Reviews

Spoilers!

I absolutely loved this. It was a wild, genre-bending ride and kept me up very late finishing it, and it had real heart. Think of it as the twists and turns of an Agatha Christie murder mystery mixed with the heart and fantasy of TJ Klune.

Thoughts:

I loved Dee. He was a refreshingly chaotic main character, who made me genuinely laugh out loud on a number of occasions. His journey from hating himself to recognizing his own worth was beautiful - I wasn't expecting the book to get that deep, and I loved reading about him learning to value himself. On a side note, it was really nice to see a chubby main male character whose journey and plotline isn't just all about them being fat
Boy oh boy, if I have one complaint about this novel it's Ravi. If I found out that my ex-boyfriend, who denied me, lied to me, and then fucking DIED turned out to be a mass-ish murderer who would totally have been fine with genocide if he hadn't had an extremely belated come-to-the-Goddess moment? He would have to do a LOT more grovelling than he did with Dee. I did like the scene where he cut off his hand, though
The twist was great and I genuinely didn't see it coming
I loved Wyatt. I almost wanted him to be Dee's final love interest, especially as that would have shown his character growth
The mystery was awesome - it was a LOT of fun, and I genuinely wasn't expecting the way the bodies piled up in this one
Each of the side characters were cool and interesting; I especially loved Grasshopper. I will say I really wanted Shinjiro to be the murderer, but what White did was better
The worldbuilding was interesting, and I thought that White touched on class issues in a good way
I loved the ending, though I almost wish that Dee had remained powerless - he was just so complex and fun that way, although I do agree with White's assertion that those who know what it's like to be powerless are the best suited for roles of leadership

Anyway! Overall I adored this one, and it made me want to keep reading. The romance was also achingly sweet and beautiful (even if Ravi is NOT forgiven in my eyes). Can't wait to see what White writes next!

kejuka's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

thereadingbanshee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

5.0

Content Warnings

thistlel's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

lacewing's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious 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

3.5

amrsalehduat's review against another edition

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5.0

The only disappointment Voyage of the Damned caused me is how long I waited until I read what ended up being one of my favorite books of this year. I promise you that I’m not exaggerating when I say that I was totally blown away by this book. Everything about it, from the prose, to the fascinating world, to Dee. Oh my god, where should I even begin with Dee. I loved him so much. I think from the first times I heard him speak I was like “Yep, that’s my type of guy!” And as the story progressed I was like, “if anyone of you fu***** even touch him I’ll *#$!”
Speaking of the fu***** I really appreciated how vast and diverse the cast of characters where. They weren’t there just for the sake of it but everyone of them felt so unique that I knew who was talking without even needing a dialogue tag. They were all incredibly interesting in their own right and it was delightful peacing together their back stories.
The cover promised me murder and magic and Goddess it has delivered and then some. Voyage of the Damned is an incredible debut by Frances White and if that’s how she kicks off her career I can imagine where she’ll be in 10, 20, or 30 years from now.

kitschbitsch's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad 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

5.0

This book has everything. A murder mystery, romance, tension and some very funny moments in between all of the murders.

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