Scan barcode
misha_ali's review against another edition
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
An interesting and easy-to-read collection of reskinned fairy tales, each subsequent one an exploration of a side character in the previous one, all the way back to the original story about witches and love and choosing how you want to live. I appreciate that many of these are reworked versions of the classic fairy tales and some are queer. Enjoyable, and a very easy read.
sbcrra's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
agarocks's review against another edition
3.0
The book is a series of re-written fairytales, all connected with each other one way or another. It's very charming, and romantic at times, and enough of a page-turner to make me read the entire thing in one sitting. It's a breath of fresh air for classic fairytales, givinng new agency to both heroines and the villians. Loved it!
kerrence30's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Great little set of short stories, all linked to eachother, dark and witty.
achilleanshelves's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the twists Donoghue put on the classic fairytales and absolutely adored the way she transitioned from story to story, however, some of them were just not to my taste!
theangrystackrat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
scorpstar77's review against another edition
4.75
Such an interesting and fun way to re-examine old fairy tales. I love fairytales and folklore anyway, and these are written very well - they feel like old fairy tales, but with a bit of a gentle feminist twist on them. Super-lovely and enjoyable.
abbeyholland's review against another edition
2.0
I was so disappointed in this book! I really wanted it to be the queer fairytale retellings of my dreams but each story was so simplistic and short that left me feeling let down.
It was somehow both not queer enough and not fairytale enough. It felt like I was rereading the same story repeatedly towards the end
sjess421's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
relaxing
fast-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
4.0
midnight_voss's review against another edition
2.0
I'm ambivalent about this book, to tell the truth. Like others, the objective behind writing the book the way the author has is something I definitely would be interested in. Flipping the script on fairy tales. Making them less heteronormative.
But in the end, the book doesn't do enough of either. I'm disappointed and unsatisfied, especially with a title such as Kissing the Witch, which is provocative, whereas the stories themselves are pretty bland when it comes to the romance and less than scandalous when it comes to upending the message of each story. Each character grows up and bleeds or swells and gets curves (apparently all women have the same experience with puberty). A lot of the threat of each story is taken out of the narrative and attributed to each female lead's own actions or poor choices (um, thanks for that), and I only ID'd three actual couples, but it was written so obliquely that it was hard to tell. It feels like the narrative is that mostly, women create their own social situations, and are responsible for the bad things that happen to them.
Unless your father is a crazy pedophile, in which case, it's okay to turn into a cannibal.
A redeeming factor is the interesting nested plot... but I spent a lot of time as I was reading trying to figure out why each character was connected to the other in the way that they were, and how they got from the"ending" of their own tale to where they meet the heroine in the story before. The book tries very hard to be clever, but it just falls short.
I think of all the Tales, the ones that stuck out for me the most were the Rose and the Skin (the latter, if only for sheer brutality).
But in the end, the book doesn't do enough of either. I'm disappointed and unsatisfied, especially with a title such as Kissing the Witch, which is provocative, whereas the stories themselves are pretty bland when it comes to the romance and less than scandalous when it comes to upending the message of each story. Each character grows up and bleeds or swells and gets curves (apparently all women have the same experience with puberty). A lot of the threat of each story is taken out of the narrative and attributed to each female lead's own actions or poor choices (um, thanks for that), and I only ID'd three actual couples, but it was written so obliquely that it was hard to tell. It feels like the narrative is that mostly, women create their own social situations, and are responsible for the bad things that happen to them.
Unless your father is a crazy pedophile, in which case, it's okay to turn into a cannibal.
A redeeming factor is the interesting nested plot... but I spent a lot of time as I was reading trying to figure out why each character was connected to the other in the way that they were, and how they got from the"ending" of their own tale to where they meet the heroine in the story before. The book tries very hard to be clever, but it just falls short.
I think of all the Tales, the ones that stuck out for me the most were the Rose and the Skin (the latter, if only for sheer brutality).