TheSunGoddess

Left me wanting more (not in a good way)

Revisado: 01-07-23

I’ll start with the things I did like about this book. The cover- I mean, look at it! It’s properly GORGEOUS! The art, the colours, the Black hair! Very beautiful.

I love that rather than your typical regularly used and seen mythos, I was introduced to ekolos, sprites, gargons, gargoyles, etc. It was certainly refreshing to see and read on new myth.

The bond between Effie and Tavia. Having an actual blood sister that I’m close to, I enjoy reading on sister (blood related or not) having such a wholesome relationship in the stories I read. They were there for each other in tough times and always literally and figuratively had each other’s backs. At times, it felt a bit unrealistic (not a single sibling fight in the entire novel length, ok yeah, the quarrels I occasionally had with my sister calls bull. Lol)

What I did not like is the obvious- for me- was the trauma porn. I enjoy reading fantasy novels. Especially with faces that look like me on the cover, because it’s so rare to see Black women/girls on beautiful covers for fantasy novels. There have been more of late, but it is still a department where the art depicts people who look like me. That made me super excited to read this book.

When I read a fantasy book, I read the escape the harsh realities of the world. I should add that I’m not folly enough to believe I can 100% escape some social commentary in fantasy books, but it’s quite lovely to read books where they are not the FOCUS or the MEAT of the story. I see it in my reality daily, I do not want to read about it as well. And honestly, why is it that ALMOST every piece of Black prose is littered with trauma porn? I get it. We face injustices in society, so why do we also have to bring it to our books? For once, why can’t a story about black mermaids (I know they are different from sirens by this books standards) be simply about that- a black mermaid? Why must we wheedle society trauma porn into that? So yeah, you can perhaps tell I was not a fan of that.

Another dislike was that I thought I was going to get a story about a siren who just happens to be Black. What I actually got was a Black girl, who is a siren. My explanation can be tied up in the above paragraph, but you can see why I was not a fan of that approach. This book was marketed as a fantasy book, but the fantasy felt like an afterthought. It was as though the author kept writing and then she snapped her fingers when she remembered that she was supposed to be writing a fantasy story, then sprinkled some myth names. Using this point to jump into another point of dissatisfaction.

We never got ANY backstory on any of the mythological creatures that were name dropped. What is an ekolo? What is a gargoyle? What’s the story of sprites? If you have several stories on their myths (as mentioned in the books) which ones are real? Why do we not get any information on any of the creatures you dropped? It could have been such a great moment to world build, but alas, Twas a wasted opportunity and we were left to dry. I had to actually Google the creatures named in the story so I could at least have a basic background knowledge of what these creatures were. I never mind doing a bit of research when reading a story, but this was just starting to feel like homework and I didn’t like that.

On the notion of backgrounds, not only did we not get any on the mythos, but we never got any on the characters either. Not even the main characters. Sure we got that brief explanation about the keloid scar on her neck, but it was so briefly passed over that I got whiplash. She touched the scar so many times in the book, even going to hide with turtle neck and was quite self conscious about it, but when it was time to get a backstory it wasn’t even a paragraph? Whaaaaaaaat?

All the characters felt flat. Very 2D. None of them jumped off the screen and came alive to me. I didn’t understand their motives, their reasonings and what the history was that caused the bad blood between Naema and the sisters. It made me as disinterested in their supposed beef as I am in pork. (For background context, I do not eat pork for religious reasons).

This network was also shaky and NEVER provided any protection, sense of community or aid for Tavia. Something it was apparently designed to do. The other mytho (I like mythos so I’ll use it going forward) creatures didn’t seem to care one way or the other to provide support. They were all quite selfish. I mean, Naema is apart of this so-called network, and that turned out proper bloody brilliant, didn’t it?

That ex boyfriend guy, I didn’t know if I were to love or hate him because he just was not fleshed out to me. I guess the author wanted me to hate, because she … told me to with how she made the sisters reacted to him? I know sisters will hate men who break their siblings heart, but was that enough reason for me the reader to hate him? He didn’t seem to be a proper asshat, then again, I didn’t get enough information to know what he was like, so there you go.

Wallace- sweet guy but again, lacking the details. Same as Alrick, or fair guy, as I call him because that’s all he was to me.

Unanswered Questions?
1. Did we ever find out who sent Effie the gifts at her home? Since Alrick swears up and down he didn’t?
2. Did Naema face repercussions from the network for what she did?
3. What happened to the fair opening night when Effie decided she just wasn’t going to show up and NOT let them know?

TLDR. Had some plot holes, slow build up, tapered up into an ending that I wouldn’t call terrible, but not great either. A 3 star read.

Sidenote, I read some reviews and saw people taking quite the offense to ‘Gargy.’ While I wasn’t wooed by the nickname, I didn’t feel like scratching my eyes out the same way I saw come reviews reacted.

For my first read of 2023, it left me unsatiated.

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AMAZING!!!! WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!

Revisado: 03-08-16

How good is this book? Let me put it this way, this audio book was 11 hours and I listened it ALL in one sitting!! Never pausing, never stopping. It was such an INCREDIBLE love story. Roxie and Griffin are a fantastic couple and I rooted for them till the very end! Their love for each other is absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I cried in this book. I felt their pain, I felt their love, so good was the writing. I will definitely be reading more books from this author.

I was definitely heart broken when I realized that the book was finished, I wanted it to go on forever. Lol. This book is deserves a new word which holds greater meaning than SPECTACULAR. Definitely listening again.

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A Fantastic Read

Revisado: 03-05-16

I loved every minute of this book. The characters were so easy to fall in love with and I kept rooting for their love. thumbs up for the narrator as well. lovely

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A Masterpiece! !

Revisado: 03-05-16

I couldn't stop listening! the story was amazing, the narrator helped to bring it to life and the characters made me fall in love. It was well written and took its time letting you know about the characters who learned about each other and took their time falling in love. I loved EVERY word. The narrator was a fantastic choice as well.

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