Book: Voyage of the Damned
Author: Frances White

“A mind-blowing murder mystery on a ship full of magical passengers. If Agatha Christie wrote fantasy, this would be it!”

This book was definitely a journey. I don’t know if it was just me, but I feel like I really had no idea what was going on the entire time.

This is a queer, fantasy, mystery book set on a magical ship with magical passengers. A murder happens on the boat and the MMC is trying to figure out who committed it. While I thought the book did have a lot of interesting moments, I’m not quite sure if they all came together in the best way.

I sometimes believe there is too much world building in a fantasy book, I feel the exact opposite with this one. I was left with too many unanswered questions about what was happening and character connections. Plus, of course, the book ends on a cliffhanger so we still don’t know who the killer is. I’ll probably read the next one (because I need to know who really did it), but it won’t be that high on the TBR.

A special thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like I’ve been waiting for so long to read this book and it did not disappoint. The author describes it as a magical gay murder cruise and I agree. This is a super fun read, the mystery is intriguing and the magic system is really interesting but not overly complicated. I feel like there is some social commentary on different classes of wealth but it really works for the plot. The twists and reveals weren’t predictable to me and the whole book reminded me of Clue. I also think this would be a great audiobook, then you can really hear the difference in the characters. My only complaint would be that this felt more like a YA book than an adult book but it didn’t really bother me too much. Overall it was a fun read, and a great standalone fantasy mystery which are my two favourite genres!

Thanks to NetGalley, Mira Books and Frances White for this e-ARC

I’ve been in a tad bit of a reading slump lately after multiple DNFs and this book was JUST the genre mash-up masterpiece I didn’t know I needed! I heard great things about it from a bookstagram friend so I was really excited to join the readalong and give it a shot.

This book features lovable and perfectly imperfect MCs and is so hilarious, I LOLed multiple times. The fantasy aspects and world building are very easy to follow for the fantasy light girlies. Towards the end, the mystery plot got a little predictable but it was still incredibly entertaining and endearing from start to finish. I definitely binge read this one, but also never wanted the story to end at the same time!

Forever recommending this book to all of my friends as one of my new faves!!!

Thank you SOOO much to Tandem Collective, Harper Collins, HTP books, MIRA books, and the author for allowing me the opportunity to join this super fun readalong 🫶🏼

Where fantasy meets whodunnit, this was such a unique story! It's comical, and reads more like a YA novel.
It reminds me of the movies, like Death on the Nile, and Murder on the Orient Express. I guess it takes on Agatha Christie style story telling. While it's enjoyable, there were some parts that were slow for me. With so many characters it was also really hard to keep up with everyone and everything that was going on. I loved all the representation in the book, but it feels like there was just too many things crammed into the book/ story.

It was a unique story, fun, and interesting, but I think the story needs to be tightened.

Thank you Frances White, NetGalley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing of the eARC.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story.
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I've wanted to read this ALL YEAR and it was just as good as I heard it would be!!! I, at first, was so in denial of all the murders (for obvious Ravi and Eudora reasons) that I was CONVINCED that that none of it was real?? Or like a ploy to get all the Dux's to be civil with one another? But as the story kept going I realized that, yes all of these people were actually dead. I think the deaths that upset me the most were Shinjiro and Jasper (only because he was a literal child. he was kind of an awful person). (I was also really sad when Leo died even though he was also a prick. I just felt bad for the situation that led him to do all that). I expected more of them to survive for some reason but when Cordelia's plan was revealed it all made sense in the end (sadly). I was really glad Tendai and Yewande managed to escape mostly unscathed though and I'm still mourning a little the death of Wyatt??? I was so in love with the Wyatt version of Ravi that when he revealed himself I was so shocked. There were a TON of clues though now that I'm thinking back on all of it. Overall it was such a mind bobbling story because every character I suspected died almost immediately after. I can't wait to read more books from this author!!

Eek! I am so sorry but this just was not for me. I had to stop at about 35% and I hate doing that. Obviously it is a fantasy mystery book but it read like a VERY young adult novel. I really tried but the magic components never developed and there were weird references to hot dogs and poutine that just makes me jet back to our world and out of the fantasy of a book like this. I really tried but the writing style was so juvenile that I cringed a lot.

First, thank you to NetGalley & Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC.

Second, I saw this compared to Fruits Basket but queer and that sold me, but the only vague similarity to it is that there are 13 animals each person is connected to, but not in the same way. Now that’s not to say I didn’t still love this, I did, but if you’re thinking it’s going to be really similar to Fruits Baskets, it’s not.

I adored this book and our MMC Dee. This deals w some very heavy and serious things, but also has found family, hope & learning to love one’s self. The world building was great. I loved the characters, they were all so well written.

The one thing I wish is that this book had a trigger warning at the beginning for suicidal ideation and similar themes.

A magical, gay, mystery cruise indeed! There was magic and there was (lots) of murder! In other words, this book delivered exactly what it promised. It was fun and witty and the MMC, Dee, is one of the most entertaining characters ever, he’s witty, sarcastic, and just fabulous. I think if you like mysteries or fantasies at all you would love this story! There’s the locked room murder mystery but there’s also magic and romance and one of the best little found families ever. Little Grasshopper 🥹 love her.. “𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢!” And as far as the murder mystery aspect of this went, I honestly had no clue who the culprit was! Was guessing till the very end and there was definitely a couple twists I didn’t see coming! Dee’s character development and his learning to accept and believe in himself was so well done. I just loved this whole story so much 🥹🥹 highly, highly recommend!

𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓲𝓯 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮:
🌈murder mystery
🦄lgbtq+ rep
🌈fantasy
🦄found family
🌈hilariously witty MMC

The beginning was a bit hard for me to get into but as soon as that first murder happened I was so hooked. I was absolutely confused and loving it.

I adored this book! Fantasy characters, a magical ship, a murder mystery, and a little bit of romance. You may not think all of these things could go together, but White pulls it off. I enjoyed the main character's banter and jabs. I do think that it read more like YA than adult fantasy- something between Harry Potter and Percy Jackson- but I do love a good YA book. I would recommend this to anyone.

I loved this book. It was my first of its genre. It’s opened my world to something new. After I learned who everyone was and what was happening, took me a little bit. I was hooked. I was rooting for Fish & Grasshopper. Had my jaw dropping at points and I did not see that twist double back twist happening. I think it would have liked a little more of the “after” the voyage story. However, that doesn’t make more break the book for me.

“You don’t need a Blessing to be a miracle.”
Just because Ganymedes “Dee” Piscero is likely to be murdered on this magical 12-day voyage, doesn’t mean he won’t go down with a joke, a kiss, and some Agatha-Christie-style sleuthing.
Frances White’s debut novel is marketed as a magical gay mystery/fantasy, and it did not disappoint. In fact, I was delightfully surprised to find that the author crafted an exciting, endearing, and laugh-out-loud hilarious story while balancing a fairly large and highly diverse cast of characters. Her narrative voice is impeccable, making even the (somewhat lengthy) bits of exposition feel colorful and energetic. Dee is a fascinating bisexual scamp, and we love him for it. He reads as being both defensive and earnest, which makes you root for him instantly—and Goddess knows the odds are not in his favor.
Dee’s life is built on a lie. As the only child of his territory’s Blessed, the leader endowed with a hereditary power to maintain balance among the provinces, Dee should have developed his powers years ago. Except, he didn’t. In order to prevent his home from falling into chaos, he’s maintained the ruse that he does have a Blessing long enough to be shipped out on the ceremonial voyage to the mountain, where each Blessed will officially take over as their province’s leader. When it quickly becomes clear that nefarious forces are at work, he teams up with unlikely allies and an adorable six-year-old sidekick to discover the truth before the ship arrives with nothing but bodies.
Voyage of the Damned does something remarkable, transforming what could be a simple whodunit into a heartfelt exercise in empathy. The reader grows with Dee, discovering that even the greatest “villains” are more than they appear. This novel is profoundly inclusive, ensuring that readers see themselves as heroes, lovers, and people worth fighting for.
Fans of the Sloe Moon series, Knives Out, and Casey McQuiston will find themselves right at home on this voyage.

If Agatha Christie wrote locked room murder mysteries in a fantasy world with lgbtia relationships, this would be that book. Our main character is from the least important region of his world, and is pretending to a station he doesn't really have. As he and all the other heirs go on a voyage to ascend to their places, people start dying - quickly and mysteriously. Of course, there is a lot more going on, but I felt that the author explained the world rules and politics well without just info dumping at the beginning. Even though this is a murder fantasy (is that a thing?), it still has plenty of funny and sweet moments, too, especially with Grasshopper (who is the cutest character). I read this in less than 24 hours of loving every moment.

This was a solid three stars for me! I enjoyed the journey that this story took me on and I think this would be a good one for anyone who is starting to read more fantasy, but is new to the genre.
This was definitely new territory in my opinion because I have never heard of a fantasy/mystery type of book! All the characters pretty much were all suspects so loving the characters was not high for them in terms of the storyline. Although I do love a good villain, so it’s kind of the same thing? I could picture how all of the characters looked, and where they originated, from very well, which is a huge thing for me when I’m reading! (Especially a fantasy) Along with that because the world building was so accurately explained it was easy to picture everything in my head, which can be the downfall of some books. Dee was more or less a lovable main character. The love interest, Ravi, was explored a lot which I liked. However, I’m sort of over the immediate love connection between characters like Bear and Ganymedes had. All in all it takes a minute to get through the actual “murder mystery“ part of the book, and there were a few good twists that I didn’t see coming that I really enjoyed being shocked about! Although, I’m not great at figuring out twists in books?

Thank you, NetGalley, Frances White and Mira for allowing me to read this advance reader copy. Publication date August 20, 2024.

I enjoyed this new book from Frances White. Voyage of the Damned has a bit of everything, an interesting mystery with limited suspects (in this case a group of magically gifted “blessed” from the different parts of a magical kingdom represented by a variety of animals), a sweet romance, and of course an exciting fantasy adventure with a bit of horror mixed in.

White created a diverse and interesting group of characters and I enjoyed that the main protagonist was pale, chubby and often thought of himself as cowardly and awkward despite in the end being brave.

I kind of predicted what I think was meant to be a bit of a twist, but I still found it a satisfying plotline. It was a fast paced read and for those who are looking for a great stand-alone fantasy that won’t require committing to a long series before a resolution, than you will enjoy this work.

I really did love this one! It took me a minute to get fully invested but I was definitely interested from the start.

When the murders began, I started trying to figure out who it was and settled on the killer pretty quick. I was DEFINITELY NOT RIGHT. Several things I guessed were totally wrong and I love that! I didn’t feel mislead or betrayed, either. Simply didn’t figure it out and I love that for me.

I loved the arc for the main character, Ganymedes. He changes so much through the book but his core values remain. I was rooting for him throughout the book and wanted to see him rise!

Advance reader copy provided by Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley but all opinions are my own.

I must fist start by thanking both NetGalley as well as the publisher MIRA Original Hardcover for my eARC in exchange for my honest review.
A unique unconventional fantasy. Weak background world building along with a main character who works to have you hate him. The mystery component never seems to grab your attention. I had hoped for so much more.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the eARC of this book. I ended up reading a physical copy I received at the ALA conference. All thoughts are my own. I gotta say, this book had me on my toes from the very beginning. I loved Dee from the start, his humor being very relatable to my own. I also love Grasshopper and some of the other side characters.

I loved how much they emphasized the importance of mental health in this book. And just the general belief of believing in yourself. This book overall was a good laugh and a good mystery novel. I definitely recommend it to those who enjoy mystery/fantasy themes and LGBTQ+ representation.

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White is an LGBTQIA murder mystery full of magical beings, intrigue, and suspense.

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Voyage of the Damned book cover.
While overall, I enjoyed the story, this one has many issues. First, it’s billed as adult fantasy, but reads more like YA to me. Second, the world-building is all over the place, or more aptly, full of holes, as is the magic system.

At times, I wanted to empathize with our main character, Dee. At other times, I wanted to smack him for being so self-absorbed and lacking in any sort of self-confidence.

There are also a lot of references that seem out of place, like hot dogs and poutine. What are these doing in this magical world?

I considered putting this down several times, but ultimately, I felt compelled to see how it ended. Somehow, the ending managed to be both satisfying and a let-down.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advance copy in exchange for sharing my opinions. All opinions in this review are my own. Links in this review are affiliate links, and I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.</i>

"TO EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER ENTERED A ROOM AND FELT THEY DID NOT BELONG"

I expected this book to be a bit heavier, and darker than it was. This book has taken me out of my 5-star drought!

I loved everything about this! After reading the cover art was the perfect choice.

I loved this forced proximity, first-person POV, found-family, fantasy murder mystery fated cruise!

Ganymedes Piscero is now my book best friend! I love his personality, his banter, and his heart. The mystery, romance, and magic elements were perfectly placed, each cast member did nothing but add to the story. They were an absolute supporting cast with individual personalities that pulled me across all my emotions. I would love it if Frances wrote a spin-off for each province and focused on the ducs of each, when, and how they came into power, especially in the Ox province.

This book floats across your emotions like a boat floats on water. Do you see what I did there? You laugh, stress, cry, and celebrate all in one book.

There's so much I want to say but I am afraid that I will begin to spoil it, that would be a grave injustice to all readers who come after me. Frances White is an author I will continue to look for and read, I truly enjoyed this story.

Please do yourself a favor and grab this book!

It is Clue with magic houses (provinces) like Disney's Descendants, LGBTQ+IA, non-binary, and trans representation.