A review by dee2799d
The Hidden Goddess by M.K. Hobson

3.0

17 April

Okay, I'm not finished with the book yet, but this doesn't fit in the status update, so here it shall have to go:

In page 34, M.K. Hobson talks about how Emily feels bad for young men, because they always have to give up their seats for ladies, help people carry stuff, and people judge them for leaving a place of unrest (even though as most young men are non-magic folk, they won't be very useful anyway), comparing those 'deserters' as

little more than a lily livered coward, a weakling, a woman


Dost I detect internalised misogyny here, Ms Hobson?

Why the fuck would you feel bad for young men? They didn't have to walk around in corsets, they didn't have to be accompanied by guardians when going out for walks, they were allowed to have adventures, they are allowed not to marry if they didn't want to, they were allowed to fucking vote.

Of course I feel bad~ for young men. Complete and utter bollocks.

And while there was sarcasm in comparing 'cowards' to women (seeing as how Emily was disguised as a young man at the time), this is not the first time M.K. Hobson showed us such male dislike for women in her novels. Most of the time, Emily gets annoyed and shit, but we don't see anyone wanting to change this, we don't see anyone wondering how they can get to an America where women are treated equally.

I am very very disappointed in this, woman.

22 April

Finished this yesterday, and I must say, M.K. Hobson really does that thing where lots of shit happens in the end after a protracted middle where nothing much happens. After all the things her characters have gone through, I feel like the end was a bit idk, hurried? I have a slight feeling I got cheated. But anyway, life's a mess and it's uncertain, so hello reality? :P

Still feel a bit unsatisfied about how she treats her female characters. Still a bit disappointed by the lack of Dreadnaught Stanton
who loses pretty much everything that makes him interesting in the end. I mean, giving up his name even!


But the world building is good, the magic system still pretty much believable, and there were enough entertaining/interesting parts in the book that kept me reading without wanting to throw it out the window.