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A review by frootlupo
White Orchid by Felix Bacabac
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
White Orchid was an enjoyable romp mildly hampered by some pacing issues in the first half. I'm left with an introduction to a series that feels like it has a lot of potential, but hasn't fully realized it yet.
I found myself caring for our motley cast of characters more than I thought I might, and I could see the characters having interesting depths to explore in future followups.
The world building was decent as well. The magic system could work well as a soft magic system in the background that supports the plot and character development, and so I hope the author doesn't spend too much time trying to codify it too much, and instead just lets it sit a little mysterious.
My largest grievance is that we spend an extended time with a single POV at the beginning of the book, and then confusingly jump into a new POV and then into a 10 year time skip in quick succession. It was a little disorienting. After that it settled in, but the large shift at the beginning was quite jarring. I did receive an eARC of White Orchid, so perhaps some formatting could be added which would help - but this was the biggest detractor of the book.
Overall, I think the author and series have potential, and I'm interested enough to read the follow ups - so that's a win in of itself!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I found myself caring for our motley cast of characters more than I thought I might, and I could see the characters having interesting depths to explore in future followups.
The world building was decent as well. The magic system could work well as a soft magic system in the background that supports the plot and character development, and so I hope the author doesn't spend too much time trying to codify it too much, and instead just lets it sit a little mysterious.
My largest grievance is that we spend an extended time with a single POV at the beginning of the book, and then confusingly jump into a new POV and then into a 10 year time skip in quick succession. It was a little disorienting. After that it settled in, but the large shift at the beginning was quite jarring. I did receive an eARC of White Orchid, so perhaps some formatting could be added which would help - but this was the biggest detractor of the book.
Overall, I think the author and series have potential, and I'm interested enough to read the follow ups - so that's a win in of itself!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.