Table of Contents

“The Roman Empire never fell. The Gods are real. Ships are alive.

In the Province of Britannia, ruled by descendants of King Arthur and on the brink of an industrial revolution, young Maia Abella is on the run.

Something unseen has murdered her cruel mistress and she’s being blamed. The streets and factories of Portus are no place for a friendless girl, trapped in events beyond her control.

The city authorities and the Royal Navy are both desperate to find her – one investigating a killer, the other to recruit her, while the deadly legacy of a tragic past stalks her every step.

Aided by Raven, an ancient, blind Mage with a terrible secret and Milo, Crown Agent and spy, Maia must discover and overcome the fatal consequences of her birth.

Meanwhile, the Gods are making their moves. And not all of them are friendly.”

Title: Wrath of Olympus

Series: Ships of Britannia #1

Author: E. M. Kkoulla

Page Count: 245

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Date Read: August 10th, 2023

Wrath of Olympus hit my radar in the last couple of months when seeing the cover release for the most recent installment. Long story short book one ended up being our group buddy read for the month of August. This ended up being a month full of buddy reads (4) so I was happy to have this as one of them due to I knew it was on the shorter side for a novel.
 
The pacing didn’t end up seeming as quick as I was expecting for such a short read. I think this was mainly due to the longer chapters. There really are only a handful of chapters in this book. I think if there were have been shorter chapters it would have felt like it was flying by for me personally. With that being said though, I didn’t have any real issues tripping me up with names or writing style. I think I received this better overall than the majority of the group simply because I have had quite a few shorter reads this year. I think that helped me feel more comfortable with this one’s length and pacing.
 
The world development was good. We have quite the mix of historical or mythological cultures coming together in this book and I hope that continues with the series as I do plan to continue it as I can. There was some really interesting magical aspects from living ships (figure heads) that can appear to have face to face conversations throughout the ship, yet also having a mental connection with their captains and trainees. There is also a type of godly magic that some humans possess depending how far removed from their ancestral gods may be. We don’t get to venture too far from our opening region in book one but I’m hoping that changes in future books.
 
The character development was also done well. Sure an author is going to be limited on time to flesh out a lot of characters but I felt we established enough to identify with main characters and perhaps some of the supporting cast will be fleshed out more in future books as well. I liked that the author did a good job in painting some villains as well as other characters that are annoying and could perhaps be redeemed eventually or more than likely also become despised before their story is finished.
 
I definitely had some Live Ship Trader vibes from this one with the living ships of course. But at the same time these ships and the world seemed different enough to be it’s own.
 
I’d recommend Wrath of Olympus to fans of fantasy stories looking for some quick reads they can plug into their TBR easily enough. Having an interest in a magical nautical feel is going to be a good bonus as well.

World Building 4/5
Pacing 4/5
Character Development 4/5

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Chad Barnard

Owner/Operator of The Hiking Reader Blog. Sharing thoughts on books and hiking trails and trying to find ways to continue to incorporate both hobbies together.

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