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A review by bebocarrick
Cruel Provocations: A Lightning Jar Novel by D. Harrigon
2.0
Thank you to the author for providing me an ARC of this book. This does not affect my review at all, and all thoughts are my own.
For the most part, this book was not for me. I kept some notes while reading, but the cons far outweighed the pros during my reading. I do think there are folks out there who will like this more than I did, so keep that in mind as you read my review.
Pros:
1) Town setting was described very well. I got a very good picture of Thera's town from the description offered. I enjoyed the beginning portion of the novel where she was around her hometown the most because of the description and pleasant visuals.
2) Katrienne was a very lovable and unique character. She was feisty and adorable, and by far my favorite!
3) Jev Warren and his invisible companion gave him a good motive and kept the momentum of the story building well.
4)
Cons:
1) The plot was muddy at parts. The politics of this world did not feature in the novel at all, and that made the whole reason the army was out and about incomprehensible to me. I think knowing who Warren's superior was and what his specific orders were/how he was able to circumvent said orders and slaughter innocents so easy would have made that clearer. The shifts between time, place, and character were also not always well documented (Chapter 16 comes to mind), which made puzzling together what exactly occurred between the lines of the chapters difficult.
2) Character monologues: while this provided some nice detail on the characters themselves, it was a boring way to discover more about this world. I would much rather see these things unfurl than have characters explain their actions so explicitly.
3) Undefined words related to the story. I constantly found myself wishing for a glossary to define such terms as murmeck, dragoon, threads, etc. I think having a list of these words and perhaps a brief explanation of the magic system at the back of the book would make some of the muddier parts easier to follow.
4) And my biggest complaint: oversexualization of the female characters and their F/F relationship. As a sapphic person myself, the relationship between Thera and Adel felt wildly unrealistic and meant for a male gaze more than anything else. I did not believe in their love for each other because it was all based solely in lust. It was very hard for me to read their more intimate scenes because it didn't read like a true sapphic relationship. This rating would have gained at least one star more if it weren't for how this couple was represented. All in all, even the badass female revenge plotline couldn't make up for how much the sapphic representation let me down.
For the most part, this book was not for me. I kept some notes while reading, but the cons far outweighed the pros during my reading. I do think there are folks out there who will like this more than I did, so keep that in mind as you read my review.
Pros:
1) Town setting was described very well. I got a very good picture of Thera's town from the description offered. I enjoyed the beginning portion of the novel where she was around her hometown the most because of the description and pleasant visuals.
2) Katrienne was a very lovable and unique character. She was feisty and adorable, and by far my favorite!
3) Jev Warren and his invisible companion gave him a good motive and kept the momentum of the story building well.
4)
Spoiler
The collective revenge of the female soldiers for Thera's friend who was raped and then killed by the male soldiers was pretty damn badass.Cons:
1) The plot was muddy at parts. The politics of this world did not feature in the novel at all, and that made the whole reason the army was out and about incomprehensible to me. I think knowing who Warren's superior was and what his specific orders were/how he was able to circumvent said orders and slaughter innocents so easy would have made that clearer. The shifts between time, place, and character were also not always well documented (Chapter 16 comes to mind), which made puzzling together what exactly occurred between the lines of the chapters difficult.
2) Character monologues: while this provided some nice detail on the characters themselves, it was a boring way to discover more about this world. I would much rather see these things unfurl than have characters explain their actions so explicitly.
3) Undefined words related to the story. I constantly found myself wishing for a glossary to define such terms as murmeck, dragoon, threads, etc. I think having a list of these words and perhaps a brief explanation of the magic system at the back of the book would make some of the muddier parts easier to follow.
4) And my biggest complaint: oversexualization of the female characters and their F/F relationship. As a sapphic person myself, the relationship between Thera and Adel felt wildly unrealistic and meant for a male gaze more than anything else. I did not believe in their love for each other because it was all based solely in lust. It was very hard for me to read their more intimate scenes because it didn't read like a true sapphic relationship. This rating would have gained at least one star more if it weren't for how this couple was represented. All in all, even the badass female revenge plotline couldn't make up for how much the sapphic representation let me down.