Rating 2/5 🌙"s

Overview: Murder mystery on a boat? Now let's add magic.

Review: I think this book should have been made a YA novel. The world building and magic rules were very elementary for an adult novel. I felt like the main character was a bit underwhelming as well. I wish there would have been more streamline world building and more knowledge and structure about the magic system.

I would probably recommend this book to anyone who is into fantasy but maybe wants it to be an easy non complicated read.

I recently finished *Voyage of the Damned* by Frances White, and it was an incredible reading experience, made even more special because a coworker gifted me a stunning special edition copy. This thoughtful gesture added an extra layer of enjoyment to an already captivating story.

The novel centers on Dee, a sharp, chaotic detective from the marginalized Fish province, as he uncovers a series of murders tied to the political tension between the provinces. Dee’s character is both hilarious and heartbreaking, and I found myself fully invested in his journey, both in solving the mystery and grappling with the personal struggles he’s trying to hide. The emotional depth of the story, especially in terms of identity and self-acceptance, really resonated with me.

The world-building in *Voyage of the Damned* is impressive, with White offering enough detail to create a vivid setting without overwhelming the reader. The themes of power, identity, and personal growth are well-explored, and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters adds further depth to the narrative. The murder mystery itself is tightly plotted, with twists that kept me on my toes right until the end. This is a fantasy novel that offers a perfect mix of humor, emotional depth, and thrilling adventure, and I’m so glad I got to read it—especially in such a beautiful edition.

Realizing a lot of the books labeled as "tiktok sensations" are not going to be for me. The humor in this book was not to my taste, and I found the tone shifts between jokiness and murder to be a little jarring. I think this is a great pick for someone who isn't well versed in fantasy novels or locked-room mysteries, because the setup and characters are all pretty flat and easy to follow. This sounds like I'm knocking it or being snobby. It's totally fine; I'm just not the target audience

Voyage of the Damned was a wild, queer ride with lots of twists I didn't see coming!

Great worldbuilding, with characters I rooted for and wanted to know more about! Loved the romance, and it had a large amount of adventure too, if that's more your cup of tea!

Great adventure and exciting plot. A definite read for anyone who enjoys adventure and romance. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

This book is Wild. I tried my hardest to get into it but it became confusing at a lot of points. The world building was super hard to follow, and I am an avid fantasy reader.

I absolutely loved this novel. It was such a fun and interesting story. I had such a great time reading this book and I am so happy that I have the special edition from Illumicrate.

I enjoyed this far more than expected. From the moment Dee gets on the ship, I was fully invested. Dee and Grasshopper were so much fun, and all of the characters were well written even if they were (intentionally) unpleasant.

I will say I’m a little disappointed in the twist ending. I loved seeing Wyatt and Dee fall in love and learn about one another, and finding out in the last 50 pages that it was all fake was disappointing. I also feel that Dee let Ravi off the hook for literal murder and plotting to overthrow their entire world, at the expense of millions of people, way too easily.

Voyage of the Dammed by Farances White first caught my attention with its stunning cover and then drew me in with an intriguing premise. I was absolutely captured by the fragile peace put at risk by a murder mystery unfolding in a super confined environment. I have garbed a Barnes an noble edition for myself now and am recommending it for all of my fantasy loving friends.

This was pretty fun. The variety of magical characters on a magical ship makes for a pretty compelling locked door mystery. I found the murderer a little predictable, but it didn't really bother me. I thought the twists and turns were fun if not completely original. The main character grew on me, and I liked his sardonic narration. I also always like fantasy as social commentary and the class war that plays out was interesting allegory. A cute read.

Unfortunately this book did not live up to the hype for me. I was surprised by the tone of the story and how young it felt, and I was not into the worldbuilding of this story. While it didn't work for me, I'm glad to hear so many others seem to really enjoy this novel.

This was a pretty good debut, but I think it lost me because it was in first person. As a general rule, I am unable to work well with first person narratives, but that's a me problem. Maybe this book will work for others. I'm sure it would have worked for me too if it was in third person pov!

I really enjoyed this "locked boat" murder mystery! It was similar to a Mythology story but with Blessed. They all had different powers that they kept secret. The annual trip to claim the Blessings is rife with death. Who is killing toe other Blessed? The MC, Fish, or Dee is a funny, witty, dry sense of humor that made me laugh thru out the book. One memorable quote was, "it was sewn like a blind man in a rush". He is caring but also tough. He likes boys but there is really no spice at all in the story. Great choice for anyone who likes myth based stories and a mystery.

Thank you to HTP and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I liked this debut novel for a number of reasons. I found the main character to be cheeky and enjoyed the story being in first person. I often found myself giggling at his inner dialogue. As a newbie to fantasy, I also thought the world building was easy and quick to grasp. I also love an isolated closed circle mystery. Oh, and the representation was great.

On the flip side, I did find some of the dialogue to be immature and made this book lean more YA rather than adult. Additionally, it took me a while to get into. Maybe some more editing would have helped it feel smoother and more succinct. I even felt lost and confused during some transitions.

All in all, I liked it, but felt like there were some areas that were total misses. Curious to see what this author comes up with next.

I really enjoyed this book, and it kept me guessing til the very end! I love mystery and romance and this had a great mix of both, with fantasy and magic on top! Also loved the map illustrations. Really great book for any fantasy lover.

4.5 stars! I am so surprised by this book! I started out feeling meh towards it and feeling secondhand embarrassment through the first few chapters. But as the story progressed I became invested and enjoyed it so much. I would have given this book a full 5 stars, but there were instances of weird weight/eating parts and the cringe in the beginning.

This book is a fun combination of Fruitsbasket (each of the 12 scions has traits and hair that are colorful and match their animal), Gideon the Ninth (the cheeky protagonist makes silly jokes while they are stuck on a ship and people are being murdered), and Agatha Christie. It is not a super serious book, even if people are dying in mysterious ways. I thought the representation was nice with a range of people just as diverse as their providences. I grew to love Dee and he grows and matures a lot as the book goes on. His relationships with the others were well done and I especially liked his big brother bond with Grasshopper.

The murder mystery was enthralling. I did not get any hints on who was doing it, but I did get an inkling of one of the powers of the Blessed and how it factored into the plot. Having a murderer with unknown powers adds another layer to the mystery that makes it harder to solve. The ending was satisfying and I would love to see how their country has changed in the future.

Overall besides its rough start and cringey moments, I had so much fun with this book and enjoyed this murder romp.

I DNF'd this at 65% percent. Look, I'm a big fan of both fantasy AND "And there were none" type mysteries, so I was excited to get my hands on Voyage of the Damned after hearing about it on Instagram. However, I did not personally connect with the main character or enjoy their voice. I realize part of their character is that they are purposefully trying to be unlikeable... and it worked too well. I had very little sympathy for them and lost interest in what was happening... and there was a LOT happening, perhaps too much. I didn't even skip to the end to see how the mystery is solved. Perhaps this style of story telling will work for other readers, it just didn't for me.

This book was so uniquely different and so fun! I was immediately entranced with the fantastic voice and stayed for the one of the best stories I've read this year.

This book was a different type of read but I really enjoyed it. I liked Dee’s character and vulnerability. The concept of the different tribes and representation of animals along with the powers were unique. I enjoyed the suspense of not knowing who to trust and the ending was perfect.

I have read so many YA fantasy books lately that are so formulaic and lake depth, but not this one!! I thoroughly enjoyed the main character and side characters, and I felt very immersed in the world! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review