★★★★★ 3
DNF
Format: Kindle
I decided to read this based on another review here. I started skipping and couldn't finish it. The writing is good but the behavior of the MCs put me off at times. Our parents took us camping (not car camping) a lot through my teens and the lesson was, from my youngest age, if the excrement encounters the turbine, get your bearings, assess, make a plan, follow it -- no time for drama. There would always be time for a freakout once the situation was resolved. (And if it wasn't resolved, freaking out wouldn't be an option.)
Apparently, neither Helen nor Lana were ever taught that lesson because there's plenty of drama, and I lost respect for them. Worse, the drama continues with this endless back and forth right up to the very last page. I actually blinked. I've read rushed endings before, but this took the cake.
Overall, this is a portrayal of women that bugged me. It felt almost stereotype-y regarding being overly dramatic and unable to keep it together under stress. Maybe I just hit the bad parts, but I couldn't keep reading to find out, in case there were more, and the repeated drama after the rescue didn't give me hope.
Please, Sapphic authors, can we have more books celebrating feminine resilience? Cara Malone has a pretty good one about a bunch of shipwrecked queer women. We need more of that, and less of this.
I'm giving this book 3 stars because the writing is good and I didn't finish, so may have missed better parts.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2024
