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ladyashlene's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Death, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, and Gore
Minor: Pregnancy and Sexual content
hermioneinravenclaw's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Animal death, Murder, Violence, War, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Child death, Blood, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy
xtsukix's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
This book was agonisingly slow and I found so much of the content utterly boring. When S was in the castle (I listened to the audiobook, please don’t ask me to spell her name) and doing the tasks set out before her and interacting with Gild, I was absolutely interested and hooked, but there was so much needless other stuff going on that took up the majority of the book that I found myself disinterested the majority of the time.
I found that this book had moments that were notably dark and grotesque, but that they didn’t necessarily FIT the book. Whenever they happened it would take me out of the book and have me wondering why it was necessary, I think purely because the suspense and tension was not kept throughout the book. The main cause of this, I think, is because the villain of this story is utterly underwhelming. He’s supposed to be cold, ruthless and cruel, but instead just comes across as a template for the evil character archetype. He has no real depth, his cruelty is seen few and far between and almost entirely happens offscreen, and although the book unravels his desires and what he wants, he really doesn’t showcase this himself at all, and seems utterly dispassionate about his desires.
I think all of the deaths that happened also happened offscreen, which created such a dissonance between the random moments of gore and the reality that the most horrific things were just told to us to have happened.
The mystery was interesting, although S feels like she’s ten steps behind the reader in understanding what’s going on. The romance was somewhat rushed and rooted in nothing but them both being alone and happening to find another person they can be with, no matter who that person is, which did not culminate in the most root-worthy or shippable romance, but it was not awful considering they were only together for about 5% of the book.
The book really picked up for the ending and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, and seeing how the revelations play out, and if the various curses can be lifted. Also, it’s not often you see a ginger male romance lead, so that was very exciting. 10 points for that.
Also please do not let Gild’s real name be Rumpelstiltskin, I am praying for all that is good and holy.
I found that this book had moments that were notably dark and grotesque, but that they didn’t necessarily FIT the book. Whenever they happened it would take me out of the book and have me wondering why it was necessary, I think purely because the suspense and tension was not kept throughout the book. The main cause of this, I think, is because the villain of this story is utterly underwhelming. He’s supposed to be cold, ruthless and cruel, but instead just comes across as a template for the evil character archetype. He has no real depth, his cruelty is seen few and far between and almost entirely happens offscreen, and although the book unravels his desires and what he wants, he really doesn’t showcase this himself at all, and seems utterly dispassionate about his desires.
I think all of the deaths that happened also happened offscreen, which created such a dissonance between the random moments of gore and the reality that the most horrific things were just told to us to have happened.
The mystery was interesting, although S feels like she’s ten steps behind the reader in understanding what’s going on. The romance was somewhat rushed and rooted in nothing but them both being alone and happening to find another person they can be with, no matter who that person is, which did not culminate in the most root-worthy or shippable romance, but it was not awful considering they were only together for about 5% of the book.
The book really picked up for the ending and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, and seeing how the revelations play out, and if the various curses can be lifted. Also, it’s not often you see a ginger male romance lead, so that was very exciting. 10 points for that.
Also please do not let Gild’s real name be Rumpelstiltskin, I am praying for all that is good and holy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Animal death, Body horror, Abortion, Blood, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Sexual content, and Bullying
mythian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
Moderate: Pregnancy and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
bookish_bookerz's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book was picked up for two reasons:
1. I am a huge fan of fairytale retellings
2. I am huge fan of Marissa Meyer
To start this review, let me focus on the positive firsts and why I enjoyed this story so much. This Rumpelstiltskin retelling did have a dark spin on it while keeping some of the main details of the original, which I liked very much. I think Marissa Meyer did a fantastic job adding new elements to such a classic fairytale to create a new setting for it. Which in turns influence, my positive outlook of the characters in whom I enjoyed. I like going through the ups and downs with characters that I connected with emotionally.I did not find any of the characters flat and enjoyed how I can see the relationship of side characters with the main. Another thing I am fond of this story was the character development of the main character. Even though it was not a significant growth, I appreciated seeing the female main character growth in courage through the novel. I am also very fond of the stories told by our main character. I found it absolutely exciting that there were stories inside of a story. To me that added a nice touch and a glimpse into what our character was known for while sharing things about the plot without making it boring or overly informational. Lastly, I liked how the plot did focus on its main objective instead of deviating into a different direction. I though there was a good blend between world building, character driven, and plot. It was just enough to keep me engaged. Now to focus on the negatives. While reading there were some times I found myself a little uninterested due to some of the world building or descriptions. It was not overly heavy but, I found myself a little bored and would skim over the description parts when I wanted to get to the action. In addition, I disliked how our main character acted at certain times. Some of her action made me confused or asking why would she do that. She was infuriating at times, but nonetheless I stilled enjoyed her. Overall, I was satisfied with my read and enjoyed it enough to read the second book. I cannot wait to continue this story.
1. I am a huge fan of fairytale retellings
2. I am huge fan of Marissa Meyer
To start this review, let me focus on the positive firsts and why I enjoyed this story so much. This Rumpelstiltskin retelling did have a dark spin on it while keeping some of the main details of the original, which I liked very much. I think Marissa Meyer did a fantastic job adding new elements to such a classic fairytale to create a new setting for it. Which in turns influence, my positive outlook of the characters in whom I enjoyed. I like going through the ups and downs with characters that I connected with emotionally.I did not find any of the characters flat and enjoyed how I can see the relationship of side characters with the main. Another thing I am fond of this story was the character development of the main character. Even though it was not a significant growth, I appreciated seeing the female main character growth in courage through the novel. I am also very fond of the stories told by our main character. I found it absolutely exciting that there were stories inside of a story. To me that added a nice touch and a glimpse into what our character was known for while sharing things about the plot without making it boring or overly informational. Lastly, I liked how the plot did focus on its main objective instead of deviating into a different direction. I though there was a good blend between world building, character driven, and plot. It was just enough to keep me engaged. Now to focus on the negatives. While reading there were some times I found myself a little uninterested due to some of the world building or descriptions. It was not overly heavy but, I found myself a little bored and would skim over the description parts when I wanted to get to the action. In addition, I disliked how our main character acted at certain times. Some of her action made me confused or asking why would she do that. She was infuriating at times, but nonetheless I stilled enjoyed her. Overall, I was satisfied with my read and enjoyed it enough to read the second book. I cannot wait to continue this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Child death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Kidnapping, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion, Cannibalism, and Sexual content
nxpe's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
This is a pretty good book. It is perfect is yoh want to read about a fairytale and feel like you're in a fairytale world.
That being said, it's a bit gross (especially for YA). Some of the descriptions are nightmare fuel (literally amd figuratively).
That being said, it's a bit gross (especially for YA). Some of the descriptions are nightmare fuel (literally amd figuratively).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Body horror, and Gore
Minor: Sexual content and Animal cruelty
vivivalley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Murder, Gore, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content and Blood
Minor: Pregnancy
maddox22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Slavery, Blood, Torture, Gore, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
Seriously all the trigger warnings for child murderuranaishi's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Self harm, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to read this book as I enjoy most of Marissa Meyer’s work. However, with all three series that I’ve read, I have always struggled with the first book. This book was the same. I was waiting for a big reveal or plot twist, and it just never bloody happened.
This book is told from Serilda’s point of view. She was cursed by the god of lies and has developed a talent for storytelling. When one of Serilda’s stories draws the attention of the Erilking, she finds herself swept away into a world of enchantment, where ghouls prowl the earth, and ravens track her every move. The king locks Serilda in a castle dungeon and orders her to spin straw into gold or be killed for lying. In despair, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious young man to her aid. And he agrees to help her, for a price. But as the months go on, she falls in love with the mysterious young man and yet there are too many secrets, and she doesn’t know who she can trust. This book is a young adult fantasy.
This book was difficult. The world building wasn’t there and there wasn’t much character building expect that Serilda is a storyteller and she’s got to go back to the “bad castle” every full moon. I think I also struggled with this book as I didn’t understand all the God analogy of it. Serilda was a damsel in distress that was trying to save herself but just couldn’t and then rejected help. Erikling’s got no back story and no character background or building expect he likes to hunt and be a dick. Gild sort of saved this book and I would have loved for him to be the hero and be the want getting the girl. I hated how it ended and hopefully it’s building for the next book.
This book is told from Serilda’s point of view. She was cursed by the god of lies and has developed a talent for storytelling. When one of Serilda’s stories draws the attention of the Erilking, she finds herself swept away into a world of enchantment, where ghouls prowl the earth, and ravens track her every move. The king locks Serilda in a castle dungeon and orders her to spin straw into gold or be killed for lying. In despair, Serilda unwittingly summons a mysterious young man to her aid. And he agrees to help her, for a price. But as the months go on, she falls in love with the mysterious young man and yet there are too many secrets, and she doesn’t know who she can trust. This book is a young adult fantasy.
This book was difficult. The world building wasn’t there and there wasn’t much character building expect that Serilda is a storyteller and she’s got to go back to the “bad castle” every full moon. I think I also struggled with this book as I didn’t understand all the God analogy of it. Serilda was a damsel in distress that was trying to save herself but just couldn’t and then rejected help. Erikling’s got no back story and no character background or building expect he likes to hunt and be a dick. Gild sort of saved this book and I would have loved for him to be the hero and be the want getting the girl. I hated how it ended and hopefully it’s building for the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Stalking, Pregnancy, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Kidnapping
Minor: Sexual content and Abortion