Book thoughts: Whiteout & Of the Abyss
Jan. 24th, 2017 01:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rainwatersparkWhiteout by Elyse Springer
(edited 4/4/2017 for additional thoughts)
So. I am a sucker for amnesia stories. They're my kryptonite. The fastest way to get me to read a book is to say the main character has amnesia.
I enjoyed the twist of the book. It's rare that I'm surprised by a twist and it used the amnesia in an interesting way, so that was cool.
Other than that, though...the book was nice, but very romance-trope-y. Too much so for my tastes. The second half of the book was boringly predictable, everything wraps up very neatly, and so on.
I also felt that the writing didn't wring out the emotional responses enough in certain places, and Noah felt way younger than a 29-year-old to me. Plus, Jason didn't strike me as more than a 2-dimensional character, and because of that, I never felt really enthusiastic about Noah and Jason's relationship. There just wasn't enough closeness between them, and it felt like a large part of their relationship was built primarily on sexual attraction (which, alone, doesn't sell a romance to me).
For example, Jason makes a comment at some point along the lines that he likes the fact that Noah is distant, because it keeps Noah interesting to him. My reaction to that was "WTF?" A relationship in which the partners have to keep distant from each other to keep things exciting...doesn't strike me as a long-lasting relationship.
Of the Abyss by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Ooh, it's been WAY too long since I've read a fantasy book with competent worldbuilding, and Of the Abyss really scratched that itch. Plus, I love fantasy based on early modern rather than medieval times, and that's something I never get enough of.
I don't have gushing feelings about the book, but I enjoyed it overall and I'm curious to see where the series goes next. I was particularly a fan of the relationship between Hansa and Umber—Hansa is my favorite kind of "generic do-gooder"/"how did I find myself in this situation" hero and Umber is surprisingly complex. Plus, antagonistic bickering between romantic (?) leads is always fun.
Maybe I've been reading too much romance/erotica lately, but given Hansa's initial hesitance about being in a relationship with a man, I kind of expected the book to go into more detail about how he adjusts to a sexual relationship with Umber (at least a conversation or internal monologue about it afterwards). But maybe that's just me.
(edited 4/4/2017 for additional thoughts)
So. I am a sucker for amnesia stories. They're my kryptonite. The fastest way to get me to read a book is to say the main character has amnesia.
I enjoyed the twist of the book. It's rare that I'm surprised by a twist and it used the amnesia in an interesting way, so that was cool.
Other than that, though...the book was nice, but very romance-trope-y. Too much so for my tastes. The second half of the book was boringly predictable, everything wraps up very neatly, and so on.
I also felt that the writing didn't wring out the emotional responses enough in certain places, and Noah felt way younger than a 29-year-old to me. Plus, Jason didn't strike me as more than a 2-dimensional character, and because of that, I never felt really enthusiastic about Noah and Jason's relationship. There just wasn't enough closeness between them, and it felt like a large part of their relationship was built primarily on sexual attraction (which, alone, doesn't sell a romance to me).
For example, Jason makes a comment at some point along the lines that he likes the fact that Noah is distant, because it keeps Noah interesting to him. My reaction to that was "WTF?" A relationship in which the partners have to keep distant from each other to keep things exciting...doesn't strike me as a long-lasting relationship.
Of the Abyss by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Ooh, it's been WAY too long since I've read a fantasy book with competent worldbuilding, and Of the Abyss really scratched that itch. Plus, I love fantasy based on early modern rather than medieval times, and that's something I never get enough of.
I don't have gushing feelings about the book, but I enjoyed it overall and I'm curious to see where the series goes next. I was particularly a fan of the relationship between Hansa and Umber—Hansa is my favorite kind of "generic do-gooder"/"how did I find myself in this situation" hero and Umber is surprisingly complex. Plus, antagonistic bickering between romantic (?) leads is always fun.
Maybe I've been reading too much romance/erotica lately, but given Hansa's initial hesitance about being in a relationship with a man, I kind of expected the book to go into more detail about how he adjusts to a sexual relationship with Umber (at least a conversation or internal monologue about it afterwards). But maybe that's just me.
