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thelittlestmermaid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Slavery, Pregnancy, Blood, and Torture
Minor: Medical content, Abortion, and Miscarriage
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I think overly high expectations based on the author’s other series ruined this for me. Most of this book dragged, and the interesting bits felt like a splash of flavor to get me interested in book 2.
The romance felt very trite and the supporting characters were incredibly flat. The setting/universe is really interesting, but it’s left so unexplored for the first half of this giant book.
The ending is pure sequel tease. I really hate when authors can’t wrap up a book in a series well & rely on a cliffhanger
I already purchased the second book along with this one bc I was feeling optimistic; I’ll read it to see if maybe things heat up.
The romance felt very trite and the supporting characters were incredibly flat. The setting/universe is really interesting, but it’s left so unexplored for the first half of this giant book.
The ending is pure sequel tease. I really hate when authors can’t wrap up a book in a series well & rely on a cliffhanger
I already purchased the second book along with this one bc I was feeling optimistic; I’ll read it to see if maybe things heat up.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Self harm, Pregnancy, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Violence, Torture, Murder, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage
xtsukix's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
This book was agonisingly slow and I found so much of the content utterly boring. When S was in the castle (I listened to the audiobook, please don’t ask me to spell her name) and doing the tasks set out before her and interacting with Gild, I was absolutely interested and hooked, but there was so much needless other stuff going on that took up the majority of the book that I found myself disinterested the majority of the time.
I found that this book had moments that were notably dark and grotesque, but that they didn’t necessarily FIT the book. Whenever they happened it would take me out of the book and have me wondering why it was necessary, I think purely because the suspense and tension was not kept throughout the book. The main cause of this, I think, is because the villain of this story is utterly underwhelming. He’s supposed to be cold, ruthless and cruel, but instead just comes across as a template for the evil character archetype. He has no real depth, his cruelty is seen few and far between and almost entirely happens offscreen, and although the book unravels his desires and what he wants, he really doesn’t showcase this himself at all, and seems utterly dispassionate about his desires.
I think all of the deaths that happened also happened offscreen, which created such a dissonance between the random moments of gore and the reality that the most horrific things were just told to us to have happened.
The mystery was interesting, although S feels like she’s ten steps behind the reader in understanding what’s going on. The romance was somewhat rushed and rooted in nothing but them both being alone and happening to find another person they can be with, no matter who that person is, which did not culminate in the most root-worthy or shippable romance, but it was not awful considering they were only together for about 5% of the book.
The book really picked up for the ending and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, and seeing how the revelations play out, and if the various curses can be lifted. Also, it’s not often you see a ginger male romance lead, so that was very exciting. 10 points for that.
Also please do not let Gild’s real name be Rumpelstiltskin, I am praying for all that is good and holy.
I found that this book had moments that were notably dark and grotesque, but that they didn’t necessarily FIT the book. Whenever they happened it would take me out of the book and have me wondering why it was necessary, I think purely because the suspense and tension was not kept throughout the book. The main cause of this, I think, is because the villain of this story is utterly underwhelming. He’s supposed to be cold, ruthless and cruel, but instead just comes across as a template for the evil character archetype. He has no real depth, his cruelty is seen few and far between and almost entirely happens offscreen, and although the book unravels his desires and what he wants, he really doesn’t showcase this himself at all, and seems utterly dispassionate about his desires.
I think all of the deaths that happened also happened offscreen, which created such a dissonance between the random moments of gore and the reality that the most horrific things were just told to us to have happened.
The mystery was interesting, although S feels like she’s ten steps behind the reader in understanding what’s going on. The romance was somewhat rushed and rooted in nothing but them both being alone and happening to find another person they can be with, no matter who that person is, which did not culminate in the most root-worthy or shippable romance, but it was not awful considering they were only together for about 5% of the book.
The book really picked up for the ending and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, and seeing how the revelations play out, and if the various curses can be lifted. Also, it’s not often you see a ginger male romance lead, so that was very exciting. 10 points for that.
Also please do not let Gild’s real name be Rumpelstiltskin, I am praying for all that is good and holy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Misogyny, Animal death, Body horror, Abortion, Blood, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Gore, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Minor: Miscarriage, Vomit, Sexual content, and Bullying
ofpagesandink's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I love Marissa Meyer's writing. I've never disliked anything she's written that I've read and this is no different. That being said this book gets DARK for its climax. So if you're a fan of Lunar Chronices this may not be the next read for you unless you can handle some darkness.
I have so many questions and theories. And things I disliked which is kind of why it landed at 4 instead of 5 stars. The biggest being... im not sure I enjoyed the ending as it is. What happens is always something I've been put off by and I don't really understand why. Honestly always have. Probably has to do with how I was raised but anyway...
**There be spoilers ahead**
****
***
**
*
Interesting that her soul is tethered but she can somehow still carry a child. I wonder if she'll change like a mother does or if only her body will.
I also think she'll be able to kill the Alder King with the black tipped arrow.
If her body exists then so does Gild's which means they can be together when they break the curse. Speaking of, would having his child be considering giving him her first born? So if that's the case she could still keep the child if they're married they just may be more of a daddy's child. Ya know?
I'm sure the shrub mother comes into play again but I'm not sure how.
*
**
***
****
*End Spoilers*
I can't wait to see what she does in Cursed.
I have so many questions and theories. And things I disliked which is kind of why it landed at 4 instead of 5 stars. The biggest being... im not sure I enjoyed the ending as it is. What happens is always something I've been put off by and I don't really understand why. Honestly always have. Probably has to do with how I was raised but anyway...
**There be spoilers ahead**
****
***
**
*
Interesting that her soul is tethered but she can somehow still carry a child. I wonder if she'll change like a mother does or if only her body will.
I also think she'll be able to kill the Alder King with the black tipped arrow.
If her body exists then so does Gild's which means they can be together when they break the curse. Speaking of, would having his child be considering giving him her first born? So if that's the case she could still keep the child if they're married they just may be more of a daddy's child. Ya know?
I'm sure the shrub mother comes into play again but I'm not sure how.
*
**
***
****
*End Spoilers*
I can't wait to see what she does in Cursed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage
Mentions teen pregnancy, descriptions of murder, dead children, brief mentions of miscarriageemdashenthusiast's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
It was hard to get into this book at first, but listening to it through audiobook really helped pick up the pace. The beginning is slow but not unbearable and it I believe it is necessary to be emotionally invested in the story later.
Most of the twists were very predictable, but enough weren’t that it had me continuing to wonder if my conclusions were going to be correct or not.
The ending was a little strange, it didn’t feel like an ending. While I know there is going to be another book it felt like ended in the middle of the climax, gentian kept rising and rising just to be cut off. I suppose the resolution was Gild finding out his past but as that was the obvious conclusion from the second Serilda started the story it didn’t feel like much of a finale
Overall it was an entertaining read and I am anticipating the second book!
Most of the twists were very predictable, but enough weren’t that it had me continuing to wonder if my conclusions were going to be correct or not.
Overall it was an entertaining read and I am anticipating the second book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage and Grief
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 death, Bullying, Kidnapping, Animal cruelty, Murder, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
rhiannonafternoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
If there’s anyone I trust with a retelling, it’s Marissa Meyer. Every ounce of this story is told with heart, and has twisted all of my feelings from straw to gold and back. The story follows Serilda and how it feels to be the outcast. The thread of her entire being is built on her “blessed” birth from the god of story telling, but she ends up being an expert liar. This gets dark, but is steeped in beautiful world building with characters you love to hate, and promises of another book… I can’t wait!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
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