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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
This book is fantastic.
I went into it expecting a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and that’s what I got—for the first few chapters. The plot arc extends beyond that to include courtly politics, military conflicts, and a supernatural enemy. And it’s done extremely well, with just the kind of writing I like.
The characters in this book are so realistic and distinct. Agniezska is another unassuming protagonist who reminds me a little of Alyrra from Thorn. She’s just an ordinary girl, who doesn’t proclaim to be the best at anything, yet she’s unique in her simple way of thinking and quiet intelligence that isn’t meant to impress anyone. I loved watching her character transformation, even if she just became more sure of herself and her beliefs, and who she is by the end is so cute and appropriate that I can’t help but smile.
The Dragon is also another character who doesn’t suffer from needless complexity. He makes sense, and while he isn’t always likable, you understand why. I think the author does an excellent job of having the very personality traits that annoyed you in the beginning become endearing by the end, as our feelings about him match Agniezska’s throughout the narrative. The romance was such a minor and simple yet very well-done part of the story—I appreciate how the author understood that it didn’t need to take up any more space than it did.
I’d never heard of this book until a few days ago, but now I can’t imagine why. I kind of love it; it’s the perfect standalone novel.
Now excuse me while I go locate other books by this author.
I went into it expecting a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and that’s what I got—for the first few chapters. The plot arc extends beyond that to include courtly politics, military conflicts, and a supernatural enemy. And it’s done extremely well, with just the kind of writing I like.
The characters in this book are so realistic and distinct. Agniezska is another unassuming protagonist who reminds me a little of Alyrra from Thorn. She’s just an ordinary girl, who doesn’t proclaim to be the best at anything, yet she’s unique in her simple way of thinking and quiet intelligence that isn’t meant to impress anyone. I loved watching her character transformation, even if she just became more sure of herself and her beliefs, and who she is by the end is so cute and appropriate that I can’t help but smile.
The Dragon is also another character who doesn’t suffer from needless complexity. He makes sense, and while he isn’t always likable, you understand why. I think the author does an excellent job of having the very personality traits that annoyed you in the beginning become endearing by the end, as our feelings about him match Agniezska’s throughout the narrative. The romance was such a minor and simple yet very well-done part of the story—I appreciate how the author understood that it didn’t need to take up any more space than it did.
I’d never heard of this book until a few days ago, but now I can’t imagine why. I kind of love it; it’s the perfect standalone novel.
Now excuse me while I go locate other books by this author.
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Let me start by saying that my review comes across as critical because although the book is already good, I think with a few small changes, it could be really GREAT and that kinda bummed me out.
The positives: the world is incredibly charming and the story and setting are novel while still feeling familiar. The main characters also achieve this difficult balance between being common tropes and having a unique viewpoint/backstory that brought them to their familiar character arcs. I think the winding of traditional fairy tales into modern fantasy is perfectly reflected in the smaller details of this book— truly an homage to the genres while still pushing the boundaries.
As for the points for improvement— sometimes I felt that the writing shifted between being heavy handed and not being heavy handed enough. There are a few plot points toward the end of the book that I felt didn’t hit the mark for me personally— I felt like I missed some detail earlier on in the story that became a much bigger deal that I expected, so I had to try to search through and find what I had missed. It wasn’t always clear what the author wanted you to focus on or glean from each scene (although I believe that this makes a second read even more valuable!).
The magic system also grew from something explained carefully and precisely to something akin more to miracles (maybe that was the point, to contrast the Dragon’s and the FMC’s different methods?).
Finally, although I actually found the relationship between the FMC and MMC to be quite refreshing and engaging despite the limited time spent developing it in the writing, I still wish I could have seen more. I believe though, that this is one of the benefits of leaving the reader wanting more— they’re free to fill in the blanks as they wish when they feel like they are given the balance of knowing the characters well enough to imagine how they might act and of feeling that there are enough gaps and mysteries to draw their own conclusions about.
(In writing this review, I raised my score from 4.5 to 5 stars. All these ‘criticisms’ are because I got too used to Booktok books that feed brain rot. This is a book that requires you to engage your creativity to enjoy it fully— and that’s the most wonderful experience a book can give!)
The positives: the world is incredibly charming and the story and setting are novel while still feeling familiar. The main characters also achieve this difficult balance between being common tropes and having a unique viewpoint/backstory that brought them to their familiar character arcs. I think the winding of traditional fairy tales into modern fantasy is perfectly reflected in the smaller details of this book— truly an homage to the genres while still pushing the boundaries.
As for the points for improvement— sometimes I felt that the writing shifted between being heavy handed and not being heavy handed enough. There are a few plot points toward the end of the book that I felt didn’t hit the mark for me personally— I felt like I missed some detail earlier on in the story that became a much bigger deal that I expected, so I had to try to search through and find what I had missed. It wasn’t always clear what the author wanted you to focus on or glean from each scene (although I believe that this makes a second read even more valuable!).
The magic system also grew from something explained carefully and precisely to something akin more to miracles (maybe that was the point, to contrast the Dragon’s and the FMC’s different methods?).
Finally, although I actually found the relationship between the FMC and MMC to be quite refreshing and engaging despite the limited time spent developing it in the writing, I still wish I could have seen more. I believe though, that this is one of the benefits of leaving the reader wanting more— they’re free to fill in the blanks as they wish when they feel like they are given the balance of knowing the characters well enough to imagine how they might act and of feeling that there are enough gaps and mysteries to draw their own conclusions about.
(In writing this review, I raised my score from 4.5 to 5 stars. All these ‘criticisms’ are because I got too used to Booktok books that feed brain rot. This is a book that requires you to engage your creativity to enjoy it fully— and that’s the most wonderful experience a book can give!)
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
this book felt very old-world-faerie-tale to me — i loved the polish influences and felt fully immersed in the magic. i love themes where a more feminine approach to magic — ie more intuitive, earthy, flowing — is more powerful than the masculine way of doing things.
the cons were this book took so many turns, im not sure all of them were necessary. also i love a B&B-esque tale of a rough around the edges sorcerer in tower who has built up walls — but this maybe took it too far and bordered on emotional abuse. would have loved to see a softer character arc for sarkan.
the cons were this book took so many turns, im not sure all of them were necessary. also i love a B&B-esque tale of a rough around the edges sorcerer in tower who has built up walls — but this maybe took it too far and bordered on emotional abuse. would have loved to see a softer character arc for sarkan.
adventurous
dark