The Drowned Woods
EMILY LLOYD-JONES
Synopsis:
Once upon a time, the kingdoms of Wales were rife with magic and conflict, and eighteen-year-old Mererid “Mer” is well-acquainted with both. She is the last living water diviner and has spent years running from the prince who bound her into his service. Under the prince’s orders, she located the wells of his enemies, and he poisoned them without her knowledge, causing hundreds of deaths. After discovering what he had done, Mer went to great lengths to disappear from his reach. Then Mer’s old handler returns with a proposition: use her powers to bring down the very prince that abused them both.
The best way to do that is to destroy the magical well that keeps the prince’s lands safe. With a motley crew of allies, including a fae-cursed young man, the lady of thieves, and a corgi that may or may not be a spy, Mer may finally be able to steal precious freedom and peace for herself. After all, a person with a knife is one thing… but a person with a cause can topple kingdoms.
My rating: ★★
Categories: YA, romance, fantasy, fae
Content:
Language: A few minor swear words
Violence: Some fighting involving knives, crossbows, and magic. A character has been branded and there is a flashback of when the event occurred. There is some torture in a few other flashbacks, and discussion of mass killing via poisoning. One character has magic that forces them to fight until their opponent is dead. Hardly any of the fighting is described in more detail than knives hitting skin. A few mythical creatures also attack.
Sex: A few undescriptive kisses, some flashbacks of spending time with a past lover, brief mentions of a brothel
LGBTQ: The female MC is bisexual and describes parts of her relationships with a girl in the past. Two women are married and share a daughter.
My Review (the short version): I was given a free digital ARC in exchange for my review, so the large block of text below is for that. If you want to short version of my review, here it is. I wasn't sure what to expect coming in to this, but the synopsis sounded interesting so I gave it a go. It wasn't that it was bad—it just read like an early draft. The pacing was off and the characters weren't fully fleshed out. I wish I could give it a better rating because there were some parts I enjoyed, but overall it was still a two star read.
My Review:
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
First of all, beautiful cover! Even after reading the entire book though, I still have no idea why the book is called The Drowned Woods or what the cover has to do with the story. The story had a really great synopsis and the first few chapters of the book really had me. I thought for sure this would be a four star read, maybe a three star. I am debating rounding my 2.5 rating up to three, but the more I think about the book, the more I realize that it was actually a struggle to get through and there were parts where I was both confused and bored.
Next, the characters. In the first few chapters, I thought the characters were being shaped excellently, but then their development stopped. For the next seventy percent of the book, they were flat and one-dimensional. I felt like I was rereading the same passages over and over because the characters only have so many thoughts to cycle through.
The pacing was also weird to me. Some parts that seemed like they would be important were completely skipped over, while conversations that didn't seem to add much that hadn't already been said were dwelled on far longer than necessary. The romance factor also felt very forced to me, and Mer's feisty personality was used as a scapegoat for the few occasions when she was petty. The Bone Houses had been on my list to read, but unfortunately, after reading The Drowned Woods and learning that they are somehow connected, I don't think I will be giving it a try. At least not any time soon.
I apologize to the author if my expectations for the book prevented me from enjoying it for what it was, but The Drowned Wood was not for me.