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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
didn't finish. reading it to determine if it's a young adult book or middle school. The prose is delightful but very slow going.
This book was pretty disappointing to me. I have loved every other Robin McKinley book and expected this one to be the same. I was really into it for the first part of the book. About halfway through, however, I became sort of disconnected. I didn't feel as if the story was progressing in a logical way and was left confused and disinterested in what was happening.
As sweet and charming as A Game of Thrones is dark and gritty.
Second read, I'm still enamored of this book. Perhaps the ending is not as strong as I remembered, but the book as a whole is simply wonderful.
So this is my second time reading this book, first time reading via audiobook, and I have to say the audiobook is perfect! The narrator does a good job with the different character voices and also develops a nice rhythm to the winding narration.
This book is really, really heavy on the descriptive prose, like most of McKinley's works. If you prefer quippy dialogue and fast-paced action, this book will probably frustrate you. That being said, I think this book is one of McKinley's best - it has one of the most memorable opening descriptions of magic I've ever read (although I don't know if the unique magic's potential is ever reached) and some wonderful, involved worldbuilding.
On the other hand, the characters are not particularly memorable and I think the story would be more powerful if their relationships had developed through direct interaction and dialogue as opposed to the narrator telling us how much they care about one another. In particular, Rosie and Peony's relationship felt a little lacking, which was disappointing since it's so central to the plot. Even so, it's easy to get swept up in this story and as a retelling this book has a nice balance of homage vs. new material. If you like fairy tale retellings, this is well worth your time.
This book is really, really heavy on the descriptive prose, like most of McKinley's works. If you prefer quippy dialogue and fast-paced action, this book will probably frustrate you. That being said, I think this book is one of McKinley's best - it has one of the most memorable opening descriptions of magic I've ever read (although I don't know if the unique magic's potential is ever reached) and some wonderful, involved worldbuilding.
On the other hand, the characters are not particularly memorable and I think the story would be more powerful if their relationships had developed through direct interaction and dialogue as opposed to the narrator telling us how much they care about one another. In particular, Rosie and Peony's relationship felt a little lacking, which was disappointing since it's so central to the plot. Even so, it's easy to get swept up in this story and as a retelling this book has a nice balance of homage vs. new material. If you like fairy tale retellings, this is well worth your time.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fantastic read!!! Every page felt a little magical. It was a really interesting twist on the very old Sleeping Beauty tale, I liked the main character, and while the supporting characters were mostly 2-dimensional, I didn't mind, because the world felt like it was alive and tangibly spinning and pulling me in. If you need an escape, grab this off the shelf and run to a meadow of dandelions and fairies, plop down in the tall grass and start reading it out loud. Guaranteed to make you smile.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes