niefer's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • 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? No

4.0


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soggycedar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

"I no longer have a name. I am a slave, and the name I had was taken from me. I will answer to 'hey, you!' or to 'girl!'or to 'foolish slattern!' or to many another imprecation.
Dunstan noticed how the silken fabric of her robe pressed itself against her body; he was aware of elegant curves, and of her violet eyes upon him, and he swallowed."

Very inappropriate reaction to learning that someone is enslaved.

"His hand felt her small breasts through the silk of her dress, touched the hard nubs of her nipples. She clung to him, hard, as if she were drowning, fumbling with his shirt, with his britches.
She was so small; he was scared he would hurt her and break her... had he known her name he would have called it aloud. ...He squeezed her small hand in his."

Focus is entirely on the fact that she is tiny and frail and a stranger to him.

That doesn't even include the entire premise of the book: a different man enslaving a different tiny woman, who then falls in love with him based on nothing more than his bad treatment of her, and her forced proximity to him.

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ca11ie_j's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I LOVE the movie version and finally got around to reading the book. It's alright. Not a lot of action, but told in a very fairy tale manor. The ending was not really what I'd hoped, and the love story was written very bland.

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squids_can_read's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

When a young man promises his love a fallen star nothing could go wrong, right? Except for the fact that the star fell in Faerie, on the other side of the Wall.

I wish this book was longer!! The descriptions were so amazing. The characters were super compelling and felt like real people. The magic system was superb. I only wish that more of the main characters' adventure was described. I wanted to immerse myself in this world. If you love fantasy, definitely give this a read.

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fionamatilda's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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brenna_kcw's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Very cute read. Despite being a shorter book the text itself is rich a poetic without being overwhelming or bogged down. The story is well paced, the characters are charming. If you’ve seen the movie you’ll appreciate the commonalities and the differences at the adaptation offers. 

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corni's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

Light and dreamy most of the time but a few non child friendly things.

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dellydoos's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

90s fantasy has to be the best decade for the genre, in my humble opinion. The books coming out of this time were just fun, outlandish and quirky. And Stardust is no exception. 

This was a delightful escape and such an easy read (I read it in a day!). Gaiman's prose effortlessly carries you through the narrative, which unfolds with a delightful blend of humour and charm, characteristic of Gaiman's storytelling prowess. His ability to weave together a seamless fusion of fairy tale elements, myth, and folklore is what makes Stardust still stand up against the over saturation of the fantasy genre to this day. 

Set in the charming village of Wall, our protagonist, Tristran Thorn, embarks on a quest to retrieve a fallen star from the mysterious land of Faerie to win the heart of his beloved Victoria. Along the way he meets a cast of colourful characters including Miss Fallen Star herself, Yvaine, whom he eventually falls in love with. Throw in some evil witches and scheming princes and it’s your favourite unconventional, conventional fairytale. It’s cute, it’s simple, it’s fun. 

However, one aspect that left me slightly underwhelmed was the characterization. While the characters are charming and play their roles well in the story, I couldn't help but feel that they lacked depth and development. In essence, they weren’t memorable. Particularly, I struggled with Yvaine, who I felt was actually quite boring. She gave me nothing but a broken leg and bad attitude. 

Additionally, the plot was very strange and lacked the complexity and cohesion I had hoped for. I’ve seen the movie many times, and look, I’ll admit that this is maybe one of the rare cases where the movie was better than the book. The movie provided a more streamlined and engaging narrative. The characters were more fleshed out and the spectacle of the world felt more impactful. Yes, the writing of the book was enjoyable, but the ending felt rather flat and anticlimactic. 

All in all, this was a blast and I’d recommend it to all fantasy lovers out there. 3.5/5 stars. 

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17kmcollins's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.75


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maggiefae's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • 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


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