A review by egbella
Drift: Willa & Koy by Adrienne Young

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

This was an intriguing story, especially right after finishing Fable and Namesake.

What I liked:

• Koy. Without spoiling anything from the original duology, I was surprised to end up liking his character so much. This novella especially had me rooting for him, and admiring his growth. He is a cleverly-written, complicated, and realistic character, and I could get behind the romance too.
• Willa got on my nerves a bit in the duology, but this helped me relate to her. I appreciated the glimpse into her mind as she works hard for something to call hers. Her dream is admirable, and I was rooting for her too.
• I love little Ailee <33
• the writing style. I'm not a fan of all of the content Young includes in her books, but her writing style is GORGEOUS. Detailed, descriptive, charming, and flowing, but not flowery. Very easy to read, and I really enjoy it.
• More Jevali. I really like this setting and wanted to see more of it in the duology, so I'm glad this gave me the chance. It's a very vivid location, and the rocky relationships between locals, traders, captains, etc. was interesting and tense.
• the air of mystery. The plot was never slow, and I read this in one sitting easily. I liked how tense and suspenseful the whole story was, as the characters tried to figure out what was going on with this strange new ship and their beloved port. HOWEVER...

What I didn't like:

• the ending. As much as I loved the air of mystery, I was honestly pretty confused by some of the plot and the revelations that characters seemed to be having. I'm not sure if I just wasn't following along with some clues I was supposed to catch, but the ending felt abrupt and I didn't understand what was going on, or why they made certain choices. It definitely feels like the abbreviated start to another duology, or that there are chapters missing, so I hope Young follows up. I'd love to find out what happens!
• the length in general. There was a little too much going on for a novella, and I would love a full-length book with this plot! Obviously, if a follow-up book releases, that'll help greatly.
• a little bit of content I'd much rather have gone without (references to men going to bed together mainly). Not enough to be jarring, but it wasn't necessary and it made me uncomfy.

CW: references to men "going to bed" together, drunkenness, violence, one character gives brief "suggestive" looks, a character is nearly drowned, a foot is broken, a deceased body is found (barely-described), brief expletives (s**t is the one I noticed).

Overall, I enjoyed this mainly because of the always-engaging writing style and the chance to see more of two intriguing side characters from the duology, but was confused at parts and would love for it to have been longer or for a follow-up novel/novella to wrap up the story. If you enjoyed Fable & Namesake, you'll probably like this one too.