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mburnsides's review against another edition
Boring and hard to read.
I found myself completely unexcited to read this book after I was so interested in the premise. Right off the bat, the plot is slow and clearly meant to sound much more important and dark than it reads as. When nothing is explained for “reasons”, it really goes to show that there wasn’t much behind this story, especially to need to drag it out into 400+ pages. This book is NOT a red riding hood retelling, it simply takes inspiration for the main characters designs.
I was disappointed in the characters. First, Red is boring and childish and does things simply “because.” I found myself completely forgetting that she was supposed to be 20 years old. Secondly, I was completely disappointed in Eammon’s reveal. Why’d he have to be some dark, brooding, mysterious, hundreds of years old man conveniently put in a young person's body? Why can’t a YA love interest be close in age to the heroine? What is so appealing about such a massive age gap? I don't care for Fife or Lyra, nor could I remember that Arick and the other one even existed outside of when they were mentioned. The sister, Neve, was the only character that I was even remotely interested in.
Maybe I’m just stupid, but I was struggling to understand the writing style at some points and the reasons for some of the plots point like Eammon and Red’s “marriage” or the magic system. The whole book felt like it was trying to be something bigger and more important than it ended up being. 2 stars for what it could've been.
I am currently writing this review at the halfway point of the book, ~211 pages. I do not know if I will attempt to finish it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
blewballoon's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I had a hard time getting into this, but once Red started to bond more with the Wolf and the others living in the forest it became a lot more interesting. I liked these characters a lot and I understood and sympathized with their motivations. I enjoyed the feeling of found family with their little crew and the people who lived on the other side of the forest, cut off from the world but very self sufficient. I had a harder time with the interlude chapters. I really hated what was going on with Neve and the characters around her. Overall, though, I enjoyed the fantasy and fairy tale feeling of the story and was happy to have read it. I listened to it on audiobook and it was okay, the narrator was fine but I may have preferred reading it myself since I could have glossed over the parts that didn't interest me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Self harm, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Murder
sirkeili's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Wow, this book really just drew me in and didn't let me go until I finally finished it. How do I even begin to describe this book?
I love how this tale is Little Red Riding Hood meets Beauty and the Beast, and yet it holds its own in both regards. Red's character feels both remarkably insular to the fairy tale heroine, and yet she also is so much more.
However, this story is also about love, and how far one will go for it. Red for Eammon - and him for her - as well as how far Red and Neve will go for one another. Making deals with gods and ancient beings alike, just to ensure the other is safe, whatever the price may be.
I love how this tale is Little Red Riding Hood meets Beauty and the Beast, and yet it holds its own in both regards. Red's character feels both remarkably insular to the fairy tale heroine, and yet she also is so much more.
However, this story is also about love, and how far one will go for it. Red for Eammon - and him for her - as well as how far Red and Neve will go for one another. Making deals with gods and ancient beings alike, just to ensure the other is safe, whatever the price may be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Suicide attempt and Classism
puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-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? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
khopeisz's review against another edition
Strongly disliked like the magic system and felt no connection to the characters.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood
A lot of cutting and blood in this book. It is the weirdest magic system.issyfrp99's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm and Blood
tkhenry99's review against another edition
4.25
the first like 40% was so slow and also featured some of my least favorite tropes in fantasy. the whole “red could literally save the entire forest but eammon won’t tell her anything and refuses to give her a choice in the matter” plot line was soooo annoying. i’m tired of stories where men prevent women from exercising their autonomy !!! and some of the conflicts in the first half felt trivial like how is red going to complain about her uncontrollable magic but she also doesn’t want to learn how to use it?
sometimes the world building fell a little flat, especially with the names of the characters. none of the names really seemed culturally distinct from each other so did the different countries not have different languages??
but the writing is good (mostly, sometimes the dialogue was weird and awkward) and i liked eammon’s character a lot. and once the story picked up around the 40% mark it was really engaging and the story was interesting.
sometimes the world building fell a little flat, especially with the names of the characters. none of the names really seemed culturally distinct from each other so did the different countries not have different languages??
but the writing is good (mostly, sometimes the dialogue was weird and awkward) and i liked eammon’s character a lot. and once the story picked up around the 40% mark it was really engaging and the story was interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
faythfarrar's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Blood
murphymegs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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 is everything I have wanted in a dark fantasy. Folklore, magic, heroism. Yes please! This is described as a Beauty and the Beast retelling and, yes, I can see it. But truly, it has a story of its own. The magic system is very unique and the bonds the characters have with each other and nature are very special. I’m glad I picked up the second book, because I’m prepared to devour it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Self harm, and Blood
jennb_reading's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence and Death of parent