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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
When I started reading this, I was pleased to discover that not only was this a fairy tale retelling of sorts, but it combined several fairy tales, and quite well. The best sort of retellings are like this - themes and aspects of the story are borrowed, but not just regurgitated. The re-imagined setting was also wonderfully built - a mountainous area of Transylvania, complete with fairy lore and roaming vampires! Jena is a compelling heroine - she is strong and independent, passionate and loyal to her family. I agree with the advice everyone gave her throughout the book, however - what she needed was to look after herself, and not worry about her sisters. I loved Gogu, and am so glad that he also got the ending he deserved. I couldn't bring myself to hate Jena's cousin, Cezar. Mostly, I felt sorry for him. He was clearly jealous of his brother, and guilty about the life/death he wished on him. In the end, though I hated the way he was treating Jena and her sisters, trying to take over their lives, all I could do was pity him. I could just see him as a sad little boy, who wanted to be loved and be the favorite for once. The other characters were interesting as well, though they could have used a little more character development past their initial descriptors. I'm glad this is a series, so we can hear more about Paula and the other girls. In the end, I enjoyed reading this one quite a bit, and had a hard time putting it down, and even feel like re-reading the ending. And what better can I say?
I found this book to be very captivating. I was able to guess a few things from the beginning, but that did not deter me from wanting to read further to see how it would happen anyway. =)
One of the best fantasy books I've read in a while despite that the middle of the book dragged on for too long and I got so furious at the misogynist piece of shit cousin that I often wanted to rip the book in half, but I suppose the latter is a sign of good writing. I'll definitely look up more books from the author. For the fans of [a:Diana Wynne Jones|4260|Diana Wynne Jones|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1193516584p2/4260.jpg] and [a:Patricia A. McKillip|25|Patricia A. McKillip|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/authors/1220752490p2/25.jpg] this is a must read.
I hadn't read any description nor the back of this book before starting it and I ended up being surprised by an absolute gem! This book was so enchanting and sucked me right in from the very first pages. I'm a sucker for anything with faeries and magical beings! The one point that took a bit of my enjoyment of this book away was that I guessed a pretty big plot twist right from the get go. But other than that I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to start on the next in the series!
Although this book was not really well written, and is filled with cliche phrases, it held my attention. I enjoyed the story's retelling of two classic fairy tales, and in the end I found it to be really enjoyable and a lot of fun to read.
I was initially drawn to this book in my school library. The cover was just fantastic, and even though they say not to judge a book by its cover, I made the right choice here. At first, the story was a little hard to keep with. This is because the reader has to get used to certain terms and places in Jena's world. Once you do get used to the setting, the story is exciting and I couldn't get my hands off of the book! This book might not be suitable for immature audiences due to some encounters in the story. Instead, I would highly recommend "Wildwood Dancing," by Juliet Marillier to middle schoolers and above!
I admit it took me a few tries to get further than the first page. With ample library books checked out I didn't want to play along with the mysteries that were being promised intertwined in secrets I was soon to be told. But, luckily, I relaxed a moment, hardly anything at all, and I was enchanted.
This story portrays the light and dark of magic and men, the struggle for balance between love and power, and the haunting lesson that everything has a cost. It was a fairy tale mixed with the stuff of legends and tales of things only dreamt of and feared, giving it sustenance in full measure.
The writing is delectable. The characters are portrayed extremely well; displaying why we love them along with their flaws the author so artfully wove in without a trace of doubt.
Captivating: The story. The writing. The thought provoking themes. It really is remarkable. No wonder there were so many such tales that wandered around in older times - there is something powerful in stories that ring with truth along with all the magical things of fantasy.
Since I don't know how to tie this short review up I'll just say: Recommend? Oh yes. But be warned, this is hardly for a mere fantastical fairytale full of utterly meaningless romances. It is all I said above, and more.
A P.S. Note: I finished this around 4:20 in the morning so be warned... (Though I do stay up reading quite a bit more often than I should. - However, this is probably my last chance till before school starts so I feel like I needed to get one last nightime/early morning book reading in.)
This story portrays the light and dark of magic and men, the struggle for balance between love and power, and the haunting lesson that everything has a cost. It was a fairy tale mixed with the stuff of legends and tales of things only dreamt of and feared, giving it sustenance in full measure.
The writing is delectable. The characters are portrayed extremely well; displaying why we love them along with their flaws the author so artfully wove in without a trace of doubt.
Captivating: The story. The writing. The thought provoking themes. It really is remarkable. No wonder there were so many such tales that wandered around in older times - there is something powerful in stories that ring with truth along with all the magical things of fantasy.
Since I don't know how to tie this short review up I'll just say: Recommend? Oh yes. But be warned, this is hardly for a mere fantastical fairytale full of utterly meaningless romances. It is all I said above, and more.
A P.S. Note: I finished this around 4:20 in the morning so be warned... (Though I do stay up reading quite a bit more often than I should. - However, this is probably my last chance till before school starts so I feel like I needed to get one last nightime/early morning book reading in.)
My Review: The first chapter or two of this book nearly made me put it down. It was just... bleh. The writing didn't catch me, I didn't really like the characters, there were weird Russian words and a pet frog that could possibly talk... But then it got interesting.
After the first chapter, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. If you've been here for a while, you may have picked up on how much I love fairytales. This had plenty of fairytale references, each with a little bit of a unique new twist.
There was such a wide variety of characters in this book! It was actually pretty awesome! There was the strong heroine, the bookish sister, the love-struck older sister, the adorable little sister, the sister who wants to be grown up, the overbearing cousin, the doting father... It made for an intricate story (but not at all complicated).
This is definitely a good one for your fairytale shelf :). I highly suggest this one for anyone looking for a quick enjoyable read, and for anyone who loves their fairytales.
Originaly posted on my blog.
After the first chapter, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. If you've been here for a while, you may have picked up on how much I love fairytales. This had plenty of fairytale references, each with a little bit of a unique new twist.
There was such a wide variety of characters in this book! It was actually pretty awesome! There was the strong heroine, the bookish sister, the love-struck older sister, the adorable little sister, the sister who wants to be grown up, the overbearing cousin, the doting father... It made for an intricate story (but not at all complicated).
This is definitely a good one for your fairytale shelf :). I highly suggest this one for anyone looking for a quick enjoyable read, and for anyone who loves their fairytales.
Originaly posted on my blog.
Why can't cover art always be this beautiful and the story this enchanting? I love a good fairy tale and this book hit the mark for me.
