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A review by flowerpaladin
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I really enjoyed this book from about the 10% mark to the 40% mark. The first few chapters (until the MC and LI meet) were difficult to push through, and everything from about the middle towards the end I really did not enjoy. The last 50 or so pages, I forced myself to finish and even skimmed in places.
But the reason I give this a 3.0 and noting lower is because I think most of my feelings about this book are based on personal preference, not on how good or bad the book is. I think it's a pretty good book; it's just very much, most definitely, not for me.
The biggest hurdle for me was the pacing. Something absolutely AWFUL happens to the characters every 4-5 chapters, sometimes sooner. I found this extremely difficult to deal with. As soon as I began to relax and enjoy the romance and the political fantasy aspect, someone would literally be murdered. It was horrifying. I found myself constantly putting the book down so I could recover.
The second thing I struggled with was the romance. This is really disappointing because I initially KEPT reading because of how sweet and adorable the romance was. But once the two characters started staring at one another with bedroom eyes and thinking about sex constantly, I lost all interest. A few days after their first time together (and wow, that sex scene... it was so incredibly long, almost like an AO3 fic. I confess I skimmed the whole thing), they were madly in love. The entire relationship takes place in like two weeks. It was... well, "disappointing" is really the only way I know how to put it.
The third and final thing I'll complain about is the world building. There are SO many characters and titles that I literally couldn't recall who was who. I wish 50% of the characters had been cut. At one point they reveal who they think "the killer" is, and that revelation occurs at the end of the chapter (a typical cliffhanger for this book). I knew it was supposed to be a big deal, but... I genuinely had no idea who they were even talking about. I know Vel (pretty snarky MC), Cae (macho sweet LI), Markal (bestie), the two sisters, the dad, the grandma, the grand-non-gendered person (grandma's sibling), the guard captain guy, and some girl Markal was seeing but I don't know where she came from. Oh and Cae's ex whom everyone acted like was the god Apollo come to life. That sounds like a lot of characters, right? Now add about thirty more. Yikes!
Things I did like: initially, the romance. Like, I was in LOVE! I would read more fantasy romances from this author, but I will check reviews first to make sure the pacing is to my taste.
I did like the world the characters inhabited. It was just confusing.
I love queernorm fantasy worlds; I'm queer myself. But sometimes it felt like characters existed just to be an example of this or that member of the queer community. It did not feel organic. But I loved the idea and I want more of this. Again, would read more from this author for that reason.
I guess I'm mostly feeling like... I'm glad I finally read this one (was on my TBR list for a long time) but also grateful I finished it so I can move on to something else.
But the reason I give this a 3.0 and noting lower is because I think most of my feelings about this book are based on personal preference, not on how good or bad the book is. I think it's a pretty good book; it's just very much, most definitely, not for me.
The biggest hurdle for me was the pacing. Something absolutely AWFUL happens to the characters every 4-5 chapters, sometimes sooner. I found this extremely difficult to deal with. As soon as I began to relax and enjoy the romance and the political fantasy aspect, someone would literally be murdered. It was horrifying. I found myself constantly putting the book down so I could recover.
The second thing I struggled with was the romance. This is really disappointing because I initially KEPT reading because of how sweet and adorable the romance was. But once the two characters started staring at one another with bedroom eyes and thinking about sex constantly, I lost all interest. A few days after their first time together (and wow, that sex scene... it was so incredibly long, almost like an AO3 fic. I confess I skimmed the whole thing), they were madly in love. The entire relationship takes place in like two weeks. It was... well, "disappointing" is really the only way I know how to put it.
The third and final thing I'll complain about is the world building. There are SO many characters and titles that I literally couldn't recall who was who. I wish 50% of the characters had been cut. At one point they reveal who they think "the killer" is, and that revelation occurs at the end of the chapter (a typical cliffhanger for this book). I knew it was supposed to be a big deal, but... I genuinely had no idea who they were even talking about. I know Vel (pretty snarky MC), Cae (macho sweet LI), Markal (bestie), the two sisters, the dad, the grandma, the grand-non-gendered person (grandma's sibling), the guard captain guy, and some girl Markal was seeing but I don't know where she came from. Oh and Cae's ex whom everyone acted like was the god Apollo come to life. That sounds like a lot of characters, right? Now add about thirty more. Yikes!
Things I did like: initially, the romance. Like, I was in LOVE! I would read more fantasy romances from this author, but I will check reviews first to make sure the pacing is to my taste.
I did like the world the characters inhabited. It was just confusing.
I love queernorm fantasy worlds; I'm queer myself. But sometimes it felt like characters existed just to be an example of this or that member of the queer community. It did not feel organic. But I loved the idea and I want more of this. Again, would read more from this author for that reason.
I guess I'm mostly feeling like... I'm glad I finally read this one (was on my TBR list for a long time) but also grateful I finished it so I can move on to something else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Rape, Violence, and Murder