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mallorypen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.5
God I love Holly Black books, especially her books about fairytales. What a fun, intense, and magical read!
What I like best about her style of writing is that even in modern settings, her stories feel timeless and ancient and contemporary all at once. Her characters are beautifully human (the human ones, at least) in that they have flaws (Ben can’t control his emotions, is hyper-jealous and down on himself; Hazel is afraid of intimacy, uses the false intimacy of making out with people to mask her problems) but are resilient and loving and their flaws don’t define them. I feel that Hazel and Ben’s parents being so neglectful in their childhood wasn’t fully addressed, but there is something interesting in how they aren’t branded as evil because they made bad choices as young parents.
I adore the idea of a town just existing with this ancient casket and sleeping fairy prince, throwing forest parties and dealing with tourists and having the Folk be part of their every day lives. I also love the idea of Hazel becoming a knight - women as knights just DOES it for me - and not remembering her double life while she sleeps. I also loved the concept of Jack and Carter’s mother being so fierce over keeping Jack and calling out Jack’s mother over her willingness to give up her child. And the Gordons saying the town could burn so long as Jack was safe made my whole heart happy.
My only wish in this book was that there was a little more development between Ben and Severin; I could believe that Severin loved Ben because of how he spoke to him while he slept, but as a reader I wanted to see more of their interactions hinting at a love between them that was built more on developing a relationship as equals (both awake, both able to engage with one another, etc) than on what Ben imagined Severin to be, and what Severin had heard when Ben didn’t realize he was listening.
Overall, a super fun read with lots of lovely details about the Folk that made this story fit into folklore with perfect ease.
What I like best about her style of writing is that even in modern settings, her stories feel timeless and ancient and contemporary all at once. Her characters are beautifully human (the human ones, at least) in that they have flaws (Ben can’t control his emotions, is hyper-jealous and down on himself; Hazel is afraid of intimacy, uses the false intimacy of making out with people to mask her problems) but are resilient and loving and their flaws don’t define them. I feel that Hazel and Ben’s parents being so neglectful in their childhood wasn’t fully addressed, but there is something interesting in how they aren’t branded as evil because they made bad choices as young parents.
I adore the idea of a town just existing with this ancient casket and sleeping fairy prince, throwing forest parties and dealing with tourists and having the Folk be part of their every day lives. I also love the idea of Hazel becoming a knight - women as knights just DOES it for me - and not remembering her double life while she sleeps. I also loved the concept of Jack and Carter’s mother being so fierce over keeping Jack and calling out Jack’s mother over her willingness to give up her child. And the Gordons saying the town could burn so long as Jack was safe made my whole heart happy.
My only wish in this book was that there was a little more development between Ben and Severin; I could believe that Severin loved Ben because of how he spoke to him while he slept, but as a reader I wanted to see more of their interactions hinting at a love between them that was built more on developing a relationship as equals (both awake, both able to engage with one another, etc) than on what Ben imagined Severin to be, and what Severin had heard when Ben didn’t realize he was listening.
Overall, a super fun read with lots of lovely details about the Folk that made this story fit into folklore with perfect ease.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood, Animal death, Death, and Vomit
fictionaladventures's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I’ve finally read all of the books Holly Black has written on her own! (Still have her co-written books to read.) I really enjoyed this one! I just love Holly’s worlds and characters and her imagination. I will read every book she ever writes! I feel like Hazel is an enneagram 8 so I related to her more than most of Holly’s other MCs! 😂
Warning: a dog dies in this! It absolutely ruined my day when I read that scene honestly 😅 I kinda wish I’d been warned ahead of time!
Warning: a dog dies in this! It absolutely ruined my day when I read that scene honestly 😅 I kinda wish I’d been warned ahead of time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
my_forest_library's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Violence
mmefish's review against another edition
Too many humans and not enough fairies :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
erinwolf1997's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Violence, Child abuse, and Blood
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
karapillar's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Torture, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Infidelity
l_spoon's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The concept was amazing. A small town with magical creatures in its forests, a horned-boy asleep for centuries, two close siblings neglected by their parents, and a quest to save their friends and families.
The execution was shit. There were several plot points that didn’t have enough depth or were merely mentioned just to “add trauma” to the characters. I disliked this book and it was painstaking hard to get through.
The execution was shit. There were several plot points that didn’t have enough depth or were merely mentioned just to “add trauma” to the characters. I disliked this book and it was painstaking hard to get through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Animal death
Moderate: Kidnapping
Minor: Child abuse
mkwreads's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Violence
alouette's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
a lovely story that would fit right in with the beloved classic fairytales. and as with those, it has its problems.
pros:
- the characters! each of the main four was interesting and unique, and of course i loved ben and hazel's relationship and development.
- the pacing! the mystery wasn't too confusing, and the big events were nicely broken up by conversations, flashbacks, or reflections.
- the magic! even if the rules of tourists versus locals and the idea of no one believing the tales despite seeing the glass coffin (among other things) were rather arbitrary, at least they were simple and the Folk themselves were fascinating
cons:
- plot holes...like why were night-Hazel's methods so convoluted? how did Ben know to look for that one Ainsel story in the book and why did Hazel not mark that page too? why did Sorrow go to the school if she was hunting Severin? if Hazel drank fairy wine i thought normal food is forever ruined, but then that is forgotten? there's probably more that are inconsequential, but still frustrating.
- loose ends... i don't mind some ambiguity but after the way ben and hazel's parents treated them, after the way the rest of the town treated Jack, i feel like there should've been more resolutions or conversations to end it out.
- predictable/anti-climactic. like i said, the mystery not being too confusing was nice, but the stakes never felt as high as they should've for me, even during the climax. i've seen some other reviews that suggest that maybe this has to do with the writing style- i'm not sure. i wouldn't say i was bored, but the emotional investment was lacking at times.
- no consistency to POV switches. this is a small one but i was really hoping for more of Ben and Jack's POVs once one scene was given in each, so it was disappointing that we didn't get more insight into them especially at the end.
pros:
- the characters! each of the main four was interesting and unique, and of course i loved ben and hazel's relationship and development.
- the pacing! the mystery wasn't too confusing, and the big events were nicely broken up by conversations, flashbacks, or reflections.
- the magic! even if the rules of tourists versus locals and the idea of no one believing the tales despite seeing the glass coffin (among other things) were rather arbitrary, at least they were simple and the Folk themselves were fascinating
cons:
- plot holes...
- loose ends... i don't mind some ambiguity but after the way ben and hazel's parents treated them, after the way the rest of the town treated Jack, i feel like there should've been more resolutions or conversations to end it out.
- predictable/anti-climactic. like i said, the mystery not being too confusing was nice, but the stakes never felt as high as they should've for me, even during the climax. i've seen some other reviews that suggest that maybe this has to do with the writing style- i'm not sure. i wouldn't say i was bored, but the emotional investment was lacking at times.
- no consistency to POV switches. this is a small one but i was really hoping for more of Ben and Jack's POVs once one scene was given in each, so it was disappointing that we didn't get more insight into them especially at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Violence
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