Review - Garrison Girl by Rachel Aaron

Garrison Girl by Rachel Aaron

Published 7th August 2018 by Quirk Books

My Rating - ***

Goodreads Challenge - 27/50

I received an advanced proof copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

A novel of adventure, romance, and monsters...set in the dystopian world of Attack on Titan, the mega-hit manga and anime series.

An original novel, with all-new characters and a new story set in the world of Attack on Titan! Fans of the series and readers alike will enjoy this immersive and engaging experience of the pop culture phenomenon and manga mega-hit. 
With the last vestige of the human race threatened by unstoppable carnivorous giants, a brave young woman decides to defy her wealthy family and join the military to fight against humanity's enemies. But Rosalie Dumarque soon finds out that bloody sword fights with monsters aren't the only dangers faced by the Wall Rose Garrison. Can she earn the trust of her fellow soldiers, stand up to a corrupt authority, navigate a forbidden romance...and cut her way out of a titan's throat?

My Thoughts

I've never actually read or watched Attack on Titan but I'd read that you don't necessarily need to be familiar with the series to enjoy this novel. I agree with that to some extent but I also think that a previous knowledge of the series may have enhanced the reading experience. Here are my thoughts...

What I liked 
• The writing was fun and engaging. It made me want to pick it up and read. It was also very easy to read so the story went by quite quickly. 

• The action scenes were particularly well written. Again they were engaging and fast paced but didn't lack on the details. 

• Rosalie's character development was pretty good. I didn't really like her to begin with but over the course of the novel I liked how determined she became. 

What I didn't like 
• Although the writing was easy to read parts of the plot did feel a little bit disjointed at times. The pacing seemed a little off and we seemed to take fairly large jumps forward in time. I think this novel would of benefited from being a bit longer to enable to author to rectify this. 

• There were lots of dislikeable characters. I'm not opposed to characters like this but I do prefer a redemption arc storyline. 

• I didn't like the romance. It felt rushed and lacking in depth and development. 

• I would of liked more background information on the world and society however, I think if I had read or watched the Attack on Titan series before reading this I wouldn't necessarily need it. 

Overall it was a fairly average read. I liked the basic storyline and I enjoyed the reading experience however, it was quite forgettable. If you really enjoy the Attack on Titan series then you'll probably want to pick this one up and, although I think you can read this not having read the series, I wouldn't expect anything to revolutionary.

Overall Rating