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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
A good retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses and, in my opinion, Pride and Prejudice. The first is obvious, but the second--okay, you have five sisters, the oldest is beautiful, the second is smart and witty, there's the scholar, the flirt, etc. And the situations are about the same too, granted Mr. Collins is a little more threatening, and there are vampires, but I think we can all agree that Pride and Prejudice would have been alarmingly improved by the addition of vampires.
Once again Marillier proves to us that she's done her homework, by providing a glossary of unfamiliar terms because we all know an environment feels more authentic when there are words we can't understand. Okay, enough sarcasm. It was a good book. I'm really sad that I finished it. It paralleled a lot of familiar stories and was just cozy and happy even when it was suspenseful. A really good winter book. Makes me want to go back to Marillier, I was really disappointed after Child of the Prophecy, but I loved Daughter of the Forest.
Once again Marillier proves to us that she's done her homework, by providing a glossary of unfamiliar terms because we all know an environment feels more authentic when there are words we can't understand. Okay, enough sarcasm. It was a good book. I'm really sad that I finished it. It paralleled a lot of familiar stories and was just cozy and happy even when it was suspenseful. A really good winter book. Makes me want to go back to Marillier, I was really disappointed after Child of the Prophecy, but I loved Daughter of the Forest.
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
wonderful writing, whimsical and fairytale-esque. cute, comfy book to read on a rainy day. also if cottagecore was a book it’d be this. this was a palate cleanser and it was an enjoyable read. 3.5 ⭐️
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Twelve Dancing Princesses mixed with the Frog Prince and vampires!
Jena’s father is departing for warmer climes for the winter to recover from his illness, leaving Jena and her four sisters to look after their Transylvanian castle, Piscul Dracului, on their own. Luckily, due to their father’s unorthodox methods of raising them, the girls are more than capable of taking care of business matters as well as housekeeping and running the estate. And although they will miss their father terribly, his absence will make it a lot easier for them to hide their secret trips to the Other Kingdom to dance the night away with the Fair Folk.
But their neighbour and cousin, Cezar, sees things differently: as an excuse to seize control of Piscul Dracului and an opportunity to destroy the Other World in revenge for the death of his older brother ten years ago. And with the arrival of the mysterious Night People at the monthly revelries, Jena has her hands full trying to prevent both her worlds from collapsing.
There is so much to love in this book! The fairytale magic woven into Transylvanian folklore made for such an interesting and intricate world filled with a wide variety of characters (perhaps bordering on too many?) that laid the foundation for a rich, fantastical, gripping story. I will say, though, that I wish we had gotten a lot more closure at the end, because it felt like some of the storylines dropped off or tied up rather abruptly after so much build-up. Still, I would definitely recommend this one!
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because the story has stuck with me and given me food for thought. It also made me want to slap a character. Multiple times. Usually I am only passively engaged in a story, without any emotional reaction, but one guy was so insufferable that he made my blood boil on at least two separate occasions. So props for that, Juliet. Also, major points for representing a lesser-known historical culture. I'm intrigued by Transylvania now.
As fairy tale mashups/retellings go, it had some interesting ideas. The frog prince part of the plot was genuinely charming.
But I'm underwhelmed by the story overall. Constantly telling me that Jena is the headstrong and practical sister got constantly undercut by Cezar being the world's most controlling cousin. I understand why that conflict is central to the plot, but it just took forever to wade through pages of arguments that were essentially all the same argument, and the resolution depended on another (male) character swooping in to save the day. I don't expect all of my fairy tales to be profoundly feminist, but this aspect of the story disappointed me.
Also, while others are praising the research done to make this true to Transylvanian folklore, I'll be honest, it didn't "feel" all that different from everything else I've read from the author, which is heavily based in British folklore. I wanted it to be substantially different, and it wasn't; all I got were different names and some really boring vampires.
I own the sequel, but between my lack of joy reading this, and peeking at reviews for it, I'm inclined to purge it from my TBR. Plenty of people who actually liked this book were not impressed by the next one, so what hope do I have? Not much.
But I'm underwhelmed by the story overall. Constantly telling me that Jena is the headstrong and practical sister got constantly undercut by Cezar being the world's most controlling cousin. I understand why that conflict is central to the plot, but it just took forever to wade through pages of arguments that were essentially all the same argument, and the resolution depended on another (male) character swooping in to save the day. I don't expect all of my fairy tales to be profoundly feminist, but this aspect of the story disappointed me.
Also, while others are praising the research done to make this true to Transylvanian folklore, I'll be honest, it didn't "feel" all that different from everything else I've read from the author, which is heavily based in British folklore. I wanted it to be substantially different, and it wasn't; all I got were different names and some really boring vampires.
I own the sequel, but between my lack of joy reading this, and peeking at reviews for it, I'm inclined to purge it from my TBR. Plenty of people who actually liked this book were not impressed by the next one, so what hope do I have? Not much.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well hell, I don't even quite know what to say about this book. That might just be because its almost 2:30 in the morning and I'm exhausted because I've been reading for hours because it was just that good... Such a beautifully written fairytale that mixes a many old tales into a fresh, exciting and romantic story. I loved the protagonist and really enjoyed her story. At times she frustrated me, but I had to remind myself that she was only 16 years old. The setting and imagery are vivid, the plot is engaging and pulls you in and the story ignites so many feelings and emotional reactions within you. I just really enjoyed the experience of reading the whole story.
My only complaint was Tati's story line. It was awfully depressing, and I wasn't sure if we were supposed to pity her to wish for a similar romance for ourselves. It reminded me a lot of a Bella Swan type character, a passive victim who is literally withering away from a lost love. I found it frustrating and bothersome. I wanted to shake her and be like, DUDE, GET OVER IT.
But asides from that, I really loved the story. Good stuff, can't wait to read more from this author. :)
My only complaint was Tati's story line. It was awfully depressing, and I wasn't sure if we were supposed to pity her to wish for a similar romance for ourselves. It reminded me a lot of a Bella Swan type character, a passive victim who is literally withering away from a lost love. I found it frustrating and bothersome. I wanted to shake her and be like, DUDE, GET OVER IT.
But asides from that, I really loved the story. Good stuff, can't wait to read more from this author. :)