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saranies's review
3.0
It was fine, although not my favorite novel adaptation of a fairy tale that I've read. The writing style was disconcerting because the descriptions were in modern day English, but the dialogue was in Elizabethan English. Just a little jarring to switch back and forth between them.
pizzamyheart's review
3.0
3.5 stars
This was a good retelling of a lesser known fairy tale. Set in Elizabethan England, the language can be difficult to follow. The story itself is interesting and has some good core pieces. I enjoyed the fact that the sisters built a relationship with the princes. It wasn't the insta-love that so many modern tales rely on. Still, I felt there could have been more character development. There weren't many characters, but there were enough for them to blend into one mushy indistinguishable pile. Characters came and went, and I never grew attached to any of them. Even the main characters that dominated the majority of the pages were lacking.
Overall it was still an enjoyable read and solid story. It's a good read, but takes some work to follow.
This was a good retelling of a lesser known fairy tale. Set in Elizabethan England, the language can be difficult to follow. The story itself is interesting and has some good core pieces. I enjoyed the fact that the sisters built a relationship with the princes. It wasn't the insta-love that so many modern tales rely on. Still, I felt there could have been more character development. There weren't many characters, but there were enough for them to blend into one mushy indistinguishable pile. Characters came and went, and I never grew attached to any of them. Even the main characters that dominated the majority of the pages were lacking.
Overall it was still an enjoyable read and solid story. It's a good read, but takes some work to follow.
garnetofeden's review
2.0
It lacks the brilliance of her original stories. I haven't seen a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red before, so it was at least unique in choosing a less common fairytale to retell. However, it wasn't the most inspired or creative fairytale retelling I've ever read.
Last finished 2/15/2011. Rating reviewed 6/23/2023.
Last finished 2/15/2011. Rating reviewed 6/23/2023.
stefs_library's review
4.0
I loved the book. It was a good retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales. I loved all of the characters and I loved the plot. The importance of Joan to the story didn't make a lot of sense, so that plot point felt incomplete. And even though the ending summed everything up neatly, I wanted to see a little more happily ever after. But otherwise, I loved this book. I will recommend it to all my friends. I loved the way they spoke and the way it was written. I love Patricia C. Wrede. I was not disappointed.
withthebanned's review against another edition
5.0
This book is easily one of my favorite books of all time. I've lost count over how many times I've read it now, but I fall in love all over again during each read. Just perfect.
melissadegraffbooks's review
3.0
It seemed a little formulaic at times, but it still kept me reading until the end.
marshmallowbooks's review
3.0
This is based on a fairy tale I had never heard before. The actual fairy tale is told in snippets at the beginning of each chapter, so you get the expanded story along with the tale from which it was developed. I enjoyed the story, told from many points of view, and covering 16th century England (as opposed to Germany, home of the Brothers' Grimm who wrote the tale) and an adjacent fairy realm. I could have done without the language of the times, though. The thees and thous and dosts and whilsts wore on me. And I have yet to figure out why it was the trend then to use an in place of if sometimes. But getting around the language wasn't too daunting of a task to keep me from finishing the story.
avialia's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
3.0
It was nlt a fun fairytale at all
pagesofpins's review
2.0
I really like Wrede, but this was a slog to get through and didn't land as an alternate history or a fairy tale.