The Bone Ships

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The Bone Ships has all the makings of a book that I should really like. Fantasy setting, matriarchal society, dragons, possible pirates, all things that I really enjoy reading about. So why didn't The Bone Ships shoot right to the top of my favorite books list? Well...a few different reasons, really.

Number one — you really do not connect to the characters at all. Not until like...maybe the last chapter do you care about any of them. Lucky Meas is the captain of The Tide Child, and that's practically all we know about her. There's few bits of information scattered throughout the novel but nothing satisfying. We know even less about Joron Twiner, the main POV character. I really love getting to know characters, getting their thoughts and insights on whatever they're going through. I love watching them grow and change as the story is told. That just plain doesn't happen in this book. It was a little infuriating to not know anything!

Number two — and this one might just be a me thing — the society in this world sacrifices all healthy first born babies in honor of the ships. I can't stand reading about babies or children dying, or being abused, or just plain getting hurt. I can't do it! So every time this was mentioned, and it was mentioned a lot, my stomach clenched, and I got a little nauseous. I KNOW THIS IS FICTION, but triggers are valid, and this is apparently one of mine.

Number three — there are some pacing issues. The novel starts off slow, and really takes its time getting anywhere interesting. The most fun bits are when the ship is in battle, or when the crew are actively fighting. Everything else was just filler, in my opinion.

There are other reasons why I wasn't a big fan of this book, but overall, I'd say The Bone Ships ranks around a 3.5 for me. Possibly even a little lower, if I'm being honest. I'm in no hurry to read onto the next book of the series.