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4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gore, Vomit
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
adventurous
dark
funny
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
Another book by Kingfisher that I loved. As another reviewer noted, there will be some very familiar tropes and stock characters if you've read her work before... But since I'm a huge fan of said tropes and stock characters, I don't mind at all. I love reading about hardworking, sly grandmother witches and a sensible heroine with an affinity for plants.
One note: in the first few chapters, Kay (the friend who quickly needs rescuing) is deeply annoying and honestly seems pretty obnoxious to waste a whole cool adventure on. If I didn't know and trust the author, I likely would've gotten too frustrated with how unsympathetic he is and stopped reading. If this is your impulse too, I highly recommend you push through til Gerta's journey really gets started. I don't want to give too much away but... Just. Keep reading despite the obnoxious love interest. Trust me and T. Kingfisher, it is resolved beautifully (with no apologies made for dismissive boys).
One note: in the first few chapters, Kay (the friend who quickly needs rescuing) is deeply annoying and honestly seems pretty obnoxious to waste a whole cool adventure on. If I didn't know and trust the author, I likely would've gotten too frustrated with how unsympathetic he is and stopped reading. If this is your impulse too, I highly recommend you push through til Gerta's journey really gets started. I don't want to give too much away but... Just. Keep reading despite the obnoxious love interest. Trust me and T. Kingfisher, it is resolved beautifully (with no apologies made for dismissive boys).
fast-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
Loved it. I've read Nettle and Bone of this author before, and I identified some similar elements/minor characters from these 2 books, namely (very minor spoilers) the old women characters that never hesitate to help the MC. In Nettle and Bone, since it was my first time encountering such a character that doesn't beat around the bush, it was far more refreshing to read, and less so in the Raven and the Reindeer. But still, it beats characters that only do what is needed for the plot to continue after 100s of pages , so only -0.25 stars for this.
Other than that, it was a very nice retelling of a story that I was mildly familiar with, and I absolutely loved Gerta, she was also very relatable. The titular raven and reindeer were also great - I love the trope when animals can communicate with humans, but still have a (to us) very strange culture.
My ebook had the same cover as the one on Storygraph, and I think it's alright. Nothing mindblowing, but I like the colours and it's more creative than the usual fantasy cover.
Other than that, it was a very nice retelling of a story that I was mildly familiar with, and I absolutely loved Gerta, she was also very relatable. The titular raven and reindeer were also great - I love the trope when animals can communicate with humans, but still have a (to us) very strange culture.
My ebook had the same cover as the one on Storygraph, and I think it's alright. Nothing mindblowing, but I like the colours and it's more creative than the usual fantasy cover.
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
This is an interesting retelling of The Snow Queen. It hits all the same beats but here, the heroine's journey of self discovery is more important than finding her childhood friend. She is helped along the way by a hilarious talking raven, a kindly reindeer, three memorable witches, and. . .well, you'll just have to read to find out.
This book is full of excellent women — believable young women, snarky old women, and not a princess among them. (I love Ursula Vernon's women, especially her specific brand of snarky, no-nonsense protagonist who stomps her way through the story with a grumpy fron and an open heart. See also: Bryony from Bryony and Roses, Grandma Harken from "The Tomato Thief," and Sal from "Razorback.") It's unapologetically feminist. It has queer romance. And a talking animal companion.
I want to give it more than three stars, because I loved it. But, having read Ursula Vernon at the height of her powers — which I consider to be the short story collection Jackalope Wives and Other Tales — I can't; by comparison, The Raven and the Reindeer is too rough around the edges. The writing doesn't yet match up to Vernon's ambition. Everything is too near the surface.
It took me ~90 pages to really engage, because that's where the love story — the core of the book — begins; until that point, there's simply too much walking around being cold. And I get, it, that's Vernon's point: journeys don't, really, go the way they're told in tales; in real life, it's all just starving and walking down endless roads and doubting yourself and not knowing where you're going. But there's a reason writers don't literally write pages and pages of that. It's tedious to read! It doesn't actually make for a good story!
Still, once she's written her way past that, there's a lot to love here. I'd recommend this to anyone as an antidote to princess fairytales — just make sure you go and read Jackalope Wives afterwards.
I want to give it more than three stars, because I loved it. But, having read Ursula Vernon at the height of her powers — which I consider to be the short story collection Jackalope Wives and Other Tales — I can't; by comparison, The Raven and the Reindeer is too rough around the edges. The writing doesn't yet match up to Vernon's ambition. Everything is too near the surface.
It took me ~90 pages to really engage, because that's where the love story — the core of the book — begins; until that point, there's simply too much walking around being cold. And I get, it, that's Vernon's point: journeys don't, really, go the way they're told in tales; in real life, it's all just starving and walking down endless roads and doubting yourself and not knowing where you're going. But there's a reason writers don't literally write pages and pages of that. It's tedious to read! It doesn't actually make for a good story!
Still, once she's written her way past that, there's a lot to love here. I'd recommend this to anyone as an antidote to princess fairytales — just make sure you go and read Jackalope Wives afterwards.
emotional
hopeful
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:
No