ohh.. this is gonna hurt. So, if the person reading this is the author and is sensitive to negative reviews, please don't continue reading this further.



To get things out of the way, I am the one who requested this arc; and it was because the cover was so pretty and I was interested in the mother-and-daughter duo aspect of it.

I liked some parts of this story. The competition in the beginning was interesting and once I thought it was interesting, it was fairly easy to breeze through the rest of the book.


Now, for the parts i didn't like: so much of the writing lends to the story and the banter feeling unnatural. It's in how the characters talk with each other and it's in the way events unfold. Spoilers below.

The mother and daughter duo didn't feel like a mother and a daughter. They didn't feel close even though I saw some light dialogues added to show the fun banter between them. It felt like there was an air of pompousness to the way they spoke to each other and everyone else. They both actually feel like they're talking down on everyone and when it becomes too much too often, they come off as annoying. I haven't even seen your skills and this dignified war hero status and you've already spoken to people like you think you're better than everyone else, and one of you is a teen girl at that? nope.

We have a Marquis banning the main characters from leaving the city they just entered mere hours ago and threatening them with branding them as the murderers just because they didnt want to help with said murder investigation and no longer felt safe to stay because of the ongoing said murders. The mother is a war hero famed for her gun skillls. She's not a legendary detective. What is she going to do with a murder investigation? Was there truly no one else that he needed to go as far as he had in threatening them? This entire thing felt so comical and cartoon-villain-y and made it incredibly obvious and palpable that it was a plot device just thrown in because plot needed to happen for the story to continue.

We have a girl (the main character), whose specific age I don't really remember (the least she could be is early teen), padding around naked to a man, "an assistant", for him to help her get dressed. What's ironic is the book even calls it out when another character asks her if she doesn't feel embarrassed about it. She said no and that he's dressed her since she was a baby. No. Even if I chalk her not recognizing the weirdness of a grown man padding dry a naked girl to her being too young, no sane mother is going to allow it. This was so obviously written by a man.

I was turned off from then on but continued because I didn't want to give a negative rating without an informed opinion.

An original concept. This reads as a fantasy western. This being said, it surprised me how good it was for such an odd genre. The characters are interesting, and the plot is sound. However, the backstory being missing does take away a bit from the story.

Firstly, the cover on this is absolutely beautiful and I am absolutely obsessed with it !

The story was a whole vibe from start to finish and I loved it ! .

I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone who loves to read !!

Many, many heartfelt thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the e-arc!

I am so glad that I requested this book once I became interested in the blurb of this title because I flew through the pages like my life depended on it. The writing was good, I felt immersed in the story, and loved the no nonsense attitude Ebele had at the beginning and as she discovered more of the world. I also liked Ebele was a girl who knew her way around with a gun and gun powder with shooting as her hobby which is rare to come by in the fantasy world. This book was a fantastic breath of fresh air.

The writing felt a little underdeveloped, but besides that it was a cool concept and I love the cover it is beautiful.

The big issue I had with this book was the satirical trigger warning thing at the beginning, it was almost if this book was making fun of people who check for triggers and personally I didn't like that.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy netgalley.

The prose is so terrible as to interfere with one's attempt to read the story. Of course everyone makes mistakes, and I know that maintaining a consistent tone in a fantasy world can be difficult, but this was... unpublishable. No one who looked over this manuscript knew how to use a comma correctly, and I actually winced at the reference to a "sir coat".

The main plot follows Ebele and her mother in their pursuit of assassins wreaking havoc in the city. The opening scene—a shooting competition—was very interesting as we learn about the magic system in the book. However, this was the only part of the story that truly captured my attention.

The rest of the book struggled with pacing and lacked the tension expected from a hunt for assassins. I had difficulty connecting with the characters, and at times, feel they're annoying. Additionally, the ending felt anti-climactic, leaving some questions unanswered.

In terms of writing, there are numerous spelling errors and a few naming error. I also noticed that the dialogue feels kinda stiff sometimes. All in all, while the premise and certain moments held potential, the overall execution failed to deliver a satisfying or cohesive experience.

Ebele’s journey introduces a fascinating concept where gunpowder can be manipulated with essence, adding a unique layer to the story’s world. The characters and assassin-driven mystery are compelling, but uneven pacing—slow to start and rushed towards the end—affects the overall flow. Abrupt POV shifts can also be distracting, but the originality of the setting and ideas keeps it engaging. A creative read with room for refinement.

This book was a very unusual plot. I felt like it needed more backstory. I wanted to like this book. It was definitely an unusual concept--manipulating gunpower with essence. I think it could have been a great story. But things got lost along the way and more info kept getting tossed in.

What I didn't appreciate was the vulgar coarse swearing and lewd language--I'm not a fan of it in adult books, and especially not YA. There are millions of amazing words and powerful phrases in the world--why must we always go for the base ones? (roll eyes)

Sex innuendos, lewd coarse vulgar language, violence--if it was a Netflix show it would have been rated MA. Throw in some LGBQ, and it's a summary of modern entertainment. No substance or value just sex, violence, and the LGBQ agenda.

3 Stars--only for the originality of the idea.

*I was given a complimentary copy of the ARC from the publishers and NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

Surprisingly an enjoyable read. I like Ebele as the main character and the story and world building. Will gather my thoughts and will edit and add some more.

I liked the concept and storyline, but didn’t love the writing style (it didn’t fully grip me or make me feel immersed) and the pacing

This was surprisingly so good.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting too much because of the lack of reviews and knowledge of this book, but it was so good
I loved the characters and set up, but it was kind of underdeveloped in terms of pacing. Like at 50 percent, still not much had happened so then it felt more rushed towards the end. Also at some points it just switched povs which sometimes made me confused for a little bit.
But other than that, I really enjoyed this.

I thought this was such a great storyline and enjoyed the way this was creating the world around. It uses that concept perfectly and enjoyed the overall feel of this in the genre. Teddy Baire has a great writing style and was glad I got to read this. It uses the assassin element that I was looking for and glad it worked overall.

Gunpowder Dolls is such a good book. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good and the characters are fantastic.