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thebakerbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.5
Did not realize until the last chapter that this is not a standalone book, but a duology. I hate when this happens to me. *sigh* Don't get me wrong, I love to read series, but I like to know that it's a series going in to it, because otherwise I assume everything is going to get wrapped up by the last chapter and then I start to realize, there's a lot to still be wrapped up and not enough pages left! And it stresses me for a bit lol. Anyways, it's a me problem but there it is. Now I have to hunt down the sequel to this book and I thought I was going to have a nice tidy ending...
That being said, I did enjoy this one! It was a fun YA fairytale retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. There's magic and curses and an evil king and a haunted castle and ghosts and magical creatures and a mystery. There's a romance, of course. This one has a bit more violence than a typical YA. Serilda was a fun main character; she has a lot of lies and tricks up her sleeves that keeps the story interesting.
It was a bit long and repetitive in parts, but I remained interested in the story, and now I'm interested enough to read the sequel. An entertaining read, especially if you like fairy tales!
That being said, I did enjoy this one! It was a fun YA fairytale retelling of Rumpelstiltskin. There's magic and curses and an evil king and a haunted castle and ghosts and magical creatures and a mystery. There's a romance, of course. This one has a bit more violence than a typical YA. Serilda was a fun main character; she has a lot of lies and tricks up her sleeves that keeps the story interesting.
It was a bit long and repetitive in parts, but I remained interested in the story, and now I'm interested enough to read the sequel. An entertaining read, especially if you like fairy tales!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Animal cruelty
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
scarletserin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Child death
outer_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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? Yes
4.0
This was a great one to read! I enjoyed it and it was so much fun!
I enjoyed the first few chapters until right before the last few ones. Those where I enjoyed the introduction to the world, to the German Folklore creatures and not just Rumpelstiltskin. The writing was so good! It was the most atmospheric.
I also refused to believe that this was a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin! I refused! I had no knowledge of this book and have never read any works of Marissa Meyer until this one but have heard of and been in my wishlist for so long! And this made me want to keep on reading here amazing work because if this type of writing is the same within all of her books then I would be happily to swim in it.
The only complaint about that I have to give was the romance. I felt nothing towards it, there was no chemistry there but I understand it. These are two people who had never experienced romantic and yearning love ever, BECAUSE OF REASONS, and they share that common reason. Makes sense to me and I know it might not to others but I do wish to see more interactions between them, a chemistry build up and something to form together in the next book.
I enjoyed the first few chapters until right before the last few ones. Those where I enjoyed the introduction to the world, to the German Folklore creatures and not just Rumpelstiltskin. The writing was so good! It was the most atmospheric.
I also refused to believe that this was a retelling of Rumpelstiltskin! I refused! I had no knowledge of this book and have never read any works of Marissa Meyer until this one but have heard of and been in my wishlist for so long! And this made me want to keep on reading here amazing work because if this type of writing is the same within all of her books then I would be happily to swim in it.
The only complaint about that I have to give was the romance. I felt nothing towards it, there was no chemistry there but I understand it. These are two people who had never experienced romantic and yearning love ever, BECAUSE OF REASONS, and they share that common reason. Makes sense to me and I know it might not to others but I do wish to see more interactions between them, a chemistry build up and something to form together in the next book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Violence, Death, Slavery, and Child death
Moderate: Stalking, Torture, Grief, Genocide, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy
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
aturb92's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Body horror
windprinzessin_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Death, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Child death, and Animal cruelty
sunrae_booknook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
First book of the year down. I loved this. I always forget that Marissa Meyer has such a way with words that really makes yourself get lost in the book. I love retellings and she’s the Queen on them. Can’t wait to jump into Cursed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Minor: Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Abortion, Gaslighting, Confinement, Slavery, and Panic attacks/disorders
cassellwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death, Blood, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Child death, and Bullying
k_galloway's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
a blossoming love story with narry a plot. enjoyable to read but also felt like there wasn’t much that happened in the story overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Slavery, Gore, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Abortion