A review by xan_van_rooyen
The Five Daughters of the Moon by Leena Likitalo
Okay, this was an odd one. I didn't love it - but then I'm not a huge fan of historical novels in general. This was meant to be a fantasy - and it did have fantastical elements - but I felt that it was really a historical retelling with fantasy elements rather than the epic fantasy with historical elements I was hoping for.
I started this not knowing anything about the Romanov sisters. Some Googling revealed their story to me, and if this duology is going to be historically accurate, well then I don't really want to continue reading.
I wasn't a huge fan of the 5 different perspectives and how the sisters shared the narrative. It could've worked really well, but it didn't for me. Maybe because I didn't feel there was enough differentiation between their voices even though the youngest is 6 and the oldest an adult.
I did like the magical elements but was hoping for a whole lot more of it. It sort of drove the plot but then also sort of didn't because maybe the real life history kept getting in the way of making this a really cool fantasy.
The writing was a little clunky at times but still impressive considering the author isn't a native English speaker.
Biggest downer for me was the ending.
I started this not knowing anything about the Romanov sisters. Some Googling revealed their story to me, and if this duology is going to be historically accurate, well then I don't really want to continue reading.
I wasn't a huge fan of the 5 different perspectives and how the sisters shared the narrative. It could've worked really well, but it didn't for me. Maybe because I didn't feel there was enough differentiation between their voices even though the youngest is 6 and the oldest an adult.
I did like the magical elements but was hoping for a whole lot more of it. It sort of drove the plot but then also sort of didn't because maybe the real life history kept getting in the way of making this a really cool fantasy.
The writing was a little clunky at times but still impressive considering the author isn't a native English speaker.
Biggest downer for me was the ending.