The Matriarch Book Review

I received this ARC from AKM Publishing Pty Ltd via Netgalley with thanks in return for an unbiased review.

"If we lose this war, we lose our independence, our sovereignty and the prospect of a safe future for every woman left on the planet."

Okay! Hello dear ones, this book is set to be published on October 12th 2020!

When I saw a book like this being written by an Australian author, I was SO excited as an Aussie reader because I have hardly encountered anyone writing a cool woman-ist centered, dystopian novel with romance at its forefront by a fellow Aussie.

Let's get into my iteration of the plot before I launch fully into this review:

This Land is forsaken.

After a nuclear war eradicated the ozone and squandered the earth's resources,

Hope is forsaken.

People are forsaken.

She is forsaken.

The Horde must prevail.

Yolanda is the 7th Matriarch of the Horde,

A title that bears more weight and grief than the crown of bones placed on her head.

Her people must survive, yet with the nations of men, threatened by their power, hope to destroy her nation of warrior women...

Who will prevail?

She must. Her horde will. Her soul will.

Though she may prevail at war, no one can safeguard her heart against The Hammer who will shake her very core.

Let's get down to my rating, 3 stars from Moi!

This book was very eloquently written. The phrases were so lyrical that I kept highlight...pretty much most sentences. Mrs. McInnes has a gift and a great mind for imagination.

Disclaimer: This book is not suitable for a teenager to a young adult audience.

New Adult to adult is perfectly fine, it has some graphic scenes and depictions.

Let's talk romance here.

"If being insufferable means I get to hold you, then call me the King of insufferance."

I have no idea if insufferance is a word, but boy did it sound romantic haha.

The romance within this novel was beautiful.

However, this book did lose some points from me because... well, while I knew I signed myself up for romance, it got to the point where I wished the characters would get a room and just get it over and done with so the plot could go on. the tension between the two was way too thick and it got to the point where I was like...people are dying! Move on! humans, no! Stop it!

The world-building was awesome!!! This story narrates a post-nuclear war land, where the nation of women have been exiled and forced to eat insects to survive, they have no water and they have wars to fight. I loved every moment of it, I wish we had more depictions of the landscape itself, were there any animals that changed? I wanted more depictions of the legal or judicial system. And why are there are certain people who have all the control? I didn't quite understand why and how they got to be in power...what's going on with the other kings, what about the other nations? etc... So missed doors of opportunity.

I just wanted more of that, not so many descriptions of the snakes coiling or her womb expanding (is that a thing?) within her belly at every other moment.

I also thought this author had a tasteful approach to feminism, it clearly illustrates that women aren't just the ones who can change the world, it was also men who were brought up in a world without toxicity, violence, and hopelessness. I stand for that!

Overall, it is definitely worth a read. I like the character growth and how Yolanda challenged her mother's words. However, I wish that there was a bit more than the extreme tension between the two characters for most of this story. That being said, the romance was really nice. The world-building was great but like I said I wish there was MORE to it than what was depicted. I'd definitely like to see where the follow-up novels to this book will go.

Stay awesome my lovelies!

Emmeline the Book Herald

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