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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I started listening to this book in the car, but had to check it out of the library because I wasn't driving enough. The narrator had a beautiful accent and I'm glad I listened first, because I wouldn't have been able to hear the delicate pronunciations in my head otherwise.
This story combined the 12 Dancing Princesses with the Frog Prince to great effect. The description was vivid and detailed without being over the top and the characters were multi-faceted. Just what I like in a fairy tale. The dark was very dark, but not anything beyond your average Grimm. I also love the cover art by Kinudo Craft, which I had put together years ago as a jigsaw puzzle without knowing it was a book cover. Now all the characters make sense.
I am heading to the library for the rest and will purchase these for my library.
This story combined the 12 Dancing Princesses with the Frog Prince to great effect. The description was vivid and detailed without being over the top and the characters were multi-faceted. Just what I like in a fairy tale. The dark was very dark, but not anything beyond your average Grimm. I also love the cover art by Kinudo Craft, which I had put together years ago as a jigsaw puzzle without knowing it was a book cover. Now all the characters make sense.
I am heading to the library for the rest and will purchase these for my library.
I ended up skipping a good deal of the middle chapters just to get to the end.
I so so hoped to love it, but unfortunately the fairy tale-like magic was completely destroyed by the characters that I disliked all to various degrees :(
This was another book I received during a book swap with my friend. I overall did enjoy this story. However, there were a lot of things that left me frustrated. First of all, a certain character is completely insufferable. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel empathy for her, because I had non. Secondly, I noticed throughout the story that I lot of things happen without anything really happening. Many times I thought there would be an interesting problem a character would have to overcome but no, there's an easy solution. I wish I could like this story more because many aspects of it I really enjoyed, but there were so many things that also ruined it for me or could've been way better. I give this book a 3.5 because maybe I would read it again. I did enjoy a majority of the characters and the overall story wasn't terrible just not as good as it could be in my opinion.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse
(another) nostalgia trip that wasn't worth it for me. The characters felt lackluster and Costi was just too perfect to be believable when he returned. It's too bad because I remember loving it when I was younger...
I liked this book, but it definitely dragged at parts. Not my favorite Juliet Marillier book.
Wildwood Dancing is a fairytale retelling two for one. It combines elements from both The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Frog Prince. Add to that the traditional folklore of the Transylvania countryside where the story takes place and it makes for a compelling novel.
I loved every aspect of this novel. The setting of the wildwood, lake and the castle of Piscul Dracului were brought to life in beautiful prose that were never weighed down with too much description. The plot was intricate but never hard to follow. I particularly enjoyed how the author melded the realms of the mortal and fey world. They are separate but also the same, completely interconnected and requiring balance. In the hands of a lesser author conveying the complexities of this world would have been disastrous but Juliet Marillier makes it seem simple and renders it beautiful at the same time.
The novel is told in first person by Jena, the second eldest of five sisters who cross over to the world of the fairies to dance every full moon. Jena is the sensible practical sister. She is unique in that she has a constant companion in a frog named Gogu. She can hear Gogu's thoughts and he is her closest friend and most wise adviser. Jena, at fifteen, is learning what it means to be a grown woman. The readers is able to share in this remarkable journey with her and becomes invested in the outcome. There were times I wanted to yell at her (only a few) but mostly I loved living her life through her story. I loved Gogu too and was seriously concerned for his continued well being at many times.
Despite being a fairytale retelling the book was not a simple one. Happily Ever After is not attained easily and is not absolute. Forces for good and forces of evil are both present in the story and while the distinction between light and dark is made there is some ambiguity and confusion for the characters to sort out, nothing is made easy. And that to me makes a good book any day.
I loved every aspect of this novel. The setting of the wildwood, lake and the castle of Piscul Dracului were brought to life in beautiful prose that were never weighed down with too much description. The plot was intricate but never hard to follow. I particularly enjoyed how the author melded the realms of the mortal and fey world. They are separate but also the same, completely interconnected and requiring balance. In the hands of a lesser author conveying the complexities of this world would have been disastrous but Juliet Marillier makes it seem simple and renders it beautiful at the same time.
The novel is told in first person by Jena, the second eldest of five sisters who cross over to the world of the fairies to dance every full moon. Jena is the sensible practical sister. She is unique in that she has a constant companion in a frog named Gogu. She can hear Gogu's thoughts and he is her closest friend and most wise adviser. Jena, at fifteen, is learning what it means to be a grown woman. The readers is able to share in this remarkable journey with her and becomes invested in the outcome. There were times I wanted to yell at her (only a few) but mostly I loved living her life through her story. I loved Gogu too and was seriously concerned for his continued well being at many times.
Despite being a fairytale retelling the book was not a simple one. Happily Ever After is not attained easily and is not absolute. Forces for good and forces of evil are both present in the story and while the distinction between light and dark is made there is some ambiguity and confusion for the characters to sort out, nothing is made easy. And that to me makes a good book any day.
