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aureolyn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
This was one of the books under my series of starting books because of their dedication.
“To everyone who’s ever felt that they’re not enough”
I loved this book. I thought the messages were strong and good. I really liked how the author made the distinction between being pretty and being beautiful. Being pretty was just about a person’s appearance. Obviously there’s pretty privilege but once we got to know the characters, we can see how their passions and personalities shine and make them so beautiful. I also like the idea of breaking out of molds and finding oneself. Great character development makes me weak. The more I got to know the characters the more attached and invested I was. Anyways, if you haven’t already guessed this is a twisted tale of the famous Cinderella story but this story follows her stepsisters after the original fairytale. It’s filled with a rollercoaster of emotions that I’m still working through as I’m trying to form my thoughts here. It starts pretty dark and the insertion of chance and fate was a bit confusing. I think their introduction could’ve been better which is why this isn’t 5 stars but as we got to know the characters and as the story unfolded, it started to make more sense. Lastly, I also liked that all the characters were flawed. It makes them so much more human and that much more relatable.
“To everyone who’s ever felt that they’re not enough”
I loved this book. I thought the messages were strong and good. I really liked how the author made the distinction between being pretty and being beautiful. Being pretty was just about a person’s appearance. Obviously there’s pretty privilege but once we got to know the characters, we can see how their passions and personalities shine and make them so beautiful. I also like the idea of breaking out of molds and finding oneself. Great character development makes me weak. The more I got to know the characters the more attached and invested I was. Anyways, if you haven’t already guessed this is a twisted tale of the famous Cinderella story but this story follows her stepsisters after the original fairytale. It’s filled with a rollercoaster of emotions that I’m still working through as I’m trying to form my thoughts here. It starts pretty dark and the insertion of chance and fate was a bit confusing. I think their introduction could’ve been better which is why this isn’t 5 stars but as we got to know the characters and as the story unfolded, it started to make more sense. Lastly, I also liked that all the characters were flawed. It makes them so much more human and that much more relatable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: War, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Blood, Bullying, and Animal cruelty
Body mutilation, appearance shaming_book_girl_82_'s review against another edition
too much gore
felt really slow to develop
got bored 🤷♀️
felt really slow to develop
got bored 🤷♀️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Blood, Sexual harassment, and Gore
freewings21's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I quite enjoyed this book. The sections with Chance and Fate were kind of boring but the rest of the book was really strong. Another win from Jennifer Donnelly
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, War, Blood, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, and Misogyny
biss7's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
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
4.75
What more can I say that I ADORE this book. It's heavy , it's the step sister story of cinderella and I couldn't love and enjoy more than I thought. Always wanted to read stories of the "villains" of the princess tales ,like what were they rlly thinking,were going trought,did they rlly wanted to do these things . How can their life change or them ?! And I got it from this book. Might be strange but I could kinda relate Isa , She was a girl ,had dreams yet wasn't allowed to try to achieve them. Love is not the main focus between 2 characters .it's obviously just a piece to find her heart and be finally who She is . It was just AMAZING.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and War
Minor: Bullying and Death of parent
prinzessin_aj's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved the classic fairytale feel of this, but it didn't feel at all like a re-telling.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, War, and Emotional abuse
maymoo's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Very brutal but I could not put it down!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Cursing, Police brutality, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, and Grief
ghostlyprince's review
adventurous
challenging
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Sexism, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Child abuse
spinkysaurus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The beginning of the book was hard because the main character was so bitter. Donnelly did a good job of showing what Isabelle had become. As the plot progressed the story and the all of the characters became understandable and far more interesting and likable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, War, and Sexism
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Self harm
This is a darker retelling and the beginning describes a lot of the more graphic portions of the original Grimm telling of Cinderella. In addition it has a lot of perceived gender roles being forced upon people who do not want them.
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