by Sara Holland
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Surrounded by dozens of capable adults our teen leading gal ends up running a whole inn that houses three different species (including humans) from three different worlds (including Earth). If you’re thinking; wow this girl is a special snowflake isn’t she? You’d be bang on. She’s also dumb as a post. Sara Holland brings up an interesting set-up and story; but unfortunately it is plagued by teen tropes, a clueless heroine, and a really skewed view of mental health.
Dumbest Girl Ever
I don’t even know how to be nice about this. Our leading gal, Maddie, is just so dumb. At every corner she is given tons of knowledge, help, and clues; yet somehow she still manages to remain clueless. Albeit she’s only a teen but even a five-year-old knows not to trust random people they don’t know. Especially when it’s known that danger and strangers lurk around every corner. The worst of it is that because our heroine stays clueless the reader has to be strung along, painfully, until she ‘discovers’ things for herself. Havenfall is much too predictable in both it’s story and leading gals actions.
Mental Health
Holland may win the award for having the most offence line in a book I’ve read in 2020; and that includes Harrow the Ninth and other gruesome, gory stories.
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Surrounded by dozens of capable adults our teen leading gal ends up running a whole inn that houses three different species (including humans) from three different worlds (including Earth). If you’re thinking; wow this girl is a special snowflake isn’t she? You’d be bang on. She’s also dumb as a post. Sara Holland brings up an interesting set-up and story; but unfortunately it is plagued by teen tropes, a clueless heroine, and a really skewed view of mental health.
Dumbest Girl Ever
I don’t even know how to be nice about this. Our leading gal, Maddie, is just so dumb. At every corner she is given tons of knowledge, help, and clues; yet somehow she still manages to remain clueless. Albeit she’s only a teen but even a five-year-old knows not to trust random people they don’t know. Especially when it’s known that danger and strangers lurk around every corner. The worst of it is that because our heroine stays clueless the reader has to be strung along, painfully, until she ‘discovers’ things for herself. Havenfall is much too predictable in both it’s story and leading gals actions.
Mental Health
Holland may win the award for having the most offence line in a book I’ve read in 2020; and that includes Harrow the Ninth and other gruesome, gory stories.
”You have more happy memories than scary ones, don’t you?Why give the scary ones so much space in your head”
Only someone absolutely ignorant to PTSD, flashbacks, night terrors, and reactive anxiety would even consider saying this. To me this is like saying ‘just be happy’ to someone with depression. If it were that easy we’d all have done it by now!! I just about put this book down at this point because I was so frustrated. Who would ever think that someone whose mind is struggling with disturbing topics would dwell on them on purpose?!? My guess here is that Holland has literally never been down a dark alley and been concerned for her life; never mind feared for it. Even the average teenager, by 18, has had at least one incident in their life that was intense or terrifying. Apparently Holland is a super special snowflake, just like her leading girl, and has never, ever had nightmares (never mind night terrors), a traumatic incident that brings on PTSD or PTSD-like symptoms. If only we were all so lucky *drips with sarcasm*.
Overall
The world building here is very interesting; and the ending has some real potential for the future story. Unfortunately the actual writing, execution, and leading gal are subpar at best. There are just so many better teen/YA books out there that I can’t in good conscious recommend this one unless you are desperate or really, really like the idea or Holland’s writing from her previous books. Otherwise I would be confident in saying this is a series to pass over; especially if, like me, you have a huge TBR.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
View all my reviews
Overall
The world building here is very interesting; and the ending has some real potential for the future story. Unfortunately the actual writing, execution, and leading gal are subpar at best. There are just so many better teen/YA books out there that I can’t in good conscious recommend this one unless you are desperate or really, really like the idea or Holland’s writing from her previous books. Otherwise I would be confident in saying this is a series to pass over; especially if, like me, you have a huge TBR.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
View all my reviews
1 comment:
Shame the main gal is so slow in this one, the idea sounds really good!
As for the quote - of course I don't know the context in which this was said in the book, and if it was really said to someone suffering from PTSD, I can see how it can really throw you off. However, at least taken out of context, I don't think it's ill-intentioned, and does have some merit. Sometimes I do catch myself spending too much of my concious thoughts on negativity, when really I should try and focus on the positive (there's enough unconcious negativity I can't do anything about already, after all!).
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