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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
samiredden's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
“They were not pretty these women. Pretty did not begin to describe them. They were strong. They were brave. They were beautiful.”
This is a continuation of Cinderella from the point of view of one of the stepsisters, Isabelle. I had high hopes , I have an affinity for retellings from the point of view of the “bad guy”. This book delivered.
Not only was I given an incredibly unique storyline, but the digs at societal standards and misogyny were so empowering.
This is a continuation of Cinderella from the point of view of one of the stepsisters, Isabelle. I had high hopes , I have an affinity for retellings from the point of view of the “bad guy”. This book delivered.
Not only was I given an incredibly unique storyline, but the digs at societal standards and misogyny were so empowering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Body horror
angeldawn's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Blood
20sidedbi's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, War, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Mental illness
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
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.yunnie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.25
Stepsister is a dark adaptation of Cinderella that begins with where the Brothers Grimm version left off. There are many things that I loved about the book. The world building is amazing, with the perfect mix of blending historical with supernatural elements. Donnelly's writing is also amazing, which maintained the tone and pace of the book. I just wish that there were a few more pages to dig deeper into how the history between the characters affect their current mindset.
Special Note:
Love that Queen Elizabeth I's Speech to the Troops at Tilbury is quoted accurately.
<Also, the contributions of Yennega, Abbakka Chowta, and Abhaya Rani are included in this chapter to further inspire Isabelle>
Special Note:
Love that Queen Elizabeth I's Speech to the Troops at Tilbury is quoted accurately.
<Also, the contributions of Yennega, Abbakka Chowta, and Abhaya Rani are included in this chapter to further inspire Isabelle>
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, and Misogyny
greymalkin's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Writing is a little bit clunky- the imagery and motifs felt a little overwrought sometimes and interrupted the flow in way that felt like they were added after the book was mostly written. But the story itself was good and the way that the characters came together was nicely done.
I particularly liked that Isabelle really was pretty awful. There were reasons for it of course, but this isn't a story of bad press or some external force like a spell making her do it. It was the much more believable story of an imperfect person slowly going down the wrong path. I also liked how Ella's character was truly good but had her own issues.
The weakest part was the whole Fate/Chance bit. Honestly most of their interactions could have been removed without harming the book. It didn't seem like either of them really held to any real rules, or at least the ones that worked on them seemed a little arbitrary. Fate agrees not to interfere and then immediately tries to rewrite Isabelle's fate map the first chance she gets. Huh? So Fate can edit them anytime? And if Chance had the right inks he could do so himself? So what are their powers exactly then? And Fate never write in defiance or anything else proactive into the stories so we're to believe that all the famous villains and heroes are because of Chance? It felt like the entire framing story needed another few passes to make it integrate better with the actual story.
I particularly liked that Isabelle really was pretty awful.
The weakest part was the whole Fate/Chance bit. Honestly most of their interactions could have been removed without harming the book. It didn't seem like either of them really held to any real rules, or at least the ones that worked on them seemed a little arbitrary. Fate agrees not to interfere and then immediately tries to rewrite Isabelle's fate map the first chance she gets. Huh? So Fate can edit them anytime? And if Chance had the right inks he could do so himself? So what are their powers exactly then? And Fate never write in defiance or anything else proactive into the stories so we're to believe that all the famous villains and heroes are because of Chance? It felt like the entire framing story needed another few passes to make it integrate better with the actual story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood and Emotional abuse
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