Rise of the Sea Witch Review

Title: Rise of the Sea Witch
Author: Stacey Rourke
Series: Unfortunate Soul Chronicles #1
Publisher: Anchor Group Publishing
Publication Date: 13 June 2017
Source: Xpresso Book Tours
Format: eBook
Pages: 217
Rating: DNF @ 52 pages
Reading Timeline: 03 April 2018

Goodreads Synopsis:

Details of the sea witch’s banishment have been exaggerated. The body count that preempted it was not. Once an illustrious princess, her hands and tentacles were stained with the blood of thousands. No one could comprehend how the hooks of madness dragged her down from her life of privilege. Born Princess Vanessa of Atlantica, the ambitious young royal was one of two children born to the great King Poseidon. She and her brother, Triton, were groomed from birth to rule. Yet only one would ascend that coveted throne. While carefree Triton flits through his training with a cavalier demeanor and beguiling charm, Vanessa’s hunger for her father’s acceptance drives her to push herself to the limits of magic, and combat to become a leader worthy of her people. When war against the humans ravages their once regal kingdom, political sides are chosen. Factions from the seven seas challenge the existing leadership, pitting Vanessa against her brother in a vicious battle for the crown. Traitors are exposed, dark family secrets revealed, and a once strong sibling bond is strained to its breaking point. Only when the ink black waters from the ultimate betrayal rescind, will the truth be known of how the villainous sea witch rose with one name on her vengeful lips--Triton

Book Review:

Pre-reading Thoughts:

I saw this book floating around instagram and youtube last year. It was not something that grabbed a lot of attention but it sounded like it was an enjoyable book. I have a love hate relationship with retellings. I either love them more than the originals or I do not like the spin that was placed on them. I am intrigued to see where this one will fall.

Thank you so much to Xpresso Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book to review. Just a small disclaimer for those reading this review. I have received this book in exchange for an honest review. Please note that this does not affect my opinion in any way. All thoughts are my own.

Final Thoughts:

Please note that because I did not finish reading this review, I will not be providing an in-depth review. 

Overall, I do not know how I felt about this book. The premise was interesting and there were definitely moments inside that book that grabbed my interest. I just did not feel phased about what was happening. I just did not care for the characters or the plot. So, I decided to chalk this down to this just was not for me. The writing had some good moments but sometimes I thought that it was pretentious and maybe even a bit elevated for no reason. The plot was interesting enough but the small moments that grabbed my attention were not enough to keep it. The characters also did not make me care for them. I did not create any connections with them. I wish I had enjoyed this book. I wish I had finished it and seen where the story would go but unfortunately life is too short to spend it on books that do not grab our attention. Thank you so much to Xpresso Book Tours for providing me with a copy fo this book to review!

Yours in Reading,

Melleny