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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
I put this on my mental to-read shelf when it was released (2008!) on recommendation of a friend. I remember seeing Juliet signing copies of it, but having no money to get a copy of my own at the time. I think it's finally time I read it now. I hope age hasn't spoiled the enchantment for me <3
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
I found it rather slow to get into, but after I made it through the first 150 pages or so I was pretty engrossed. The prose itself didn't strike me as anything special, and I do think it could have been tightened down in length, but it was an exciting story, with especially strong characters (ooh, that Cezar made me so angry...) and a nice darkly magical feel. I didn't love it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it after I passed about the one-third mark. An interesting redrawing of a - or rather, several classic fairy tales.
http://thehollyandtheivy.blogspot.com/2008/05/and-now-to-get-started-catching-up-on.html
http://thehollyandtheivy.blogspot.com/2008/05/and-now-to-get-started-catching-up-on.html
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
Good romantic fantasy for girls. Jena and her 4 sisters become entangled in the affairs of magical creatures who live in the Other Kingdom, approached only through a portal in their bedroom. Great story about magic, forbidden love, being true to your self, and so forth. Has a good sequel, too, starring one of the younger sisters years later.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So . . . Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. It’s Young Adult, it’s a fairytale retelling, it has rave reviews and it’s been on my TBR for years (long before I started blogging). I finally read Wildwood Dancing (via audiobook), and I have to say that I didn’t love this one.
Let’s start off with what I thought was really well done. I think the way Juliet Marillier interweaved the fairytales and the whole Romanian vampire legends was amazing. The way she wrote these tales together felt so natural, like that is the way it has always been. That aspect of this story is definitely my favorite part of Wildwood Dancing.
The writing is excellent. It’s not choppy and flows together beautifully. I also quite liked the setting for this book. It's a historical setting when women wore dresses, and didn't have a lot of options. The big house that the sisters live in totally captured my attention as well as the Other Kingdom that the sisters enter once a month.
The characters were, for the most part, well-developed (although I do have some issues with characterization - more on that later). With five sisters, it could have been difficult to differentiate one from the other, but that was never the case. I really did like the two youngest siblings, Paula and Stela. I also quite liked Jena's pet, Gogu.
But as much as I admire the above aspects of Wildwood Dancing, for the most part I felt like this book was a lesson in frustration. The more I read the more I became frustrated with the characters (particularly the protagonist, Jena, and her oldest sister, Tati).
Let's talk about Tati first. Tati falls in love with someone from the Other Kingdom who is with the Night People (sort of like vampires). Jena isn't too happy about this, but Tati is smitten and can't stop her feelings. Despite the fact that Tati falls in love immediately, that isn't what really bothered me. What did bother me was how ridiculous Tati became once she fell in love with Sorrow. She was completely in lost in her head. The sisters were having lots problems, mainly because of their nasty cousin Cezar, and a lot of awful things were happening. But she doesn't help out her sisters. She completely withdraws and zones out and it is beyond frustrating. It even gets so bad that Tati literally won't eat because she misses Sorrow (*eyeroll*). She's literally lovesick. Ugh! SO frustrating and truthfully not at all romantic.
As for Jena, the main character - wow did she annoy me. Initially I thought Jena was going to be a strong woman. She's excellent with math, and she helps her father with his merchant business and I was all YES! But then I realized how passive a character Jena is. Her cousin, Cezar, constantly bullies her, and her sisters, but Jena never does anything. And I understand initially that she doesn't stand up to him, but after awhile, I'm shocked that she doesn't at least lose her temper. Because let me tell you, Cezar is an awful person. He's just nasty.
I was also shocked and annoyed at what Jena did to her pet, Gogu. I can't go into detail, because of spoilers, but there is this one scene and Jena just infuriated me. But then she kept doing the same thing over and over, and oh my gosh, you guys, I can't remember the last time I was so frustrated with a book.
I could go on and on, but I am going to stop myself here. Wildwood Dancing did not live up to my expectations, and it turned out to be one of the most frustrating books I've ever read. While I can understand why many people liked this, I am actually a bit surprised by how much love this book gets. Clearly it was not a book for me.This review was originally posted on Quinn's Book Nook
Let’s start off with what I thought was really well done. I think the way Juliet Marillier interweaved the fairytales and the whole Romanian vampire legends was amazing. The way she wrote these tales together felt so natural, like that is the way it has always been. That aspect of this story is definitely my favorite part of Wildwood Dancing.
The writing is excellent. It’s not choppy and flows together beautifully. I also quite liked the setting for this book. It's a historical setting when women wore dresses, and didn't have a lot of options. The big house that the sisters live in totally captured my attention as well as the Other Kingdom that the sisters enter once a month.
The characters were, for the most part, well-developed (although I do have some issues with characterization - more on that later). With five sisters, it could have been difficult to differentiate one from the other, but that was never the case. I really did like the two youngest siblings, Paula and Stela. I also quite liked Jena's pet, Gogu.
But as much as I admire the above aspects of Wildwood Dancing, for the most part I felt like this book was a lesson in frustration. The more I read the more I became frustrated with the characters (particularly the protagonist, Jena, and her oldest sister, Tati).
Let's talk about Tati first. Tati falls in love with someone from the Other Kingdom who is with the Night People (sort of like vampires). Jena isn't too happy about this, but Tati is smitten and can't stop her feelings. Despite the fact that Tati falls in love immediately, that isn't what really bothered me. What did bother me was how ridiculous Tati became once she fell in love with Sorrow. She was completely in lost in her head. The sisters were having lots problems, mainly because of their nasty cousin Cezar, and a lot of awful things were happening. But she doesn't help out her sisters. She completely withdraws and zones out and it is beyond frustrating. It even gets so bad that Tati literally won't eat because she misses Sorrow (*eyeroll*). She's literally lovesick. Ugh! SO frustrating and truthfully not at all romantic.
As for Jena, the main character - wow did she annoy me. Initially I thought Jena was going to be a strong woman. She's excellent with math, and she helps her father with his merchant business and I was all YES! But then I realized how passive a character Jena is. Her cousin, Cezar, constantly bullies her, and her sisters, but Jena never does anything. And I understand initially that she doesn't stand up to him, but after awhile, I'm shocked that she doesn't at least lose her temper. Because let me tell you, Cezar is an awful person. He's just nasty.
I was also shocked and annoyed at what Jena did to her pet, Gogu. I can't go into detail, because of spoilers, but there is this one scene and Jena just infuriated me. But then she kept doing the same thing over and over, and oh my gosh, you guys, I can't remember the last time I was so frustrated with a book.
I could go on and on, but I am going to stop myself here. Wildwood Dancing did not live up to my expectations, and it turned out to be one of the most frustrating books I've ever read. While I can understand why many people liked this, I am actually a bit surprised by how much love this book gets. Clearly it was not a book for me.This review was originally posted on Quinn's Book Nook
A very cool mix of folklore: the 12 dancing princesses story (except it's only five sisters here, which is more manageable), plus the frog prince, set in Transylvania so we also get vampires (except they're just called the Night People) and a witch of the woods, and lots of snowy forests. For the first several pages I had to keep flipping to the pronunciation guide at the back to see just how to pronounce those Transylvanian names (because for some reason it's important that I'm pronouncing them right in my own head, to myself), but I soon learned and got the hang of them and could focus on the story.
I totally predicted what the deal was with the frog, early on. But it was still fun to see it play out. The book's well suited for younger readers (say, 12 and up), more so than Marillier's Sevenwaters series starting with Daughter of the Forest, but it didn't quite grab me by the heart the way that one did. Still, for the most part I found the whole story super-cool.
I totally predicted what the deal was with the frog, early on. But it was still fun to see it play out. The book's well suited for younger readers (say, 12 and up), more so than Marillier's Sevenwaters series starting with Daughter of the Forest, but it didn't quite grab me by the heart the way that one did. Still, for the most part I found the whole story super-cool.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes