2,75 ¿¿
In Metal Slinger by Rachel Schneider, we follow Brynn, a young guardian belonging to the Alaha people, who have lived for generations in stilt houses above the sea after being banished by their enemies, the Kenta. During one of the rare visits to the mainland, Brynn clashes with the Kenta soldier Acker, setting off a chain of events that changes everything she thought she knew. As she uncovers truths about her past, grows closer to the mysterious soldier, and becomes entangled in something far bigger than herself, the conflict between the two peoples begins to unravel in unexpected ways.For me, the story itself had a lot of potential, but unfortunately the execution did not fully work. For most of the book, I found myself rather bored because the pacing and writing style felt off. The plot moved too slowly, and it took a long time for the story to become truly engaging. Even though there were interesting ideas underneath the surface, the way they were presented made it difficult for me to stay invested for a large part of the novel.Now that I have finished the book, I can say that I actually do like the overall story and concepts behind it. The world, the conflicts, and the revelations definitely have potential, and I am curious to see where the series goes next. Especially after that shocking plot twist at the end ¿ although I have to admit that I suspected something in that direction, even if not exactly what happened. At the same time, the twist also felt somewhat absurd to me because certain earlier parts of the story would have needed to be written differently for it to feel completely convincing.Still, the final section in the palace and the dramatic developments towards the end finally brought the excitement I had been missing throughout most of the book. That was the point where the story truly became fun to read, and it left me interested enough to want to continue with the sequel.Overall, I unfortunately cannot rate Metal Slinger very highly because the execution and pacing simply did not work for me and left me feeling bored for much of the book. However, the story itself has undeniable potential, and I am genuinely curious to see how Rachel Schneider will resolve the chaos she created in the second book.
