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A review by mcgbreads
The Cautious Traveller's Guide To the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks
Did not finish book. Stopped at 36%.
ARC review; thanks to NetGalley, Flatiron Books, and Macmillan Audio for the access to the ebook and the audiobook.
Oh man, this was a disappointment. I was so ready to love this, but I just couldn't get into it, so I pulled the plug at 36%. The premise of this is amazing, I liked the writing and loved the setting, but this just didn't have a good pace. It also didn't have a hook, a reason for me to be engaged and continue reading. Yes, there is a bit of a mystery, but I didn't care at all about it and nothing was happening. As for characters, Weiwei was the most interesting one, but everyone else felt quite flat.
I do love cozy fantasies and mysteries, I like low stakes, but if nothing's happening, the characters and what's happening with them has to be compelling. That's what was missing here for me. I see a lot of people loving this, though, and I wanted to be one of them, so it's not a book I would skip. I think it's worth a try and see if you can get into it. I'll definitely keep my eye on this author because I think she has great ideas and even though this one wasn't for me, I'd like to give her work another chance.
About the audiobook narration: it's okay, nothing to write home about. The narrator doesn't really change her voice for each character, and I think that was a mistake. There are quite a few characters here and differentiating them isn't only helpful, it would also make the audiobook more dynamic.
Oh man, this was a disappointment. I was so ready to love this, but I just couldn't get into it, so I pulled the plug at 36%. The premise of this is amazing, I liked the writing and loved the setting, but this just didn't have a good pace. It also didn't have a hook, a reason for me to be engaged and continue reading. Yes, there is a bit of a mystery, but I didn't care at all about it and nothing was happening. As for characters, Weiwei was the most interesting one, but everyone else felt quite flat.
I do love cozy fantasies and mysteries, I like low stakes, but if nothing's happening, the characters and what's happening with them has to be compelling. That's what was missing here for me. I see a lot of people loving this, though, and I wanted to be one of them, so it's not a book I would skip. I think it's worth a try and see if you can get into it. I'll definitely keep my eye on this author because I think she has great ideas and even though this one wasn't for me, I'd like to give her work another chance.
About the audiobook narration: it's okay, nothing to write home about. The narrator doesn't really change her voice for each character, and I think that was a mistake. There are quite a few characters here and differentiating them isn't only helpful, it would also make the audiobook more dynamic.