Song of the Current | Review

Greetings readers!

I picked up this book because I received the ARC of the second book, which really isn’t a reason to pick up a book. But then I remembered that I have tried out very few Pirate YA books! I know that there are quite a few out there and I thought that I’d give this one a chance!

Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser

via Goodreads

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Pub Date: June 6th, 2017
Price: $22.19 CAD
ISBN: 1681192977

Caroline Oresteia is destined for the river. For generations, her family has been called by the river god, who has guided their wherries on countless voyages throughout the Riverlands. At seventeen, Caro has spent years listening to the water, ready to meet her fate. But the river god hasn’t spoken her name yet—and if he hasn’t by now, there’s a chance he never will.

Caro decides to take her future into her own hands when her father is arrested for refusing to transport a mysterious crate. By agreeing to deliver it in exchange for his release, Caro finds herself caught in a web of politics and lies, with dangerous pirates after the cargo—an arrogant courier with a secret—and without the river god to help her. With so much at stake, Caro must choose between the life she always wanted and the one she never could have imagined for herself.

From debut author Sarah Tolcser comes an immersive and romantic fantasy set along the waterways of a magical world with a headstrong heroine determined to make her mark.

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Well this one was quite…something else. I like the idea of pirate books very much. It’s an adventure on the sea and there are so many untouched places for characters to explore. However, this book was about river pirates, which was still interesting since it’s something I have never read before. Still there are things I couldn’t quite wrap my head around in this one.

What I Liked:

Characters:

I liked them well enough.

Caro, the MC, was quite stubborn and funny. She loved her life as a wherryman and did anything and everything to keep living that life. Unfortunately, Tolcser had other plans for her and her dream of becoming her own captain didn’t turn out to be quite as she expected. Personally, I didn’t find her to be *amazing*, she was a little clueless sometimes and I couldn’t stand it, but I appreciated her perseverance. I did love her relationship with her father, it was truly precious.

Markos was another story. I didn’t like him to begin with, I really though he was an ass. Spoiled, ubnoxious and really stupid are words I used for him in the beginning XD. Then as the story went along I started to like him a little more. He got much better towards the end. I wouldn’t rank him in any of my lists of fictional love interests, but he has potential.

Fee. Unfortunately, I felt like she was in the book as a piece of decoration. Just something in the background that I would be reminded of every few chapters or so. I wish Tolcser went deeper into her character. She wasn’t even human which was the best part! Alas, it was not meant to be.

Setting: 

The Riverlands. Okay, I really liked the idea of having River Pirates vs Sea Pirates. Tolcser really painted the two distinct bodies of water really well. The Riverlands were crowded and noisy. There was a constant sound of bugs and animals and people. I loved the community of people and how Tolcser showcased the relationships between the river people and the land dwellers. On the sea, everything was eerie and quiet. It’s so large, the characters were practically in complete solitude.

I also loved that Tolcser added in magic to the setting. Each distinct land had their deity and if you know me, I love when the gods come out to play! It just made the setting so much more interesting knowing that there were more powerful things playing behind the scenes.

The In Between:

*(New category because I am at a loss here)*

The Romance:

It was fine…..I mean it was enemies to lovers. I am a complete sucker for that! But this romance had a bad case of “you’re not like other girls” which had me rolling my eyes. Their chemistry also had me a little………………..mmm’okay honnies, you guys, do you. I felt like a good basis for their relationship didn’t come until the very end and while they didn’t say those three magic words to each other, I felt like maybe what was between them was still a tad premature. After all it had only been a week, two weeks? However, it does come with a good message about consent.

The Writing:

Tolcser starts the book off with a fancy chapter 1, bringing up this flowery language that had me cross-eyed before finally getting into  Caro’s voice. After that, the voice became Caro’s. Though she had two types of ways of talking. There was her Wherryman talk which was “rural” and very slangy and then there was her proper talk which was clearly more defined and finessed. I was fine with the voices, but there was nothing clearly enticing by Tolcser’s style. It didn’t have that tendency to pull me in, but it was enough to keep me going.

What I Disliked:

It was just all so simple and predictable. And it felt like things were thrown in just for the heck of it. I’m not saying that this book is a mess because in actuality it was very easy to follow, and the plot direction was something I looked forward too. But I guessed it. I guessed it all and it wasn’t that hard to figure out.

There was no real pack of punch that had me going “Wow this is something” I was just staring at the words plain faced and trudging through it.

And don’t even get me started on the heart thing. Caro’s heart was beating so loud she was sure [whoever was around her] could hear it! <– This line, or something similar to it was in the book at least 15,000 times. Like I get it. You’re nervous/scared/excited. You don’t have to use the same line each time. Some variation would be nice!

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Overall, the book was fine. A little weird, but fine. I had some good times with it and other times I was just ready to get to end. For another taste in the Pirate YA sector, it was fine. Considering my first go at Pirate YA was ever more meh, I’d like to think this was a step up. I have read the synopsis for the sequel which I am excited to get to because of *drammmmaaaa* but I hope it doesn’t get too angsty.

Rating:  3 / 5 Stars (It started out as a 2.8, but I’ll be nice)

Recommend: Maybe if you want something a little easy to read. I honestly don’t know.

Let me know what you think! Have you read this? Did you like it? Would you consider the pirate life? What are some of your favourite Pirate books?

Happy reading!

~ Rendz