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britmpower's review
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror and Abandonment
gia279's review
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
Really interesting world and magic system. I enjoyed the characters and the setting as well, and Clementine was pretty awesome!
lindsey_kay_davis's review
I really don’t even know how to start this review.
I have many mixed feelings. As it was extremely hard to find this book I can only assume that this was someone’s debut novel that didn’t last very long on the charts, if it even made it there.
I feel like the author had a great story to tell, that she couldn’t quite develop fully to its potential.
Well I liked the main characters Clementine and Fisher, I feel like there was more to their story that could’ve been told. I felt like I was missing parts of their story that could have given more of an impact to the overall theme.
I wish she would have written another novel so I could’ve compared the two. However I can’t find anything else written by her.
While it wasn’t a book that I had to stop reading because I just couldn’t finish it it was definitely a struggle to get through.
I have many mixed feelings. As it was extremely hard to find this book I can only assume that this was someone’s debut novel that didn’t last very long on the charts, if it even made it there.
I feel like the author had a great story to tell, that she couldn’t quite develop fully to its potential.
Well I liked the main characters Clementine and Fisher, I feel like there was more to their story that could’ve been told. I felt like I was missing parts of their story that could have given more of an impact to the overall theme.
I wish she would have written another novel so I could’ve compared the two. However I can’t find anything else written by her.
While it wasn’t a book that I had to stop reading because I just couldn’t finish it it was definitely a struggle to get through.
booksandcecilia's review
4.0
Loved Yovanoff language and how (at times) creepy the story was. I will without a doubt look into her other books.
andreablythe's review
4.0
Fiendish is a dark and modern retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Clementine is placed under a powerful spell as a child, one that keeps her sleeping for ten years while roots grow through the cellar where she is hidden. She ages as she sleeps. A local boy named Fisher finds her and draws her out of the dark. The town she wakes to is divided, with the crooked (a term for magical) people of the willows on uncomfortable terms with the people in town.
Although there are a number of threats to be faced, the core of this stories is Clementine's relationships with her family and with Fisher. I love the way Yovanof weaves dark and unsettling images and events with a modern southern small town. A fun read.
Although there are a number of threats to be faced, the core of this stories is Clementine's relationships with her family and with Fisher. I love the way Yovanof weaves dark and unsettling images and events with a modern southern small town. A fun read.
saragrochowski's review
4.0
For a decade, Clementine DeVore has been sealed within the cellar of her destroyed home, eyes sewn shut yet somehow aware of the world outside. She would have remained there for decades more if not for Fisher, a boy with whom she shares a supernatural connection. The world has changed since the fateful day Clementine was interned in the cellar, the day a lynch mob of angry townsfolk razed the homes of the fiendish folk in the Willows, scaring them into hiding. But Clementine's return - and her growing relationship with Fisher - has awoken a deep, dark magic that once again inspires fiery passions in the townsfolk. The magic of the hollow will no longer be contained and Clementine might be the only person who can prevent a cataclysmic uprising. FIENDISH is an epic tale of powerful magic, persecution, and good prevailing over evil.
This novel was my first Brenna Yovanoff experience and I am definitely a fan! Her writing is absolutely gorgeous - that is definitely what propels this story, even more so than the action. It should be noted, however, that, while Fiendish is creepy, it is not, stay-up-all-night-with-the-light-on scary. The focus is more on the romance and the divide between good and evil and the persecution of those who are 'different.'
This book has a definite Salem witch trial vibe going on, except, in New South Bend, the rumors of witchcraft are a bit more substantial than the gossip of teenaged girls. Though those who practice magic in this novel are not necessarily evil, there is dangerous magic surrounds New South Bend - magic that is inexplicably tied to Clementine.
There is a bit of insta-love happening here, but not in the traditional way. Clementine and Fisher meet and immediately have feelings for one another (some romantic, but some a bit more complicated), but there's a valid reason, which remedied what annoyance I met have felt about the believability. I mean, really, when you're reading a Yovanoff novel, I get the impression that some suspension of disbelief is highly encouraged.
Pick this one up - especially if you're looking for something with a bit of witchcraft and a few bumps in the night.
This novel was my first Brenna Yovanoff experience and I am definitely a fan! Her writing is absolutely gorgeous - that is definitely what propels this story, even more so than the action. It should be noted, however, that, while Fiendish is creepy, it is not, stay-up-all-night-with-the-light-on scary. The focus is more on the romance and the divide between good and evil and the persecution of those who are 'different.'
This book has a definite Salem witch trial vibe going on, except, in New South Bend, the rumors of witchcraft are a bit more substantial than the gossip of teenaged girls. Though those who practice magic in this novel are not necessarily evil, there is dangerous magic surrounds New South Bend - magic that is inexplicably tied to Clementine.
There is a bit of insta-love happening here, but not in the traditional way. Clementine and Fisher meet and immediately have feelings for one another (some romantic, but some a bit more complicated), but there's a valid reason, which remedied what annoyance I met have felt about the believability. I mean, really, when you're reading a Yovanoff novel, I get the impression that some suspension of disbelief is highly encouraged.
Pick this one up - especially if you're looking for something with a bit of witchcraft and a few bumps in the night.
megangoodwin's review
2.0
This book had a lot of potential. The idea and mythology around the book could have been fantastic. In the end, I was bored through most of it and I didn't care about the characters at all. I would probably have given this book a three star since I finished it fairly quickly, but I absolutely do not are about it. I don't love it and I don't hate it. I am indifferent. I think that is the worst thing to happen in the mind of an author's reader. So that is why it deserves two stars. I just don't care one iota about it.