emily_mh's review
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.”
Spoiler
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Animal death, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Ableism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Vomit, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gore
Major: missing loved one Minor: internalised misogyny, loss of a loved one, illness, epidemic, imprisonmentlittlecat's review against another edition
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.
Spoiler
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Violence, Murder, and Confinement
Moderate: Vomit and Sexism
Minor: Grief, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
lipstickitotheman's review
adventurous
funny
medium-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
4.25
I wasn't really into it at the beginning, but at the middle I started really having fun! I truly adored the reindeer parts. Really ended up enjoying it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
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