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sarag19's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 out of 5 stars - rounded up to 4 due to the strength of the first half and the writers beautiful writing.
***ARC received through NetGalley for review, much appreciated***
I'm having a hard time finding where to start on this review. It follows two main characters, Rhea and her family and the Witch of Wishes and her foxes. Rhea sees things, visions of a world of nightmares in the waking world. The Witch waits in dreams, casting wishes to children that can find their way to her.
The first half of the book switches between Rhea and the Witch, two characters that feel like they are on a collision course and the story of a third world. Of magic that is forbidden, mythical creatures that inhabit the woods and a princess that sleeps. Its not hard to pick out where the book is going, the author does a nice job of weaving a story that eventually all comes together. The writing is beautiful, there is a whole paragraph where Rhea speaks of Rose that I went back to read at least three times, I loved how well it was written.
Where the book stumbles for me is the second half of the book, where the three stories come together and we leave dreams within dreams for reality. The second half is not nearly as lush and mysterious as the first half of the book, sometimes I felt like I was reading a complete separate story that just happened to have the same characters. The revelation of what the king was up to actually did catch me by surprise, I had an idea but the author took it to a darker step than I had anticipated. The second half still feels like it is missing something and I think it falls back to the way the first part of written. A more modern day life and a mystical world of dream, such a lovely contrast between the two worlds that the third world of the second half just doesn't match up to.
Overall a really good first outing and I look forward to see more from Alyssa Wees.
***ARC received through NetGalley for review, much appreciated***
I'm having a hard time finding where to start on this review. It follows two main characters, Rhea and her family and the Witch of Wishes and her foxes. Rhea sees things, visions of a world of nightmares in the waking world. The Witch waits in dreams, casting wishes to children that can find their way to her.
The first half of the book switches between Rhea and the Witch, two characters that feel like they are on a collision course and the story of a third world. Of magic that is forbidden, mythical creatures that inhabit the woods and a princess that sleeps. Its not hard to pick out where the book is going, the author does a nice job of weaving a story that eventually all comes together. The writing is beautiful, there is a whole paragraph where Rhea speaks of Rose that I went back to read at least three times, I loved how well it was written.
Where the book stumbles for me is the second half of the book, where the three stories come together and we leave dreams within dreams for reality. The second half is not nearly as lush and mysterious as the first half of the book, sometimes I felt like I was reading a complete separate story that just happened to have the same characters. The revelation of what the king was up to actually did catch me by surprise, I had an idea but the author took it to a darker step than I had anticipated. The second half still feels like it is missing something and I think it falls back to the way the first part of written. A more modern day life and a mystical world of dream, such a lovely contrast between the two worlds that the third world of the second half just doesn't match up to.
Overall a really good first outing and I look forward to see more from Alyssa Wees.
bluealliecat's review against another edition
4.0
What a whimsical fairy tale read! I very much enjoyed this!
ashleykwbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I received a ARC audiobook copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.
The writing in this book is beautiful but unfortunately the story fell short around the 60% mark for me.
This story has two storylines. One timeline is of a girl living in our world with her sisters. They all seem a little odd, having interesting dreams. When Rhea opens a door in her dream things start to unravel in her life. Her family members disappear one at a time and she makes a friend with a boy made of darkness.
The second timeline is the story of a witch in the woods who grants wishes. She is told a story by a boy who keeps coming to visit her.
Essentially this book was a story inside a story inside a story. Unfortunately when the stories come together it began to fall apart. The story became hard to follow and the ending just fell a little flat.
I think that people will still enjoy reading it and the audiobook was good. The narrator did a good job.
The writing in this book is beautiful but unfortunately the story fell short around the 60% mark for me.
This story has two storylines. One timeline is of a girl living in our world with her sisters. They all seem a little odd, having interesting dreams. When Rhea opens a door in her dream things start to unravel in her life. Her family members disappear one at a time and she makes a friend with a boy made of darkness.
The second timeline is the story of a witch in the woods who grants wishes. She is told a story by a boy who keeps coming to visit her.
Essentially this book was a story inside a story inside a story. Unfortunately when the stories come together it began to fall apart. The story became hard to follow and the ending just fell a little flat.
I think that people will still enjoy reading it and the audiobook was good. The narrator did a good job.
catevillain's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
petalpineink's review against another edition
2.5
I truly wanted to love this book, but it overall missed the mark for me. But I do want to give this author their credit in their absolutely STUNNING ability to build and atmosphere with their beautiful prose that was both melancholic and mysterious. I wanted to rate this read so high just for this alone. The plot, however, was hard for me to connect with.
The first half of the book alternates between Rhea, a girl puzzled by her reoccurring dream that seems to be becoming more and more life like, and The Witch in the Woods, a young witch who grants wishes to others but longs to hear a story of her own. I quite enjoyed the contrast of these two stories happening at once. But as the stories began to overlap and converge, the plot felt too rushed and predictable. I felt I was missing a connection to the characters themselves which hindered me from caring about the conflicts that ensued.
Overall, beautiful writing style, but the plot wasn’t quite strong enough. I’m excited to see what this author may do in the future though, as their ability to paint a picture with words is wonderful.
Thanks NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of this read.
The first half of the book alternates between Rhea, a girl puzzled by her reoccurring dream that seems to be becoming more and more life like, and The Witch in the Woods, a young witch who grants wishes to others but longs to hear a story of her own. I quite enjoyed the contrast of these two stories happening at once. But as the stories began to overlap and converge, the plot felt too rushed and predictable. I felt I was missing a connection to the characters themselves which hindered me from caring about the conflicts that ensued.
Overall, beautiful writing style, but the plot wasn’t quite strong enough. I’m excited to see what this author may do in the future though, as their ability to paint a picture with words is wonderful.
Thanks NetGalley for the audiobook ARC of this read.
queensaru's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
alyram4's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 stars
This was such a weird book. I actually did enjoy the storytelling elements that were sprinkled throughout though. I found that the scenes that involved the story of the Witch were better than everything else in here. That isn't such a good thing when it comes to the overall story though, which is disappointing because I had high hopes for it.
This is, in my opinion, a good novel that took risks in the way it formed it story. It tried some new things, with some being great and others just not working out. I found the ending to be the weakest part though, which is really quite odd.
Honestly, I'd maybe say check it out from the library. It seems like one that will have a mix of responses though, so just keep that in mind.
ARC provided to me by the publishers in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This was such a weird book. I actually did enjoy the storytelling elements that were sprinkled throughout though. I found that the scenes that involved the story of the Witch were better than everything else in here. That isn't such a good thing when it comes to the overall story though, which is disappointing because I had high hopes for it.
This is, in my opinion, a good novel that took risks in the way it formed it story. It tried some new things, with some being great and others just not working out. I found the ending to be the weakest part though, which is really quite odd.
Honestly, I'd maybe say check it out from the library. It seems like one that will have a mix of responses though, so just keep that in mind.
ARC provided to me by the publishers in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
miranda_soriano's review
4.0
Quizá porque estaba de humor para leer algo de fantasía con poquito romance, de princesas, brujas y sueños, esta novela me gustó mucho más de lo que esperaba.
La prosa de la narradora me pareció perfectamente adecuada para el tipo de historia que contó; aunque no soy muy buena entendiendo metáforas, eso no me impidió disfrutar de las mismas.
Muchas ideas y conceptos, especialmente del mundo de la Bruja, me gustaron bastante. Imaginar cada detalle fue muy divertido.
Por el otro lado, algo que no me agradó tanto fue que, más allá de la protagonista, todos los personajes me parecieron muy unidimensionales y nunca, ni después de terminar el libro, distinguí a Renata de Rose, o de Raisa; todas me parecieron lo mismo con distinto nombre.
También me hubiera gustado que se expandiera más en cómo funciona la magia en el mundo de la princesa, o que se entrara más a detalle en las clases/tipos de poderes fantásticos.
La batalla final no fue tan intensa o preocupante como lo había esperado, pero creo que el final fue justo y merecido.
La prosa de la narradora me pareció perfectamente adecuada para el tipo de historia que contó; aunque no soy muy buena entendiendo metáforas, eso no me impidió disfrutar de las mismas.
Muchas ideas y conceptos, especialmente del mundo de la Bruja, me gustaron bastante. Imaginar cada detalle fue muy divertido.
Por el otro lado, algo que no me agradó tanto fue que, más allá de la protagonista, todos los personajes me parecieron muy unidimensionales y nunca, ni después de terminar el libro, distinguí a Renata de Rose, o de Raisa; todas me parecieron lo mismo con distinto nombre.
También me hubiera gustado que se expandiera más en cómo funciona la magia en el mundo de la princesa, o que se entrara más a detalle en las clases/tipos de poderes fantásticos.
La batalla final no fue tan intensa o preocupante como lo había esperado, pero creo que el final fue justo y merecido.
pagesofash's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0