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A review by romancingthereader
North Is the Night by Emily Rath
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
At times, I must be a real book reviewer instead of just going on vibes. Alas, this is one of those times.
๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: North is the Night by Emily Rath
๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐: The Tuonela Duet. Book 1.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐: E-book on Kindle.
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฟ๐ฒ: Romantic fantasy
๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐: Hades/Persephone, bi-awakening, touch her and die.
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐: When Aina is taken to the underworld, Siiri fights her way in to save her best friend.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐: Thereโs a lot to say about this book, and I hope at the end of this is all makes sense. Itโll be long, but hey, thatโs what Iโm here for.
First off, the good. This book was extremely well-plotted. Itโs clear Emily Rath has a passion for the Finnish lore, and for fantasy writing. She wove together a really unique story, with a ton of detail and action. The characters were interesting, and I loved the dual POV that almost felt like dual plot lines, weaving themselves together as the end neared. At no point was I bored, and I never once thought of DNFing.
There were a few things that I had a hard time with. First and foremost, the Finnish gods and spellings. Thereโs a guide at the beginning of the book, but no pronunciation guidance. So I ended up sight-reading the names and, though I do know itโs part of the lore, it made it hard to connect with them. Tell me youโd know how to pronounce โVรคinรคmรถinen.โ Adding to that theme, the characters all had similar names, as well. Tuonetar, Tuonen, Tuoniโฆ it slowed my reading and made comprehension much harder.
The second thing was the romance. It was barely there. And while Iโd normally forgive an author in the first book of a duet, the book needed more to accent the plot for me to truly call this a romantasy. Specifically, the relationship between the two main characters was drastically underwritten. I didnโt feel it - maybe a bit toward the end but in the beginning, and throughout the book, they were very much written as friends or best friends, and then the jump to soulmates just didnโt feel as monumental.
I did appreciate that it didnโt end on a cliffhanger or abruptly. I might not read the second in the duet (will have to see how I feel later), but felt enough closure to leave this chapter where it finished.
I think if I was a seasoned fantasy reader, Iโd really love this book. But for right now, Iโm utterly exhausted and my brain is fried.
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: 4/5 โญโญโญโญ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น: 3/5 ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ
๐ ๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป: North is the Night by Emily Rath
๐ ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฒ๐: The Tuonela Duet. Book 1.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐: E-book on Kindle.
๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฟ๐ฒ: Romantic fantasy
๐ ๐ง๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐: Hades/Persephone, bi-awakening, touch her and die.
๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ป๐ผ๐ฝ๐๐ถ๐: When Aina is taken to the underworld, Siiri fights her way in to save her best friend.
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐: Thereโs a lot to say about this book, and I hope at the end of this is all makes sense. Itโll be long, but hey, thatโs what Iโm here for.
First off, the good. This book was extremely well-plotted. Itโs clear Emily Rath has a passion for the Finnish lore, and for fantasy writing. She wove together a really unique story, with a ton of detail and action. The characters were interesting, and I loved the dual POV that almost felt like dual plot lines, weaving themselves together as the end neared. At no point was I bored, and I never once thought of DNFing.
There were a few things that I had a hard time with. First and foremost, the Finnish gods and spellings. Thereโs a guide at the beginning of the book, but no pronunciation guidance. So I ended up sight-reading the names and, though I do know itโs part of the lore, it made it hard to connect with them. Tell me youโd know how to pronounce โVรคinรคmรถinen.โ Adding to that theme, the characters all had similar names, as well. Tuonetar, Tuonen, Tuoniโฆ it slowed my reading and made comprehension much harder.
The second thing was the romance. It was barely there. And while Iโd normally forgive an author in the first book of a duet, the book needed more to accent the plot for me to truly call this a romantasy. Specifically, the relationship between the two main characters was drastically underwritten. I didnโt feel it - maybe a bit toward the end but in the beginning, and throughout the book, they were very much written as friends or best friends, and then the jump to soulmates just didnโt feel as monumental.
I did appreciate that it didnโt end on a cliffhanger or abruptly. I might not read the second in the duet (will have to see how I feel later), but felt enough closure to leave this chapter where it finished.
I think if I was a seasoned fantasy reader, Iโd really love this book. But for right now, Iโm utterly exhausted and my brain is fried.
๐ฅ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด: 4/5 โญโญโญโญ
๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐น: 3/5 ๐ถ๐ถ๐ถ