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leila_reads_too_much's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
erebus53's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
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
4.0
Lengthier than a lot of Marissa Meyer's books, this sequel to Gilded tells the rest of a story woven from fairytales that might seem familiar to us. The structure is broad in scope but rumbles along at a good clip.
This fairytale retelling is quite different to Meyer's more futuristic Lunar Chronicles, as it keeps its roots firmly in the pseudomedieval past. It does have twists though. It's not set in OUR past. It is a distinct world with different (but similar) gods and monsters. I found myself well at home with griffons and basilisks (though I did go wandering to figure out whether it's a basilisk or a cockatrice, and found that in most literature the two names are interchangeable).
Having a character who is blessed/cursed to be a storyteller, prone to lying or withholding the truth, was agonising for me to read (as a compulsive blurt) but it was consistent and true to the character. It was good to run into some of the bit-characters that were in the first book too.
Having been grossly disappointed by the Stars Above short story collection and it's frustratingly boring weddings and heteronormative drivel, it was really refreshing for me to see how Meyer challenged that in this book. For starters the gods in her pantheon transcend gender. Each of them is referred to as They, rather than He or Her, and why not; these are powerful beings who can change their form at will. The other thing that made me smile was that two of the weddings in the story were gay marriages (not an eyelid batted nor an eyebrow raised thank goodness!). Having a huge celebration and joyous whimsy directly after a huge boss battle felt like a load off from the drear and tense parts of the story, and I enjoyed it despite myself. (Bring it in Marissa, all is forgiven).
This fairytale retelling is quite different to Meyer's more futuristic Lunar Chronicles, as it keeps its roots firmly in the pseudomedieval past. It does have twists though. It's not set in OUR past. It is a distinct world with different (but similar) gods and monsters. I found myself well at home with griffons and basilisks (though I did go wandering to figure out whether it's a basilisk or a cockatrice, and found that in most literature the two names are interchangeable).
Having a character who is blessed/cursed to be a storyteller, prone to lying or withholding the truth, was agonising for me to read (as a compulsive blurt) but it was consistent and true to the character. It was good to run into some of the bit-characters that were in the first book too.
Having been grossly disappointed by the Stars Above short story collection and it's frustratingly boring weddings and heteronormative drivel, it was really refreshing for me to see how Meyer challenged that in this book. For starters the gods in her pantheon transcend gender. Each of them is referred to as They, rather than He or Her, and why not; these are powerful beings who can change their form at will. The other thing that made me smile was that two of the weddings in the story were gay marriages (not an eyelid batted nor an eyebrow raised thank goodness!). Having a huge celebration and joyous whimsy directly after a huge boss battle felt like a load off from the drear and tense parts of the story, and I enjoyed it despite myself. (Bring it in Marissa, all is forgiven).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Confinement, Death of parent, Gore, Animal cruelty, Death, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, and Torture
k_galloway's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
3.0
An inclusive story with great lore and world building that’s completely clotheslined by cringy troupes and unnecessary violence against children.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, and Murder
jjstallone's review
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Kidnapping, War, Child death, Death, Gore, Confinement, Pregnancy, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, and Slavery
abookdork's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This dark, fairytale retelling is devastating and gruesome. Not for the faint of heart or stomach.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Gore, Murder, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, and Pregnancy
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