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laus3012's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
sydnem's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
another_universe's review against another edition
5.0
katieandkiri's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
ray_arcane's review against another edition
2.0
My likes:
I have no problem with Insta Love, so I did not hate Sophia and Constance. They were pretty sweet and lovable, supported each other through the tougher times and had fun. Even though Erin seemed more of a compatible choice.
I found the fairy godmother twist
Spoiler
She is the witch one, not the she-is-the-villain"s-mother-all along one
That is it.
Critique.
This book is very good at introducing new and interesting ideas and never mentioning them again, at all. Luke is such a missed opportunity, he had all the necessary things to be a very good character but he is just forgotten along the story, he appears in the end, just to be forgotten again.
The ball, for a thing to be mentioned and referenced so much in the beginning it was awful to see it be forgotten midway. The ball and what it could have been explored, how the king abuses his powers in the ball, how he
Spoiler
uses the girls for his youth
It was too much and too little at the same time. Yes, there were many side quests but none were important and unique enough to be remembered. I was overstimulated and bored at the same time.
Because it assassinates the Cinderella fairytale so gruesomely. If you like that tale, you might not like this. I will elaborate. Hence I am confused, What is this story about? Is it a queer retelling of Cinderella? No. Is it a story about a girl who becomes royalty without a prince? No. Is it a story about a woman building her own empire and showing that she does not need to be protected? well, it tried. So, what is it about? Society twisting the truth, to hurt the minority and power the majority. Society bending reality is the main theme, it should have been. It was not, and I am frustrated.
The society was the true villain, but it was not. It is a man who is just heartbroken by a single woman so he decides to be like "fuck all women, and give them 0 rights." He is the caracturistic villain, more than a Disney villain. He was overbearing. Truly.
It was not the society that agreed to treat all women as ruthlessly as they did just for their benefit and just because they could, it was a man who was greedy and heartbroken who brainwashed them. He is the root of the problem, only him. Everything is wrong because of the king. Only rebellions after the king's death are all it takes to erase 200 years of violent treatment towards women. Everyone just listens to Queen Constance.
It was just one man's fault. And this is not the main problem with this book. It is the characters the writing and the plot.
There is magic, but it is a myth, many believe it is true, not most do not, but it exists, I shall not explain further. This is how it is in the book.
Sophia is a rebel, why? how? when? Her grandmother taught her, again her grandmother! when? Uh...
The only rebellious thing she does is to run away from the king's ball, after being forced to attend. If she were to punch the king in his face for mistreating a woman and then fleeting, I would believe she is a rebel. Because she does lightly disagree and show dissatisfaction but does not rebel in any way or form until the end. Metaphorically everyone is Aimna or whatever the godmother's name was.
They put on a facade, but beneath them lies a rotting corpse of nothingness.
Sophia is rebellious and brave, but we never see her to be that. She is always rescued by Constance like a damsel in distress.
The king rules over an iron fist, but he cannot catch a teen who humiliates him in front of all.
And the need to nitpick and change everything about the Original Cinderella enraged me. I thought it was an integral part of this book, but it is not. It is so derived from its actual self, it is not Cindrellea anymore. No Cinderella is not going to the ball to enjoy herself, she going to the ball to kill the prince who murdered her family. Cinderella is not running away from the ball, her mother and sisters dragged her away from the wicked prince.
No Cinderella is not the kind caring woman who even emphasises with her cruel mother, she...who is she? The only distinctive thing about her is she hates a man, the prince charming. It felt as if this Cinderella is the script of a new Disney life action movie written by Rachel Zeggler. It could have been a scary retelling of Cinderella but rather it was the actual Cinderella. It was so far from that fairy tale it could have been an entirely different thing and I would have not hated it as much
I hope the author writes good books in the future, and there are not as many continuity errors. If you like this book, I am glad you found something you can swoon over.
Overall rating: 1.5/5 {rounded up to 2}
I tried making different points other than the already mentioned, and I heard this is a debut novel so I was less nit-picky. This book gave me literal migraine
moon_water07's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
playeririreads's review against another edition
3.0
badatlove's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
smateer73's review against another edition
4.0
luu__12's review against another edition
- 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
3.75