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Disquietus
, April 27, 2014
(view all comments by Disquietus)
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
In the spirit of full disclosure, self-published novels always make me nervous, but Damselfly and it’s utterly unique premise made for an entertaining and though-provoking read.
The writing was lovely. It was descriptive and engaging without ever feeling juvenile or repetitive and with the exception of some plot and character development issues, it was all very solid. The world-building was sufficient. Although I would have liked a little more information on how the world reached this level of desperation, it never felt like I was lacking any of the information necessary to understand the plot and character motives, so I was satisfied.
I enjoyed Lina. Yes, she is naive and selfish, but she is also a young teenager who grew up completely isolated, so I chose to give her the benefit of the doubt. And I really felt for her and the situation she was put in. As a woman I find the idea of being forced to put on a public courtship and choose a husband out of a group of men I have no interest in completely disgusting and offensive. I can only imagine how powerless she felt. I enjoyed watching her handle the situation and admired her bravery even if I didn’t agree with all of her decisions, and often found myself frustrated with her stubbornness. Her character, and really the entire plot of the book, also explored the always interesting question of what exactly it means to be human. Although only six-inches tall and winged, Lina’s character often showed more humanity then the fully human characters of the story.
All of the love interests, Jack and the Tom’s suffered some characterization issues. There are six Toms, but only two of them were developed in any way, Row and Blue. I actually really liked what we saw of Blue, and if I could have picked one of the Toms for her to end up with, it would have been him. Row was just…annoying. I think I was supposed to like him, but I just found him frustrating and irksome. The rest of them were just peripheral, although one of him and I just cannot remember his name, was also extra annoying because he was constantly pouting and acting like a spoiled child once Lina started showing a preference for another of them.
As for Jack I just wasn’t sold on him, or his and Lina’s romance. Bozic did her best to show us the development of their relationship over the year leading up to where the story begins, but even these flashbacks scenes weren’t enough to make me care about their flight or feel like they were really “in love.” This was especially hard for me to believe when Lina spends a significant amount of the book also swooning over a guy who is not Jack and then being mad at herself about it. Maybe it’s just me, but I have a hard time believing that you are so in love with one guy that you are willing to sacrifice your future freedom to keep him safe…but you’re totally okay with making kissy face with another guy? That just doesn’t work for me.
Overall I really enjoyed the story. The conclusion was very satisfying and everything I hoped for throughout the book. I still don’t feel as if we really have any answers as to how Lina’s species is supposed to be the answer to the world’s problems, but it wasn’t a big enough problem to distract from the good of the plot: engaging, well-paced and often amusing. I would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a fast and entertaining read.
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