Reviews

Small Favors by Erin A. Craig

frankenshai's review against another edition

5.0

I’m so happy to have come across this book during an awful reading slump. This dark fairytale was everything I wanted and more.

bmacc's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

It's an odd few months for me of things with almost the exact same story. I watched M. Night Shamalyans The Village- read an adult book that was almost exactly the same basic plot- and now this was the YA version for like 3/4 of the book.  It's the only one that had an actual supernatural element to it... But it was a lot of the same.  All I have really learned is that small, secluded village choosing to be away from the world at large is not my jam.  It was fine. Really it was. But with three almost identical premises, this one was really just fine in comparison.  I have others on my list from this author and would still give them a try.

k_noodlesoup's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

3.75

I enjoyed this book. Another very fun horror read from Erin Craig, but the plot was a little frustrating.

It bothered me that the base of the plot was almost wholesale M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. It's a fun trope, but I was expecting another fairy tale/fable inspired read from this author, and I guess it was supposed to be Rumpelstiltskin, but I feel like that's a stretch from what we actually got.

sofiireads's review against another edition

4.5

aguante el bardo entre vecinos

humblebee20's review against another edition

2.0

This book was, ok? The concept sounded cool and I put off reading it until my library got it in. I have to say, I'm glad I didn't buy a copy for myself. The retelling of Rumpelstiltskin sounded fun, but when you get 300 pages in and only one deal has been struck, I feel like I'm getting stringed along (pun intended). The small town is well set up and while a lot of characters were a bit hard to keep separate in my head, I was surprised at how well I could keep track of most of the town's population. Otherwise, I just had too many gripes with the pacing and main characters to really enjoy this book. I read the majority of this book in a day, and yet the book still felt like it moved at a snail's pace. I can feel the author trying to worm in references to Rumpelstitskin without ever fully commiting. I swear I guessed the "twist" when we first meet the pretty boy love interest.

*Spoilers for here on out*

Characters are descibed as one way and almost never show that side of themselves. With Sam and Rebecca, it always felt like a "dude, trust me, they're cool, I promise" from the protag's point of view, only for them to be total assholes for the entirety of the book. While some of this can be chalked up to story reasons, I felt little sympathy for them ever, and had to really stretch to feel for Ellerie. I don't know why I continued slogging through this book other than to see more "favors" that the book so heavily advertized. And yet, I found nothing but long, drawn out sequences with nothing but baking or complaining about baking being hard. The bees and Ellerie's hair being allusions to gold were cool and yet nothing is ever done with it and they never serve as a bargining chip, just blood. Why not have a lock of hair first, then a scoop of honey, and then blood? I can't stop thinking about how cool this book could have been instead of how mediocre it was. I don't know why authors insist on having super long books now when so much filler gets stuffed in. The parents seem so important at first and by the end of the book, the protagonist just leaves the town despite spending the entire book not leaving said town so she can wait for her parents and take care of her father's prized bees. Why make that the crux of her staying if you let go of it last second?
There is something here, but I wish it were something else.

katikins's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

I spent the whole book mad at the characters for making bad choices but I finished it in 24 hours so clearly I enjoyed it.

tell_them_stories's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

baronessagisele's review against another edition

slow-paced

5.0

annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition

5.0

I have no idea how I missed this book. I loved the author's first novel, based on the twelve dancing princesses, especially because the way she described the atmosphere was amazing. So, when I discovered last week that this book existed too, I had to order my copy right away. I actually wanted to read some other books first, but once this book came in it was the only book I could think about. So, I just gave in and started reading.

This book was everything I had hoped it would be and loads more. It's hard to describe, but this book might be among the scariest books I've ever read, but mostly because the scary parts of this story were mostly human. Humans wanting for something so badly they were willing to trade too much for it. Humans drawing conclusions and losing their temper over everything. Humans confusing justice with vengeance.

And this all worked because of the setting of this book. The entire book takes place in a small, Amish like town. The people live distanced from the rest of the world, supplies are scarce and without each other's help and support they don't survive. In a way their lives are simple, but when trouble knocks on their doors even the simplest things become hard. The heroine is dealing with so much. You almost wish for her to leave this place behind and find her happiness elsewhere.

Although there is a fantasy element in this story, we learn quite soon that something weird is going on here, the focus isn't on the fantasy elements. They mostly come into play in the finale. Just like the fairytale retelling part. This story is slightly inspired by Rumplestiltskin, but don't expect this book to follow the well known elements of the fairytale. It borrows elements, twists them and creates a unique, intriguing and atmospheric new tale.

I've read her next book is gonna be based on Godfather Dead and I can't wait to read it!

swampbooks's review against another edition

5.0

DAAAAAANG. She did it again, folks! She gave us a book filled to the brim with the perfect mix of mystery, thrill, romance, family, and more.

You are taken on a roller coaster of emotions through the year of horror that plagues Amity Falls. It absolutely lived up to the hype and branded Erin A. Craig as an auto-buy author for me.