Book Review: "Where the Rain Cannot Reach" by Adesina Brown

"Where the Rain Cannot Reach" by Adesina Brown is a captivating and emotionally charged novel that explores the depths of human resilience and the power of love. Set against a backdrop of adversity and personal struggles, the author weaves a poignant tale that lingers in the reader's mind long after the final page.

The story follows the journey of the main character (please provide the name if available) as they navigate through difficult circumstances and confront their inner demons. Adesina Brown's writing style is evocative and lyrical, effectively capturing the raw emotions and complexities of the human experience. The prose flows beautifully, immersing the reader in the character's world and allowing for a deep connection to be formed.

One of the strengths of this novel is the depth and authenticity of the characters. Each individual is richly developed, with their own unique struggles, desires, and dreams. The author skillfully explores themes of loss, resilience, and the search for meaning, creating characters that feel relatable and genuine.

The setting of the book adds an additional layer of richness to the narrative. The vivid descriptions transport the reader to the places where the story unfolds, allowing for a sensory experience that enhances the overall reading pleasure. Whether it's the bustling city streets or the serene beauty of nature, Adesina Brown's attention to detail brings the scenes to life.

While the novel deals with heavy themes and explores the darker aspects of life, it also offers moments of hope and redemption. The overarching message of the book is one of resilience and the transformative power of love and human connections. It reminds us that even in the face of adversity, there is always a glimmer of light to hold onto.

"Where the Rain Cannot Reach" is a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant novel that will captivate readers with its beautiful prose and compelling storytelling. Adesina Brown's talent shines through in this book, making it a recommended read for those who enjoy immersive narratives with deep emotional impact.

I will always appreciate when a book like Where the Rain Cannot Reach showcases queerness in its fantasy worldbuilding; it's great that this book explores how gender, sexuality, and the language used for those things are culturally contingent. However, this novel does not feel right narratively: the pace is strained by large bits of exposition, quick actions, and characters appearing and disappearing. The romance in particular feels bizarre, coming out of nowhere (I am a very hard sell on the idea of "mates", and it does too much heavy lifting here). More pressingly, with regards to the central quest, I just never bought into it; characters can definitely have flawed plans, but Tair's intended role here seemed so illogical that it couldn't be real (indeed, it is reliant upon very late and rapid revelations). I left its hurried conclusion feeling frustrated and confused rather than intrigued by where the series might go next. A shame, as a lot of the key pieces here make a lot of sense, but it just feels like it needed to be revised a fair bit further.

3 stars

This book started out slow and it took me about halfway through to get into it. At times the pacing was perfect but overall it felt very inconsistent. The information felt like it was also all over the place. It felt very repetitive which kept taking me out of the story.

I couldn't connect with the characters and didn't feel like I was reading the story instead of being immersed into the story. Overall it felt very one dimensional and I really wanted to enjoy the story but just couldn't.

Where the Rain Cannot Reach
Doman's Despair #1
Scfi-fi & Fantasy
Adesina Brown
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

The start of the book was a little too slow for me. It made it hard for me to become completely engaged from the beginning. The pacing did improve but it did feel a little inconsistent.

The world building was ok. It was more detailed in some areas than others. I liked that this wasn't the typical humans vs the fae/other mythical creatures where the humans are the victims and being oppressed. In this book, the humans are just as dangerous and responsible for horrible things happening too.

The characters were ok. I didn't connect to any of them in particular but that may be because it didn't feel like there was much character growth.

I think this book has a lot of potential. While it isn't 100% for me, I can see that other people might enjoy it.

*Thank you to @Netgalley and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

<b>the evils Humanity committed were certainly more than mere mistakes.</b>

I felt that we received a lot of convoluted information in the beginning but it was either ill-paced or haphazardly strung together. The story itself had merit and I was very interested in it, but the way it was presented just did not vibe well with me. There was a lot of repetition and some of the sentence structure felt bland. The way this story was told didn't allow me to feel apart of the tale - I felt very much kept at a distance from the characters and the plotline, not unlike our main character. It very much felt like I was being told about the story instead of being part of the story which made it difficult for me to really get into it.

<b>”It is in the refusal to defend others that one loses their ability to defend themself”</b>

Our MC is young but I found that with them constantly being kept in the dark, they weren’t able to have strong character growth, I was confused that even during important scenes, characters refused to “let them in on it”. As for the other characters, I liked them well enough but once again I wanted more; to me they felt bland, very one dimensional. In fantasy, especially in “whole new worlds” I really need the characters to feel real, to be able to fully understand their emotions in a world so different than reality.

<b>Much of her life had been crowded by noise - noise meant to hide the silence beneath the surface.”</b>

Author clearly has the ability to write poetic verse and give the story depth but there just isn’t enough to paint a full picture. And with a story such as this - a story that clearly has a strong premise, what we are given just isn’t enough. Every time I saw this ability I craved it in the rest of the story but it poked through at random parts like sunlight through clouds. It wasn’t consistent, which was disappointing.

I did enjoy the complexities of the different communities and realms, I also could appreciate the need and feelings of wanting to belong to something but feeling other. Once our MC started on their adventure you could see the story start to come together but at 70% of the way through the book, thats a little long to wait for things to start feeling more seemless. I really think that author has the ability to create a great story but the set up of this one made it fall short for me.

Thank you, Atmosphere Press, Adesina Brown, and NetGalley, for the ARC.

This world is amazing. Adesina did a fantastic job world building. I love the relationships between the characters. This is a high fantasy that will keep you guessing what is happening. Tair is learning who she is and how she fits into this world.

The world-building was really good, even though it made for a slow start in the book. It took me about 20% into the book to start picking up. But once it does, it is hard to put down.

I recommend reading this book.

"Where the Rain Cannot Reach" by Adesina Brown is a refreshing Epic Fantasy debut.
It introduces a lot of diversity into the Classic Fantasy stories, but creating an original worldbuilding.
I think this new author has great promise for the future. With some pacing and tine improvements this could get better and better as the series progress.
As on it's own it is a relaxing slower paced read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book!
Where The Rain Cannot Reach is a slow-to-start tale of finding- yourself, where you belong, and family.
It's well written, with wonderful world building, but I think it could have stood to be longer and better developed. The characters that surround Tair all have complex motives and desires, something I would have liked to see better explored, though I understand that the limited third-person POV leaves less room for that.
Overall, while slightly lacking in places, Where The Rain Cannot Reach is a good debut novel, and I look forward to seeing more from the author.

Thank you to netgalley for the copy of this book!

I'm a bit late to the game, but absolutely astonished by this debut novel. It's a great fantasy read and is rooted in a universal longing to belong. I won't lie and say that this book didn't have its flaws, but to me... you get into a fantasy book without expecting some clunky pacing- it's the name of the game. I really enjoyed this and can't wait for the sequel!

Excellent read, interesting world-building, and a whirlwind of a time. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and its breakout use of gender-neutral language. As readers, we too often find ourselves focused on fabricating the identities of the characters without letting the story do it for us. Brown crafts Tair's story in Where the Rain Cannot Reach in a way that forces the readers focus to on the page itself - a refreshing writing style overall. I look forward to reading Brown's future works.

Creating a new and interesting fantasy world in the shadow of Middle Earth—a contemporary mountain built on hundreds of years of folklore that has thousands of similar worlds dusting its stony base, often little more than hillocks in valley consumed by its yawning shadow—has to be daunting, to say the least. Yet this world of faeries, elves, dwarves, and more does feel unique, and it feels realized and in some ways unknowably large. The world-building here was done well, our ignorance mirroring our untraveled protagonist, and so even though I felt the world is large, and understood by the author, there is still a lot of mystery to me, which is fertile ground for future installments in the series. There are whole magic systems that are mentioned just barely in passing, all of which we only can a glimpse of, living with one character the way we do, but it never felt like the author didn’t have a firm command of this world and how much they wanted to reveal to us.

Where this debut really shines though, is the characters. Again, we see everyone through the eyes of our protagonist, and that colors how we experience and understand them, but even with through that lens there is a good variety of complicated, engaging characters that feel like they fit in this world and are more than just place holders or archetypes. There are rich personal lives that we only get glimpses of, our perspective being limited, but it is enough to establish an interest and curiosity. It is clear there has been a lot of care that went into creating these characters, and the world and bodies and cultural ideas they live in, and that really compels investment from the reader.

The story itself is exciting. There aren’t a lot of untrodden paths in the fantasy-genre space, but this story manages to meander across a few different trails, bringing together prophecy and war and magic and fate and family in interesting ways. What does hold the novel back a little, though, is some of the writing, which feels overly expository and hand-holdy at places. It wasn’t ever bad, but there were definitely sections that felt like they could use a little more editing, more emotion and action and less mere description. The other thing that did pull down the rating for me a bit was that there just seemed to be numerous places where it wouldn’t be clear as to why things were happening or why decisions were being made except that they felt like formalities for the plot. The way characters disappear and reappear, and the totally unconvincing way our protagonist makes decisions and keeps changing their mind and rationale, just felt baffling. Not like a confused character in the middle of an unprecedented, life-altering situation, but rather someone following what seemed convenient to allow the action of the last half of that chapter to play out, only for their decision or ideas or actions to change in the next chapter to meet the needs of the next bit of story. Ideally I wanted to feel like the character went on an internal journey, too, that’s always the goal, but it just felt clunky. It felt like there was an outline of things that had to happen and the lines between plot points were never really fleshed out in smooth and convincing ways. It really felt like boxes being checked off as the story moved forward, and the characters’ internal development didn’t feel like it had equal priority. This led to things feeling very constructed, or orchestrated, it didn’t always feel like a naturally flowing story.

The writing was enough to kind of bring me down a little on this book. If you get frustrated or impatient with somewhat clunky writing, then you may sour on this novel a few chapters in. The authorial devotion to the characters and the rich world-building, along with the overall intrigue of the story and where it may go, is enough to rehabilitate my score a little. This is a very soft four stars for me, but the story feels too earnest and full of delight to give it less. What really lets it sit at four instead of three is that I care enough about the story to want to know what happens in the next installment, even if I hope some of the writing feels less compulsory and more natural or instinctive moving forward.

I want to thank the author, the publisher Atmosphere Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Lots of feelings, lots of thoughts but not really a whole lot to words. I loved the world building and all of the information that was given while being weaved into the plot/story. I liked the twists towards the end too. If I could give 6 stars I would.

3.5 upped to 4
It starts quite slow and then it takes speed and I read it as fast as I could.
Good storytelling, world building and plot development.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This book was a slow go for the first half. The book really attempts to incorporate a gender inclusive world, however, the delivery on this was overdone. So much so, that not only did character descriptions get lost, but I felt that the book could have been shortened at least 1/3 with the unnecessary continuous reinforcements of the gender acknowledgments. The plot, which I will note, was overall good, was completely lost in this. The last 1/4 of the book started to finally pick up pace and become engaging. There were some major plot holes, and a lack of believability in some of the actions (or inactions) of the main stakeholders in this book. However, because of the cliffhanger, I would read the sequel.

This is a great fantasy read, where the story itself is a whirlwind, but sticks to really strong themes like belonging and identity.
Tair was left in the darkwood when she was a child. She is raised in the elven valley of Mitre by an Elf, a Dwarf and a Fell, her protectors and her family. Each have their own roles in raising and protecting her, but unbeknown to the rest of the family, the dwarf Shianna had an extra role to play but in her bid to protect Tair, she has hidden some truths that will tear the family apart. Human kind have committed horrific atrocities against all non-humans, and Tair has a key role to play in righting those wrongs.
Did I love Tair? Nope! She came across as a little bit if a brat, and twice chastised herself for not making more of an effort to get to know the people around her. However, as the story progressed and her morals and beliefs became more apparent, she started to grow on me. I think that’s the sign of good writing, loving a book where the main character gets under your skin in whatever ways.
I loved the use of gender neutral pronouns throughout. I love the way that the various languages were actually written on the page and explained through characters responses, very skilfully done. Made a very refreshing change to simply saying which language is being spoken. It’s a short one which really packs a punch. I found myself laughing and even shed a tear or two! I couldn’t put it down.
The only downside of this book is that there doesn’t seem to be any plans for a sequel, I’ll keep my eyes peeled though!

Where the Rain Cannot Reach jumps right in to a world of incredible world building and lots of lore and characters. This is very reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit with links to dwarven and Elven culture, however this is obviously very unique in its own right.

I did enjoy the overall plot and characters and thought this sounded really unique, however I struggled with the writing style/prose and pacing somewhat and I wish it was slightly shorter. I do however this will be a big hit for a lot of fantasy fans and many people will love this new world full of interesting characters.

I'd like to start by expressing my appreciation for the unique approach taken by Brown in Where The Rain Cannot Reach, which portrays humans as the antagonists. This departure from the typical fantasy narrative, where humans are often depicted as victims, challenges conventions and highlights the destructive actions humans can be responsible for. It serves as a thought-provoking reality check, forcing us to consider the adverse impact our species has on the planet.

I also admired Brown's attempt to address significant contemporary social issues such as racism, gender, and sexual identity in the novel. As a person of color who identifies as a bisexual cis female, I'm always drawn to literature that provides representation and promotes awareness. However, while I value these efforts, I found that some of the incorporation of these themes felt overly explicit and intrusive. At times, they seemed to detract from the overall narrative and my enjoyment of the story. A more skillful integration could have struck a better balance, allowing the themes to enhance the reading experience without overwhelming it.

On the other hand, I found myself dissatisfied with the world building and pacing in Where The Rain Cannot Reach. It felt like a rollercoaster ride with inconsistent experiences. There were moments when the world building was masterfully executed, providing exquisite details, while at other times, it seemed lacking and insufficient. Similarly, the pacing of the story was erratic. There were instances where the narrative flowed smoothly, engaging me effortlessly, but there were also moments of sluggishness and rapid acceleration that left me disoriented.

Although I admired Brown's inclusion of new languages in the narrative, I felt that it occupied a significant portion of the book without serving a necessary purpose. This focus on linguistic aspects detracted from addressing weaker aspects of the story that could have been given more attention.

Moreover, I observed a lack of substantial character development throughout the novel, extending to both the protagonist Tair and the supporting characters. As I mentioned earlier, while Brown made efforts to address social issues and introduce new languages, it felt as though there was insufficient focus on allowing the characters to evolve and strengthen, which is a crucial aspect of storytelling. Consequently, I found myself unsatisfied as a reader. The portrayal of the found family dynamic within the story also felt contrived and unconvincing, as there was insufficient exploration and growth in those relationships.

I find it fascinating when a book sparks numerous questions and introduces an air of mystery and intrigue at the start. However, when the grand revelation finally unfolded, explaining the reasons behind all the secrecy, I shared the same perplexed and incredulous reaction as Tair. The explanation provided failed to convince me in any way. While I would like to delve into specific points and analyze them further, I must refrain from doing so to avoid spoilers. Let's just say that I was thoroughly unimpressed with the overall plot.

In summary, Where The Rain Cannot Reach presents a promising debut novel with evident potential for growth. However, I felt that Brown attempted to tackle an excessive number of challenges within a single book, resulting in a somewhat diminished reading experience for me. Please note that my critique is not intended as an insult to Brown's writing ability, as I believe they are a skilled writer. Rather, I believe that at times, a more focused approach could have enhanced the overall impact of the story. Sometimes, less can indeed be more.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to NetGalley, Atmosphere Press, and Adesina Brown for providing me with the opportunity to read a copy of Where The Rain Cannot Reach. I must commend the remarkable artistry displayed on the book cover. The presentation of the Yellow Sun and the Red Sun with the dagger was truly captivating and visually appealing.

when i read the acknowledgments and saw the author was under 20 lots of things about it clicked in for me - attempts lots of things but doesn’t necessarily pull them all off? but has an energy and a potential to it. interesting?

Where the Rain Cannot Reach is the first installment in an epic fantasy set in a multi-species world vaguely reminiscent of Middle Earth, but with fairies and many more genders.

While I enjoyed some aspects of the worldbuilding, particularly around the ways the different cultures butted up against each other, ultimately Where the Rain Cannot Reach fell flat for me in several ways. I disliked how much of the plot was propelled by keeping Tair in the dark about things, and not knowing the actual stakes of the journey the crew sets out on until pretty far into the novel made it hard for me to be invested in the outcome.

I also didn’t love the pacing or the writing style in Where the Rain Cannot Reach. The narration was inconsistently distant from the action, sometimes seeming immediate and sometimes at a far remove with no real rhyme or reason I could discern. The plot moves forward at a lurching pace, skipping over or summarizing things I would have liked elaborated. There were weird repetitions and poorly signposted flashbacks. I also found the constant reference to characters as “the Elf” or “the Human” to be kind of grating, but I’m fully aware that that’s kind of a personal thing.

All in all, Where the Rain Cannot Reach felt like a pretty solid second draft, not a finished novel, and that really impacted my ability to enjoy the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Atmosphere Press for the review copy

Told in third person narrative, Where The Rain Cannot Reach by Adesina Brown is a good debut novel with a lot of potential. In my personal opinion, it was a mixture of good and bad.

To begin with, I appreciate the unique approach taken by Brown in portraying humans as the antagonists in Where The Rain Cannot Reach. Unlike many other fantasy narratives where humans are often portrayed as victims of other races, Brown challenges this convention by shedding light on the fact that humans themselves can be responsible for destructive actions. It serves as a thought-provoking reality check, considering the adverse impact our species has on the planet.

Another aspect I appreciated in Brown’s novel was their attempt to address significant contemporary social issues such as racism, gender, and sexual identity. As a poc bisexual cis female, I am always drawn to literature that provides representation and promotes awareness. However, while I value these efforts, I found that some of the incorporation of these themes felt overly explicit and intrusive. At times, it seemed to detract from the overall narrative and my enjoyment of the story. I believe a more skillful integration could have struck a better balance, allowing the themes to enhance the reading experience without overwhelming it.

On the other hand, I found myself dissatisfied with the world building and pacing in Where The Rain Cannot Reach. It felt like a rollercoaster ride, with inconsistent experiences. There were moments when the world building was masterfully executed, providing exquisite details, while at other times, it seemed lacking and insufficient. The pacing of the story was similarly erratic. There were instances where the narrative flowed smoothly, engaging me effortlessly, but there were also moments of sluggishness, where the story lagged, and instances of rapid acceleration, leaving me feeling disoriented.

Although I admired Brown’s inclusion of new languages in the narrative, I felt that it occupied a significant portion of the book without serving a necessary purpose. This focus on linguistic aspects detracted from addressing weaker aspects of the story that could have been given more attention.

Moreover, I observed a lack of substantial character development throughout the novel, extending to both the protagonist Tair and the supporting characters such as Silaa, Shianna, Alyn, Bonn, and Rose. As I mentioned earlier, while Brown made efforts to address social issues and introduce new languages, it felt as though there was insufficient focus on allowing the characters to evolve and strengthen, which is a crucial aspect of storytelling. Consequently, I found myself unsatisfied as a reader. The portrayal of the found family dynamic within the story also felt contrived and unconvincing, as there was insufficient exploration and growth in those relationships.

I find it fascinating when a book sparks numerous ‘why?’s, introducing an air of mystery and intrigue to the plot at the start. However, when the grand revelation finally unfolded, explaining the reasons behind all the secrecy, I shared the same perplexed and incredulous reaction as Tair. The explanation provided failed to convince me in any way. While I would like to delve into specific points and analyze them further, I must refrain from doing so to avoid spoilers. Let’s just say that I was thoroughly unimpressed with the overall plot.

In summary, Where The Rain Cannot Reach presents a promising debut novel with evident potential for growth. However, I felt that Brown attempted to tackle an excessive number of challenges within a single book, resulting in a somewhat diminished reading experience for me. Please note that my critique is not intended as an insult to Brown’s writing ability, as I believe she is a skilled writer. Rather, I believe that at times, a more focused approach could have enhanced the overall impact of the story. Sometimes, less can indeed be more.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to NetGalley, Atmosphere Press, and Adesina Brown for affording me the opportunity to read a copy of Where The Rain Cannot Reach. I must commend the remarkable artistry displayed on the book cover. The presentation of the Yellow Sun and the Red Sun with the dagger was truly captivating and visually appealing.