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justinekorson's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
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
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
I've wanted to read this ALL YEAR and it was just as good as I heard it would be!!! I, at first, was so in denial of all the murders (for obvious Ravi and Eudora reasons) that I was CONVINCED that that none of it was real?? Or like a ploy to get all the Dux's to be civil with one another? But as the story kept going I realized that, yes all of these people were actually dead. I think the deaths that upset me the most were Shinjiro and Jasper (only because he was a literal child. he was kind of an awful person). (I was also really sad when Leo died even though he was also a prick. I just felt bad for the situation that led him to do all that). I expected more of them to survive for some reason but when Cordelia's plan was revealed it all made sense in the end (sadly). I was really glad Tendai and Yewande managed to escape mostly unscathed though and I'm still mourning a little the death of Wyatt??? I was so in love with the Wyatt version of Ravi that when he revealed himself I was so shocked. There were a TON of clues though now that I'm thinking back on all of it. Overall it was such a mind bobbling story because every character I suspected died almost immediately after. I can't wait to read more books from this author!!
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW
I've wanted to read this ALL YEAR and it was just as good as I heard it would be!!! I, at first, was so in denial of all the murders (for obvious Ravi and Eudora reasons) that I was CONVINCED that that none of it was real?? Or like a ploy to get all the Dux's to be civil with one another? But as the story kept going I realized that, yes all of these people were actually dead. I think the deaths that upset me the most were Shinjiro and Jasper (only because he was a literal child. he was kind of an awful person). (I was also really sad when Leo died even though he was also a prick. I just felt bad for the situation that led him to do all that). I expected more of them to survive for some reason but when Cordelia's plan was revealed it all made sense in the end (sadly). I was really glad Tendai and Yewande managed to escape mostly unscathed though and I'm still mourning a little the death of Wyatt??? I was so in love with the Wyatt version of Ravi that when he revealed himself I was so shocked. There were a TON of clues though now that I'm thinking back on all of it. Overall it was such a mind bobbling story because every character I suspected died almost immediately after. I can't wait to read more books from this author!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
hollowspine's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This is a definite romantasy with an emphasis on the romance. Readers who want something a little spicy (but not too spicy) and who love classic romance tropes, like enemies to lovers, forced proximity/stuck together, and drunken games of 'never have I ever,' will find all that and more here, including a HEA. The other element is the mystery, which is similar to And Then There were None, only on a cruise ship rather than an island. Fans of snarky narrators will enjoy the feisty main character, Ganymedes, who is never without a quip no matter if the situation is a fusty dinner party, or witnessing a murder. The characters, representing the twelve political entities of the fantasy world, are a representation of POC, disabled and LGBTQIA+ folks. This romantasy mystery mashup is for fans of In Other Lands, and would lend itself to YA crossover readers. Fantasy readers who want very detailed world building and magic systems may feel let down. Avid mystery readers may figure out the puzzle early on in the story. While this is marketed for an adult audience the tone and characters are really more in line for YA readers. While this is in no way as good as Six of Crows, that's more what you're getting for character type, and romance spicy level in this book rather than the Magicians or A Marvelous Light. The characters, some of whom are in their late 30's read like teens.
This was not my cup of tea, I was really in it for the people dying on a cruise ship thing, but that wasn't the focus of the story. The more I thought about it the more I felt like I was reading a fanfiction about something I'd like, but where the author and I had very different ideas about situations to put the characters in. While I was interested in who would die next, and whodunit, this was much more a romance story than a mystery. Many pages were dedicated to developing a romance, which I was not on board with (see the pun!) at first, but eventually came around to, but then the twist happened and nothing made sense.
I had just accepted the fact that I was reading a romantasy with a slight murder mystery subplot and was if not loving the heavy use of romance tropes, I was at least agreeing to stay on the ride. Through the chapters dedicated to having the characters need to go to the baths (together because murderer is out there!), deciding they needed a break from investigating all the murders to get drunk and play never have I ever together (totally not going to get murdered when we're passed out!) and then smooch under a willow tree in a scene that was not not inspired by the little mermaid. I was still on the ride. I liked the two characters (enough) and wanted to see how it all panned out (also I was still really hopeful that the first character who died would come back because she seemed like she'd be really cool).
Then the author revealed a twist, that for me made all of those scenes very very weird. And not in a good way. The author also pretty much treated the twist like it made sense and the characters accepted it pretty much within a paragraph and were able to move forward with a this new/old/other romantic thing that just made absolutely no sense to me at all. I mean, it also solved the mystery, but in a really stupid way - basically Ganymedes the MC who has been playing detective this whole time, just has the murderers explain everything to him. It was kinda like the scene where the detective gathers everyone in the study for the big reveal, only it's the murderer revealing it to the detective.
Also, there is no justice in the story. The MC ends up with someone I would say is a psycho and he's like, "you complete me." It's bonkers. Lastly, way too much telling, and very little showing.
This was not my cup of tea, I was really in it for the people dying on a cruise ship thing, but that wasn't the focus of the story. The more I thought about it the more I felt like I was reading a fanfiction about something I'd like, but where the author and I had very different ideas about situations to put the characters in. While I was interested in who would die next, and whodunit, this was much more a romance story than a mystery. Many pages were dedicated to developing a romance, which I was not on board with (see the pun!) at first, but eventually came around to, but then the twist happened and nothing made sense.
I had just accepted the fact that I was reading a romantasy with a slight murder mystery subplot and was if not loving the heavy use of romance tropes, I was at least agreeing to stay on the ride. Through the chapters dedicated to having the characters need to go to the baths (together because murderer is out there!), deciding they needed a break from investigating all the murders to get drunk and play never have I ever together (totally not going to get murdered when we're passed out!) and then smooch under a willow tree in a scene that was not not inspired by the little mermaid. I was still on the ride. I liked the two characters (enough) and wanted to see how it all panned out (also I was still really hopeful that the first character who died would come back because she seemed like she'd be really cool).
Then the author revealed a twist, that for me made all of those scenes very very weird. And not in a good way. The author also pretty much treated the twist like it made sense and the characters accepted it pretty much within a paragraph and were able to move forward with a this new/old/other romantic thing that just made absolutely no sense to me at all. I mean, it also solved the mystery, but in a really stupid way - basically Ganymedes the MC who has been playing detective this whole time, just has the murderers explain everything to him. It was kinda like the scene where the detective gathers everyone in the study for the big reveal, only it's the murderer revealing it to the detective.
Also, there is no justice in the story. The MC ends up with someone I would say is a psycho and he's like, "you complete me." It's bonkers. Lastly, way too much telling, and very little showing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Blood, and Colonisation
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
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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
5.0
Today was the May long weekend here in Canada, and the weather has been warm and sunny. I went to a nearby park to read and enjoy the sunshine, and ended up reading my whole book.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White is a sharp, quick-paced murder mystery that was everything I hoped it would be. Twelve Blesseds, each representing a province of the United Empire of Concordia, are on a voyage to the sacred mountain. Except Dee isn't Blessed - he's hiding his lack of power to protect his province. Then Dee has bigger things to worry about as one by one the Blesseds are murdered. Dee will have to figure out who the murderer is and what's going on before he ends up dead.
I had such a great time with this book. It has some great character work, a twisty mystery, an interesting magic system, and fantastic representation of different races, sexualities, body types, and disabilities. It also deals with classism, xenophobia, prejudice, religious bigotry, self-esteem, and the economics of control. Along with grief, love, family, found family, and corruption. Just a whole lot of stuff packed into an isolated, closed circle murder mystery on a boat.
Dee was a great protagonist and it was fun to follow him through his resentment and self-loathing at the lie foisted upon him to finding his true self and working his way through the clues. Dee is loud, proud of his big body, funny while using humour as deflection, and in many ways his idgaf nature is what saves the day. There's also a romance element in this book, which went some unexpected ways a few times.
I liked how the Blessings were tied into the plot, and how the story unravelled by revealing bits about each character and their pasts. It did get a bit confusing that characters had names but were also called their province's animal name.
I did guess some elements of the solution, but not all of it. I'm not sure if I would class this as a fair play mystery since some of the clues come rather late and deal a lot with the politics and secrets there wouldn't be a way of knowing.
I'd have more to say, but it would all be spoilers, so I'll leave it there.
Voyage of the Damned by Frances White is a sharp, quick-paced murder mystery that was everything I hoped it would be. Twelve Blesseds, each representing a province of the United Empire of Concordia, are on a voyage to the sacred mountain. Except Dee isn't Blessed - he's hiding his lack of power to protect his province. Then Dee has bigger things to worry about as one by one the Blesseds are murdered. Dee will have to figure out who the murderer is and what's going on before he ends up dead.
I had such a great time with this book. It has some great character work, a twisty mystery, an interesting magic system, and fantastic representation of different races, sexualities, body types, and disabilities. It also deals with classism, xenophobia, prejudice, religious bigotry, self-esteem, and the economics of control. Along with grief, love, family, found family, and corruption. Just a whole lot of stuff packed into an isolated, closed circle murder mystery on a boat.
Dee was a great protagonist and it was fun to follow him through his resentment and self-loathing at the lie foisted upon him to finding his true self and working his way through the clues. Dee is loud, proud of his big body, funny while using humour as deflection, and in many ways his idgaf nature is what saves the day. There's also a romance element in this book, which went some unexpected ways a few times.
I liked how the Blessings were tied into the plot, and how the story unravelled by revealing bits about each character and their pasts. It did get a bit confusing that characters had names but were also called their province's animal name.
I did guess some elements of the solution, but not all of it. I'm not sure if I would class this as a fair play mystery since some of the clues come rather late and deal a lot with the politics and secrets there wouldn't be a way of knowing.
I'd have more to say, but it would all be spoilers, so I'll leave it there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Fatphobia, Suicide, and Terminal illness
black_cat_iiix's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Colonisation
Moderate: Torture, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs and Slavery
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