I've had several people recommend Sanderson to me. I decided to give this one a go because (1) it's not over 500 pages and (2) it's a stand alone. PluI've had several people recommend Sanderson to me. I decided to give this one a go because (1) it's not over 500 pages and (2) it's a stand alone. Plus, the cover is really pretty.
Honestly, I almost DNF'd it because I got a little bored reading it and kept putting it down. I finally just started skimming it just to see how it resolved. I get that Sanderson was attempting to be like Pratchett or Adams with the narration and witty dialogue. But I found much of Hoid's narration to be extraneous even though Hoid provides most of the world-building. I found a lot of his narration attempts to be funny (a la Pratchett or Adams) but Sanderson lacks Pratchett's or Adams's flair. It just became overly much, not that funny, and at times, cringy. And it was clunky to have a first person POV when the narrator is not the MC.
I liked the premise but the book just failed in execution. Inconsistent pacing with short chapters made the story feel choppy. The plot dragged at times and felt as if Sanderson was just putting in filler to make the book a novel instead of a novella. The character building was uneven. I never really connected with Tress. She was a bit flat to me. I actually would have preferred to read Hoid's story because at least, despite the sad attempts at humor, was an interesting character. Tress, on the other hand, was a bit too formulaic. I also wish there had been more back story about some of the other characters.
The one thing I did enjoy was the setting. This world is fascinating and the whole spores/ocean and moons ecosystem was an interesting concept, as well as how Tress learned to work with the limitations and the powers of the spores. But a fascinating setting isn't enough without the rest. While the premise was interesting, the story was rather blah. It just didn't keep my attention. But it's an easy read.
I realize I'm not the target demographic for this book, and maybe that's the issue. Overall, it was just okay, but it doesn't make me want to pick up any of his other books....more
An intriguing story about grief and loss, found family and healing. Was it up to the level of TJ Klune's Under the Whispering Door? No, but it certainAn intriguing story about grief and loss, found family and healing. Was it up to the level of TJ Klune's Under the Whispering Door? No, but it certainly had it's charming moments and beautiful sentiments.
This is a debut novel and it does read like one. There are some obvious first-time author mistakes, some of which I'll highlight below, and a couple of grammatical choices that made me wince, like "I'm sat. . ." Yes, that can work if the character is speaking and that's the character's particular idolect. But in this case, Sai was not speaking, she was describing something and it was like nails on a chalkboard to me.
The next two struggles with the book are really what I think hurt it the most—the first-person narrative style and the over-use of telling via the second-person POV.
First-person POV is not my preference and in my opinion, has to be done well to really work. This is definitely a personal preference issue. Here, I thought the use of first POV was okay; however, what made it awkward was that the author switches from first-person POV to second-person POV. There are times (many, many times) when Sai uses the second-person POV to talk to her sister Fi (who is dead). Almost like a epistolary novel, except here, Sai is talking to her sister in her head. I did get into the flow of the story, but the first-person POV mixed with the second-person POV never quite gelled for me.
Compounding that, the second-person POV resulted in Sai telling Fi things about what happened. So the author essentially uses it to move the story along by telling what happened instead of showing it. I understood what the author was trying to achieve—Sai is so immersed in her grief that she's nearly immobile. She doesn't know what to do, where to go, or even who she is. It's as if by talking to Fi in her head, she can continue to live in denial that Fi is gone. While grief and the process of grieving is unique to each individual, I think anyone who's experience grief can, on at least some level, relate to this. But it also resulted in too much telling and not enough showing.
A few other issues include lack of world-building (even though this is a character-driven story, the world needs some development), weak character building, and some obvious plot holes. Again, issues that plague many a first time author.
I thought the concept of the story was beautiful and intriguing. I was moved and teared up at the end. I get what the author was trying to express. However, there were a few too many first-time author issues to make this a 5-star read. I think this might have reached a solid 4 or even 4.5 star read had an editor helped develop the threads and themes that are there. As is, this is really more of a 3-star read—but I'm giving it 4-stars because I liked the themes, the characters, and the threads of the story that are there and the cover art by Barry Blankenship is gorgeous....more
A prequel to Legends & Lattes. A young Viv, starting out as a merc. Like Legends, this is a story of friendship and learning about oneself.
It took meA prequel to Legends & Lattes. A young Viv, starting out as a merc. Like Legends, this is a story of friendship and learning about oneself.
It took me a little bit to get into this story, but once it gets rolling, it swept me along and I got invested in Viv's adventure in a bookshop. And the Epilogue, well let's just say that I definitely hope there will be more Viv stories in the future.
"Sometimes we aren't the right people yet."...more
This is supposed to be an adult fantasy book but it reads much younger, like a young teen wrote it. There are someMeh. Wondering why I didn’t DNF it.
This is supposed to be an adult fantasy book but it reads much younger, like a young teen wrote it. There are some terrible grammar mistakes and some of the story was cringy. I don’t do the TikTok, so maybe her storytelling is better? Although somehow I doubt it. And I chuckled maybe once (at the frog). But it’s certainly not laugh-out-loud hilarious.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with world building. There isn’t any. There’s a kind of map in the front of the book that I guess is supposed to include Sage’s doodling, which again, looks like something a freshman in high school might do. But the “map” has very little detail and does not include anything about the larger realm. Apparently there is magic in this world. Apparently something has to trigger one’s magic. Apparently bad things can happen because of magic. Let’s take Tati—her magic came about around age 10 because she had been run over by a carriage and surprise! She has healing magic. But the magic system is never explained, like the various types of magic, who gets magic versus who doesn’t, when people get magic, and how it just works within this world. No details at all. In fact, we get very few details about The Villain’s magic. A bit how it works, but no real explanation as to the why when his backstory is finally revealed.
That leads to the character building, which also is lacking. The Villain (which is how he’s spoken about) has a backstory that’s hinted about a few times but isn’t really revealed until the last 30 pages. And even then, there are holes galore and hardly enough explanation to justify the plot. Sage’s story comes out a before that, but again, her backstory is weak and doesn’t really fill the holes. Both of these main characters are rather flat.
The story, well of course it ends on a big ole cliff hanger. I won’t even bother with the plot, because like the character development, it has holes. I have to wonder exactly who edited this book because it needed a lot of work.
Honestly, if it wasn’t for some adult-themes (include murder and torture), I would have thought I was reading a book for a much younger audience. It’s so up and down. Murder and torture, heads hanging in the castle, an attempted rape, and yet the “kissing scenes” were so juvenile.
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This is definitely a book that was over-hyped. Not worth it and I won’t be picking up book 2....more
This is an older collection of stories originally published in 1892. And so, some parts were difficult to read with the tales being translated from GaThis is an older collection of stories originally published in 1892. And so, some parts were difficult to read with the tales being translated from Gaelic into English, focusing on the fact this book was to be marketed to English children in the late 19th century/early 20th century. I think I would have enjoyed this collection more had it been annotated or had there been more of an explanation of the history and lore around the stories. ...more
I'm not a fan of retellings or remiagings in the first place. And this story, based on Disney's movie version, attempts to twists theIn a word, nope.
I'm not a fan of retellings or remiagings in the first place. And this story, based on Disney's movie version, attempts to twists the movie version to fit this book's tag line "what if Belle's mother cursed the Beast." Yes, I get that this is supposed to be a "twisted tale," but it utterly fails. It fails to have a decent plot. It fails to delve deeper into the characters. And it fails to build a magical world. Instead the plot is lame, the characters are flat, one-dimensional cartoons (ironic since the story is based on a cartoon movie), and the world-building is non-existent.
The first part of the book flip-flops between the pre-story (Maurice and Rosalind's pre-curse story) and Belle's story from the Disney move. The Belle chapters follows the Disney movie version almost word for word. In other words, complete page fillers. Part II then starts to veer off the path and get into the mystery of the curse. Then the third part . . . well, I have no words. I skimmed most of it because it was that bad.
On top of that, I have to ask that authors just stop with throwing in random French words. Clearly not only does this author not know French, the editors didn't either. It's like they used Google translate.
"'YOU TOOK BELLE!' a short man with a long ponytail swore, pointing. 'J'accuse!'"
Really? J'accuse this author of abusing the French language. Also "mon chéri" is masculine. No French speaker would say this to a woman. The correct endearment when speaking to a female would be "ma chérie." And the fact that French is just randomly added with no world-building to support it makes it that much worse.
I could go on and on about the disappointments. (view spoiler)[Like why cut out the dancing scene with the gorgeous yellow ball gown after> going through the trouble to mention the ball gown earlier?(hide spoiler)] But there's no point. For me who loved, LOVED Disney's Beauty and the Beast and watched it a million times, this story was just a horrible disappointment.
I attempted to listen to the audiobook and that may account for my rating. First, there are "chapters" with "top secret" correspondence. Except the naI attempted to listen to the audiobook and that may account for my rating. First, there are "chapters" with "top secret" correspondence. Except the narrator doesn't read those. He simply refers the listener to the PDF. Well that didn't really work for me as I checked this audiobook out from the library, and so there was no corresponding PDF. Why couldn't the narrator read them?
Second, apparently there are illustrations. Again, not an option with the audiobook. Although I don't know how much the illustrations would have added to the story.
Beyond that, I just got bored with the story. I get what the author was trying to do with the plot. But I just wasn't engaged in the story enough to push through. Maybe if I ever find the hardcopy in the library, I'll give it another go.
A magical, enchanting, fantastical story about a young woman who feels trapped. Then she is cursed to be old and that frees her. This book is well-wriA magical, enchanting, fantastical story about a young woman who feels trapped. Then she is cursed to be old and that frees her. This book is well-written, imaginative, and funny with creative and unique characters. Everything a middle-grade fantasy book should be. ...more
I almost DFN'd it but was reading it for a book club, so I stuck with it until the eye rolling end.
This book is a jumble of other myths and stories, iI almost DFN'd it but was reading it for a book club, so I stuck with it until the eye rolling end.
This book is a jumble of other myths and stories, including Beauty and the Beast, The Secret Garden, Persephone, along with a 'chosen one' trope. But it doesn't mesh these stories in a new or interesting way. It doesn't retell any of these stories with a fresh perspective. It just feels as if parts of all these stories were picked and crammed together. This is underscored by the lack of world building.
The lack of world building is obvious from the continuous use of generic terms, like monster, Lord Under, Lady, and corruption. I mean really, "Lord Under"? You couldn't think of any better name for a character who is essentially Hades, lord of the underworld? What these generic terms said to me is that there was very little thought put into this world, how it works, why it works, and what it means. This world has magic, oh I mean alchemy. It's alchemy right? Because Clover is an alchemist with potions and teas and is instructing Aiden to be an alchemist. But it's also magic with sigils and what can only be described as sigil tattoos. Clover's magic is described as light and Aiden's as dark, each a balance to the Lady and Lord Under. Yes, magic, in most stories, requires balance. And yet, there's no real explanation for how it works or why it works. Clover has apparently studied it with other alchemists, but again, no explanations, no descriptions.
The magic and the world in general are all so generic, I'm not sure any thought was put into the how or whys of this world. I think this comes mostly from taking other stories without clearly developing one's own vision for this world.
The character development is almost nonexistent. Violetta or Leta is unlikable from the beginning to the end. She is the queen of denial and has a savior complex. Rowan, came across as a control freak ("monster") who yells at people to not do things but never actually explain anything. Oh wait, doesn't that describe the Beast from Disney's version of Beauty and the Beast? Why yes, yes it does. And then of course because a YA book apparently can't legally exist without romance, these two have a toxic push-pull cycle. Leta cycle goes: he's a monster, but I understand him, but he'd never want me, and now I'm not into him, to but I like him a lot, but he's a monster, but not really though. Seriously, on page 215 within a half page, she goes from "[Rowan] made a terrible mistake." to "Rowan is a monster." to "I can't hate [Rowan] for it." The teen drama/angst is strong in this one.
Aiden is simply a prop for Leta, and therefore has no depth other than to explain her continuous cycles of denial and guilt. As noted above, Lord Under is a poor, one-dimensional imitation of Hades. Clover and Florence, well, why even bother? Oh wait, Clover does add "diversity" since she's into Thea. Yes, let's not forget to throw in some diversity just to have diversity. There was also a throw away line about Rowan wanting to kiss another boy at his 13th birthday party. These throw-away lines without more just to be able to say "this book has LGBTQ diversity in it" is just that - throw-away. It doesn't make this book diverse. It doesn't add to LGBTQ character representation. It's frankly insulting.
The story, like the Leta-Rowan romance, then becomes inanely repetitive. The aforementioned "corruption" needs to fix. The corruption, which finally gets an explanation but a generic one, is out of control and needs to be fixed. So they do a ritual to combat said corruption. Ritual, of course doesn't work (because then why would we need the chosen one-savior complex character?). Corruption gets worse. Repeat. And again. But oh wait, (view spoiler)[ the corruption is getting worse because of what Rowan does at the end of the ritual. (hide spoiler)]
The generic terms, the mesh of various other stories, the lack of world-building, the lack of character development, on top of short, choppy sentences that have more tell than show make this a 1 star read for me. I not only don't understand the hype around this book, I'm not even clear how this book got to be published. A good editor and a couple of honest beta readers might have helped this story become something more. But as it is, it's a poor tangle of too many other good stories.
Ironically, I just turned past the acknowledgements and Questions for the Author and there is a "Media Recommendations List" that has 10 films listed. The author says "Some served as inspiration . . . others I found afterward and felt a similarity in tone or theme." I could pick out which ones served as "inspiration."...more
I wanted to like this even though I'm not a fan of retellings or reimaginings because I liked the concept—a darker version of Wonderland with a Buffy-I wanted to like this even though I'm not a fan of retellings or reimaginings because I liked the concept—a darker version of Wonderland with a Buffy-esque spin. But I found the plot didn't quite gel, the character building wasn't quite there, and the world-building was sub-par (considering what she had to work with). Some better editing might have helped flesh out the world-building, character development, and the plot itself.
The plot—it's rather unfocused until more than halfway through the book when it finally finds a path. Not a great path but at least it finds a path. The story actually starts off rather promising but then jumps forward a year without any real explanation. There was a lot going on but a lot of it also had nothing to do with the plot. There are also pieces that are never really explained but just exist in the story for some unknown purpose. Honestly, I got bored with the story before the plot ever really got going. Unfortunately, once the plot finally did pick up, I was bored with the book.
The characters—they seemed to be from the basic trope playbook. A combination of characters from Carroll's Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass combined with characters or at least semblances of characters from BTVS. None of them had any real substance. Alice was flat. She never came a live for me. I never rooted for her. In fact, I got annoyed with her. The author kept mentioning her father's death but never really took the opportunity to explore that aspect of the character. And so it became more of a convenient plot device than a real aspect of the character. The rest of the characters were one-dimensional stereotypes and basically forgettable.
The world building—this was the most disappointing. Wonderland has an amazing potential to be world full anything. The sky really is the limit as to what Wonderland could be and how it interacts (or not) with the real world. Yet we get so little of it. Some explanations are given about the nightmares but again it isn't until way late in the story that there's a decent explanation. Again, the story starts off okay with a sort of intro to Dreamwalkers. But then it immediately flash forwards a year, and so missed a huge opportunity to really build out the world. Alice accepts the offer but then a few pages later (because of the flash forward) is on the verge of quitting. No real exploration of the world, no real connection between the worlds, and no real understanding of the characters to the worlds or even to each other. Altanta might as well not been Atlanta. It could have been any blah big city.
Perhaps it's because this is a debut novel, but I didn't find the writing that good. It wasn't engaging and I didn't find this book especially well-crafted. Again, maybe because it's a debut book and hopefully the author has grown in her craft. It also seems that the author attempted to make some social statements with the whole Brionne storyline. Fantasy and urban fantasy books have long been social commentary stories and when done well, make the reader think. Yet here the author didn't really go anywhere with it except to have the mother make comments and be generally unreasonable because of the whole Brionne side story. Like the death of Alice's father, this was used more as a plot device than an actual social statement. Disappointing.
While I did find it amusing how the author incorporated some Alice in Wonderland aspects, overall I found this story lacking. I doubt I will ever read the other books. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because the cover is awesome....more
I'm not a huge comic book or graphic novel fan, but I've read a lot of raves about this series and thought I'd give it a try. Overall, it was fun but I'm not a huge comic book or graphic novel fan, but I've read a lot of raves about this series and thought I'd give it a try. Overall, it was fun but it did not change my feelings on comic books/graphic novels (GN).
Honestly, I have two main reasons I don't care for GNs: (1) I prefer to allow my own imagination to picture the worlds and characters, and (2) the GN stories always seem to be on the shallow side. There's just not enough there to really develop the world or characters. And this one is no exception.
The art feels like typical comic book art. It's okay but nothing spectacular. No real exploration of color, view, or movement. The main story is a murder mystery, trying to feel like a film noir but not quite getting there (and the art doesn't help it get there either). The story remains rather basic, never really getting to delve into either the world or characters. The dialogue just feels stilted and even awkward at times. The characters just feel like bitter shades with no depth. No Sam Spade here. The story doesn't provide any of the charm or depth found in the original fairytales, which is a shame. This world has the potential to be vibrant—refugee fairytale characters who escaped a violent takeover of their world. A diverse group of heroes and villains, peasants and princes, who had to start over in the mundane world and try to blend in while creating their own hidden sub-society. But this story doesn't quite get there.
This volume also includes "A Wolf in the Fold," a short story sharing some light on the Wolf's backstory. Now that would be a book I'd like to read. Much better fleshing out the Wolf and Snow White but still lacks the cleverness, charm, and insightfulness that someone like Gaiman brings to his fairytale/mythology stories.
This is a solid 3 star read—fun but mediocre....more
Pratchett makes writing look so very easy. That was his special kind of magic.
Ye think this is the whole world? That is a good thought for sheep and m
Pratchett makes writing look so very easy. That was his special kind of magic.
Ye think this is the whole world? That is a good thought for sheep and mortals who dinna open their eyes. Because in truth there are more worlds than stars in the sky. Understand? They are everywhere, big and small, close as your skin. They are everywhere. Some ye can see an' some ya canna, but there are doors.
This is a story with multiple layers. It is a story about relationships, grandmother-granddaughter, teachers-students, sisters-brothers. It is a story of fairy tales. It is a story of being your own hero. It is a story of finding your strength to be who you want to be.
This is a story that should be handed out to younger readers, especially girls, because it features a hero who is a girl that is smart and capable. In this one, the "princess" doesn't save herself. She saves the world.
All this and so much more with Pratchett's trademark wit and humor. His subtle digs at society's assumptions. His lovely flowy writing.
And with many of the books in the Discworld, this is one you can read without having to read any of the others. 4.5 stars....more
Imaginative and beautifully written. I wasn't sure going into this book if it would live up to its premise and the hype. And while it wasn't a 5 star Imaginative and beautifully written. I wasn't sure going into this book if it would live up to its premise and the hype. And while it wasn't a 5 star read for me, it is a solid 3.75 star read rounded up to 4.
The book opens with beautiful imagery. I found the writing style to be flowing and dreamy, which fit perfectly with the story. I loved the focus on the power of words and the idea of doors between worlds. I liked January and thought her character development was well done. The world-building was solid and we learned as January learned, so it worked well.
The book goes back and forth between January's story and the book she found and is reading entitled The Ten Thousand Doors (view spoiler)[ which we later learn is her father's writing (hide spoiler)]. Overall, that worked fairly well. But that's also why it wasn't quite a 4-star read to me. The book within the book (Ten Thousand Doors) is supposed to be a quasi-scholarly book written by an academic type (view spoiler)[ although we learn later it was written by her father, but he is a scholar (hide spoiler)]. That book gets a big wordy, as many scholarly tomes do, and I thought it slowed down the story a bit. I also thought the action scenes (view spoiler)[ the confrontations with the Society (hide spoiler)] might have been written with more tension to demonstrate the conflict, but those scenes felt a bit watered-down. I didn't get the fear, the enmity that I think the author wanted to convey. I think that's where the dreamy, flowing language, while working well in certain parts of the book, did not do it any favors in these conflict parts.
Overall, a magical story that I did enjoy. It just didn't quite rise to the level of an incredible read for me.
A fun The Little Mermaid-esque type tale (but more like the Disney version than Hans Christian Andersen's). Not a retelling exactly, but lots of similA fun The Little Mermaid-esque type tale (but more like the Disney version than Hans Christian Andersen's). Not a retelling exactly, but lots of similarities. The story is predictable but sweet. A lovely middle-grade fairy tale.
I loved that Nana Mora and Eliza write handwritten letters to each other and I loved what the author says about letter writing:
There is something magical about mail . . . letters are intentional.
When the story starts, I understood what the tension between the mother and Eliza was setting up. But the entire time, I was thinking, the grandmother is exactly the type of person I strive to be—wild, free, and entirely my own person living on my own terms.
The narration by Holly Palance and Imani Parks was excellent. 3.5 stars.
A retelling of a French folk story called Les Dames Blanches, this book centers on mythology. In particular, the connection between women and the moonA retelling of a French folk story called Les Dames Blanches, this book centers on mythology. In particular, the connection between women and the moon and those deities represented by the moon. The moon also represents love, beauty, and the cycle of life. All of these elements are shown in this story.
From the start, this book shows its melodrama from the start. But it gets a bit jumbled as the book tries to switch voices from Sabine to Ailesse to Bastian. I felt the story would have been stronger had it been from one POV. As it was, I thought none of these three characters had strong development. The strongest of the three was clearly Sabine, who goes from a meek follower of Ailesse to defying her matrone, but her character never was fully explored because there was so much going on and it kept switching POVs. Ailesse and Bastain, well, their character development was not fleshed out at all and remained somewhat superficial and relied heavily on the overused trope of falling for your captor/captive. And yet, that might have worked had their individual stories been fleshed out (i.e., Ailesse and her need to prove/outdo her mother and Bastian seeing his father killed).
I also felt the story could have been edited down a bitm focused on one POV, and made a stand-alone. Although an easy read, there were parts, again, mainly due to the switching of the POV, that felt superfluous. Again, focusing on one POV would have made this a much tighter story and one that had a final resolution instead of a quasi-cliffhanger. I just said the same thing on my review of Incendiary. I don't know if there's a push in YA to have every fantasy book be at least a duology if not a trilogy or more, but I wish there would be a realization that not every fantasy book needs to be a series. Like Incendiary, this book would have made a great stand alone book. And then if they wanted more, maybe do a short story or novella of one of the other character's POVs. As is, I thought it got a bit muddled and lacked character development.
But, I will say that I was leaning more towards 4 starts until about the last 75 pages or so. And that crashed my rating down to a 3.5. I'm not sure if it was to increase the suspense and end on a sort of cliffhanger or raise the melodrama or a bit of both, but this book hastily threw in a bunch of dramatic YA tropes and the story lost its steam for me. YA tropes, or really any trope, are not bad in themselves, but a trope must be woven in smoothly to avoid a haphazard crash, which is what happened here. So it kinda lost a bit of its 4 star status for me, docking it down slightly to 3.5 stars.
That being said, this was an easy and fun read. I thought the magic system in particular was unique, with the animal graces, although be forewarned that it may cause a trigger in some people because it involves a type of animal sacrifice. I enjoyed the uniquness of the Bone Crierwith the magic and mythology, and I will most likely read the next book....more
4.5 stars. I absolutely was enchanted with this fairy-tale. I do not normally read historical fiction, but this historical fantasy, or historical fair4.5 stars. I absolutely was enchanted with this fairy-tale. I do not normally read historical fiction, but this historical fantasy, or historical fairy-tale, was delightful. The only thing that would have made it better is if it had come with its own soundtrack.
The prose was lyrical and fit perfectly with the Mozart siblings. From the first page, I was sucked into Nannerl's world. I felt so much for her. A child prodigy in her own right, but any potential career stunted by society simply because of her gender. And the fairy-tale aspects, so reminscent of Grimm and so perfectly fitting with the time period. And I am definitely going to go read Mozart: A Life as recommended by the author.
I tried to make this book last as long as possible, as I did not want it to end. But at the same time, I wanted to see what happened. I also adore the OwlCrate edition—it's simply stunning. ...more
While I loved The Seven Year Slip, this one did not quite make the cut for me.
Right off, I was rolling my eyes. Too many inconsistencies, and too manyWhile I loved The Seven Year Slip, this one did not quite make the cut for me.
Right off, I was rolling my eyes. Too many inconsistencies, and too many things that just didn't fit. How is the gardener "best friends" with the King? Then I was annoyed how naive Cerys was. I get that she's only supposed to be 17, but she came across as much younger. And despite the fact that she says her kingdom, and her town, is flourishing, two chapters later, she says she and her father, who is the royal gardener, can barely afford seeds for the spring. So which is it?
The story definitely has a Disney-esque fairytale feel to it. Clearly Poston is a huge Disney fan—from the title to the animal friends, the curse, and all of the Disney easter eggs, like:
But can you imagine? Me, dancing with that boorish, brainless . . ."
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Sadly, the story was underwhelming. I skimmed most of it and never missed anything. The ending was, of course, predictable (from the first chapter). Off my shelf and onto my PangoBooks shelf....more
A most likely unpopular opinion, but I'm not a huge fan of V.E. Schwab's books. I did like City of Ghosts but did not care as much for her Shades of MA most likely unpopular opinion, but I'm not a huge fan of V.E. Schwab's books. I did like City of Ghosts but did not care as much for her Shades of Magic series. (I made it about 50% of the way through A Gathering of Shadows before I put it down.)
So I went into this book a bit hesitantly.
I liked the premise and setting—a fairy-tale setting complete with folklore, witches, magic, and missing chidlren. Calling a town Near is so Neil Gaiman-ish, it just felt perfect. I liked the atomospheric feel and style. The airy, dreamy writing style goes well with this fairy-tale story.
Fear is a strange thing . . . It has the power to make people close their eyes, turn away. Nothing good grows out of fear.
But this book definitely suffers from debut-book syndrome. Apart from some irritation at sexist uncle Otto and the overly confident Tyler, I felt a bit disconnected, even bored. The characters do not have enough dimension. Wren, the little sister, should be full of lightness and heart, but she comes across a bit flat. Lexi is reminscent of Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast with her dreams and desires, but she doesn't quite get there. Her voice never really comes through, and unlike Belle, I didn’t connect with Lexi. She should be the heroine and I should be rooting for her. A shining voice of spirit and change. But her voice, her personality, didn't come through like it should have and I never connected enough to want to cheer her on.
In addition, the story contains too many repetitive scenes (looking for clues, listening to the wind, trying to steal out of the house, etc.). Maybe this was a stylistic choice, trying to be part fairy-tale, part verse. But I felt it was filler to try to get the book to a certain page length. I felt this book was trying to stive to be Gaiman-esque, but came up considerably short. Maybe it's unfair to compare this story to Neil Gaiman's works, but for me, Neil Gaiman set the bar and this book falls quite short of that.
Overall, while I found the story intriguing and endearingly naïve, I felt it was a bit too bumbling and awkward. It needed a few more rewrites before publication to get the story to the next level. 2.5 stars and probably my last V.E. Schwab book....more
I picked up this book based on the synopsis, which sounded right up my alley. Although the prose is well-written, even beautiIn a word, disappointing.
I picked up this book based on the synopsis, which sounded right up my alley. Although the prose is well-written, even beautiful, the story is muddled and lacks shape. I expected to start reading about Helena and Lady Matthews. But the story opens with Samuel, who has some context but not enough to designate his purpose within the larger story. I figured his purpose and story would become clearer. It did . . . somewhat. But that was the problem I had with the book—it never really gels together.
Then Eliza entered and I had no idea who she was or what she was doing. No context at all. Like several of the characters in this story, she was just plopped in with no real introduction. I read 1/3 of the way through the book before Helena or the mystery of the 3 lost girls even really entered into the story.
I plugged on through Chapter 10 (191 of 317 pages, more than half-way) and finally skimmed from chapter 11 until the end. I found no real resolution of the mystery. The plot remained muddled and convoluted. I think I get what the author was trying to accomplish, but it failed in its execution. The story was just too jumbled without enough context. The characters aren't developed enough and lack any real personality. In the end, this story is utterly forgettable.
2 stars for effort. But I'd be hesitant to pick up another book by this author....more