Book Reviews, Bookish Things

Viper by Bex Hogan | 5 Star Book Review

Item: Viper (Isles of Storm and Sorrow #1)
Rating: 5
Author: Jenniely

Is this me actually reviewing a book not that long after I read it? I THINK IT MIGHT BE!

LOL I wrote that opening sentence after I finished the book… it’s now over a month since I read it. Ah well, better late than never right?

I’ve talked about it on social a bit but this year I’ve been in such a reading slump and therefore a blogging slump that I’ve really struggled with regular posts. I’m hoping to have sorted that out though.

For a while there I could only read space books, which isn’t a bad thing, but Viper was the book that kicked me well and truly out of that slump and I loved it so much. I started reading it months ago and slowly, ever so slowly, read a page at a time, then suddenly read the rest of it in one sitting. So. Let me tell you all why I loved it so much!

As always this review will be spoiler free.

Viper (Isles of Storm and Sorrow #1) by Bex Hogan
Published by Orion Children's Books on April 18, 2019
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Goodreads

He will make me a killer. Or he will have me killed. That is my destiny.

Seventeen-year-old Marianne is fated to one day become the Viper, defender of the Twelve Isles.

But the reigning Viper stands in her way. Corrupt and merciless, he prowls the seas in his warship, killing with impunity, leaving only pain and suffering in his wake.

He's the most dangerous man on the ocean . . . and he is Marianne's father.

She was born to protect the islands. But can she fight for them if it means losing her family, her home, the boy she loves - and perhaps even her life?

This book broke my heart in places, honestly I was… just whyyyyy did some things have to happen? Needless to say, this book isn’t a happy go lucky kind of tale. Viper by Bex Hogan is a YA pirate’s tale, with quite a few differences. I’m not one that’s obsessed with pirates & it usually puts me off a bit, not sure why. Either way, Viper did is beautifully. There is a lot of brutality so be prepared, but it sets the scene wonderfully.

Immediately Viper is intriguing, with hints to magic happening very early on. With the main character, Marianne, being so different to her Father and pretty much everyone on the ship she’s on. She lives in a very rough and scary environment, yet despite this she holds on to who she is and her beliefs, which you have to admire.

The world building is amazing, and I’m invested in it’s future and what the next book will bring!

Viper follows Marianne and there are some very notable differences in setting which sets the tone and pace for each section. I won’t say too much about that for fear of spoilers, but we get to see a lot of the world Bex Hogan has created, and created well. I look forward to seeing more of it in the next book! There was plenty of fast paced action that had me reading nearly the entire book in one sitting.

I enjoyed that the focus of this story wasn’t shitty male suitors. Yes there were a lot of bad men, but some weren’t, and I liked that. Also the romance was definitely not the focus of the book, there’s a lot of twists and turns, plots, death, violence and a lot of the history of the world thrown in.

There are a whole lot of characters in this book that I think are done very well, and I don’t think my heart has recovered from becoming attached to some of them…

I enjoyed that Marianne wasn’t this fierce girl who was strong in the face of adversity. Yes, she stuck to her guns about things, but she was afraid and not all powerful. She struggled, which makes the reader value her successes, and failures, all the more. Don’t get me wrong, she makes some stupid decisions because of her morality, but I liked that she was steadfast in her beliefs.

I enjoyed that Bronn isn’t just there as a typical love interest. There’s nuance and depth to his choices and actions, and I found myself loving and hating him numerous times throughout the story. I’m still not sure I stan them though…

I loved that one of the most badass people on the ship was a woman. Grace was an interesting character, and I could tell there was more to her than meets the eye.

Prince Torin is the other ‘love interest’, who we meet early on. I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want to spoil it, but I enjoy his character a lot. He has faults but also has a genuine streak to him which I respect.