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alice__0'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
4.25
I felt like the ending was a bit rushed, would have loved one final chapter just to conclude it all a bit more.
Loved the character interactions and plot, the ending was both surprising and predictable (if that makes sense), loved it regardless.
It would be really nice to see a sequel, maybe based on other areas that were brought up that we also based on fairy tales!
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Gaslighting
Minor: Slavery, Torture, and Trafficking
patslibrary'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Trafficking, and Toxic friendship
katherineroseamber's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: War
stephelyse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Gaslighting
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
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
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
mxdegroot's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
klannie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Murder, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Gaslighting