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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
A long-awaited baby princess, a naming day with a group of fairy godmothers waiting to bestow their magical gifts, and a young girl from a small village watching from the audience, right before disaster occurs. Yep, this is a re-telling of the classic fairytale about that curse by the evil fairy involving spinning wheels, and sleeping for a hundred years.
As you would expect from Robin McKinley, this is a tremendously original take on the fairytale, which starts fairly conventially, and goes into very different places. I loved Rosie, our princess in exile, who keeps her bothersome golden curls (courtesy of a fairy godmother) chopped short, and works as an apprentice horse farrier. The ending was a little... vague, I suppose - lots of rather odd magic without a great deal of explanation, but hell, why do we need it? McKinley writes so beautifully and evocatively that I'm happy to forgive a lack of magical mechanics.
As you would expect from Robin McKinley, this is a tremendously original take on the fairytale, which starts fairly conventially, and goes into very different places. I loved Rosie, our princess in exile, who keeps her bothersome golden curls (courtesy of a fairy godmother) chopped short, and works as an apprentice horse farrier. The ending was a little... vague, I suppose - lots of rather odd magic without a great deal of explanation, but hell, why do we need it? McKinley writes so beautifully and evocatively that I'm happy to forgive a lack of magical mechanics.
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
DNF.
This is one of my cousin’s favorite books so I feel bad for DNF-ing it. I’ve tried to start and get into this book MANY times over the years but I can’t get past the flowery writing. You would think I would’ve stopped making that mistake and picking up books with flowery writing thinking my opinion on this type of writing style would change.
This is one of my cousin’s favorite books so I feel bad for DNF-ing it. I’ve tried to start and get into this book MANY times over the years but I can’t get past the flowery writing. You would think I would’ve stopped making that mistake and picking up books with flowery writing thinking my opinion on this type of writing style would change.
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
One of my all time favourite cosy reads. I've read this so many times, and I am always charmed.
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I would consider this book to be a comfort read. It is not necessarily good but I love reading it.
I so wanted to love this book, but the pacing was too slow for me; I kept skimming in search of something happening. I did not connect with the talky narrative voice. No doubt a lack in me as a reader, because others of McKinley's books are among my lifelong faves.
I thought this was a very clever retelling of Sleeping Beauty. I love when the heroine rescues herself instead of being rescued. Unfortunately, there was so much detail and it ended up being so long that I found myself bored in many places.