C. L. Polk

Canada Reads Shortlist 2021

If you want a book about oppressed women in a magical realism historical fiction, there are several much better books to read than this one: The Young Elites trilogy by Marie Lu; The Queen of the Tearling trilogy by Erika Johansen; Graceling (first in a trilogy) by Kristen Cashore; The Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint; Mistborn quadrology by Brandon Sanderson... just for starters.

Neither the writing, (un)engaging characters, nor world-building were adequate to make this an enjoyable read.… (mere)

I wonder if this book was written before Polk's first trilogy and only picked up for publication once those were successful? It's definitely not as thoughtful as they were. Still good---if you like Austen and other stories about women navigating baroque social rules, you will probably like this. It was genuinely stressful to read at many points. Unfortunately the ending went on too long and a few too many wishes were fulfilled all in a row. Could've left the solution to collars to another book; having the solution dumped on the reader in a rush felt unearned.

I didn't read the description closely before I picked this up, so of course I assumed that Ianthe was a tall dark handsome dyke, based on the name. Nope, all het. Sigh!… (mere)