Friday, November 18, 2011

Ragged Rising

When the Sea is Rising Red by Cat Hellisen

* Book will be released February 28, 2012
* ARC read via Around The World ARC Tours

2 out of 5 gnomes

First of all from the description of the book as seen on Goodreads, I thought that I was really going to like it. This is one time where the description at least in my opinion was rather misleading. This pretty much means that I was reading looking for some redeeming qualities in the characters but was left with almost none. It's not usually the best sign when you can't stand the main character and like the periphery characters about 100% more.

I thought the main character
Felicita was going to be a stand-up kind of character with a lot to prove.  Turns out that she's a haughty pain in the brain type character that will make you just want to slap her multiple times throughout the book.

Everything felt too rushed and the motives for a lot of what the characters do are never satisfactorily explained. I get the whole running away after your best friend commits suicide part but her prejudices against those who take her in just seem really out of place. Just when I think I'm about to start liking her as a character she says something or does something where she acts like every other person besides her is no better then dirt.

There's kind of a love triangle but it doesn't feel fleshed out at all. She seems to hate the first guy that's a potential love interest and then becomes close to him extremely fast. The second kind of love interest is a vampire. She and many others in this world have a severe hatred for vampires. Felicita is drawn to the vampire
Jannik but is also repulsed by him at the same time.  They seem to work better as friends and it seems like she is going to manipulate him for her personal gain.  Overall there seems to be a lot of manipulation going on between all who are involved with Felicita.


She also gets involved in a revolution that she in no way believes in. Even though she has been hurt by the system that's in place too, she believes in the people that are running the flawed system. This caste type system is ingrained in everything that she does and the ending of the book just has her falling back into her own ways. I was hoping for a more hopeful ending.

There are some good ideas that I wished had been followed more like the girl she meets being half-selkie. I probably would have liked the story a lot better from her point of view versus Felicita's. Also the idea of only being able to use magic if you have a certain rare mineral in your system is intriguing. I think the fact that people get addicted to the mineral could have been explored more and gave more of an impact to the story.

The ending was unexpected, it was the strongest part of the book when all the chaos is happening. The main feeling I had throughout was that I need more information and explanations for why everything is happening. The concept for the story was good, it just didn't live up to my expectations.

7 comments:

  1. it has a pretty cover but so not reading this one book.

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  2. @Sullivan Yeah, this one was almost a DNF multiple times throughout the book because but it kept looking like it was going to get better so I ended up finishing it. I just hate it when books aren't anything like their description.

    @Julie, Yeah I liked the cover and the description of the book, was just disappointed with the main character because the story really sounded like it had potential.

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  3. nooooooooooooooo!! was looking 4ward to this
    bummr

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  4. @roro, You might still enjoy it, it just wasn't for me. It didn't have enough character growth throughout.

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  5. The book is based in an era with class systems hence the "looking down" on everyone whom she associates with beyond her household. You need to think a little when reading this book. It is not a straight forward plain american style, which makes it refreshig to read in my honest opinion.
    I have had the honour of being able to read the ARC and must say I am excited to know that there is a follow up book which will bemaking an appearance as well.

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  6. @Anonymous, Thanks for commenting. I do indeed know what a class system is. I also always think carefully about books and how I review them. I'm not going to love every book that I read and everyone has different tastes.

    I'm glad that you found the book refreshing and that you're looking forward to the next book. It just wasn't for me and I'm always honest with my reviews and why I do or don't like the books that I read.

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