Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher

3 reviews

emily_mh's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a delightful retelling of the Snow Queen. It hit key parts of the original tale while putting a fresh and entertaining spin on characters and events. Kingfisher nailed the fairytale-like narrative voice and wove so much humour into the story (I mean like I was laughing out loud). 

I adored all three main characters. I loved how naive Gerta was and how she could be foolishly optimistic one minute and then think the absolute worst was going to happen the next. Seeing her grow from a timid, almost self-loathing character to one taking on the Snow Queen and believing herself worthy of love was fantastic. Janna was also a great character. I loved seeing her become more free and open, and appreciated how analytical and logical she was in contrast to Gerta’s “no thoughts, head empty” approach. And of course, my favourite, Mousebones. He was everything I wanted and more in an animal companion character: self-important, but fundamentally loyal. Most of the times I audibly laughed was because of him. 

I really liked Gerta and Janna’s relationship. Their chemistry was palpable, yet I also believed in their deeper connection. It was a little insta-lovey, but I wasn’t too affronted by this as they weren’t making irrational decisions in the name of “love.”
I.e., Gerta still went to find Kay, and the only reason Janna went with her initially is because she wanted to escape her father.
 

The plot itself was really well paced. There was always something happening, and because Kingfisher was remixing events I never quite knew what would happen next. There was some really creative plant and animal magic too, which I hadn’t expected but tied in beautifully with the plot. 

Finally, the atmosphere was amazing. It was so wintery that I felt cold and like I needed to get cosy. I could picture the landscapes so clearly and felt truly immersed. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

littlecat's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

1.0

I though I would enjoy this book a lot more then i ended up doing :(
I didn´t really hate it, I just though ... my main complain is that I don´t like what they done with Kay. I understand that a story about hetronormativity is important to many people, but  the story at least in the translations I grew up with is not a romance, you can see one but nothing but the fact that she is a girl he was a boy suggest so - Kay has done nothing wrong, feeling kinda meh about the child of a friend of your grandmother is not a bad thing to do. 
The ending "here is all the important stuff that happend while you were knocked out" was rushed and unstatisfying. 
I found the robber girl underwhelming, like in the story i grew up with they have mad chemisty in the little room of it and here... i was just not feeling it.
  I also prefere the way  in fairytale magic just exist here the "sceptism" felt tacked on, I enjoyed the chapter with Livli for that reason the most, she and in general I did like the reindeer transformation, cutting your love to break the spell thing even though it is nothing new it is something I do like. 
I think had i read it as a teen i would have found Mousebones and the otters great, he was still nice i am a bit more annoyed by the otters but its more that the dialoge is not that well written.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

vanessa_reads_a_lot's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny 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? No

5.0


Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...