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majesticisme'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
3.25
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
The entire focus of this book is systemic womens’ oppression within a fairytale/kingdom/fantasy setting, so if that is a topic which is triggering to you then I suggest you do not read. Women are objectified, harassed, married against their will, etc. but of course described by the author in a negative way. A woman is decapitated as she is falsely accused of assisting the main character. Another thing that may be triggering is a brief horse death as well as a bunny death which is more detailed.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: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia
alyvia_jeane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Animal death, Pedophilia, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying
yomna_mohmmed20'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
4.5
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Homophobia
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: Animal death and Murder
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, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Trafficking, and Death of parent
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: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
fairyskies'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
scschaecher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
I was grossed out by the things that were meant to be gross.
The ending was a little “everything went perfect even if unintentionally” which felt a tad unrealistic especially in that world
Moderate: Sexual harassment
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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail