Book: The Smog Cursed Kingdom by E.F. Watson
Reviewed by Elles Bookish Nook
Rating: 5/5
Where to begin? @E.F.WatsonWrites has done it again. She’s created characters I love, a cause I care about and a world I want more of.
First of all I want to thank her for the opportunity to read TSCK with an ARC. I am so grateful to have gotten to know her over these past few years and have tumbled headfirst in love with her stories, writing style and well…her.
The introduction to Arina is one that hurts, seeing her massive heart and feelings that she should, could do more but inability to do so was so real. I think we’ve all been in a situation like this and know how much it stings when you’re not able to fix it fully. Life is a first class A-Kicker and we have to just roll with it sometimes, but sometimes, sometimes we get to push back, to find a way around the restrictions put in front of us and that’s what Arina did by training for the Queens Guard tournament. Boy did she turn round to the universe and go F-U - I’ll make this world a better place someway, somehow.
I love a Dual POV, and falling in to Raidens brain early on so that you can get both sides of the conflict (or at least the beginnings of both sides because we love a drawn out plot) was brilliant. I wanted to root for him, his cause. The yearning was evident and made me want to do the whole smush their faces together ‘now kiss’ but also…work for it Raiden - our girl needs someone who can be her equal. She also utterly deserves someone to look after her. Being the strong one, the constant support for everyone is so draining, especially when you do it silently. The strongest people so very often are the ones who are most hurt.
Arinas relationship with Demitra was painful to witness. The writing was so authentic here and told a tale of someone who so desperately wanted a parent that was exactly that. Not someone who needed to be parented. Addiction is a horrible disease, one that is something that affects so, so many people and is so difficult to overcome. The strain it puts on those around the afflicted can be so far beyond traumatic and Arina clearly suffered at her mother’s hand and tongue. I wanted to wrap her up and keep her safe from it all, just like Raiden. She deserves it all.
Found Family is my favourite trope, there, I said it. I was just talking with my best friend yesterday about how side characters, best friends in stories are our favourite parts so often and TSCK did not disappoint at all. Phil was funny and could take Arinas BS, could see right through it. She was the one that Arina could be utterly herself with, we all need someone like that in our lives. I’m excited to learn more about her in the future. Then we have my darling angel Livvy, I loved her from the second we met her. She was sunshine with a solar flare, I wouldn’t have wanted to cross her but would have basked in her light all day long. I CANNOT stress enough how much I NEED her story.
The way the story was wrapped up, the plot twists and the shock factor was just perfect for a fantasy under 300 pages. It didn’t feel rushed to me, and was left in such an open way for multiple future stories/plots and I’m so damn excited to see what comes next!