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fairytalearista's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
So, the common theme it seems with the reviews of this book is "Great story, not very much like the Prince and the Pauper, but I'm not familiar with the other fairy tale that it retells, so maybe it's closer to that?"
Well, the False Prince and the True happens to be one of my favorite fairy tales (It was actually one of the fairy tales I did back when I was writing fairy tale commentaries: https://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2012/01/false-prince-and-true.html)
So ... how does it stack up as a retelling of The False Prince and the True?
TBH, it's still pretty loose. There's actually a lot of influence of P&P in this retelling, for, in FP&T, the true prince has no idea that he's actually the king's son, and the false prince has no idea he isn't. A certain aspect of the ending (concerning the king himself) seems to be more an influence of P&P as well, and also the emphasis of Javan learning how his people actually live. That said, the fact that Javan prioritizes Sadja's safety and happiness at the end + she influences the outcome with a "story" has a distinct feel of FP&S, as well as the fact that Javan is sent to prison after attacking the false prince.
Sadja, however, is hugely changed from the heroine of the fairy tale - who happens to be one of my favorite fairy tale princesses. (Seriously, this girl goes out and rescues a prince to break her own curse, hoping for, but not expecting him to love her for it. It's awesome.) (And also, her curse is that she's trapped in the physical form of an old woman.) I liked Sadja, and she certainly does better fit Redwine's world, I'm just a little sad that she had to be changed.
At the end of the day, this is a retelling set in the deliciously dark world of Ravenspire, and this world's retellings have always been rather loose. This one is, perhaps, the loosest so far (I still need to read Blood Spell, which is waiting for me on my shelf), but neither of the original sources of this story are as dark as either Rumplestiltskin or Snow White are.
I am hugely happy that a retelling of this obscure tale exists, and if I want one where the heroine is actually a teen trapped in the body of an old woman ... I guess I'll have to write it myself?
Well, the False Prince and the True happens to be one of my favorite fairy tales (It was actually one of the fairy tales I did back when I was writing fairy tale commentaries: https://knittedbygodsplan.blogspot.com/2012/01/false-prince-and-true.html)
So ... how does it stack up as a retelling of The False Prince and the True?
TBH, it's still pretty loose. There's actually a lot of influence of P&P in this retelling, for, in FP&T, the true prince has no idea that he's actually the king's son, and the false prince has no idea he isn't. A certain aspect of the ending (concerning the king himself) seems to be more an influence of P&P as well, and also the emphasis of Javan learning how his people actually live. That said, the fact that Javan prioritizes Sadja's safety and happiness at the end + she influences the outcome with a "story" has a distinct feel of FP&S, as well as the fact that Javan is sent to prison after attacking the false prince.
Sadja, however, is hugely changed from the heroine of the fairy tale - who happens to be one of my favorite fairy tale princesses. (Seriously, this girl goes out and rescues a prince to break her own curse, hoping for, but not expecting him to love her for it. It's awesome.) (And also, her curse is that she's trapped in the physical form of an old woman.) I liked Sadja, and she certainly does better fit Redwine's world, I'm just a little sad that she had to be changed.
At the end of the day, this is a retelling set in the deliciously dark world of Ravenspire, and this world's retellings have always been rather loose. This one is, perhaps, the loosest so far (I still need to read Blood Spell, which is waiting for me on my shelf), but neither of the original sources of this story are as dark as either Rumplestiltskin or Snow White are.
I am hugely happy that a retelling of this obscure tale exists, and if I want one where the heroine is actually a teen trapped in the body of an old woman ... I guess I'll have to write it myself?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
themoodreader's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Confinement, Death, Animal cruelty, Murder, Animal death, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Torture, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Drug use, and Slavery
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