a spy and a trusted companion in a really pathetic way.
- The plot is confusing. What plot there is seems to be driven by the love-triangle. Tashi’s lust gets in the way of rational thought. And plot points occur because they are not thinking. For example, the perspective on the lust-interest is a ‘He tortures people! He is so dreamy!’ kinda thing. Ugh.
- The ending! It was very abrupt and the protagonist makes a really dumb choice. Going from one extreme to another with no real thought. It is kinda explained but is a rather flimsy excuse for me taste.

I would have liked Tashi to use intelligence and wits to overcome their fear and uncertainty. I would have loved Tashi to have become an awesome spy. I would have loved for Tashi to make choices based on others instead of their own simple yet conflicted feelings and desires. That said I did enjoy many parts of this book. I just wanted more. The next novel apparently is from the different perspective of Pharo. It may be interesting to see the world from another perspective We shall see . . .

So lastly . . .

Thank you Harmony Ink Press!

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/