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crystalmethany's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
michellemaas'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? Yes
2.0
In terms of this being a fairytale retelling, I will give props to Kalynn Bayron in saying that the premise was quite creative, but the execution ended up lacking. My biggest caveat is that I found the story dragging along often, especially in the beginning (keep in mind that this is a relatively short book, with my version having only been 299 pages). When your short book isn't fast-faced it is a recipe for disaster.
Another problem I had was with the foreshadowing being so heavy-handed. I can appreciate the author focusing on certain aspects so that big developments don't seem to come out of anywhere, especially when you are setting up a big plot twist at the end, but I feel that it was written so obviously that the ending lacked some of the impact it was aiming for.
The last thing I want to mention is the representation. I haven't seen many fantasy books with LGBTQ+ characters as the leads and that aspect was beautifully done. Sophia and Constance were just so perfect and had me fangirling since their first encounter. I also enjoyed the parallels of Erin and Constance since it is a parallel a lot of queer people have to deal with. Some more representation comes from our lead, Sophia, being a person of color. Again, I don't find that many books come out and say: My lead is a POC and I'm proud of that (it's always "olive-skinned") so I thought that was cool.
Ultimately I would recommend you read this because the representation is something else and it's important to support stories/authors with representation, but if you're just reading it for the plot you might be disappointed.
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, and Blood
bedtimesandbooks's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Police brutality, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
beestingbea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I thought I was going to try to be more stingy with my 5 stars, but there's no world where I would put this under 5, it's just such an incredible, empowering book. And the diversity is a plus, of course.
Is it a lil predictable? Sure. But do I love a modern-day re-do (not really a retelling) of Cinderella with a dash of Smashing the f-ing Patriarchy.
I also rate books solely on how they make me feel and if they solicit emotion from me and am not a super critical reader, and I just loved this.
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Forced institutionalization
rada's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Grief, and War
lollyr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
<spoiler>
I felt like the target audience was unclear. From one hand, the dialog was often cringey and childish, the metaphor and moral of the story spoon fed to the reader and the characters flat and unchanging. On the other hand some topics handled in the story are very much intended for mathur readers.
At times it felt like the writing was trying to be shocking and edgy but it just looked out of place.
The love intrest was dull and cartoonish in her behavior and odd facial expressions. Ever since Liv's body was found by Sophia the king plot twist was extremely predictable.
Sophia is a mediocre but loveble protagonist. Her motivations are clear and understandable but she did not changed at all in the duration of the story.
Honesty, I shipped her with Erin till the end because I thing it would made more compelling story.
Prince charmin was a flat and exaggerated villan but he was also pretty menacing (at least in the first half of the book).
Amana was the best character in my opinion. She was compelling and intriguin until her very end
<spoiler>
Over all, I did mostly enjoyed the read. I thing maybe the book was intended for younger readers and it have great messages over all.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, and Gaslighting
sunsetcity's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
sassqcat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal death and Fire/Fire injury
martereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Sexism, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Death of parent, and Gaslighting