Magical murder mystery cruise ship where humor and wit abounds from our tour guide Dee. This book was so much fun! If you enjoy who done it escape rooms, tv shows or dinners pick this book up now. I was immediately ensnared in the plot points for Dee. I loved him as the main character. He was snarky, funny with the raw vulnerability that can only happen in 1st person point of view.

I tabbed so much of my book from witty comments or plot points I could have had my own diagram of deduction. The last time I had this much fun I was reading Assistant to Villain. Be warned you will need a full batch of annotation tabs before starting.

Good world building and interesting characters made this an unexpectedly good read for me. This isn't my genre-although to be fair, it crosses several genres-but I found myself engaged and turning the pages. Thanks to the publisher for the ArC.

A witty & quirky fantasy murder mystery perfect for fans of Agatha Christie & Rick Riordan. Unique world building & magic system with a Murder on the Orient Express style mystery. Such a fun read that kept me guessing and quite a few laughs along the way. New adult standalone with LGBTQ+ characters.

In the first few chapters of this book I wasn't sure if I would like it, but I'm so glad I kept reading because I actually really enjoyed this book. I found the plot interesting and I really enjoyed all of the characters and world politics. Each character felt complex and different, they all had their own motivations, feelings and weaknesses. I found the story to be engaging throughout.

I didn't love the ending though, it wasn't a bad ending really I just would have preferred a different ending.

All in all, this is a fun fantasy murder mystery with an interesting world, incredible characters and great lgbt representation.

This was such a fun book filled with twists, turns, and self deprecating main character. This feels like And Then There Were None was mashed up with a Hunger Game like forced proximity on a luxurious ship and of course, add magic.
Dee doesn't want to go on this trip, in fact, he hates the people and the reason for the trip. Dee also kinda wants to just eat lots of good food. But when he's forced on the ship with the 11 other passengers, he is also embroiled into a mystery, and it evolves from there.
I really enjoyed the mystery, the characters, the story telling (and the story showing), the ending, and the friendships that develop.
Highly recommend for fantasy mystery lovers.

This book feels like a mix between Gideon the Ninth and And Then There Were None, with a dash of the extravagance of Titanic thrown in. And, it turns out, it’s really not for me.

The voice is glib and casual, and there are a lot of characters to keep straight. the characters all feel like flat archetypes, not full people.

The storytelling leans heavily on telling rather than showing. It’s almost like a video game where you need to go around and ask characters a bunch of questions. That’s a fine video game structure, but as a book, it’s exhausting to have characters just telling you stuff about the world all the time. There is much exposition and people talking about other people and what they think happened, and I just kept waiting for something to actually *happen* on the page.

This feels like it could sit on the shelf next to A Reckless Truth and The Inheritance Games, which makes sense, since neither of those books really captured my interest either.

The biggest mark against this book is the troubling racism and white savior themes throughout. True, a big plot point was the class divide, but the “lower class” province characters were portrayed with dialects and cultures that weee flat and stereotypical and honestly gross. It felt like watching a bad Western with the Natives barely more than a flavorful obstacle. Or like Robinson Crusoe, where Friday is a “lesser” character who needs Crusoe to civilize him. Whenever a different culture appeared on the page, I began to brace for their portrayal, because it rarely was complex or unexpected for these characters.

This is a classic case of “Alyssa would have rated it higher if she had DNF’ed.” I was all set to quit at 30% and give it 3 ⭐️ and say it wasn’t for me. But then there was a little sprinkling of romance, so I simply had to continue to see where that went. Unfortunately, the book went from only mildly interesting to just plain bad after that.

Hopefully other readers find more value in it, but I am not that reader.

I really wanted to like this book, I really did. It just fell flat for me. The “magic” system wasn’t clear, the characters were unlikeable, and I couldn’t connect with anyone enough to care. I think I went into this book with too many expectations, especially with the many comparisons to Agatha Christie.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF'ed at 80%.

Ahhhhhh! I spent quite a bit of time reading this one, only to give it up at a late hour. But it was never unqualified love for me, and then things happened late in the book and I just didn't want to read anymore.

If you're into irreverent leads, a multi-murder situation, and a romance arc (albeit one that wasn't super convincing or impactful for me), you might like this one. But it wasn't for me.

(Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC; all opinions provided are my own.)

This book was so unique! The ending was worth the lengthy ride. From 70% on, I could not put the book down.

12 different groups of people, identified via animal according to a legend from long ago. We have a mighty Goddess who divides the Blessing amongst the 12, passing via a child. Our story follows the Fish Blessed, the lowest of the 12. All 12 blessed are making a voyage via boat when murders begin happening.

Hear me out--Avatar the Last Airbender vibes. If the Avatar was gay. And there were murders.

This is such a unique book. Some of the humor reminded me a little bit of Running Close to the Wind, but about 1000x more serious. The main character is goofy and outlandish but only to hide deeper pain. I enjoyed the overall setup of the world, with the different parts of the country each having different traits. In some ways I wish we had gotten a closer look at the history of the country, how the bandage was put in, what the conditions the Crabs are subject to are like, and a lot of other details but the book would end up 600 pages long so I do understand why not everything can be explored. I also really enjoyed the murder mystery and investigation element. It was constantly keeping me on my toes and surprising me.

The one thing I didn’t love was the romance plotline; given some of the reveals towards the end of the book, including one MAJOR spoiler, I was… less invested in the romance and honestly a little confused at how it was continuing to move forward. So much was made about Dee being such a good and pure person and then he’s just fine with some really heinous behavior. That was a little tough.

With insistent tongue-in-cheek humor, a cast of unique magical characters, and a mystery that could unfurl in hundreds of way, Voyage of the Damned by Frances White may just be one of my favorite books of all time. Thank you so much to Frances White and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC - I'll be running out to get at least one copy once it is released in the USA on Tuesday, August 20th.

Ganymedes Piscero, or Dee to those who don't find him an insufferable waste of space, has no choice but to embark on a cruise journey with his fellow Blessed, the heirs to each of the twelve provinces of Concordia. They are known as Blessed because of their Blessings, unique magical abilities that mark them as chosen. Problem is, Ganymedes never actually received his Blessing, and all he wants is to be exiled so he can escape his false throne. Imagine his shock when, instead of being the focus for causing a scene, someone else decides to show him up by murdering the most important Blessed in all of Concordia? Jerk.

With emotions spanning from laugh-out-loud funny to gut-wrenchingly emotional, I felt everything under the sun with this one. There was so much to learn about and explore, and Ganymedes is such a complex character that he, himself, doesn't even recognize the extent of his emotional turmoil. I was overwhelmed when I started to process the reality of what went on in his mind which he covers so well with humor. Not to mention the queer romance, and how that weaved its way into the mystery itself. Excellently done. I might cry again.

All of the characters in this book are similarly excellently written to Ganymedes, with a depth and rawness that shook me. Everyone has secrets. Everyone is bearing a burden. And everyone is at risk of being murdered. I can't state highly enough how wrapped up in the mystery I found myself, though I never came close to understanding how it all happened until the very end. For the first time in a long time, I feel tempted to re-read.

Despite a couple of cliched or clunky moments at the end, I will die on this hill: Voyage of the Damned is absolutely one of my favorite reads of the year, and maybe of all time. I want to stay in their world forever, and I hope you'll take the leap if this sounds like a good time to you. I sincerely hope it impacts you in the same way it did for me. Thank you again Frances White and Harlequin. I am so glad I got to experience this joy.

This was a fun read and I enjoyed the idea of the plot. Though there wasn’t really any world building, it starts out really great and drew me in immediately, but it does drag in the middle and almost lost me. Even though the characters are a little older, it feels very young adult, because to me they act like teenagers, but I don’t mind too much, I do enjoy YA. I’d rather them have been aged down though.

I received an eARC of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I have tried to read this book several times and I cannot get past 10%. Even before the main character goes on a chapter long campaign to make everyone on the cruise hate him I already hated him. I felt like the book/main character was trying so hard to be cool and not caring about what other people think etc. etc. that it was painful to read. If this book was a person I would go out of my way to not spend any time around them.

4.5 rounded to 5

Despite being a debut, Voyage of the Damned already starts off strong with a one-of-a-kind concept (Murder mystery on a boat? That's nothing special, Death on the Nile is right over there. Murder mystery on a boat but make it twelve magical heirs who very much hate each other? Now we're talking!) and that was enough to get my attention.
Dee was the perfect main character, and the first person narration really does him justice; his POV was hilarious, even though the writing could be clunky in places. The plot is both wow and a bit predictable, but still delightful to follow.

This book is just a wild romp through every murder mystery cliche known to man wrapped in a copius amount of funny moments and just a dash of emotional trauma. It was the perfect summer read and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone who ever thought "Hey, what if we took murder mysteries and put a laughing track over"?

I really like the concept of this book, but it did not hold my attention. It reads more like YA than Adult Fantasy, which I think is because of the main character.

My gods, why did I wait so long to get to this book? I loved this very silly, goofy time of a gruesome fantastical murder mystery with a sprinkle of an adorable lgbtq romance. I laughed out loud so many times at just how absolutely ridiculous this story was, but at its core it was a heart-wrenching story about belonging, grief, finding your swarm, and standing up for your beliefs. This reminded me a bit of Gideon the Ninth but less confusing and without the gaslighting.

I was highly surprised in the best way by Voyage of the Damned, and I will be reading anything Frances White writes from now on!

4.5 stars, because I'm confused how they have glizzy's and poutine in this magical realm. lol.

‘𝙐𝙣𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙪𝙥 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙.’
‘𝙀𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙧. […] 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙄 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚.’

I had no idea what to expect going into this one, and it definitely didn’t grab me early on. There was a lot to wrap my head around in the early chapters, with the Blessed, the Provinces, the mythology surrounding this empire, this boat they are on, not to mention the 12 voyagers on this murder cruise.

But once I hit that 25% mark, it all clicked, and I was in.

The mystery angle definitely hooked me, getting me to theorize on all the possibilities, proving me wrong, and then maybe not wrong??

And I really fell for the main character, Dee. He was so cuddly, and loving, and used all the sarcasm he could to put up his “walls”.

I also really loved the side characters, Grasshopper being my personal favorite! 🥺

It kept me guessing right up until the end, leading up to an exciting climax and a moving ending. Would definitely recommend this one to those who enjoy sarcasm, mystery, and fantasy settings.

Thank you NetGalley and MIRA for providing me an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

What this book is giving:
✅ Adult Fantasy/Mystery
✅ Magical Gay Mystery Cruise
✅ Murder Boat
✅ Blessed
✅ Magic
✅ Detective Dee’s Diagram of Deduction

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ / 5
🌶️½ / 5

I have read a lot of good books this year but Voyage of the Damned has to be in the Top Three so far, maybe even Number 1!
She had me at: “For everyone who has entered a room and felt they did not belong.” And then there’s the map of Concordia followed by the plan of the ship, The Dragon’s Dawn, and finally, a list of the “Blessed” from each Province. Being a Pisces, I was, of course, immediately drawn to Ganymedes Piscero. And he did not disappoint. What a wonderful character. Honestly, most of the characters are well drawn, okay, all. All of the characters are unique. From the blessed of the lowest provinces, Fish and Grasshopper, to the highest, Dragon and Tiger, with the Imperial Heir, Eudora, and her Shield, Leofric. And the eight provinces in between.

What an imaginative world and plot, and the fun in discovering, along with Ganymedes, AKA Dee, everyone’s Blessing. It’s a murder mystery, and a thriller, and a Queer romance. It’s all the emotions. No wonder it’s so highly anticipated.

If you like fantasy mixed with murder and really cool characters who range from a sexual to bi-sexual, this is a must-read.

I'm fairly inexperienced with fantasy, so I wanted to try this book out as an exploration. I'm honestly so impressed. This book was a delightful adventure and I really enjoyed the creativity of the world building. This book is popular on TikTok, but if like me, you didn't know that, I hope you will go into this book totally blind and just let the story wash over you.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for my review.

What an intense, sad book that's so much more than just a fantasy murder mystery.

In this book, we learn about an empire made up of 12 lands with their characteristics, challenges, and dux. Each dux is chosen when they get their "power" from the goddess. Once all "Blessed" are chosen, they go on a two-week (ish) boat journey together, separated from the rest of the world.

Pretty quickly we find out that the Blessed are being killed...but by whom? It's only the Blessed on the boat!

The investigation turns into investigations of relationships, societal, and familial expectations, as well as questioning the truth of the empire in which they live. There are wonderful relationships in this story that made me smile and also want to cry. There is also quite a bit of queer representation sprinkled seamlessly into the story, which I appreciated.