Hyzie reviewed Queen of the Deep by Kay Kenyon
Review of 'Queen of the Deep' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
This was an interesting plot and a very interesting setting, but didn't quite "wow" me the way I was hoping it would.
Things started with a bit of a bang and I was definitely hooked, but once we moved on to grown-up Jane, I was significantly less interested. The pacing in general seemed off in this book--there were bits I devoured and bits I slogged through, and it might have been a bit better with a bit more tightening up. I did see that the author was trying to have us get a feel for grown-up Jane and her problems before whisking her away to fantasy-land, a reason for her to not believe, although she had believed as a child, but things went on a little too long and had a few too many details for me. Other bits later on seemed to fly by too quickly, to the point …
This was an interesting plot and a very interesting setting, but didn't quite "wow" me the way I was hoping it would.
Things started with a bit of a bang and I was definitely hooked, but once we moved on to grown-up Jane, I was significantly less interested. The pacing in general seemed off in this book--there were bits I devoured and bits I slogged through, and it might have been a bit better with a bit more tightening up. I did see that the author was trying to have us get a feel for grown-up Jane and her problems before whisking her away to fantasy-land, a reason for her to not believe, although she had believed as a child, but things went on a little too long and had a few too many details for me. Other bits later on seemed to fly by too quickly, to the point where I felt like certain aspects were not handled as well as they could have been had there been more time to develop. A more even pacing would have benefitted this book greatly.
Jane herself was a decent main character. I generally felt for her, and she wasn't stupid. Even her concerns regarding the fantasy that crashes into her "real world" seem rational and rationally handled. She's neither too naïve nor too rational--she's willing to accept the unexpected but clearly real, and I appreciated that.
The romance was a bit odd for me. I didn't really like it, and I didn't really feel much about it. I generally prefer a touch of light romance in my fantasy (read "expect" as "get confused when it is not there"), but this didn't feel...I hate to use the word realistic when talking about a book like this, but I can't come up with another one that captures it properly. The characters felt real, but the connection we were supposed to be seeing between them felt less like human beings developing feelings and more like mashing Barbie and Ken dolls together to go on a date--it was oddly plastic and didn't work.
The plotline was interesting and kind of fun to unwind and unweave, though I made a few more correct guesses than I wanted to and the main character made a few less than it seemed like she ought to have been able to.
I don't regret reading it and I'll probably pick up another book by the same author, but I was hoping for more than I got with this.
This book was provided to me for free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.