Reviews

Damisela by Elana K. Arnold

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calhale1989's review against another edition

2.0

2.5 stars

This book was brutal and beautiful. I think there is a definite place for stories like this.

I'm just not sure this should have been marketed as YA because it's much for graphic ans deals with darker themes than even many adult books.

Please look up the trigger warnings before reading.

I just finished reading this and I'm not sure how I feel about it fully. There were some really beautiful parts and the build up of tension feels real. I wasn't bored reading it, but I just kept wanting more to happen or for more to be exposed.

There are twists that are touched on, but not flushed out and I think the grim dark nature of Damsel could have handled that exploration. I would also have enjoyed Pawlin as a foil to Emory instead of as his duplicate. That relationship could have been used better.

I think the desire to keep it marketed as YA held it back. If this had been fully adult, I think it would have been a great book for me.

scrumptiousdragon's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

just read it. it is good. though i saw a few of the ending points from the start of the book there was rather a bit of it that i didnt see coming.

just dont think this is the same or relative in anyway to the netflix movie of the same name. this is not that book.

priya_amrev's review against another edition

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4.0

First of all, TW: rape, self harm, abuse, animal cruelty. This book is like a very dark fairytale and if is definitely NA not YA

Now that thatâ€™s done

What a fascinating story. The imagery, the symbolismâ€¦. The overwhelming greed of men who think they deserve everything, especially that which is not theirs.

To quote another reviewer, this book is â€œquiet and dreamlikeâ€

melarain78's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Ok so if you like a penis refered to as a "yard" and a king that sticks said yard in the open wound of a dragon he killed in order to turn it into a damsel to take home and make a baby with? This books for you! 🤦 No. Just no. I had high hopes.

hauntingpineapples's review against another edition

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2.0

I understand the purpose of SOME of the graphic content, but was very surprised to find it so bluntly in a YA book without any warnings from the publisher. The flow of prose was really good, and for that, and only that, it got two stars. The story itself is unnecessarily graphic (definite trigger warnings for sexual, emotional, and physical abuse) and I knew the end "twist" a handful of pages in. Disappointing overall.

abbyl819's review against another edition

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1.0

I was unprepared for how weird this would be. Not sure how else to describe it other than that. The king is an absolutely horrible person and there are quite a few disturbing moments that if I had known about I probably wouldn’t have read this book. Like other reviews say, there’s a lot of potentially harmful content for anyone who’s concerned about trigger warnings.

melpatker70's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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? It's complicated

3.0

It wasn’t the ‘damsel’ I thought it was. So I was very confused at the beginning, but in the end I enjoyed it. Wasn’t the best of ‘fantasies’ - an average fantasy, but a fantasy different to others which is always a positive.