BOOK REVIEW- MARSH KINGS DAUGHTER BY KAREN DIONNE

The Marsh Kings Daughter is a book based on a slight retelling of an old story. The story is based on a swan princess who gets stolen away, and this book is about an abduction. 

The main story arc is based around the daughter of a man. The man abducted her mother when she was a teenager and kept her captive for 10-15 odd years until they escaped. The father has now escaped.  

The book isn’t written in a linear story. Instead, it jumps back and forward in time from modern day of the daughter and father hunting each other and the past where the daughter is raised in captivity, thinking everything is normal. 

The book falls apart because the story is inconsistent and convoluted with this narrative device. Revelations late in the book make parts of the beginning of the book make little sense. For example, the daughter figures out the dad is bad at the end, but other parts of the book after this still have her idolising her dad. 

Writing the book in a linear fashion would’ve definitely been better to sort out the narrative inconsistencies. The other main issue is just how unlikeable and uninteresting the main character is. She does horrible things, refuses to admit her mistakes, and puts everyone in danger with her dumbe decisions.

Unfortunately these two problems make the book very grating. Add to this that the plot requires contrivances to actually progress that break any sense of immersion, this book becomes a chore to read. 

1.5 out 5 marsh waffles.