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cnohero's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Abandonment
sunshinemoth's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I find it difficult sometimes to differentiate between "bad" or "flawed" writing choices and writing choices I simply don't like, but seeing as I rate my reads on enjoyment rather than objective quality, I'll be quite honest.
For a debut novel, this was not bad. It kept me engaged, consistently twisting my assumptions of what was really going on down to the final chapters. (Excitingly, SPOILERS:I was partially right in two of my guesses. One of which being that either Eudora, Ravi, or both were alive and in on the murders. The other guess being an alternative to the first; that Cordelia was the murderer, because a "seemingly innocent" frail girl gone mad with grief is an easy call from 300 pages away.)
However, I have some complaints. One of which being that Ganymedes left me disappointed as a protagonist. I have a strong penchant for "misfit asshole" characters, but as protagonists you also have to either have them grow or at least have their flaws pointed out in the story. Dee's insistence that he was the only one who understood Ravi and being convinced that his attitude toward him was a lie after having not seen him for five years especially irked me, and even worsethat the story proved him right . He was entertaining at first, but the story became so distracted with the mystery that it forgot to give Dee time to reflect on himself. The most we got were a few moments of him thinking "I guess I don't know this person who I've only spoken to a handful of times in my life as well as I thought I did.", which, yeah, no shit. I empathize with Dee, as anybody who has been made to feel like a lowly outsider would, but ultimately he was mostly just self-centred and was mostly humanized through the six-year-old that was glued to his side for most of the story who he nearly got killed anyway to literally go commit suicide .
I promise I'm not normally a cynical reader, but I think it's fair to be put off by every other character spilling their guts to him or telling him that he was a good person when the story spent its first fifth establishing how much they were supposed to hate and distrust him.
Lastly, and this is really more of a personal issue than a writing one (maybe), but the reveal ofWyatt having been Ravi all along was not the triumph I think it was supposed to land as. I spent hundreds of pages falling in love with Wyatt as a character, being happy that Dee stopped clinging to the childhood love he thought he knew, only for him to have been dead all along, with Ravi having lied to Dee, and to the audience the whole time. It devastated me. I was given zero time to mourn the boy who never existed as I was essentially told "oh well, it was Ravi the whole time so the emotions were still real!" as if that was supposed to fix the dissonance between the characters of Ravi and Wyatt in my head. And the fact that I was supposed to forgive Ravi in the last stretch of the book for having been in on the devastation that the plot was centered around felt like an extra slap in the face. Barely any thought was even given to the real Wyatt, only how he died.
Anyways, I know that I've complained a lot in this review, but overall it was a compelling read! The dialogue was well written and the conflict well-paced, if not slow to start. I am a locked tomb fan, and this story has quite a few similarities to it (so many so that I started keeping tally of all the comparisons I could make in my head), so overall I found it entertaining enough to finish in just a few sittings. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details, and the details are where this story falters most, outside of its core murder mystery plot.
(P.S. I want a prequel novella about Leofric and Lysander.)
For a debut novel, this was not bad. It kept me engaged, consistently twisting my assumptions of what was really going on down to the final chapters. (Excitingly, SPOILERS:
However, I have some complaints. One of which being that Ganymedes left me disappointed as a protagonist. I have a strong penchant for "misfit asshole" characters, but as protagonists you also have to either have them grow or at least have their flaws pointed out in the story. Dee's insistence that he was the only one who understood Ravi and being convinced that his attitude toward him was a lie after having not seen him for five years especially irked me, and even worse
I promise I'm not normally a cynical reader, but I think it's fair to be put off by every other character spilling their guts to him or telling him that he was a good person when the story spent its first fifth establishing how much they were supposed to hate and distrust him.
Lastly, and this is really more of a personal issue than a writing one (maybe), but the reveal of
Anyways, I know that I've complained a lot in this review, but overall it was a compelling read! The dialogue was well written and the conflict well-paced, if not slow to start. I am a locked tomb fan, and this story has quite a few similarities to it (so many so that I started keeping tally of all the comparisons I could make in my head), so overall I found it entertaining enough to finish in just a few sittings. Unfortunately, the devil is in the details, and the details are where this story falters most, outside of its core murder mystery plot.
(P.S. I want a prequel novella about Leofric and Lysander.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Genocide, Infidelity, Sexual content, and War
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Magical passengers on a magical ship, a murder mystery, the most precious main character (Ganymedes Piscero, they could never make me hate you baby!!!), AND it's an inclusive nonwhite/mixed, queer, disabled, chronically ill, mental health, and fat cast? Yeaaaaaaah, Frances White, uhhhh you dropped this *insert emoji of crown here*
I listened to the audiobook of this one and had a grand old time. The world-building was excellent, the mystery kept me on my toes (literally got more stressed as the story went on), and I loved getting to know this cast of characters. I don't want to spoil anything since this is a mystery, but please read this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Body shaming, Sexual content, and War
the_queer_bibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the eARC of this book. I ended up reading a physical copy I received at the ALA conference. All thoughts are my own. I gotta say, this book had me on my toes from the very beginning. I loved Dee from the start, his humor being very relatable to my own. I also love Grasshopper and some of the other side characters.
I loved how much they emphasized the importance of mental health in this book. And just the general belief of believing in yourself. This book overall was a good laugh and a good mystery novel. I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy mystery/fantasy themes and LGBTQ+ representation.
Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the eARC of this book. I ended up reading a physical copy I received at the ALA conference. All thoughts are my own. I gotta say, this book had me on my toes from the very beginning. I loved Dee from the start, his humor being very relatable to my own. I also love Grasshopper and some of the other side characters.
I loved how much they emphasized the importance of mental health in this book. And just the general belief of believing in yourself. This book overall was a good laugh and a good mystery novel. I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy mystery/fantasy themes and LGBTQ+ representation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
jennireadsmaybe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
I was going to DNF in the first 20% but I'm so glad I kept going because by the end I loved it! The world is constantly being built upon from start to finish, which I think adds to the story so well because you get a deeper understanding of the politics involved in the world. I loved the locked room, "Death on the Nile" style of the mystery; the stakes were always rising just a bit more each chapter. I was definitely stressed out!
Ganymedes Piscero is my all time favorite fantasy MC. He's an awkward, funny, magic-less, outsider who can't seem to escape from his own thoughts. As someone who is depressed and has struggled with suicidal thoughts, I thought the mental health rep is phenomenal. I identified so much with Dee. I also loved the bits of romance that were sprinkled throughout. It was so fun!
Honestly, I think authors should take notes on how to make a diverse fantasy world from Voyage of the Damned. BIPOC, queer, disabled, chronically ill, mental health, and fat rep all find there way throughout the book. It was beautifully done.
Read this if you like well-built fantasy worlds, fantasy standalones, queernormative worlds, locked room mysteries, representations of all kinds, and sarcastic MCs.
Ganymedes Piscero is my all time favorite fantasy MC. He's an awkward, funny, magic-less, outsider who can't seem to escape from his own thoughts. As someone who is depressed and has struggled with suicidal thoughts, I thought the mental health rep is phenomenal. I identified so much with Dee. I also loved the bits of romance that were sprinkled throughout. It was so fun!
Honestly, I think authors should take notes on how to make a diverse fantasy world from Voyage of the Damned. BIPOC, queer, disabled, chronically ill, mental health, and fat rep all find there way throughout the book. It was beautifully done.
Read this if you like well-built fantasy worlds, fantasy standalones, queernormative worlds, locked room mysteries, representations of all kinds, and sarcastic MCs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Blood and Grief
Minor: Body shaming and Sexual content
solanaceae's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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
4.25
The book is filled with diverse characters who are true to themselves - those who you will hate, those who will make you question yourself, and those you only can love. The characters and their arcs grow as the story goes on, and it helps you understand the plot better. I was impressed with the way we came to get close and learn about each of the characters - some with secrets you would not expect, and others more obvious. Dee made me laugh, and I couldn't help but fall for him as the story went on. I found him to be an easily likeable character.
Voyage of the Damned is a 4.25-star read for me because I felt entertained, and felt myself absorbed into the world. I felt myself snort (laugh) more than once, with tears in my eyes, and filled with shock over some of the twists pushed into the book. If I could read this book all over again, from the start, I would do it. The only downturn I felt was the ending - the solving of the main plot felt very rushed in the end, and the epilogue felt... flat. I honestly think I would have been fine without the epilogue. But, otherwise, the book, its plot and characters carried itself extremely well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
kiwij96's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.5
The leaders of the country's 12 provinces find themselves on a murder cruise. I mean, what isn't to love about that idea? Characters with their own strong beliefs and concerns, and heavy on the distrust.
100% check your trigger warnings for this one. However, there is so much to love about this story. It is well-paced and the perfect length for the story to be told. Nothing felt wasted or out of place in terms of the pacing,however, I didn't super love the fade to black at the end of the last chapter. That felt really out of place for me.</spoiler
100% check your trigger warnings for this one. However, there is so much to love about this story. It is well-paced and the perfect length for the story to be told. Nothing felt wasted or out of place in terms of the pacing,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, and Mental illness
Minor: Ableism, Drug use, and Sexual content
kylosten's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I was ready to give this 5 stars because it was such a fun read up until an aspect of the ending pertaining to the L.I. that I will put in spoiler tag below.
I thought I was going to be lost at first because of how many characters there were (I struggle with remembering names) but the map and list of characters at the beginning helped a lot! I flipped back to both throughout the story.
I thought the way the author gave pieces to solve the mystery was good. Not telegraphing everything too much, but nothing came out of nowhere, either.
The relaxed writing style and angsty MC had me unsure if I was going to like this but it made this really easy to read and I ended up really enjoying it! The angst made sense for a 22 year old who has grown up with trauma.
If you like movies like Clue or Knives Out you'll probably enjoy the vibes of this (if you're also okay with some fantasy mixed in).
The chapters are on the longer side.
Ending spoiler:
I found it really odd the MC forgave the LI for going along with and being ready to participate in a genocide of all the people the MC cared about. It was pretty much completely disregarded and barely acknowledged.
I almost wish the LI would have died even though it would take away from the HEA.
I thought I was going to be lost at first because of how many characters there were (I struggle with remembering names) but the map and list of characters at the beginning helped a lot! I flipped back to both throughout the story.
I thought the way the author gave pieces to solve the mystery was good. Not telegraphing everything too much, but nothing came out of nowhere, either.
The relaxed writing style and angsty MC had me unsure if I was going to like this but it made this really easy to read and I ended up really enjoying it! The angst made sense for a 22 year old who has grown up with trauma.
If you like movies like Clue or Knives Out you'll probably enjoy the vibes of this (if you're also okay with some fantasy mixed in).
The chapters are on the longer side.
Ending spoiler:
I almost wish the LI would have died even though it would take away from the HEA.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Xenophobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual content
ee1000's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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? It's complicated
4.75
I absolutely adored this book!
A murder mystery in a fantasy world where our main character is a fish out of water (pun intended) and even though he doesn’t fit in, does everything he can to save his fellow passengers and solve the mystery.
I don’t want to spoil things so I’ll try to keep things vague as possible. First, Dee is a wonderful character. He’s just a good person and seeing his motivation to be good override his fear of his secret being found out is so well done. He’s easy to root for!
The rest of the cast I won’t mention to try and keep things spoiler free but I did love the rest of them too!
The twists in this book were excellent. There were a few times where I put down the book and said, “Well that one got me!” That’s the fun thing about a mystery in a magical world, anything can happen!
A great read, and a satisfying end that left me smiling and wanting to hug each of the characters. So much heart went into this book, and I felt the love for the story and characters on every single page.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for a copy of this book in exchange for my review!
A murder mystery in a fantasy world where our main character is a fish out of water (pun intended) and even though he doesn’t fit in, does everything he can to save his fellow passengers and solve the mystery.
I don’t want to spoil things so I’ll try to keep things vague as possible. First, Dee is a wonderful character. He’s just a good person and seeing his motivation to be good override his fear of his secret being found out is so well done. He’s easy to root for!
The rest of the cast I won’t mention to try and keep things spoiler free but I did love the rest of them too!
The twists in this book were excellent. There were a few times where I put down the book and said, “Well that one got me!” That’s the fun thing about a mystery in a magical world, anything can happen!
A great read, and a satisfying end that left me smiling and wanting to hug each of the characters. So much heart went into this book, and I felt the love for the story and characters on every single page.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for a copy of this book in exchange for my review!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
emmaggedon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Squealing and kicking my feet at this fantasy murder mystery that had It All!
✅ Magic
✅ A protagonist who just wins you over instantly
✅ Brutal scenes but sparingly
✅ Important messages told well
✅ BUCKETS OF SEXUAL TENSION
Just, WONDERFUL. I haven’t done a “one more chapter, won’t do anything else until the book is finished” in a WHILE!!! More Cross Genre PLEASE I’m FREAKING OUT!! For something that could easily have been YA, I think it works so beautifully as an adult novel, and it does not shy away from being one.
✅ Magic
✅ A protagonist who just wins you over instantly
✅ Brutal scenes but sparingly
✅ Important messages told well
✅ BUCKETS OF SEXUAL TENSION
Just, WONDERFUL. I haven’t done a “one more chapter, won’t do anything else until the book is finished” in a WHILE!!! More Cross Genre PLEASE I’m FREAKING OUT!! For something that could easily have been YA, I think it works so beautifully as an adult novel, and it does not shy away from being one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Sexual content and Abandonment