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meganpbell's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
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
This cozy, quirky, clever fantasy lives up to its inspiration—what if in The Princess Bride, Buttercup was the one who went after Westley? In the course of attempting to save her noble true love from the evil Sorceress, a window washer runs away from home, dares life and death at sea, joins a dangerous crew, and unlearns a whole lot about people pleasing, taking charge, and accepting help. A delightful, surprising, heartwarming adventure of a book I’d recommend for fans of Ella Enchanted and Our Flag Means Death!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Minor: War
pobi's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
SO GOOD AHHH. I gasped out loud at the twist and laughed many many times. Obsessed, already planning to re read it sometime.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
kayanna_turner's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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? Yes
4.25
Silly goofy story that has you rooting for the main character and her allies the whole time
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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? It's complicated
3.5
I hate to be a downer, but this was just a bit too whimsical for my taste... I think I'm just not a cozy fantasy person. The humor was trying a bit too hard and made me cringe. I also wasn't into the fourth wall breaks. Then the narration from Hoid really irked me at parts. Sanderson says he wanted to write a book from Hoid's pov before writing more from that character, but I don't understand why he had to be the narrator for Tress' story. I think the story overall would've been more impactful from a nameless narrator, a more traditional third person pov.
Unfortunately me knowing going into this that Sanderson was inspired by The Princess Bride was a detriment for me, because it's one of my all time fav movies, so I couldn't help compare too closely. I recognize that's unfair and my own issue. He says he wrote it as "if Buttercup had gone searching for Westley" - I personally read it as if Tress was Westley when he goes away and becomes the Dread Pirate Robert.
I did grow to love the cast of characters on the ship. There was great deaf representation! The world building is really interesting and unique. This is my first Sanderson book, and I've been assured it's very different from his other books. I plan to start the Stormlight series this year and look forward to what I'm hoping is a more straightforward epic high fantasy series.
Unfortunately me knowing going into this that Sanderson was inspired by The Princess Bride was a detriment for me, because it's one of my all time fav movies, so I couldn't help compare too closely. I recognize that's unfair and my own issue. He says he wrote it as "if Buttercup had gone searching for Westley" - I personally read it as if Tress was Westley when he goes away and becomes the Dread Pirate Robert.
I did grow to love the cast of characters on the ship. There was great deaf representation! The world building is really interesting and unique. This is my first Sanderson book, and I've been assured it's very different from his other books. I plan to start the Stormlight series this year and look forward to what I'm hoping is a more straightforward epic high fantasy series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Gore, Slavery, and Vomit
katiecoconut21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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? No
5.0
Brandon Sanderson wrote this as a "what if" scenario...what if Princess Buttercup from The Princess Bride had chased after Westley when he was kidnapped by the Dread Pirate Roberts?
Having started on a beautiful and promising premise (not to mention that it was a passion project for his wife), Sanderson doesn't disappoint with this tale of clever adventures amidst brilliant world-building.
We experience narration from a whackadoo character (for the most part) that is as much a part of the main story, as Tress, our main lead. The world Tress of the Emerald Sea takes place in is deeply entwined with oceans...made of spores. Sound intriguing? Read the book, Sanderson explains it much better than I ever could.
Tress experiences so much character development, and while the book is definitely not void of plot, I found the changes I saw in Tress the most exciting part. The adventures she goes on and the friends she makes along the way...I found myself lost in Tress' world and I couldn't get enough of it.
This book has wormed its way into one of the positions held by my favorite books, and I am excited to read other books written by Brandon Sanderson. Absolutely wonderful, I highly recommend it.
A warning to future readers: While The Princess Bride is a romance-adventure, any future readers should really approach Tress of the Emerald Sea with a clean slate. This story is one-of-a-kind, and you would only be doing yourself (and the amazing world and characters of Tress of the Emerald Sea) an incredible disservice by expecting something before reading. Let Brandon Sanderson's world become its own in your mind, and I can assure you that you will be much better off.
Having started on a beautiful and promising premise (not to mention that it was a passion project for his wife), Sanderson doesn't disappoint with this tale of clever adventures amidst brilliant world-building.
We experience narration from a whackadoo character (for the most part) that is as much a part of the main story, as Tress, our main lead. The world Tress of the Emerald Sea takes place in is deeply entwined with oceans...made of spores. Sound intriguing? Read the book, Sanderson explains it much better than I ever could.
Tress experiences so much character development, and while the book is definitely not void of plot, I found the changes I saw in Tress the most exciting part. The adventures she goes on and the friends she makes along the way...I found myself lost in Tress' world and I couldn't get enough of it.
This book has wormed its way into one of the positions held by my favorite books, and I am excited to read other books written by Brandon Sanderson. Absolutely wonderful, I highly recommend it.
A warning to future readers: While The Princess Bride is a romance-adventure, any future readers should really approach Tress of the Emerald Sea with a clean slate. This story is one-of-a-kind, and you would only be doing yourself (and the amazing world and characters of Tress of the Emerald Sea) an incredible disservice by expecting something before reading. Let Brandon Sanderson's world become its own in your mind, and I can assure you that you will be much better off.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Violence and Blood
mkaiww's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, and Terminal illness
Minor: Blood, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
mals_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
reflective
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? N/A
3.0
i didn’t love the voice/narrator throughout the story. granted i haven’t read any Cosmere books, so maybe that’s the root issue, but the pov fluctuations and fourth wall breaks weren’t doing it for me.
the story itself i did enjoy! i like a good sea story and the cast was very lovable in my opinion :) i definitely got The Princess Bride inspo (not so much Good Omens but..) — very whimsical, self-depricating, and simultaneously lighthearted & adventurous. an adult fairy tale if you will.
i also think the technicalities with the spores and aether introduced in Tress was super interesting! just the mechanics of the magic system were intriguing and that alone held my attention for a majority of the book.
all in all i thought it was pretty average. i struggled through the beginning and had trouble adjusting to the narrator — if this wasn’t a book for my book club, i may have put it down for a while.
the story itself i did enjoy! i like a good sea story and the cast was very lovable in my opinion :) i definitely got The Princess Bride inspo (not so much Good Omens but..) — very whimsical, self-depricating, and simultaneously lighthearted & adventurous. an adult fairy tale if you will.
i also think the technicalities with the spores and aether introduced in Tress was super interesting! just the mechanics of the magic system were intriguing and that alone held my attention for a majority of the book.
all in all i thought it was pretty average. i struggled through the beginning and had trouble adjusting to the narrator — if this wasn’t a book for my book club, i may have put it down for a while.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Death
calicokittie's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
Minor: Death
billyjepma's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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
3.75
Immaculately charming, even if its particular brand of whimsy and the overly quirky humor of the narrator didn’t always work for me. It starts off so well and gives you such a strong sense of tone, place, and character that I was instantly all in. Which is good, considering there’s a decent length of time in the middle that really doesn’t go anywhere, struggling to find the momentum in its plot. It doesn’t help that the stakes are often too loose to have much bite, especially with the “antagonists,” who are as one-note as they come.
And yet…I still had the loveliest time reading this. I might’ve been expecting something that wowed me a little more, but hey, I’m very happy to have spent the last two weeks reading this. It was like drinking a warm cup of tea in bed—in your favorite mug, obviously—while listening to someone tell you a story they’re making up as they go. It’s not exactly an exhilarating, or even all that memorable story, but it has such consistently enjoyable vibes, creative worldbuilding, and a rewarding character arc for our protagonist that I was more than content to sit back and let the book do its thing.
And yet…I still had the loveliest time reading this. I might’ve been expecting something that wowed me a little more, but hey, I’m very happy to have spent the last two weeks reading this. It was like drinking a warm cup of tea in bed—in your favorite mug, obviously—while listening to someone tell you a story they’re making up as they go. It’s not exactly an exhilarating, or even all that memorable story, but it has such consistently enjoyable vibes, creative worldbuilding, and a rewarding character arc for our protagonist that I was more than content to sit back and let the book do its thing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Blood
Minor: Death, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lea's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? It's complicated
4.75
Loved the deaf representation as well as the lesson about asking for help. Very cute found family whimsical story. I listened on audio but I want to get the physical because there were several lines I wanted to annotate. Not a full 5 because of some pacing issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Death