I really wanted to love In the Veins of Drowning, but it did not work out at all for me. There were just some big holes and things that took me out of reading entirely. Keep reading this book review of In the Veins of Drowning for my full thoughts.
Summary
The monster is always slain…
Imogen Nel is in hiding. Hiding from a cruel kingdom that believes Sirens are monstrous, blood-hungry creatures. Hiding from a king and his captain who viciously hunt her kind. Hiding from her own alluring abilities. By keeping herself from the sea, Imogen’s bloodlust is dulled, and her black wings remain hidden beneath her skin.
When a neighboring king comes to visit, Imogen can no longer hide. He knows precisely what she is, and he believes she can save both their kingdoms from an even greater monster. But Imogen’s power threatens to violently reveal itself, and the two form a blood bond that protects them both. They flee the kingdom together, traversing waters teeming with the undead. As the lines between duty to their people and desire for each other begin to blur, Imogen worries her own ancestral powers may not be enough to kill what hunts her—the only way to defeat a monster may be to become one herself.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Too many things didn’t make sense in the world of In the Veins of Drowning. I was able to look away from the winged sirens, but there were some definite world building holes at the very beginning that had me seriously wondering while reading. It just meant that I was consistently taken out of my reading by things where I had to talk myself back into them. It throws us headfirst into this brutal world for Imogen. A world where we are at the whims of kings and consistently in danger. But while I wanted to like her, I found that her personality fell a bit flat and in general, most characters either felt shallow or only conveniently placed.
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
There were so many details that seemed very randomly to pop up and we were just supposed to roll with it. Like the fact that he has a fiance and while he knows about these blood bonds, he also doesn’t know how they were going to play out with the fiance? There were so many questions I had and the chemistry between them wasn’t believable to me. I tried with In the Veins of Drowning, but so many things just kept throwing me out of the reading experience. There’s suspension of disbelief and then having to talk ourselves into it. Find In the Veins of Drowning on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.