I wanted to like this book so much. I was really hoping for another book like The Winter King—an epic fantasy romance. But alas...
Star of the Morning had a really interesting story but there were so many "buts".
The writing style wasn't for me.
This is purely subjective of course. What doesn't work for me may be ideal for someone else. But I couldn't stand the Old English-esque style of writing. Here are a few sample terms/phrases to give you an idea?
"lads"
"missives"
"age of ten-and-two"
"thusly"
"she had descended into the bowels of the university"
(okay that one I included just because I couldn't stop snickering at "bowels")
"se’nnight"
"overlong"
"on the morrow"
"overmuch"
"I felled him, 'tis true"
"he is all bluster"
"wench"
Ughhhh I couldn't stand it. But different strokes for different folks, so moving on...
Boooring
By the time I stopped reading at nearly 50%, nothing had happened. SERIOUSLY. They're on this quest, but nothing had actually happened. It's all just 100% travelling. And the MC's companions don't even know where they're going because she refuses to tell them.
Slow, slow, slow.
The MC (Morgan) was so damn annoying
- Self important.
- Sexist (everyone fucking was).
- So damn mean to this other poor guy she kept calling a dolt for no reason.
- She hates magic for seemingly no reason.
Here are a few quotes that show why I hated her so much:
“How have you managed thus far?”
“I try to avoid battles.”
“That’s a very unmanly attitude, Miach.”
Yeah, how dare someone avoid violence.
"her first inclination with either of these two brothers was to ascertain their handsomeness."
"but it got in the way of her comparing Miach to his elder brother."
When Morgan wasn't complaining about magic or being seasick even long after she got off the damn boat, she was mentally comparing the two brothers she met. Ugh.
And finally, she was a damn good fighter, which would have been awesome, had she not constantly rubbed everyone's faces in it.
“I had more sword skill than you when I was ten.”
She thought so damn highly of herself and I got sick of it.
I'm disappointed because the world and overall story seemed interesting, but all these other things just killed any desire I had to continue.