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spacecadelliot's review against another edition
4.0
Look, I stan an ambiguous ending but this one was a little disappointing?????? :/
We love some unexpected queer rep - wasn't expecting it from this book for some reason. Also loved the magical vibes and grounding the story had. Lots of twists and turns but was it too much??????????
Would read a sequel
We love some unexpected queer rep - wasn't expecting it from this book for some reason. Also loved the magical vibes and grounding the story had. Lots of twists and turns but was it too much??????????
Would read a sequel
evandegrift1's review against another edition
3.0
I feel conflicted with this book. I picked it up because I saw a Booktuber talk about it and it seemed like an incredibly unique story. And it was. But it was done horribly.
For the first 1/3 of the book I was bored. Nothing happens. A 95 year old family member dies. Sad, but she was 95 and had only been in one brief scene up until that point so I didn’t have any emotional attachments to her. But basically everything is really vague and boring.
Finally things started to pick up a bit. You learn what Ruby and her cousin Cece saw for their “Time” and both are sad. The LGBTQ characters are revealed here. This was the first book I’ve ever read with a trans character and I felt that it was well written. It was all very PG13 but I believe this is supposed to be a YA book so that’s fine. A lot of mysteries and secrets are revealed in this part of the book. I was constantly wondering what was REALLY going on.
Then came the final 1/3 of the book, which is where those 3 stars went. The 3 stars I took off might be found hiding wherever the ending of this story is hiding. Because WTF? First of all, Ruby is revealed to be a HUGE moron who actually thought that the bracelet she was told to steal from her “enemy” was the sacrifice itself. Then there is the big climactic ending but Ruby and Cece run away and we don’t get to know what happens. At all. There are a ton of questions left unanswered. Nothing is resolved. I thought maybe this was meant to be a series but apparently it’s not.
Ruby’s relationship with Dov is the only part of this book that I enjoyed. It was sweet, the dialogue was realistic, and I liked them as a couple. The rest is boring and pointless
For the first 1/3 of the book I was bored. Nothing happens. A 95 year old family member dies. Sad, but she was 95 and had only been in one brief scene up until that point so I didn’t have any emotional attachments to her. But basically everything is really vague and boring.
Finally things started to pick up a bit. You learn what Ruby and her cousin Cece saw for their “Time” and both are sad. The LGBTQ characters are revealed here. This was the first book I’ve ever read with a trans character and I felt that it was well written. It was all very PG13 but I believe this is supposed to be a YA book so that’s fine. A lot of mysteries and secrets are revealed in this part of the book. I was constantly wondering what was REALLY going on.
Then came the final 1/3 of the book, which is where those 3 stars went. The 3 stars I took off might be found hiding wherever the ending of this story is hiding. Because WTF? First of all, Ruby is revealed to be a HUGE moron who actually thought that the bracelet she was told to steal from her “enemy” was the sacrifice itself. Then there is the big climactic ending but Ruby and Cece run away and we don’t get to know what happens. At all. There are a ton of questions left unanswered. Nothing is resolved. I thought maybe this was meant to be a series but apparently it’s not.
Ruby’s relationship with Dov is the only part of this book that I enjoyed. It was sweet, the dialogue was realistic, and I liked them as a couple. The rest is boring and pointless
rbielbs's review against another edition
3.0
I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
While I enjoyed the magical realism and all the Russian fairy tales, the story fell a bit flat for me. It was good and I was interested but I felt that it lacked depth. I had not realized that it was not a stand alone so that was also a bit disappointing for me.
While I enjoyed the magical realism and all the Russian fairy tales, the story fell a bit flat for me. It was good and I was interested but I felt that it lacked depth. I had not realized that it was not a stand alone so that was also a bit disappointing for me.
sydneysargentsuperfan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
e_flah's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
3.0
The Wise and the Wicked started out strong for me and seemed to lose its appeal toward the end. The story is atmospheric and character-driven as it follows Ruby's journey to uncover her family's secrets. The pacing is slow but works for the story. My curiosity about Ruby's family was strong enough to keep me reading until I felt invested in Ruby. The odd part of the pacing, though, was that the last 25% or so felt very rushed yet also incomplete. There are many threads that the story had been slowly exploring for a majority of the book only to suddenly throw in some action and call these things "resolved." It just didn't quite fit with the rest of the story, which was frustrating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Death
dreamingpoet's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
jbird_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
crswit16's review against another edition
3.0
What an odd, intriguing concept. I got a little bored with all of the flashbacks and letters, but I was intrigued enough to keep going. For now, 3 stars. I need to sit on it for a bit.
lilyzzzzz's review against another edition
4.0
i love love love family curse stories, but it is very easy for them to fall into a bunch of extremely cishet-centric tropes. in this book, i really appreciated how rebecca podos actually addressed that, instead of just making the changes and not acknowledging them.