Scan barcode
orchidd's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Murder, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Pregnancy, and Child abuse
multiplyoctopi's review
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
alouette's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
3.5
a lovely story that would fit right in with the beloved classic fairytales. and as with those, it has its problems.
pros:
- the characters! each of the main four was interesting and unique, and of course i loved ben and hazel's relationship and development.
- the pacing! the mystery wasn't too confusing, and the big events were nicely broken up by conversations, flashbacks, or reflections.
- the magic! even if the rules of tourists versus locals and the idea of no one believing the tales despite seeing the glass coffin (among other things) were rather arbitrary, at least they were simple and the Folk themselves were fascinating
cons:
- plot holes...like why were night-Hazel's methods so convoluted? how did Ben know to look for that one Ainsel story in the book and why did Hazel not mark that page too? why did Sorrow go to the school if she was hunting Severin? if Hazel drank fairy wine i thought normal food is forever ruined, but then that is forgotten? there's probably more that are inconsequential, but still frustrating.
- loose ends... i don't mind some ambiguity but after the way ben and hazel's parents treated them, after the way the rest of the town treated Jack, i feel like there should've been more resolutions or conversations to end it out.
- predictable/anti-climactic. like i said, the mystery not being too confusing was nice, but the stakes never felt as high as they should've for me, even during the climax. i've seen some other reviews that suggest that maybe this has to do with the writing style- i'm not sure. i wouldn't say i was bored, but the emotional investment was lacking at times.
- no consistency to POV switches. this is a small one but i was really hoping for more of Ben and Jack's POVs once one scene was given in each, so it was disappointing that we didn't get more insight into them especially at the end.
pros:
- the characters! each of the main four was interesting and unique, and of course i loved ben and hazel's relationship and development.
- the pacing! the mystery wasn't too confusing, and the big events were nicely broken up by conversations, flashbacks, or reflections.
- the magic! even if the rules of tourists versus locals and the idea of no one believing the tales despite seeing the glass coffin (among other things) were rather arbitrary, at least they were simple and the Folk themselves were fascinating
cons:
- plot holes...
- loose ends... i don't mind some ambiguity but after the way ben and hazel's parents treated them, after the way the rest of the town treated Jack, i feel like there should've been more resolutions or conversations to end it out.
- predictable/anti-climactic. like i said, the mystery not being too confusing was nice, but the stakes never felt as high as they should've for me, even during the climax. i've seen some other reviews that suggest that maybe this has to do with the writing style- i'm not sure. i wouldn't say i was bored, but the emotional investment was lacking at times.
- no consistency to POV switches. this is a small one but i was really hoping for more of Ben and Jack's POVs once one scene was given in each, so it was disappointing that we didn't get more insight into them especially at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Death, and Violence
More...