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lewnie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
Blessed by the god of fate, fortune, and stories, Serilda has always had a talent for telling outlandish tales. When one of her stories captures the interest of the savage Erlking and his ghastly Wild Hunt, Serilda must make her stories a reality or face death. Tasked with spinning straw into gold, Serilda makes a desperate bargain with a strange young man. But all magic has a price, and Serilda may not be ready to pay.
The good: I was so delighted by the prospect of a Rumpelstiltskin retelling and I did not expect this story to be as dark as it was, having read Meyer’s other YA. The world-building is superb and incredibly immersive. I had no problems with Serilda’s characterization. She has flaws, but she loves her family and her friends. She is also a bit of a firecracker, which is amusing and it is clear how she gets herself into trouble. Between her devotion to her loved ones and her spirited personality, I had no problems believing in her heroism. The Erlking is a terrifying villain and I really enjoyed what Meyer did with the Wild Hunt. There is horror and gore, but it isn’t incredibly off-putting.
The bad: There isn’t a lot of representation in this book. Everyone seems to be generally “tanned skinned” but not presented as people of color. The world itself is also clearly Western-based. There is one character presented as potentially bisexual, but that is not on-page nor is it confirmed by the character. The idea of bisexual or gay relationships seem to be accepted as somewhat normal, however there are no on-page same-sex relationships. That is really the biggest detractor for me in this novel.
Overall: I absolutely adore a long fantasy full of world-building and character development and at 500 pages, this is definitely a time commitment. However, I think the payoff is absolutely worthwhile. The twist on the classic Rumpelstiltskin fairytale is interesting and doesn’t feel overwrought. While I did see the twists coming, I don’t think that ruined anything about the story for me. I was invested in the characters and their stories throughout the entire novel and I will absolutely be reading the sequel. I wish there was a little more representation built into the world, though. With the darker themes and brief sexual content, I would suggest this for a little older teen audience than Meyer’s previous YA novels. I think this is a great transition for fantasy readers who are looking for something a little more ‘adult’ or adult readers looking for a less complicated fantasy read.
For fans of: Elizabeth Lim, Hafsah Faizal, Melissa Bashardoust
Rep.: off-page bisexual minor character.
CW: abandonment; abortion (mention); animal cruelty; animal death; blood; body horror; brief sexual content; cannibalism; child death; confinement; death; death of a parent; grief; gore; murder; pregnancy; torture; violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Torture, Cannibalism, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Pregnancy
havengracea01'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
theespressoedition's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Let's all bow down to the absolute queen of retellings because Marissa Meyer has done it again.
I can't say that I'm surprised by how incredible this book is, but I will say that I'm shocked by how dark it is! I was definitely not expecting the level of gruesome, gory, and just outright gross scenes that were in this. It's something I haven't seen her do before and it almost reminded me a little bit of Schwab's writing. It felt much more mature than, say, The Lunar Chronicles - or even Renegades. It was the first book I've read by her that included sexual content (though it was completely closed door and really just mentioned more than played out) and it had some honestly terrifying scenes.
I've wanted to read a Rumplestiltskin retelling for years. That's the honest truth! While everyone and their mom might love a good Beauty and the Beast tale, I have been itching for something new and different and I always thought Rumplestiltskin would provide that. Meyer certainly put her special sauce on this story because it was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. In fact, aside from the "turning straw into gold" bit, there wasn't much else that was related to Rumplestiltskin - but I liked that! It felt wholly original while maintaining that timeless fairytale element.
Though parts of it were super predictable, there were other things that definitely kept me on my toes. I wasn't sure how much Gild would find out about his history, I had no clue that some characters weren't who they said they were, and there was something really fascinating about Serilda's story-telling! On that note, I loved that there were stories within stories as she weaved her tales. Like Gild, I wanted to hear more and more of them!
The way it ended left me with a million and ten questions, all of which I hope are answered in Cursed. At this point, I can't see how things are going to unravel and that's a really great feeling. It'll be so exciting to find out what happens next!
I can't say that I'm surprised by how incredible this book is, but I will say that I'm shocked by how dark it is! I was definitely not expecting the level of gruesome, gory, and just outright gross scenes that were in this. It's something I haven't seen her do before and it almost reminded me a little bit of Schwab's writing. It felt much more mature than, say, The Lunar Chronicles - or even Renegades. It was the first book I've read by her that included sexual content (though it was completely closed door and really just mentioned more than played out) and it had some honestly terrifying scenes.
I've wanted to read a Rumplestiltskin retelling for years. That's the honest truth! While everyone and their mom might love a good Beauty and the Beast tale, I have been itching for something new and different and I always thought Rumplestiltskin would provide that. Meyer certainly put her special sauce on this story because it was everything I wanted it to be and so much more. In fact, aside from the "turning straw into gold" bit, there wasn't much else that was related to Rumplestiltskin - but I liked that! It felt wholly original while maintaining that timeless fairytale element.
Though parts of it were super predictable, there were other things that definitely kept me on my toes. I wasn't sure how much Gild would find out about his history, I had no clue that some characters weren't who they said they were, and there was something really fascinating about Serilda's story-telling! On that note, I loved that there were stories within stories as she weaved her tales. Like Gild, I wanted to hear more and more of them!
The way it ended left me with a million and ten questions, all of which I hope are answered in Cursed. At this point, I can't see how things are going to unravel and that's a really great feeling. It'll be so exciting to find out what happens next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Love the mix of tales (I see it including sleeping beauty and Tam Lin), there is lots of rich description which can slow it down, the characters are very interesting, looking forward to what comes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
miciahsreads's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Grief, and Pregnancy
mypatronusisajedi's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
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? No
4.0
It took me about a hundred pages to really get into the story, but then it was very absorbing. This was the kind of story I hope for when I start a book, that pulls me in and makes me keep reading without checking how many pages are left in the book. And it even explored the nature of story itself a bit, which gave it a bit of depth I quite enjoyed.
My frustrations with the book, which kept it from quite being a five star read, were mostly with the author's worldview. Most of the magic fits into a made up, fantasy world feel that I'm fine with, but one short part of the story involves the good side using magic that both has a more 'real world' flavor, and plays with the line of of what would normally be portrayed as 'dark' magic. I also felt a lack of characters who appreciated both hard work AND stories--that shouldn't have to be an either/or. And there's a lesbian side romance shoehorned into the story.
I also didn't realize going in that there's a book two, which may well be my own fault, but definitely made the cliffhanger ending feel abrupt!
My frustrations with the book, which kept it from quite being a five star read, were mostly with the author's worldview. Most of the magic fits into a made up, fantasy world feel that I'm fine with, but one short part of the story involves the good side using magic that both has a more 'real world' flavor, and plays with the line of of what would normally be portrayed as 'dark' magic. I also felt a lack of characters who appreciated both hard work AND stories--that shouldn't have to be an either/or. And there's a lesbian side romance shoehorned into the story.
I also didn't realize going in that there's a book two, which may well be my own fault, but definitely made the cliffhanger ending feel abrupt!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Pregnancy
elevetha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Hear me out, I think maybe turning the very short fairytale of Rumpelstiltskin into a 500-page per book duology wasn't the best idea. Parts of this definitely felt repetitive or just plain unnecessary. Meyer definitely did a good job of including other myth and folklore into the book as some padding to the Rumpelstiltskin storyline, but even with all that, there was still a lot of shoe-leather, so to speak.
I like Gild and Serilda (though she isn't my favorite) and I even thought they had decent chemistry/good interaction. I didn't love them getting together at like...their fourth or fifth interaction or something and Serilda getting pregnant, but I also didn't absolutely detest that storyline, as it plays into nicely of the "firstborn child". Also making the child wanted by the Erlking but actually being "Rumpelstiltskin's" kid, and thereby OWED to him, is a good twist.
Still a LITTLE confused on how the curse works that tethers Gild (and later Serilda) to the castle, insofar as he has left his body but also clearly still has some sort of physical presence, and enough of one to father a child.
Rumpelstiltskin isn't exactly a super happy fairytale, but this takes some pretty dark turns, especially towards the end, which I wasn't expecting to be quite so depressing.
I guessed fairly early that Serilda's stories either were true or would become true or something to that effect, (not least because what would really be the point of including them in the book if they weren't relevant) and I am curious as how exactly that works. If her stories will become true or ARE truth in some manner, doesn't she just need to weave a story that turns out the way she would wish her story to end? Maybe that's similar to how it will play out in Cursed
I think how good Cursed is will play a lot into my overall enjoyment of the two books. But I really wish I had the sequel now!
I like Gild and Serilda (though she isn't my favorite) and I even thought they had decent chemistry/good interaction.
Still a LITTLE confused on how the curse works that tethers Gild (and later Serilda) to the castle, insofar as he has left his body but also clearly still has some sort of physical presence, and enough of one to father a child.
Rumpelstiltskin isn't exactly a super happy fairytale, but this takes some pretty dark turns, especially towards the end, which I wasn't expecting to be quite so depressing.
I think how good Cursed is will play a lot into my overall enjoyment of the two books. But I really wish I had the sequel now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content and Abortion
heytherekaity's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
HELLO YES THIS WAS WONDERFUL AND FANTASTIC AND somehow I missed that it's a series?????????
Absolutely LOVED it, but was very taken aback when I got to the end and realized.... the story isn't over.
My love of fairy tale retellings is back and I am so happy that this book was perfect!
Absolutely LOVED it, but was very taken aback when I got to the end and realized.... the story isn't over.
My love of fairy tale retellings is back and I am so happy that this book was perfect!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail