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gaynidoking's review
adventurous
fast-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
3.5
The plot and the world are very interesting, but I did struggle in the middle and final act. This is partially on me for not realizing it was YA until the protagonist revealed she was only 17. The synopsis and the way Saoirse conducts her assassinations gave me the impression of a character at least in her twenties. I think this book would have benefitted a lot from the character being even a few years older.
The protag does consistently make decisions that remind me (not in a good way) that she is supposed to be 17. She pulls some real bonehead moves, especially as the story goes on. There is also that unfortunate YA staple where she decides to hate the only other female character around her age for literally no reason as soon as she meets her.
I also think that the character's development in the final act was completely undermined by the actual events of the book, and felt very contrived. A great deal of personal anguish is due to the character's belief thatshe is literally unable to resist the urge to kill as a siren. There is a VERY good conversation with her father towards the end where he calls her out for using this as an excuse to avoid responsibility for her actions. And then, randomly, she is told the only reason the urge to kill overwhelms her (and sometimes literally causes her to blackout and kill) is because she is afraid of her power and refuses to embrace it. But it is ALSO revealed that the reason she is afraif of her power is when she was a child (before she even knew that was an option), she did embrace her power, and it made her black out and kill people. It was a very confusing stance to take, because she was literally just told "just embrace your power!" and then she just decides to do that, and suddenly everything is fine and she can control herself perfectly fine.
The protag does consistently make decisions that remind me (not in a good way) that she is supposed to be 17. She pulls some real bonehead moves, especially as the story goes on. There is also that unfortunate YA staple where she decides to hate the only other female character around her age for literally no reason as soon as she meets her.
I also think that the character's development in the final act was completely undermined by the actual events of the book, and felt very contrived. A great deal of personal anguish is due to the character's belief that
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Genocide, Slavery, Vomit, and Trafficking