A beautiful LGBTQ+ representation of a book wrapped in a mystery at sea. The writing and characters are easily lovable and flow well together. I hope to delve into this world again someday 5/5.

I got most of the way through this book before I had to call it quits. I was so interested in the mystery as well as the really unique worldbuilding, but the dialogue felt off and every conversation just ended up boring me. Of course, it was important for us to learn the dynamics among all of these characters, but I felt like the side characters all blurred together.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this book! I requested it on a whim, knowing almost nothing about it if I'm being honest and I'm so glad I did. It has everything I love - magic, brilliant world building, lovable characters (I was interested in all of them, even the unlikeable ones), romance, and a diverse cast.

Twelve magical young world leaders get on a ship powered by their dying emperor for a pilgrimage, except Dee isn't actually magical at all, he's completely ordinary. Each of his cohorts has a role to play in the continued existence of a corrupt empire, but they have their secrets. Dee plans to spend the twelve day journey thoroughly pissing them off. He succeeds, then people start dying.

Mystery is a difficult genre for me to like. I find them predictable and formulaic. I need more out of a story. Voyage of the Damned gave me all the more I could need. To boot, I was wrong about all my predictions, and I love that.

Highly recommend!

The heirs of Concordia's twelve provinces have now all received their magical Blessings and embark upon a voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountain. But when the heir to the empire is murdered, definitely-not-a-hero Ganymedes Piscero, who has been faking his hereditary Blessing, will slowly have to step up, because that murder was only the first step of a much larger plan - which may or may not involve his longtime crush - and only the first death. The empire is decidedly not as harmonious as claimed. Intriguing world building, a protagonist who grows up a lot, and a darn good mystery.

Amazing book, love the set up of the book and the whole magical ship and magical people. The murder mystery very well done. The writing style was very well done , enjoyed a lot .

Thanks to @Netgalley and @htpbooks for giving me the eARC for this US release.

When I saw this on Netgalley marketed as a queer murder mystery set on a fantasy cruise ship, I was hooked. This is a political fantasy story with a queer romance woven through it. To mark a thousand years of ‘peace’ the country of Concordia launches a 12 day ocean pilgrimage to a mountain shrine. Aboard are the 12 Blessed, people with a special magical blessing who lead their provinces. But when Blessed suddenly start turning up murdered, Dee Piscero, of the much maligned and totally disrespected Fish clan, makes it his mission to figure shit out.
And Dee was awesome. Dee is hilariously snarky and even though he doesn’t think he’s smart or worthy, he actually IS. It’s a great journey through the story as we see him start to step into his own power and confidence. He’s a plus size love interest and his size is only ever shown as a positive. He knows he’s sexy as hell and his body is part of his appeal.
I could not have predicted how this mystery would turn out. Every time I thought I had a clue something would come along and smash my theories. It was delightful. Great dialog and banter and I loved the setting of the story aboard a fantasy cruise ship with tiny dragon stewards!

Read This If You - like a good murder mystery, like queer folks upsetting the status quo, have ever wanted to give the finger to corrupt authorities, have ever given your heart to a sad lost boy inside a cave while sharing your secrets. Or just want to read the story of the boy who did.

What a surprisingly delightful book.

I went into this excited but with my expectations in check and found myself dreading anytime I had to put this book down.

We have a magical!!!! gay!!!! murder mystery!!!! on a ship!!!!!! There murder and intrigue and found family. It's fast-paced, we don't dawdle or drag. I found the world building to be very interesting considering we're stuck on a boat, and all around I had a really good time.

The only reason I'm docking a star is because sometimes the main character grated on me (he's supposed to) but it got a bit tedious at times, but I did really end up enjoying his arc.

Besides that, this was such a fun take on the "locked door" genre filled with so much heart.

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the description, I was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, it was not my type of story. It lacked explanation, depth, and world building. The main character and the story’s point of view really fell short and just weren’t enjoyable to me. A story with so much murder and several ‘twists’, I was expecting more action or suspense, but honestly so much of the story just felt boring. Really just not my thing…

*Received as a free ARC*
So even after reading, I don't know how I feel about the murder mystery bit. It just got SO gruesome. However, the plot and magic system were unique and intriguing. Issues of race and class were woven into the plot, which was queer normative. Honestly, with all the -isms going on homophobia probably would have tipped it over into uncomfortable to read, given the current political climate. All in all, I solidly enjoyed this book. Not sure I'd read a sequel, but I'd certainly read this author again.

Thank you so much to author Frances White, Harlequin Trade Publishing, and NetGalley for this free eARC that I received in exchange for an honest review.

Voyage of the Damned is an absolutely unhinged take on the classic murder-mystery-on-a-moving-boat/train trope. It follows our detective Ganymedes Piscero (aka Piss Fish aka Dee) as he essentially attends a bloody boat ride with people who more or less hate him (not as much as he hates himself) for a whopping 12 days. However, whatever original plans he had for this 12 day cruise ends up utterly out the window once the bodies of his peers begin to pile up.

Another reviewer described this book as a "gay magical murder cruise" (-Julie L, Book Trade Professional) and that is exactly the way that I will be describing this story when recommending it to others. There is simply no easier way to put it. I quite enjoyed this book, as our hero was unlike any I have read of before. Rather than being driven by self righteousness or for the good in the world, Dee here is primarily motivated to uncover the killer after the slaying of the man he yearns for, Ravi. Despite Dee's being quite self loathing, he puts on a silly goofy act for others so not as to reveal his real self to his friends and enemies. When he speaks, it is without a filter which can lead to all kinds of craziness throughout the story.

While I loved the characterization of the main character, I will note that there are some weaknesses in regards to the characterization of the many many additional characters throughout the book. To begin, there were simply so many characters that it did become a little confusing at first to remember who was who of what province and so on. In addition, the characters from other provinces were given the bare-minimum personality wise. I do wish that more time might have been spent getting to know these characters and giving them more time to shine.

Overall, this was a fun read, and I look forward to reading what Frances White puts out in the future.

I am so very excited for this book to be released. The cover is very beautiful and the story is intriguing.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and net galley for allowing me to have this advanced electronic readers copy of Voyage of the Damned

This has been described as a fantasy version of Agatha Christie and, as one reviewer on Goodreads memorably put it, "Wow, what if Fruits Basket were gay and took place on a boat and there was SO MUCH MURDER?" Obviously I had to read it.

It’s quite a page turner (finished it a day), and I see why people are so enthusiastic. I love the cheeky, food-motivated protagonist Ganymedes Piscero. His internal monologue and his interactions with the rest of the passengers are delightful.

The world-building and the plot are too light for my tastes though. I am very good at suspension of disbelief but struggled here. I think a good mystery works because the reader can in theory understand the mechanics of what could have happened and hazard an educated guess based on context clues, and I don’t think that’s really possible here– the rules around Blessings and heirs and the world itself simply aren’t well substantiated. The official marketing describing the book as a fantasy version of Agatha Christie is quite a spoiler if you have any familiarity with Murder on the Orient Express.

Amazing potential but I found the actual execution lacking.

There were some elements I absolutely loved in this including the fantasy meets murder mystery meets comedy and others I was less in love with. I was not very keen on the romance and I felt like this book would have been better without it entirely.

I also would have liked to see more depth when it came to this world as the entire concept behind it is very interesting but what little detail we get about it feels like a missed opportunity.

I did find the main character, Dee, to be particularly entertaining with his wise-crack humor and commentary but I can see why he may rub some the wrong way. Grasshopper was also a delight and all rays of sunshine. The other characters never caught my interest.

Overall if you're a fan of murder mystery with both a fantasy twist and a queer romance, this may be the book for you.

*Thank you to MIRA and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

Fantasy locked door murder mystery? Yes please!

There's a lot going on in this book, and often I felt like I needed to take notes to keep all of the details straight. I thought the warring factions and political intrigue kept the plot moving nicely, but we didn't get as much characterization as I'd like. Albeit there were 12 different characters wandering around a yacht with a murderer on the loose, so I understand not having the time to focus on everyone individually. Dee is a bit of an antihero, floundering his way through conspiracy after conspiracy in an attempt to make it out alive. Would I be game for a sequel? Yes. But overall this still works as a standalone novel with a few loose ends that the reader can wonder about.

Fantsastic, incredibly wonderful worldbuilding! I love when books live up to the hype they are portrayed to have on Social Media. This one delivered--and MORE.. Fantastic!

This was a lovely fantasy murder mystery. I loved the narrator's voice. It was a mix of saying the quiet things out loud and wicked humor all wrapped up in a heaping of self-loathing. Grasshopper's instant affection for him was the same as my own. Even with so many suspects and provinces to keep track of from the beginning, I found the storytelling accessible. This was a real treat of a read and a wonderful blend of my two loves -- fantasy and mystery.

Fabulous fantasy! I loved Dee and especially Grasshopper. To eat? or to love? Grasshoppers grasp of what category to place things was super cute! So much to love about this debut! Action, adventure, murder, betrayal, mystery, love. The list goes on.

I had such a fun time with Voyage of the Damned. I immediately felt I could relate to Ganymedes (aka Dee) with his feelings of not fitting in, being the odd one out, and having to lie to everyone about this magical power he was supposed to have (masking, anyone?)

Dee’s growth throughout the book was, in my opinion (and without giving away any spoilers) *chefs kiss.* I love watching a main character prove everyone absolutely wrong for their assumptions and prejudices.

I also super enjoyed the cross between fantasy and murder mystery. As someone who almost exclusively reads fantasy, it was a fun way to try something a little new.

Touching story of friendship and love between social classes. In this case, between Blessed heir passengers upon a twelve day voyage. They were supposed to arrive at the sacred mountain of the Goddess but one by one the Blessed are murdered. Most of the Blessed are keeping their special ability, or blessing, a secret. Some have other kinds of secrets. The murderer knows a secret or two and seeks to learn the gifts of the Blessed before killing them.
While lives are being taken hearts are breaking and promises made to find the culprit or culprits by two unlikely misfit Blessed heirs.
Best ending to a great mystical tale

Voyage of the Damned by Frances White is a captivating journey through a fantastical world filled with magic, murder, and romance. The vivid and colorful setting of the story drew me in, making it an enchanting and thrilling read.