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rereader33's review against another edition
4.0
This was a book that I was looking forward to for awhile, mostly because I love this author and it is so rare to get a Snow-White and Rose-Red retelling. Aaaaaaand, I finished it in one day, which I almost never do. There are a number of reasons for this speedy reading experience, which will be the positives I found with this novel:
1. The pacing is spot on. Even if the majority of chapters are really short, she cleverly paces out her chapters with enough short chapters to keep the reader intrigued but enough long chapters to further the plot/give exposition without it seeming out of place or slowing down the story.
2. She really keeps the reader guessing til the end. I honestly could not have seen the plot twist that was coming and could not guess where the plot was going, but not in a bad way. It never felt like she was just making stuff up for plot convenience/drama, it really felt like the progression of the story and the end result thereof made sense.
3. The representation was amazing. This has nothing to do with how fast I read the novel, but seriously the representation was phenomenal. It didn't feel like each character was that token diverse character, and while each character hammered it into the reader's brain what they were, one of the major themes of this novel (at least in my opinion) is coming to terms with one's self rather than tying one's whole self to one trait/characteristic (i.e. identity, family, appearance).
4. Finally, the writing flowed very well, and for the most part the imagery and descriptions were really good, though there were some issues I had with it.
And with that, let's move on to some negative thoughts I had while reading this:
1. First and foremost, the fact that most of the drama that occurs in this novel is due to keeping secrets/miscommunication/misunderstandings wore on me after awhile. I understand why Blanca and Roja did what they did and I can't say that it isn't realistic given their circumstances, but it got on my nerves after some time.
2. The characters were good, but some of them felt just a tad one-note. Honestly, Roja to me felt like the most complex character, with Blanca having some good character moments sprinkled in. Yearling and Page, on the other hand, were pretty one-dimensional in my opinion. Yes, they both got some hard-earned character development towards the end, but the dialogue they were given wasn't that engaging or deep.
3. On the subject of writing, while I did enjoy the descriptions for the most part, there were some sections where it felt like overkill. Yes, McLemore has an outstanding way with words and I felt like I was in those woods with the del Cisnes, but there were some parts were I felt she overdid it a bit.
And there you have it. Despite my complaints, I would seriously recommend this book to others. It is a fantastic retelling deserving of all the praise it has received. I will definitely be giving some of her other novels I try in the future, what a splendid novel from a very talented author.
1. The pacing is spot on. Even if the majority of chapters are really short, she cleverly paces out her chapters with enough short chapters to keep the reader intrigued but enough long chapters to further the plot/give exposition without it seeming out of place or slowing down the story.
2. She really keeps the reader guessing til the end. I honestly could not have seen the plot twist that was coming and could not guess where the plot was going, but not in a bad way. It never felt like she was just making stuff up for plot convenience/drama, it really felt like the progression of the story and the end result thereof made sense.
3. The representation was amazing. This has nothing to do with how fast I read the novel, but seriously the representation was phenomenal. It didn't feel like each character was that token diverse character, and while each character hammered it into the reader's brain what they were, one of the major themes of this novel (at least in my opinion) is coming to terms with one's self rather than tying one's whole self to one trait/characteristic (i.e. identity, family, appearance).
4. Finally, the writing flowed very well, and for the most part the imagery and descriptions were really good, though there were some issues I had with it.
And with that, let's move on to some negative thoughts I had while reading this:
1. First and foremost, the fact that most of the drama that occurs in this novel is due to keeping secrets/miscommunication/misunderstandings wore on me after awhile. I understand why Blanca and Roja did what they did and I can't say that it isn't realistic given their circumstances, but it got on my nerves after some time.
2. The characters were good, but some of them felt just a tad one-note. Honestly, Roja to me felt like the most complex character, with Blanca having some good character moments sprinkled in. Yearling and Page, on the other hand, were pretty one-dimensional in my opinion. Yes, they both got some hard-earned character development towards the end, but the dialogue they were given wasn't that engaging or deep.
3. On the subject of writing, while I did enjoy the descriptions for the most part, there were some sections where it felt like overkill. Yes, McLemore has an outstanding way with words and I felt like I was in those woods with the del Cisnes, but there were some parts were I felt she overdid it a bit.
And there you have it. Despite my complaints, I would seriously recommend this book to others. It is a fantastic retelling deserving of all the praise it has received. I will definitely be giving some of her other novels I try in the future, what a splendid novel from a very talented author.
lbarsk's review against another edition
3.0
So it took me a million years to read this book because I get most of my reading done on the subway, and I’ve been SO TIRED this month that I can’t focus on what I’m reading. But that’s not a reflection on this story, which was a wonderful new take on old fairytale tropes. The aspects of queerness and sisterhood were particularly lovely to me, as was the element of the many different forms that family, birth and found, can take.
goodem9199's review against another edition
3.0
So weird. I loved the writing, but after reading nearly half the book and still having no idea what the hell was going on...I had to move on.
juanitamfm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
Overall it was a good story. It just dragged in parts for me and it felt a little like they talked in circles when it could’ve been more clear, but I did like the 4 main characters and I like how the author did a diverse twist on a classic fairy tale to make it more inclusive and to add elements that were lacking back then.
maxine_december's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
leer_amor's review against another edition
4.0
I was really looking forward to this book since McLemore’s book Lakelore was so amazing, and while I did enjoy this novel and thought it was a beautiful and unique retelling, I felt that the pacing was a bit of an issue. There were a few time skips that werent explicitely stated and confused me a bit. And there was a bit of a lack of description for surroundings. That said, the fig lang was gorgeous and I absolutely loved the mentions of pepitas and cascarones, two things I have never seen in any book by a Hispanic or Mexican author Ive read so far. Good vibes, good soup.
gabalodon's review against another edition
3.0
I think this book could easily have been a four star read for someone just a little less fussy about magic rules than I am. There were a lot of logical leaps that characters made about what the rules were of the supernatural shenanigans going down and they were apparently correct leaps but how? Why? What are the rules?? How do they know the rules??
In that sense and in others, this book leaned very heavily into the aesthetic - which by all means was very beautiful and delicate - but it was often, imo, at the expense of developing character personalities and weaving the plot together coherently. I liked the four different POVs, but every time a chapter ended there would be an abrupt shift in setting and we'd be addressing a different plot point or different character tension, and since each chapter is only a couple pages, it impacted the flow of the story itself. Characters would show up where it was convenient for the aesthetic and to move the plot forward but their reasons for bouncing around so much seemed somewhat flimsy. There was also a lot of repetition in the phrasing and imagery. So overall, a lot of frosting and not enough cake.
That all being said, the frosting itself was very good. The underlying story had a lot of promise and the imagery was gorgeous, and the parallels between the characters and the exploration of genderqueer themes and colorism were extremely poignant. I just wish everything else going on in the plot made more sense, or even that it made as little sense to the characters as it did to me.
In that sense and in others, this book leaned very heavily into the aesthetic - which by all means was very beautiful and delicate - but it was often, imo, at the expense of developing character personalities and weaving the plot together coherently. I liked the four different POVs, but every time a chapter ended there would be an abrupt shift in setting and we'd be addressing a different plot point or different character tension, and since each chapter is only a couple pages, it impacted the flow of the story itself. Characters would show up where it was convenient for the aesthetic and to move the plot forward but their reasons for bouncing around so much seemed somewhat flimsy. There was also a lot of repetition in the phrasing and imagery. So overall, a lot of frosting and not enough cake.
That all being said, the frosting itself was very good. The underlying story had a lot of promise and the imagery was gorgeous, and the parallels between the characters and the exploration of genderqueer themes and colorism were extremely poignant. I just wish everything else going on in the plot made more sense, or even that it made as little sense to the characters as it did to me.