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holiday7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, and Sexism
Moderate: Gore, Death of parent, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Kidnapping
bzliz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The world is pretty vivid in how horrible it is. Abuse of all kinds apparently runs rampant and people truly just ignore it in hopes that they won’t get executed for speaking out. Obviously some people aren’t chill with what’s going on but they keep to themselves for the most part because they’re punished if they do speak out. I liked Sophia’s connection with Luke but I wish it was more substantial- like they’d been friends for a while and he really had a reason to stick his neck out for her- because when he came to save her at the ball, it felt unnatural. Like he’s been protecting himself for so long but after a few sassy interactions he feels compelled to protect her so they can both be secretly gay together but still stuck in this horrible place. I’m also confused by Erin’s characterization. She breaks Sophia’s heart by refusing to run away out of her own sense of self preservation and wants to follow the King’s terrible laws, but she already broke rules and norms by having a relationship with Sophia. Someone that set on keeping themself safe doesn’t seem like they’d ever admit or act on any gay feelings.
I enjoyed the dynamic between Sophia and Constance, and I really liked Amina’s murky morality. Even though it was easy to guess at the “plot twist” of the prince’s secret to youth, I did not see Amina’s plot twist coming. Constance wasn’t a knight in shining armor; she was a solid foundation on which Sophia was able to build her own feelings of rebellion against tyranny and I think the message of “we can stand up to things that are wrong and also girls can save themselves” is a pretty good one to put out in the world.
Mind the content warnings, especially if you can’t stomach descriptions or discussions of misogyny, sexual assault, physical abuse and domestic violence, and implications of pedophilia.
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Classism, Homophobia, Slavery, Child abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Trafficking
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
mila_21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Murder
agenericmirkwoodelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Unfortunately it was not.
I’ll start off with what I did, in fact, like about it, before moving onto my issues.
The good:
- The premise. Love fractured fairytales! Loved the idea of using Cinderella’s story as a creation myth, while also calling out the outdated ideas that story was built upon.
- The concept of the villain. Without spoiling, I’ll admit I found that to be incredibly neat!
- The take on the fairy godmother. Again, I can’t say much without venturing into spoiler territory, but it was a unique choice, and I enjoyed it.
So, why the 2 stars? Well…
The Bad:
- The writing. The writing. Oh gosh. I really don’t want to be rude here, but the writing didn’t feel at all like it was worthy of a final draft. It was blunt. The pure epitome of telling as opposed to showing. So, so many times I wanted to slam the book shut because characters would just state their feelings in convenient bursts of exposition. Phrases like ‘I feel guilty’ and ‘She is nervous’ are everywhere, with very little imagery to back them up. In fact, there was hardly any imagery at all. Maybe this works for some people, but it did not work for me.
- The characters are flat. No one really changes. No one has a lot of depth, or a really clear personality. Sophia’s only defining characteristic is that she’s not like other girls. she’s a rebel. Again, this is told to us very bluntly.
- Charactets just…say the message of the story outloud. Constantly. With no nuance at all.
- A lot of the descriptions felt really generic. For example, the witch’s hut is described as exactly what one thinks of when they think of witch’s hut. Same goes for pretty much all of the other locations.
So, yeah. I think this book could have been something great! It just made the fatal mistake of assuming all the readers were fools without the ability to read between lines. Kalyan Baytown had some fantastic ideas! Really, she does! And I really really hope she keeps up the writing so her prose can improve.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Murder and Animal death
Minor: Trafficking
megdough's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Hate crime, Death, Gaslighting, and Murder
Minor: Trafficking, Death of parent, Body horror, Gore, and Animal death
maybeimali's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Child abuse, Death, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Chronic illness, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Sexism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Homophobia
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Sexism, Physical abuse, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Abandonment, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Body horror, Animal death, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Police brutality, and Child abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Child death, and Classism
Minor: Infidelity and Bullying
laineydunne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Murder, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Blood, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, War, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Torture
roorooreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Trafficking, and Sexism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Murder, and Kidnapping
nordicat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Violence, and Homophobia