delicate eternity logo
A haven for lovers of the written word
separate post

the sin eater's daughterWhat: The Sin Eater’s Daughter (The Sin Eater’s Daughter #1) by Melinda Salisbury

Who: Scholastic Press

When: March 1st 2015

How: A copy of this novel was provided by Scholastic Australia for review.

I am the perfect weapon.
I kill with a single touch.

Twylla is blessed. The Gods have chosen her to marry a prince, and rule the kingdom. But the favour of the Gods has it’s price. A deadly poison infuses her skin. Those who anger the queen must die under Twylla’s fatal touch.

Only Lief, an outspoken new guard, can see past Twylla’s chilling role to the girls she truly is.

Yet in a court as dangerous and the queen’s, some truths should not be told…

2cats2

If I was going to sum up this book in one word it would be boring. Seriously, besides the mildly intense last few chapters of The Sin Eater’s Daughter, absolutely nothing happened in this book. I was pretty much bored out of my mind – wondering when I was actually going to start reading something.

Pretty much all that happens is Twylla (I need to comment on how heinous that name is. TWYLLA? I just. No, please no) feeling sorry for herself, Twylla explaining how she came to the castle, Twylla bitching about how horrible the queen is but still obeying her every wish because she’s got no backbone, Twylla being gullible, Twylla perving on her guard, Twylla taking an eon to think for herself, Twylla reneging on promises, Twylla bowing out.

There you go – The Sin Eater’s Daughter. Down to one paragraph.

But seriously, The Sin Eater’s Daughter was incredibly slow, and incredibly predictable. I was not surprised by any of the “shock twists and turns” as I assume I was supposed to be. In all honesty some of them felt like a nice way to clean up inconsistencies in the “mythology” presented in the book. Which I wasn’t a big fan of.

I also wasn’t a fan of the instalove that was heavy as all hell in this book. And can I please mention the most AWKWARD SEX SCENE INFERENCE EVER? They fall back on a bed – end scene. Next scene begins with “afterwards” … what??? Since when is falling back on a bed fully clothed a euphemism for sex? And since when is sex so taboo that we don’t even get any foreplay or actual sexual encounters? The sexual erasure in YA is actually killing me lately, and I could barely believe the sex cop out in The Sin Eater’s Daughter.

If the entire book had had the urgency and interest of the last few chapters, I probably would have given it three stars. There was actually plot in those chapters, and something to hold my attention. And I’m actually interested in reading the sequel simply because there’s finally something happening and something to invest in. But since 80% of the novel was scene setting and subpar world building, I am giving it the two star rating you see above.

The only character I really felt anything towards was Tyrek, and he was dead from, like, page one. So there you go. I suppose I felt a bit for Merek but he’s also a bit pathetic in the “idc if you love another guy, Twylla, be with me bb”. No, bro. Find someone who actually loves you. You’ll be a lot happier for it, trust me.

Anyway, after a most mediocre beginning, I am still quite interested in reading the rest of this series, simply to see what happens with everything that went down in the end of The Sin Eater’s Daughter.

© 2015, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.

Tagged with: / /
separate post
Posted on: April 18, 2015 • By: Chiara

31 Responses to Review: The Sin Eater’s Daughter by Melinda Salisbury

  1. I actually couldn’t stand the ending. If anything, it made me even more angry. I just got the impression that Salisbury was like “crap I need something to build a sequel off of!” Twylla connecting the dots was far too quick to be reasonable, since she’s also really stupid.

    I do agree with EVERYTHING else. This book was SUCH A FILL OMG.
    Great review!

    • Chiara says:

      HAHA XD The ending intrigued me only because I hate not knowing things. So I was like: I’m pretty certain its Lief at the door BUT I HAVE TO KNOW.

      It was pretty subpar, I must say.

      Thanks, Nova!

  2. Benish says:

    Uh oh sounds like this one was a miss for you .. I did like the concept and the plot twists in this novel. I hated the romance and in my opinion, both of the male leads sucked. I didn’t know who to root for .. I rooted for the evil queen Loool I did like the ending though, it does pick up there more. Wonderful review Chiara, I do hope your next book is a hit for you <3

  3. Oh goodness, this sounds horrible. When I first read the synopsis I thought it would be fantastic. The premise holds promising depths and characters. It sucks that it didn’t work out for you (or atleast the 80% of the book). First books in a series are really tricky for so I guess it might take a while for me if to read this. BUT THE SEX PART!? I think I choked while reading your review about that. Aside that it’s lame, it’s also ridiculous. Sexual tension and foreplay are very important! >:[

    • Chiara says:

      YEP. And I thought it would be totally awesome, as well :(

      The sex inference in this book was SO HORRIBLE, ABBY WHAT EVEN. And yes, they ARE important, so I was not a fan of their erasure in this book.

  4. I enjoyed Salisbury’s writing but I was disappointed with the twists. I thought the ending was really good and because of that I am also looking forward to book 2, which I think will be in the POV of another character.

  5. Agree agree agree with everything you said. I did enjoy this book and liked all the world-building, but I didn’t connect to any of the characters and the complete lack of plot until the last 50 pages was a huge let-down. Still, I’m going to be picking up the sequel, but I wish The Sin Eater’s Daughter had been so much better–it was one of the 2015 releases I was most anticipating, and it definitely didn’t live up to my expectations. Le sigh.

    • Chiara says:

      *high five*

      It’s such a shame when you’re looking forward to a book and it turns out not meeting your expectations. UGH.

      I’m going to pick up the sequel, too, because there have been a few cases where I’ve enjoyed sequels! Let’s hope this is one of those series.

  6. Hahaha your review made me laugh so much! I can’t believe after all that you want to read the next book. Glutton for punishment much ;) I still really love the cover of this book though, shame about the insides!

  7. Mawa Mahima says:

    Aysh. You know when you look at a book and INSTANTLY realise that you won’t like it…The Sin Eater’s Daughter was that one for me. Even if the cover was gorgeous my bookish senses sensed right. :D

  8. Annette says:

    Great review honey; I’ve been wondering about this one. Twylla sounds a bit… disappointing, for a main character and I can see how such a slow start to any actual PLOT might be a bit of a turn-off. But if the last few chapters are enough to convince you to read book 2, then I might still check this one out of the library sometime. Thanks honey!

    • Chiara says:

      Thank you! Twylla was definitely a mediocre main character that I really felt nothing for.

      Yes, the last chapters made me interested in continuing with the series, but I don’t think I’d rec this book >.<

  9. That is so weird… about the sex scene thing. Man, okay… I’m so disappointed to see hundreads of people disliking this one. Had high hopes and I have a copy of it, sigh. Hmm, I guess I’ll read it if I really have no other book to read. Or just like start it and if I don’t like it, DNF. Anyway, great review!!

    • Chiara says:

      I KNOW. It literally had me shocked and open mouthed.

      It’s always so disappointing when a book you’re looking forward to turns out to be a disappointment :(

      Thanks, Lola!

  10. …Well, Twylla sounds like an absolute wimp. A really annoying wimp. I’m probably going to want to throw bleach in her eyes.

    As for the sex thing… There was this awesome group of bloggers chatting about the lack of sexy times in YA books, and I’m definitely not recommending this book to them, in this case.

    Boo for the only decent characters dying. :/

    • Chiara says:

      SHE IS, AIMEE. Like “woe if my life” is pretty much her motto.

      Uhm, definitely not. I was actually pretty pissed off. I mean we’re not twelve year olds. We can handle sexual encounters. Geez.

      Yep. I liked that character and then BAM he’s dead. T.T

  11. That last part about the Merik guy? Yeah, pretty much why I hate most love triangles, why are there always these two love sick boys who can’t just GET OUT already? It’s so infuriating, and while I haven’t read this book that name sounds like Twilight so there’s a good chance I never will.. But awesome job with the review Chiara ;)

  12. Gosh, I bought this book a couple of weeks ago and I’ll be reading it soon :(
    I truly hope I’ll like it at least a bit more than you did :( Cuz the premise was so good!!

  13. Awww…I’m sorry to hear this was a bit disappointing for you Chiara. But, reading your thoughts, I can completely see where you’re coming from considering the pacing and the instalove. Instalove is no fun at all, and it’s really disappointing that it happens here. Thanks for sharing this honest review though! <3

    • Chiara says:

      I had high hopes because the premise sounded so interesting, but everything just fell … flat. And UGH instalove pains me to no end, Zoe!

      No problem, dear <3

  14. *headdesk* The potential Tyrek had for the book kills me. But honestly I’m with you about Merek – I want a book where he’s all alone being his weirdo self and falling in love with someone else. Twylla’s a stick in the mud -_-

    • Chiara says:

      I KNOW. Why the HELL would Salisbury have killed off the only character with true potential *screaming*

      Yes, I kind of was a Winner’s Curse situation for Merek, where he can find a girl suitable for him. Here’s so hoping.

  15. Romi says:

    I just read another review for this and I’m concluding I won’t be keeping this on my tbr, despite how brilliant the premise is- it sounds like it’s really exciting and I was super excited about how it would turn out, but… I just don’t think it’s going to turn out anything, for me. Twylla sounds like a pretty weak character, and if she gets character development I’m thinking it comes far too late, the romance sounds frustrating and the sex “scene” certainly sounds bizarre (have you read A Court of Thorns and Roses? Because that is pretty up front and clear on it’s sex scenes). I’m just thinking this one is now a no.
    Hopefully the second book is more enjoyable by far! Xx

    • Chiara says:

      Yeah, I don’t suggest keeping it on your TBR, Romi. There were simply too many problems with it >.< I really don't think Twylla had any character development in this book AT ALL. Perhaps in the next book. UHM YES. I LOVED the sex scenes in ACoTaR. Bless Sarah J. Maas for not being afraid to actually include sex in YA. Seriously. Thank you! I hope so too, Romi. <3

  16. Kelly says:

    I keep seeing so many negative reviews on this one about how boring it is…it’s such a bummer, considering the promising storyline and that beautiful cover! Sorry you didn’t enjoy this one more!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *