Publication Date: 09th May 2024
Genre: Historical Fiction, LGBT+
2.5 Stars (outliner)
One Liner: Too slow and clunky
Valour and Petrichor are young but esteemed members of the Order of Axsten, an assassin guild in Vinterstock, Sweden. They were with the guild as children and hated each other, which continues even to date.
The guild then gives them a job – to kill Brandquist, the mysterious leader of the city’s drug ring. No one knows who he is and how he looks. Valour and Petrichor are determined to deal with the job alone, but they may have to work together to stay alive.
As if that wasn’t hard enough, Valour has to babysit Ingrid Rytterdahl, the beautiful daughter of an aristocrat. With Valour in love (lust) with Ingrid and the mounting danger, can the assassins stay alive and finish the job?
The story comes in the Valour and Petrichor’s third-person POVs.
My Thoughts:
NGL, I requested the book mainly for the cover. Just look at it! So gorgeous! The premise was intriguing, too, though I admit the execution is less than satisfying.
First, the good points –
• The setting is dark, grim, and depressing. Given the premise, this works well to create a sense of doom, especially for the underprivileged. The snowy landscape adds to the atmosphere.
• I also love the interpretation of the title. That’s a great touch!
• Ingrid shines better than the main characters. There’s more to her than the mask she puts on.
• A few scenes where the characters introspect their lives are well done.
• I could guess one of the twists and like it.
• The romance between Ingrid and Valour is okay. It suits Valour’s arc, so can’t complain.
• A decent ending (and I could finally breathe a sigh of relief).
Now, the not-so-good points –
The characters are 20+ (around mid-20s) but act like teenagers and kids. They have been through so much trauma, but it feels hard to empathize due to their behavior. The scenes between Valour and Petrichor tend to be annoying, even when they are being nice to each other.
The narration is super slow. A lot seems to happen, but the % doesn’t move. And when you stop reading and consider the story that happened until then, it wouldn’t be much. There are many conversations; some are necessary, but some can be edited. Looking back, it doesn’t feel like the two are as efficient assassins as they are portrayed. Yeah, they can fight well and stab, et al, but an assassin has to be focused and precise. We are told they are very good at the job, but I couldn’t see it anywhere in the book (except once in Petrichor’s case).
Instead, we get pages of hate-filled banter between V and P that’s supposed to be some sort of trauma-bonding sibling rivalry type thing (?) except on the extreme level. There are ten instances of V saying ‘stick up the arse’ with some variation.
The last section is better than the beginning in terms of action and drama. Yet, not much of it is due to the MCs’ efforts. It doesn’t seem realistic that the villain would so easily share everything. It works in cozy mysteries, but the stakes are high here (think kingdom-level).
And oh, that brings me to the vibes. Though this is historical, the feel is almost modern. Also, there really isn’t any magic or fantasy. While I appreciate the support for old gods and paganism, it is not well done. Make it a cohesive part of the plot (and not simply repeat the stuff in dialogues).
To summarize, Snowblooded has a worthy premise and an intriguing setting but is weighed down by extras. Toning down the excess will give the characters more space to show their true selves.
Thank you, NetGalley and Solaris, for eARC.
#NetGalley #Snowblooded
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