That Moment When A Book Is Good But Just Not Good Enough | Book Chat
You know that feeling when you’re reading a book, you’re enjoying it, but then you get to the end and you found it’s been good but just don’t have that something extra that makes a book from good to great?
I feel like I’ve read quite a few of those this year, and
sadly, The Song Of The Current by Sarah Tolscer was that for me! I buddy read
this book with Aditi @ A Thousand Words A Million Books who is such a great
buddy reader! Also, instead of my usual structured review today, I’m going to
be doing a more chatty style post which is SPOILER FREE, don’t you worry, to
discuss this book!
About the book.
Series: Song Of The Current #1
Author: Sarah Tolcser
Pages: 373
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication date: 6 June 2017
Publication date: 6 June 2017
Synopsis: Caroline Oresteia is destined for the river. For generations, her family has been called by the river god, who has guided their wherries on countless voyages throughout the Riverlands. At seventeen, Caro has spent years listening to the water, ready to meet her fate. But the river god hasn’t spoken her name yet—and if he hasn’t by now, there’s a chance he never will.
Caro decides to take her future into her own hands when her father is arrested for refusing to transport a mysterious crate. By agreeing to deliver it in exchange for his release, Caro finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies, with dangerous pirates after the cargo—an arrogant courier with a secret—and without the river god to help her. With so much at stake, Caro must choose between the life she always wanted and the one she never could have imagined for herself. (source)
Caro decides to take her future into her own hands when her father is arrested for refusing to transport a mysterious crate. By agreeing to deliver it in exchange for his release, Caro finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies, with dangerous pirates after the cargo—an arrogant courier with a secret—and without the river god to help her. With so much at stake, Caro must choose between the life she always wanted and the one she never could have imagined for herself. (source)
Genre: Fantasy
Recommended for: Anyone 14+
My thoughts.
I thought the premise of this book was great! It sounded
intriguing, mystical and very much up my alley. The cover really helped to
catch my interest with the gorgeous moon in the middle and the water reflecting
it, because it made me think of mermaids and pirates and adventures, which is
what I wanted from this book! And I’m happy to say I got 2/3 from this book!
(Alas, there were no mermaids. Le sigh).
I loved the idea of this book, because it mixed fantasy and
mythology in, with something very Pirates
Of The Caribbean inspired, which was such a great combination. I thought it
had the perfect blend of mystery and adventure, coupled with a slow-burn
romance (which if you know me, you’ll know I love!).
The writing was a mixed bag. The beginning was hard to get
into and quite dry, especially with the sailor lingo, which totally went off the
top of my head. While it does improve when you’re a quarter of a way through,
the pacing is still off at times and often leaves very dry patches in between. Not
everything is as well explained as it could be, leading to a few head scratches
along the way, but all of that isn’t as big of a deal as the problems I had
with the world building.
I felt the world building had so much potential but it just
wasn’t what I wanted. I couldn’t imagine their world and while there is very
detailed description of the smaller things like yachts and sailing, I couldn’t
picture their world, which disappointed me greatly. It also made it hard to
understand what was always happening and I had to refer to the map MANY times. One
thing I should add in is I feel the writing style could have been more
whimsical to emulate the style of the book.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t quite keep up with the plot. Maybe
it’s because it wasn’t as well explained or maybe it’s because I am terrible at
reading books with complicated plots, but I found it a little frustrating. It also
wasn’t that captivating either because of the lack of tension the author was
unable to create. I also found some of the terms difficult to get and Aditi and
I were discussing while buddy reading how we wanted to have a glossary for
this, to make it easier on us.
The characters were pretty good individually. I liked Caro
and how loyal and devoted she was to those she loved. She was literally the
hero of her own story, which I can very much appreciate, as she refuses to take
no for an answer and is determined and driven, despite everything. The love
interest (which is what I’ll be calling him because if I said the name, it could
be a spoiler) was ok, not the most amazing character development but not the
worst either. But I found they weren’t memorable to me and they didn’t resonate
within me AT ALL which is always so disappointing.
But I thought the romance came out of nowhere. Don’t get me
wrong, like I said before, I enjoyed it. Yet it was so sudden and I didn’t see
it coming. It was as if the author had reached a point in her book where she
was like ‘let’s add in a romance now’ which made it awkward and clunky. I have
to give props to the author for keeping the romance real though, because I feel
not all romances in YA are kept in perspective of the fact that the main
characters are teens and romances often don’t last.
The ending, I feel, could have gone off on more of a bang. It
felt predictable and rushed to me and sadly anti-climatic.
All in all, this was by no means a terrible book, seeing I’ve
given it a three and a half stars rating. I just had problems settling into the
world and it was one that I enjoyed when reading, but didn’t have that ‘lasting
impression’ effect on me that I hoped it would.
OVERALL RATING:
★★★½
Have you read Song Of
The Current? What did you think? And do you ever read books that you feel have
been good but just don’t have that something extra? Tell me about those!
26 happy thoughts
I haven't read this, but I'm generally into water stories, so I want to give it a try. Anyway, thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteShanti @Virtually Read
Glad you enjoyed it!
DeleteI'm so sorry this one didn't work out for you as well as you hoped. I do love the concept and I love Pirates of the Caribbean so anything with that sort of flavor is one I want to check out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting Sara!
DeleteAw, I'm sorry this wasn't all that you had thought it would be - I really wanted to read this because I've heard such brilliant things, honestly, but shoddy world-building, lackluster romance, and mediocre writing doesn't really sound promising. I'll still give it a go maybe, if they have it in my library. Great review, Anisha!
ReplyDelete~ Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks
Thanks Aimal and fingers crossed you enjoy it more than I did :(
DeleteI've heard such great things about this one. I'm sorry it was meh for you! (Sometimes just okay books are even worse than bad books xD)
ReplyDeleteGreat review, Anisha! <3
Thanks for reading Faith <3
DeleteAw, I'm sorry this one didn't blow you away, Anisha :( I always find it hard to review books that are about three stars because it's not like there was anything that I particularly disliked about the book, but there wasn't anything that made me fall in love with it, either. And sometimes it can just be so hard to describe why certain things didn't click with me >.<
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like the world building got to you, which is sad. I am not HUGE on world building, so I will be interested to see if it is enough for me!
Sad that the romance seemed to come out of nowhere, though. I love romances that develop naturally and really drag me into the ship, haha.
I hope the second book is more to your liking if you decide to pick it up, Anisha!
Thank you! And world building usually isn't make or break for me, but unfortunately, it lead to a lot of confusion for me in this book. But thanks so much for reading and leaving this huge comment Chiara, they make my day xx
DeleteI totally see where you're coming from about Song of the Current. I really liked it when I read it, and gave it 4 stars I believe but the romance was a little odd for me at times and the plot and world were a little confusing.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm glad you still enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing!
~Brittany @ Brittany's Book Rambles
Thanks for reading and commenting Brittany! <3
DeleteAw, that's disappointing that it didn't blow you away! I'm so on the fence about this one, like I want to read it but I also don't? Because there's been a teensy bit of hype I think for this one, I seem to see it a lot around Aussieland. So. I'm worried about being disappointed. Because it sounds so awesome! Ah well. Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteCass @ Words on Paper
No problem Cass. I guess it's worth trying and if you don't enjoy it, just put it down! Thanks for reading.
DeleteThank you for this lovely review, Anisha! I'm sorry to hear that one didn't blow you away. The world-building and overall story seemed really promising - but I think if I'll give that one a shot, I'll go in with less expectations for sure. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed it Marie
DeleteI'm so sorry this one did not work well for you. I have had such high hopes for this one. The setting/mythology all sound right up my reading alley. I'll definitely gone into this one with caution though. Wonderful review, Anisha!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much <3
DeleteThe premise of this sounds really interesting, and I was planning on buying it to read, but I think I'll wait and borrow it from my library instead. Plus I can't keep up with complicated plots either ahah. Also, love this review!
ReplyDeleteAWW thanks lovely! <3
DeleteWell 3.5 is not so bad! I understand where you're coming from though (I gave this book 4 stars). It was definitely a fun fantasy, but like you said world-building could have overall been a bit better. I love the whole thing with the myths and legends of the gods of the river and sea though! I thought that was a really fun twist to the story. Hopefully your next fantasy is a better read!
ReplyDelete- Aila @ Happy Indulgence
Yes 3.5 is defs not bad but it wasn't a very satisfying read unfortunately! Despite that, it was fun
DeleteYES! That is exactly how I felt about this one! I liked it, don't get me wrong (I also rated it 3.5) but it just lacked... I don't know, that something extra that makes me LOVE a book. I felt like it was kind of "safe"- I never really worried for the characters' lives, I just kind of assumed it would work out, so I didn't feel a sense of urgency. But, it was still pretty good, I'll probably give the sequel a chance! Great post!
ReplyDeleteYES GLAD TO KNOW I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE FEELING LIKE THIS!
DeleteI've seen such mixed reviews for this! At first, I wasn't really interested in it because I haven't had much success with mermaid stories but then I found out it's almost Greek myth inspired so I changed my mind and got a copy. Now, I just have to read it!
ReplyDeleteYAY HOPE YOU ENJOY!
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