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qrschulte's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What a fantastic retelling. Takes the well-known story and turns it on its head, shattering expectations. I love a book with a good framing narrative, and this was no exception.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Torture, and Antisemitism
flyintothestorm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was just beautiful. I loved both the story and the way it is told. I don't really think it needed to support itself in the Rapunzel tale, but it works and the mentions to other fairy tales work too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexism, Blood, and Religious bigotry
apolloann's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
rookdigoo's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
naomi_k's review
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, and Dysphoria
onceuponabookcase's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I was sent this proof for free by Orbit Books for the purposes of providing an honest review.
I'd been super excited to read The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne ever since I first heard of it. An historical fantasy prequel retelling of the story of Rapunzel from the perspective of the witch, it was right up my street. However, I finished it feeling really disappointed.
Set in Medieval Germany, the story follows Haelewise, a young girl who has fainting spells, brought up by a mother who secretly keeps to the old ways. I was expecting either a villain origin story, or for a story that completely turns the tale of Rapunzel on it's head. And while to some degree it does do that, the story actually has very little to do with Rapunzel, or what we know of that story. There's a tower, there's a woman who practices magic, and there's a baby girl named Rapunzel in the last fifth of the book, but that's it. I did start off enjoying the book. I loved the Medieval setting, the feminist aspect to how women are viewed, and the patriarchal and controlling church. The old ways, magic from nature, wise women and wort cunning, and goddess worship. It felt like a story that was going to be everything I could want. But it wasn't.
The Book of Gothel is an extremely slow story. Haelewise moves from place to place, and each time you think that's when the story will finally get going, but you just get quite a lot of nothing really happening. She spends time at the tower learning very little from the wise woman in the tower, to seeking assistance from Hildegard, to time amongst royals, to the anticlimactic ending. At each place, there's a lot of not doing very much, and a lot of waiting around. It really dragged, and I lost interest. There wasn't a great deal of magic or action, and the only reason I kept reading was to see how it would relate to Rapunzel, but there's so little. Honestly, you could read this book not knowing it was a retelling. The whole Rapunzel aspect could have been removed. The tower could have been a cottage, the child could have been named something else, they're pretty much the only links to the original story, and as such "a Rapunzel retelling" is actually pretty misleading.
I really don't have any more to say. I think there are certain Christian people who might find aspects of this story somewhat controversial, unrelated to the patriarchal and superstitious aspects. I'm an atheist, and I gasped, because it's so bold. It actually made me cackle, the idea of how overzealous Christians might react to it. Also, I only found out after finishing the story that it features an actual historical figure in Hildegard on Bingen, but I don't think it matters either way, it doesn't really make a difference to the story.
I was extremely disappointed with The Book of Gothel due to being very slow, not much happening, and very little relation to Rapunzel. But maybe if you're a fan of historical fiction, and don't mind slow burn stories, this might be something you'd enjoy.
I'd been super excited to read The Book of Gothel by Mary McMyne ever since I first heard of it. An historical fantasy prequel retelling of the story of Rapunzel from the perspective of the witch, it was right up my street. However, I finished it feeling really disappointed.
Set in Medieval Germany, the story follows Haelewise, a young girl who has fainting spells, brought up by a mother who secretly keeps to the old ways. I was expecting either a villain origin story, or for a story that completely turns the tale of Rapunzel on it's head. And while to some degree it does do that, the story actually has very little to do with Rapunzel, or what we know of that story. There's a tower, there's a woman who practices magic, and there's a baby girl named Rapunzel in the last fifth of the book, but that's it. I did start off enjoying the book. I loved the Medieval setting, the feminist aspect to how women are viewed, and the patriarchal and controlling church. The old ways, magic from nature, wise women and wort cunning, and goddess worship. It felt like a story that was going to be everything I could want. But it wasn't.
The Book of Gothel is an extremely slow story. Haelewise moves from place to place, and each time you think that's when the story will finally get going, but you just get quite a lot of nothing really happening. She spends time at the tower learning very little from the wise woman in the tower, to seeking assistance from Hildegard, to time amongst royals, to the anticlimactic ending. At each place, there's a lot of not doing very much, and a lot of waiting around. It really dragged, and I lost interest. There wasn't a great deal of magic or action, and the only reason I kept reading was to see how it would relate to Rapunzel, but there's so little. Honestly, you could read this book not knowing it was a retelling. The whole Rapunzel aspect could have been removed. The tower could have been a cottage, the child could have been named something else, they're pretty much the only links to the original story, and as such "a Rapunzel retelling" is actually pretty misleading.
I really don't have any more to say. I think there are certain Christian people who might find aspects of this story somewhat controversial, unrelated to the patriarchal and superstitious aspects. I'm an atheist, and I gasped, because it's so bold. It actually made me cackle, the idea of how overzealous Christians might react to it. Also, I only found out after finishing the story that it features an actual historical figure in Hildegard on Bingen, but I don't think it matters either way, it doesn't really make a difference to the story.
I was extremely disappointed with The Book of Gothel due to being very slow, not much happening, and very little relation to Rapunzel. But maybe if you're a fan of historical fiction, and don't mind slow burn stories, this might be something you'd enjoy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Torture, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Abortion
This book features someone late to starting their period, semi-vague sex scenes, morning sickness, childbirth, reference to stillbirths, child neglect, male rape, references to stoning, and violence against women.onthesamepage's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a pretty good historical fantasy if you're looking for something that's like Grimm's fairy tales. However, I personally don't think this works as either a villain origin story or a Rapunzel retelling. For one, Rapunzel doesn't even appear until the last 15% of the book, and even then she's more like a side note than a crucial part of the plot. Most of the book is spent on Haelewise's childhood and teen years, and her family's religious and magical heritage.
Nothing about Haelewise really screams "evil", though. She trains as a midwife under her mother's guidance, falls in love, and eventually flees her village and takes refuge in the tower of Gothel after the villagers try to stone her. Time and again, we see how she tries to help people, young women specifically. She faces discrimination because of her use of magic and the religion she strives to practice in secret, which goes against the teachings of the church. Haelewise is portrayed as a misunderstood, good woman, cast as a villain because it's convenient for other people, which isn't quite what I was expecting, but maybe I should have.
One of the major issues I have with the book is how often sexual assault is perpetrated against women. There is maybe one decent man in the entire story, and almost every young, female character gets abused, whether that's physically or emotionally, by a man in her life. I understand that these were dark times, but the use of sexual violence felt like an easy shortcut to let us know a character was bad, even though there are plenty of other ways to do so. Not only that, but the female characters had very little agency. Things happened to them, usually done by men, and they suffered the consequences. This includes Haelewise, who is almost constantly under someone's control, or at the very least guided to her next action by someone telling her what she should do.
If Rapunzel wasn't mentioned by name, I never would have guessed that Haelewise is the wicked witch that locks her up. There are hints of the Rapunzel fairytale here and there; early on, we're told of rumors surrounding Ursilda, a princess, who was stolen by a witch and locked in her tower surrounded by mist. She was rescued by her father instead of a prince, but the setup is very similar. Ursilda is not a substitute for Rapunzel, however, which means this myth is actually used again towards the end, but with the name of the princess changed. Personally, this felt like a strange choice, and one that can easily cause confusion. In fact, based on the characters in the book, it would've made a lot more sense for Ursilda to be Rapunzel, and I would've been interested to learn what happened to the witch after Rapunzel was supposedly rescued.
This is a pretty good historical fantasy if you're looking for something that's like Grimm's fairy tales. However, I personally don't think this works as either a villain origin story or a Rapunzel retelling. For one, Rapunzel doesn't even appear until the last 15% of the book, and even then she's more like a side note than a crucial part of the plot. Most of the book is spent on Haelewise's childhood and teen years, and her family's religious and magical heritage.
Nothing about Haelewise really screams "evil", though. She trains as a midwife under her mother's guidance, falls in love, and eventually flees her village and takes refuge in the tower of Gothel after the villagers try to stone her. Time and again, we see how she tries to help people, young women specifically. She faces discrimination because of her use of magic and the religion she strives to practice in secret, which goes against the teachings of the church. Haelewise is portrayed as a misunderstood, good woman, cast as a villain because it's convenient for other people, which isn't quite what I was expecting, but maybe I should have.
One of the major issues I have with the book is how often sexual assault is perpetrated against women. There is maybe one decent man in the entire story, and almost every young, female character gets abused, whether that's physically or emotionally, by a man in her life. I understand that these were dark times, but the use of sexual violence felt like an easy shortcut to let us know a character was bad, even though there are plenty of other ways to do so. Not only that, but the female characters had very little agency. Things happened to them, usually done by men, and they suffered the consequences. This includes Haelewise, who is almost constantly under someone's control, or at the very least guided to her next action by someone telling her what she should do.
If Rapunzel wasn't mentioned by name, I never would have guessed that Haelewise is the wicked witch that locks her up. There are hints of the Rapunzel fairytale here and there; early on, we're told of rumors surrounding Ursilda, a princess, who was stolen by a witch and locked in her tower surrounded by mist. She was rescued by her father instead of a prince, but the setup is very similar. Ursilda is not a substitute for Rapunzel, however, which means this myth is actually used again towards the end, but with the name of the princess changed. Personally, this felt like a strange choice, and one that can easily cause confusion. In fact, based on the characters in the book, it would've made a lot more sense for Ursilda to be Rapunzel, and I would've been interested to learn what happened to the witch after Rapunzel was supposedly rescued.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Gaslighting
Minor: Rape
utopiastateofmind's review
3.0
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
"Villain" origin stories will always fascinate me. What we think of as the evil character in a story and the ways in which in Rapunzel, most 'villains' aren't given names. They serve as place holders for a force to be overcome by our main character. The Book of Gothel is Haelewise's story. How she has to mire and navigate through layers of misinformation. When we are alone, we can be so susceptible to influences who don't have our best interests in heart. To information we think is right about the world, our family, and ourselves.
But couldn't be much further from the truth. The Book of Gothel deeply explores these themes. The story of Haelewise as she must figure out her own power and relation to the world. So if you're looking for a story that is mostly origin story and about 10% Rapunzel vibes, then this is for you. That's just the main warning I have in terms of expectations. Once I was able to pivot, I had a much more enjoyable reading experience. To see how she is made a target for blame. Ostracized and alone, how Haelewise must determine her own truths.
"Villain" origin stories will always fascinate me. What we think of as the evil character in a story and the ways in which in Rapunzel, most 'villains' aren't given names. They serve as place holders for a force to be overcome by our main character. The Book of Gothel is Haelewise's story. How she has to mire and navigate through layers of misinformation. When we are alone, we can be so susceptible to influences who don't have our best interests in heart. To information we think is right about the world, our family, and ourselves.
But couldn't be much further from the truth. The Book of Gothel deeply explores these themes. The story of Haelewise as she must figure out her own power and relation to the world. So if you're looking for a story that is mostly origin story and about 10% Rapunzel vibes, then this is for you. That's just the main warning I have in terms of expectations. Once I was able to pivot, I had a much more enjoyable reading experience. To see how she is made a target for blame. Ostracized and alone, how Haelewise must determine her own truths.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault