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venpyre's review against another edition
5.0
Reread:
Reading this filled me with just...plain appreciation for life and love and wow. Everything about this. I can't even put it into words. I'll be thinking about the last page before the coda forever. This book reminds me of how beautiful it is to be alive.
First read:
This story has the makings of a classic and reads like a fairytale. Everything about it was so sweet?? I don't think i've ever read something so enrapturing. Keturah and Death are literally perfect and this book gives me life.
Reading this filled me with just...plain appreciation for life and love and wow. Everything about this. I can't even put it into words. I'll be thinking about the last page before the coda forever. This book reminds me of how beautiful it is to be alive.
First read:
This story has the makings of a classic and reads like a fairytale. Everything about it was so sweet?? I don't think i've ever read something so enrapturing. Keturah and Death are literally perfect and this book gives me life.
cimorene1558's review against another edition
4.0
A short, compelling book about a young woman who meets Death. I found this book really transported me into its own world while I was reading it, and I barely put it down until I was done.
anaelements's review against another edition
3.0
i read this because i needed another death x maiden romance and this was not what i wanted but yet again what i wanted was morozko and vasya all over again so yeah
melissasbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable fairytale like story. I really enjoyed the audiobook version.
brandypainter's review against another edition
3.0
Review originally posted here.
Like Scherehazade in 1001 Arabian Nights, Keturah is bargaining for her life one day at a time with a story begun, but left unfinished. She is at an advantage because Lord Death is enamored of her, and she is telling his story as well as her own. Lord Death's infatuation with Keturah and her role in the book have strong reminders of the myth of Persephone. Like Hades, Lord Death is the ruler of the afterlife, cold and surrounded by the dead. He is not an appealing marriage prospect, although he is a very nice gentleman and not given to abduction and rape like Hades was. Like Persephone, Keturah is distinctly beautiful. Persephone, as the daughter of Demeter, is the symbol of rebirth and spring in her myth. Keturah plays this role as well, bringing new life and hope to her small village. While invoking ancient mythologies, the book reads like a European folktale and is told in simple, but beautiful language.
As a lover of mythology and folklore, I enjoyed these elements of the story. Keturah is an interesting character and I found the conflicts and realizations she is faced with captivating, while unsurprising. Lord Death was less intriguing to me. He was made to be so gentlemanly, sacrificing, and long suffering that he was rendered dull. He was way too nice to be interesting. Not to mention cold (literally) and very emo. Not my kind of hero.
When reading this as an original folktale invoking old myth it is an enjoyable read. There could be more to it though, depending on what the reader wanted to get out of it. Potential metaphors abound. I like books that are layered like this and I like authors who are willing to allow their readers the pleasure of discovering the layers for themselves.
I am held back from completely liking this book because of the innocuousness of the conflict. There is nothing at all sinister about the novel. Death is appealing, made even more so by his proclaiming there is no hell to worry about, "Each man, when he dies, sees the landscape of his own soul." (What does that even mean???) Keturah's struggle is not about choosing one fate or another, but coming to a realization of a choice she already made. She is allowed to act as a benevolent benefactor to her village, bestowing gifts of life and prosperity everywhere she goes in the meantime. There is no darkness to the story, it is all sweetness and light. Without the contrast, the light appears less powerful.
Like Scherehazade in 1001 Arabian Nights, Keturah is bargaining for her life one day at a time with a story begun, but left unfinished. She is at an advantage because Lord Death is enamored of her, and she is telling his story as well as her own. Lord Death's infatuation with Keturah and her role in the book have strong reminders of the myth of Persephone. Like Hades, Lord Death is the ruler of the afterlife, cold and surrounded by the dead. He is not an appealing marriage prospect, although he is a very nice gentleman and not given to abduction and rape like Hades was. Like Persephone, Keturah is distinctly beautiful. Persephone, as the daughter of Demeter, is the symbol of rebirth and spring in her myth. Keturah plays this role as well, bringing new life and hope to her small village. While invoking ancient mythologies, the book reads like a European folktale and is told in simple, but beautiful language.
As a lover of mythology and folklore, I enjoyed these elements of the story. Keturah is an interesting character and I found the conflicts and realizations she is faced with captivating, while unsurprising. Lord Death was less intriguing to me. He was made to be so gentlemanly, sacrificing, and long suffering that he was rendered dull. He was way too nice to be interesting. Not to mention cold (literally) and very emo. Not my kind of hero.
When reading this as an original folktale invoking old myth it is an enjoyable read. There could be more to it though, depending on what the reader wanted to get out of it. Potential metaphors abound. I like books that are layered like this and I like authors who are willing to allow their readers the pleasure of discovering the layers for themselves.
I am held back from completely liking this book because of the innocuousness of the conflict. There is nothing at all sinister about the novel. Death is appealing, made even more so by his proclaiming there is no hell to worry about, "Each man, when he dies, sees the landscape of his own soul." (What does that even mean???) Keturah's struggle is not about choosing one fate or another, but coming to a realization of a choice she already made. She is allowed to act as a benevolent benefactor to her village, bestowing gifts of life and prosperity everywhere she goes in the meantime. There is no darkness to the story, it is all sweetness and light. Without the contrast, the light appears less powerful.
frazzledreader's review against another edition
4.0
A simple novel that reads more life a fairytale than an actual story. It's beautifully written and the story is simple. It might be worth reading, but it's not something I'd read over again because of its simplicity.
emellis59's review against another edition
5.0
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. While it was predictable, I couldn't pull myself away, wondering how the heroine would meet her final decision. The language is sophisticated but not challenging; it was a refreshing change for YA lit.
magicacat's review against another edition
4.0
Reads like a fairy tale whispered by firelight. Quite beautiful ❤️
dearestdorian's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't enjoy this much at all. It's only saved from a one-star rating because I didn't outright loathe it. The reason? There was so little to it that there was nothing to enjoy or hate.
Pretty but more-or-less average girl as the main character? Check.
Poorly-executed romance? Check.
A plot that feels like filler to get from Point A to Point B? Check.
Keturah follows a hart into the forest and gets lost for three days. Just when she's on the edge of death, she manages to stave him off by telling a story and refusing to finish. He tells her to return and finish it, or find and marry her true love before tomorrow, or he'll take her soul. She manages to hold him off again and again, as in 1001 Nights, except it's not nearly as interesting.
She gets a charm intended to show her who her true love is, and she goes on a series of wacky errands in order to marry who she assumes is the man she should wed. These are about as fun to read as it is to use the loo on a charter bus.
A book like this should make the reader go "oh crap, what's happening next?" My reaction was along the lines of, "Oh, lemons. I forgot they were important to the story."
In the end, it turns out loves her. Because of course he does. For... some reason. It never really goes into detail about how he came to love her. Or if it does, it was some unremarkable, generic and forgettable reason. This is shelved under "romance" by 330 users as of this writing. I don't think I read the same book as those people.
Pretty but more-or-less average girl as the main character? Check.
Poorly-executed romance?
Spoiler
HA HA EXECUTED, GRIM REAPER, GET IT?A plot that feels like filler to get from Point A to Point B? Check.
Keturah follows a hart into the forest and gets lost for three days. Just when she's on the edge of death, she manages to stave him off by telling a story and refusing to finish. He tells her to return and finish it, or find and marry her true love before tomorrow, or he'll take her soul. She manages to hold him off again and again, as in 1001 Nights, except it's not nearly as interesting.
She gets a charm intended to show her who her true love is, and she goes on a series of wacky errands in order to marry who she assumes is the man she should wed. These are about as fun to read as it is to use the loo on a charter bus.
A book like this should make the reader go "oh crap, what's happening next?" My reaction was along the lines of, "Oh, lemons. I forgot they were important to the story."
In the end, it turns out
Spoiler
Lord Deathyikesav's review
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
slow-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? It's complicated
3.5
pretty okay