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3.34 AVERAGE
3.34 AVERAGE
Made it 12% and couldn't do it, just too many adjectives for where I am in life right now.
It well written and the concept is interesting. Unfortunately the dual timeline confused me and the story didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not for me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was an odd book. It’s a fantasy-ish tale...or is it? For the most accurate representation, read the author’s review of the book here on Goodreads.
Wow, this book totally ruined it for me at the end. It is not a fractured fairy tale of Cinderella! Largely the focus is on Jane and how she, and a handful of other women, never got the happily ever after they were told they'd get. That they keep this truth hidden out of expectations? It definitely has a lot of feminism undertones. But feminism in the eyes of rich white ladies...? It wasn't my cup of tea...
While truly very clever and probably timely and important, this novel wasn't for me.
It's inventive and somewhat subversive, and I absolutely loved the mouse subplots. Unfortunately, I did find my attention wavering however, and found I couldn't be kept quite interested enough.
This was such an imaginative and slightly odd book, but I found it really entertaining. I had thought it to be a fairy tale retelling but it really isn’t at all. Instead, the author uses fairy tales and nursery rhymes as metaphors to discuss serious issues such as marriage, motherhood, self identity, family, aging and love...or perhaps infatuation disguised as love. I did find some parts to drag a bit, such as the sections about the mice. Reading it definitely makes you give a second look at those HEA in the fairy tales from childhood! It’s a shorter book and a quick read that took me on an unexpected and thought provoking journey. 3.5/5⭐️ rounded up
I’m not sure if parents are aware of the power of the stories they read and tell their children as those children are falling asleep. I’m sure most parents just want the kids to fall asleep so that they can get some sleep. But for the narrator of Olga Grushin’s devastating and clever novel, The Charmed Wife, those stories became her whole reality. But, above all, this book asks us, what happens when “happily ever after” doesn’t turn out?
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was so disappointing. Retellings are some of my favorite stories to read and this really missed the mark for me.
What I did like: all of Part 1 where we were in the fairytale world and could draw the modern parallels of the Cinderella character's behavior on our own; the back-and-forth timeline of her in the wood with the witch and fairy godmother, then back with the prince as their marriage gets dull and begins to crumble; the commentary on empty gestures, saving face, sex after kids, substance abuse, and mental illness.
What I did not like: the fact that the entire fairytale world crumbled to reveal a rich white woman in an unhappy marriage with an unfeeling philanderer who blames her for her own mental illnesses. Also that we are supposed to sympathize with his perspective in their marriage rather than hers despite the fact that he never attempted any of the relationship-building he faults her for ignoring at the beginning of their marriage.
The non-spoiler version: the twists taken throughout the book lessened the impact of the story by using mental illness as a big plot reveal and garnering sympathy for the prince rather than our Cinderella.
What I did like: all of Part 1 where we were in the fairytale world and could draw the modern parallels of the Cinderella character's behavior on our own; the back-and-forth timeline of her in the wood with the witch and fairy godmother, then back with the prince as their marriage gets dull and begins to crumble; the commentary on empty gestures, saving face, sex after kids, substance abuse, and mental illness.
What I did not like:
The non-spoiler version: the twists taken throughout the book lessened the impact of the story by using mental illness as a big plot reveal and garnering sympathy for the prince rather than our Cinderella.