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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
I forgot how much I loved this series!
Blue de la Cour works with her father in his alchemy shop by day, but by night she is trying to use what little magic she has to turn lead into gold. If she succeeds, she can use the money to help the orphans and street children that are all too plentiful in the city —some of whom are mysteriously disappearing.
Dinah Chauveau is drowning in debt thanks to her late husband and stands to lose everything she’s worked for if she can’t find a way to pay it off. So when she suspects someone in the city might be close to manufacturing passable gold, she will do anything to bring that power under her own control.
Prince Kellan is mere weeks away from his betrothal ball where he will have to make a political alliance with one of the head families. It’s a delicate tightrope to walk, making sure none of the girls or their families feel offended or snubbed, and it’s made all the more complicated by the resurgence of dangerous magic in the city, and his unexpectedly changing feelings for his annoying childhood friend, Blue.
This Cinderella story has probably my favourite utilization of the glass slippers ever! The mystery had so many layers to it, I was constantly guessing and continuously turning pages trying to figure it out, and the way it all came together at the end was brilliant!
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Of all the Ravenspire novels, The Blood Spell was my favorite. Cinderella has always been one of my favorite fairy tales and the see the threads of the old and new retelling woven together left me delighted. Ravenspire novels are the fairy tales I want my daughter to know. The women are not damsels in distress; they are independent, smart, cunning, passionate. Even the guys! Kellen thinking about respect and consent are huge. These are books to buy now for your little ones and save till they are early teens, Moms. Push your kids to go "steal a book off Mom's shelf" and let them discover a lovely world. I hope there are more Ravenspire novels and sequels!
adventurous
emotional
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
This book really surprised me. It's a very fun read. For a fairy tale retelling, I never expected to find characters so deep, with so many nuances and a such believable setting. And, as was to be expected, there is a very cute and pleasant couple to witness, it's an enimies to lovers very pleasant to read.
fast-paced
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wow! I actually loved this. This is a straightforward story, a perfect standalone book, that lulled me in to a really whimsical fairytale setting. This is actually a retelling of Cinderella, and later on in the book we hit most of the staple moments of Cinderella (a shoe to fit the girl, a carriage pulled by mice turned horses, a fairy godmother, etc) but this book is so much more! It does not rely on the aspect of people already knowing and loving Cinderella.
The author took a lot of time to establish likeable characters, and, did a fantastic job at creating intriguing relationships with all of the characters. In a good way, we as readers were thrown into the life of Blue, our main heroine, just as tragedy strikes, and we get to see how all these circumstances affect pre-existing relationships. Because of this, pretty much all the issues that people have with the original Cinderella story are fixed in highly believable ways that really just swept me off my feet. There was no insta-love, Blue/Cinderella was not helpless, etc.
In addition to the sweet romance that came out of this book, there was a compelling plot too! Like if the romance had not existed, I would have still been fine with reading a book about the problems that Blue faced. She was dealing with grief, domestic abuse, and a magical villain all at once and it was so interesting to read about how she kept going, despite all that she faced.
One of my favorite types of books is fairytale retellings, and while I did have initial reservations about this book because of the seemingly very Y/A vibe that is was giving off upon first glance, I went with it because of a trusted source that backed it up and I was absolutely not disappointed. The one thing I think this book should do differently is to rebrand itself to cater towards a less childish audience. Like this should get more similar branding to Greek Mythology retellings that are very popular right now, like Ariadne and Piranesi.
Absolute gem of a find, this is.
The author took a lot of time to establish likeable characters, and, did a fantastic job at creating intriguing relationships with all of the characters. In a good way, we as readers were thrown into the life of Blue, our main heroine, just as tragedy strikes, and we get to see how all these circumstances affect pre-existing relationships. Because of this, pretty much all the issues that people have with the original Cinderella story are fixed in highly believable ways that really just swept me off my feet. There was no insta-love, Blue/Cinderella was not helpless, etc.
In addition to the sweet romance that came out of this book, there was a compelling plot too! Like if the romance had not existed, I would have still been fine with reading a book about the problems that Blue faced. She was dealing with grief, domestic abuse, and a magical villain all at once and it was so interesting to read about how she kept going, despite all that she faced.
One of my favorite types of books is fairytale retellings, and while I did have initial reservations about this book because of the seemingly very Y/A vibe that is was giving off upon first glance, I went with it because of a trusted source that backed it up and I was absolutely not disappointed. The one thing I think this book should do differently is to rebrand itself to cater towards a less childish audience. Like this should get more similar branding to Greek Mythology retellings that are very popular right now, like Ariadne and Piranesi.
Absolute gem of a find, this is.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Highly entertaining
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No