Warmaidens by Kelly Coon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I’m sorry everyone, but this is going to sting a bit.
Unfortunately, Warmaidens was a disappointment for me.
I enjoyed Gravemaidens quite a bit when I read it last year. In fact, I felt overall it was underrated.
The world of Alu was very interesting. The whole concept of the gravemaidens, the competition that led to their selection and the fact that even though it was essentially a death sentence for the women chosen, the position was revered within their society.
I also loved reading about the relationship between the main character, Kammani, and her younger sister, Nanaea.
They were complete opposites, with Kammani being responsible and serious, while Nanaea was more vain and emotional.
Their relationship had some volatility to it that kept it interesting and there were some beautifully written, emotional scenes involving them learning to love one another even through disagreements.
Those scenes were some of my favorite of the first book.
Since Gravemaidens ended on such an intriguing cliffhanger, I was super stoked to get into this sequel.
Unfortunately, this continuation was lacking all of the things I enjoyed the most about the first book.
Nanaea was unrecognizable in comparison to her character in Gravemaidens. While I understand that her character would have grown based on what she went through in the first book, would there be no shred of her original personality left?
Also, I never felt any real high stakes drama. It was just fairly bland the entire way through and read extremely slowly.
It was so singular in focus, taking forever to get anywhere, and my eyes definitely glazed over on more than one occasion.
The conclusion was in no way exciting, or surprising. At the end there was this odd scene that was like the end of a Saturday Night Live episode.
You know, where the whole cast gathers on stage as the music plays them out, hugging and congratulating one another. It was a choice.
With all of this being said, even though this didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. If you read the first book and enjoyed it, you should absolutely try this one for yourself. Don’t take my word for it!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Delacorte Press, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I appreciate the opportunity to provide my thoughts and opinion.
