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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
Still held up 12 years later! Its just a fun YA fairytale that has more substance to it than sweetness. The ending is a little rushed, but the journey getting there was still magic.
I'll write this when I'm sober... buuuuut it was AWESOME!!
...when you write a whole review and then accidently close the tab without saving -__-
Anywho.
The bottom line is:
Juliet Marillier is a gift to all mankind, especially lovers of fantasy, legends and fairy tales.
Wildwood Dancing is a superbly written story with a badass female protagonist, "vampires" (that definitely don't sparkle) and magical amphibians.
Its highly recommend that you read this novel.
I think that about sums it up.
P.S.
This is a really good book, so read it. Or at least read anything by Juliet Marillier, please.
Now who's giving me a cookie to help cure the depression from losing that awesome first review I wrote and then lost?
Anywho.
The bottom line is:
Juliet Marillier is a gift to all mankind, especially lovers of fantasy, legends and fairy tales.
Wildwood Dancing is a superbly written story with a badass female protagonist, "vampires" (that definitely don't sparkle) and magical amphibians.
Its highly recommend that you read this novel.
I think that about sums it up.
P.S.
This is a really good book, so read it. Or at least read anything by Juliet Marillier, please.
Now who's giving me a cookie to help cure the depression from losing that awesome first review I wrote and then lost?
adventurous
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
slow-paced
A few things about this book:
1. I totally fell in love with a frog
2. This book doesn't have 4 magical creatures it doesn't have have 3 gifts it doesn't have 2 forbidden loves- i only found 1....?!
3. This book was a big mix of many fairytales... it was easy to pick out what was going on.
4. It contains vampires. (Lame)
5. a BIT strange.
1. I totally fell in love with a frog
2. This book doesn't have 4 magical creatures it doesn't have have 3 gifts it doesn't have 2 forbidden loves- i only found 1....?!
3. This book was a big mix of many fairytales... it was easy to pick out what was going on.
4. It contains vampires. (Lame)
5. a BIT strange.
I didn't enjoy this book very much at all. This is more of a 2.5 star review, but I may or may not bump it to 3 just because of the Transylvanian lore throughout.
I didn't connect with any of the characters, my favorite character throughout was Gogu, the main character's pet frog. The characters were drab and one-sided and I found them all pretty boring.
We follow Jena and her four sisters through their lives in a castle called Piscul Dracului. There is a wildwood behind their house and in that wildwood is a fantastical party every full moon. The girls have kept this a secret since they found it seven years before the story. Their father is a merchant and during the story he leaves for the winter and their cousin Cezar comes to Piscul Dracului and tries to take full control of the estate and cut down the Wildwood to prevent Night People from wrecking any more havoc, as he blames them for his brother's death.
Overall, the world building was phenomenal, during the parties, I felt like I was there. It was lovely and fantastic. Her writing is beautiful. The scenery felt real. This was the only part I liked about the book.
The characters lacked depth for me, and some parts of Cezar and Jena's arguments felt like filler pages, used to kill time between scenes. It felt anti-climatic, overall as well. There was no real action or incidents. I just didn't enjoy the plot which is disappointing because this is my first fairy tale retelling. (It's a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses".)
This just fell flat for me but Gogu is what made me give it the extra .5 star.
I didn't connect with any of the characters, my favorite character throughout was Gogu, the main character's pet frog. The characters were drab and one-sided and I found them all pretty boring.
We follow Jena and her four sisters through their lives in a castle called Piscul Dracului. There is a wildwood behind their house and in that wildwood is a fantastical party every full moon. The girls have kept this a secret since they found it seven years before the story. Their father is a merchant and during the story he leaves for the winter and their cousin Cezar comes to Piscul Dracului and tries to take full control of the estate and cut down the Wildwood to prevent Night People from wrecking any more havoc, as he blames them for his brother's death.
Overall, the world building was phenomenal, during the parties, I felt like I was there. It was lovely and fantastic. Her writing is beautiful. The scenery felt real. This was the only part I liked about the book.
The characters lacked depth for me, and some parts of Cezar and Jena's arguments felt like filler pages, used to kill time between scenes. It felt anti-climatic, overall as well. There was no real action or incidents. I just didn't enjoy the plot which is disappointing because this is my first fairy tale retelling. (It's a retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses".)
This just fell flat for me but Gogu is what made me give it the extra .5 star.
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-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