Short Book Review // A Time of Courage by John Gwynne

I finished A Time of Courage, the third book in Of Blood and Bone trilogy by John Gwynne, around two weeks ago, and I've started writing the review three times over by now. The book is about the Banished Lands and the eternal war between the Ben-Elim and the Kadoshim, in which the mortal people of the world are involved, whether they willed it or not. For more information, visit the author's website.

I don't usually struggle to express my opinion on a book. A Time of Courage is an exception that fortifies the rule. To me, it is an okay book. It's little else than battle and bloodshed, which is what I expected after reading the first two books in the trilogy. 

This author is skilled in writing battle scenes and certainly knows how to keep the reader engaged, which makes A Time of Courage easy and quick to read, regardless of its length. However, it isn't for me. It could've been if not for the underlying young adult fantasy vibe that is present already in the second book and only fortifies in A Time of Courage, making it rather confusing a read, because, considering the amount of death and gore, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to young adults. 

I've nothing against YA books in general. I read them and largely enjoy them. However, I would like to know whether the book/series is YA or YA friendly before I pick it up. OF Blood and Bone is presented as adult fantasy, which is why I started reading it in the first place. Adult fantasy that isn't focused on mere politics and/or world-building, or isn't complete (and as often as not, badly written) smut, isn't easy to find. So, I was happy to have discovered Of Blood and Bone, which seemed to be what I was looking for. Only, it isn't.

The first book in the trilogy, A Time of Dread, doesn't yet scream YA on all of its pages, and that encouraged me to read the second book. There, the young adult vibe is already strong, but as I had read two of the three, I decided to finish what I'd started. I kind of wish that I hadn't, because I wanted to give this trilogy a better review.

What makes A Time of Courage YA then? Firstly, the style in which everything except the battle scenes is written. It deals with adult themes, but lacks the depth I'd expect from an adult book, and the romance that sparks between two of the main characters is fully young adult. I wish the author had left it out entirely. It doesn't add anything to the story, only highlights that A Time of Courage tries to be a book that works for everyone between 13 and 100+ years. 

Then there are the characters. There are five main/narrator characters in A Time of Courage, and only one of them is older than 20 and has a little more life experience than the others. The rest are all around the same age, from 17 to 20 (according to my calculations, at least, as their ages aren't directly mentioned in the books). Basically, we have four coming-of-age plots - quite a bit more violent than they tend to be - and four characters who are more or less alike. I'm sorry to say this, but it's boring. It's also frustrating because there are many interesting figures among the minor characters who could've easily been made MCs to give the story different points of view, adding depth to it and making it more intriguing to adult readers.

All in all, A Time of Courage is an engaging read that won't let you down if you're looking for something action-heavy that brushes on serious themes but doesn't force you to contemplate them too deeply. But it's not adult fantasy. It's YA friendly at the very least, so if you're like me and need a different mindset for enjoying YA fantasy, prepare yourself.