Riverkeep - I Just Couldn't Finish

TITLE: Riverkeep
AUTHOR: Martin Stewart
PUBLISHER: Viking
PUBLISHING DATE: July 26, 2016

FROM GOODREADS: The Danék is a wild, treacherous river, and the Fobisher family has tended it for generations—clearing it of ice and weed, making sure boats can get through, and fishing corpses from its bleak depths. Wulliam’s father, the current Riverkeep, is proud of this work. Wull dreads it. And in one week, when he comes of age, he will have to take over.
Then the unthinkable happens. While recovering a drowned man, Wull’s father is pulled under—and when he emerges, he is no longer himself. A dark spirit possesses him, devouring him from the inside. In an instant, Wull is Riverkeep. And he must care for his father, too.
When he hears that a cure for his father lurks in the belly of a great sea-dwelling beast known as the mormorach, he embarks on an epic journey down the river that his family has so long protected—but never explored. Along the way, he faces death in any number of ways, meets people and creatures touched by magic and madness and alchemy, and finds courage he never knew he possessed.

MY THOUGHTS: As I mentioned earlier, I have decided that I am not able to finish reading Riverkeep. I gave the book 100 pages and almost the entire time reading it, all I could think of was other things which I wanted to read. I adore the cover of this book and it sounded like an awesome premise to me. However, I just couldn't lose myself in this book like I wanted to.

Riverkeep tells the story of Wulliam, who is set to inherit the job of Riverkeep upon his 16th birthday in a week or so. The job entails keeping the river flowing in the horribly cold weather and removing the dead when they are found. Wulliam does not want the job, but is forced to start early when his father is taken by the river late one evening, only to return a few hours later as a very different person. Add in a few sea legends and some monsters and it sounds like a great book, and I am sure there will be many out there who will like it.

There were just too many issues for me. I found the book to be long-winded and boring. There is a specific dialect used with the writing and I was just not focused enough to catch on or even care. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters and although I have it 100 pages, when I decided to quit, there was still over 300 pages still waiting and I just couldn't bear to go on.

I rarely DNF a book. I think this is the third since 2011. It is not a decision I take lightly and even after it was made, and I moved on to another book which I am thrilled to say I am really liking, I still feel bad. I will never know what happened to Wulliam and his father, or if the sea monster was caught or killed. I will just have to live with that though because there is no going back for me. I am not providing a rating for Riverkeep because I think it would be unfair. I do believe it holds an interesting story for some and hope others find it interesting and intriguing. This was just the wrong book for me.

I received Riverkeep from the Penguin First to Read program in exchange for an honest review.

RATING: DNF at 100 pages.