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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
The setting is beautiful, and I love the sisters, but the ending wasn't as personally satisfying as I'd hoped. Recommended to fans of fairytales and classics such as the Little Women.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book didn't work out very well for me. I guess I couldn't feel any connection with the characters and some were really annoying.
I loved it the whole world built and creatures and the whole magic concept around the history. Only reason I give 3 starts to this one
I loved it the whole world built and creatures and the whole magic concept around the history. Only reason I give 3 starts to this one
adventurous
hopeful
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
This was a decent YA novel. I am not a huge fan of YA but every now and then one catches my interest. This one had a really high rating and I had wanted to read a novel by Juliet Marillier. This novel was based on a couple of fairy tales. It kept me interested throughout but I did get frustrated at parts. The main character was Jena. Her and her sisters traveled to another realm every full moon to dance. Jena has a pet frog who is more than just a friend, he is her best friend. One day Jena's father has to leave because he is ill and needs to regain his health. Jena's cousin Cesar tries to take over everything. It became frustrating because he was such a bad guy that I really hated his guts and I was just frustrated with everything he was doing. I also felt like Jena just kept making stupid choices. Plus this was YA so kissing is always a huge deal. I did not want to keep reading it so I think I will see if Juliet Marillier has written any adult novels.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Initially I thought about giving this 4 stars but there were a few issues I had with it that knocked it down a bit. Overall I enjoyed this, and I wish I had read it earlier since it is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, one of my favorite fairy tales. I was hoping that it would beat out my current favorite, Entwined, since I had heard a lot of good things about it, but it didn't quite get there. I think what I like about that one is a darker, more sinister tone to the magical place where the sisters go; here the Other Kingdom is relatively benign. More of this story also felt like it took place in the real world rather than in the Other Kingdom, so that also could have been part of why I didn't like it as much as I had hoped.
Instead of twelve sisters, this book follows five sisters, which I was okay with, once I got used to the idea. I can understand why the author chose five because twelve is a lot of characters to keep track of and they would have to be really distinct from one another. I really liked the setting of Transylvania for this story, a place I was not really familiar with, and also how the author tied in vampire lore to this, though in this story they are referred to as the Night People.
The book felt a bit slow at times, like it was dragged out a bit longer than it needed to be. A little over halfway through I was feeling a bit bored because it felt like not much was happening. The ending did feel a bit rushed after having the slower build up.
Spoilers
One issue I had with Jena and Costi is the fact that they are cousins. It wouldn't have been an issue back when this is set, but I just felt a bit weirded out that Jena would marry her cousin. There is also a bit of an age gap; Jena was 5 and Costi 10 when he "drowned", so if she is 15-16 during this, he would be 20-21. Again this would not have been a big deal back then, but I'm not sure I really like the idea of it now. Overall I was hoping that Gogu would be someone other than Costi, because I wanted Costi to come back in a different way. I was still hoping there would be a confrontation between him and Cezar, but I didn't really like that he was Jena's love interest.
I was a bit disappointed Jena wasn't the one to have the final confrontation with Cezar. I felt like she deserved to be the one to do it since he took such control of her life and was essentially abusive to her. Throughout the story I wanted her to stand up to him more and I really liked the moments when she and the others did stand up to him a bit. I think it sort of robbed Jena of her power to not have her make the final confrontation. The author did a good job of making me really hate Cezar, because I actually wanted to punch him and call him a word I wouldn't normally use, since it describes him perfectly. I definitely felt how powerless Jena was to stop him, and though I wished she could do more I understood that she couldn't because of the role of women in the time and place in which she lived. She was already considered unusual and improper for a woman; she really didn't have the power to throw Cezar out. I do wish she had reminded him sooner that as far as they knew their father was still alive, and he is still in charge of their lives. Their father did not ask Cezar to take over everything, and he had no real authority over them.
I did feel like the Other Kingdom could have been fleshed out more, because all we really had was the dancing glade and whatever there was at the Dark of the Moon. I was expecting a more strange and magical world, but it didn't seem to be used to it's full potential. When Jena needed to find Draguta I was expecting she would have to travel through the forest in the other kingdom to find her so we would get to see more of this world, and I was sorely disappointed when Draguta came to her instead.
I was a little disappointed in the ending as well, because it seemed very rushed. Tati goes to the Other Kingdom with Sorrow and then their father returns alive and well and Jena plans to marry Costi and that's basically it. I thought the ending could have been drawn out a bit longer to give a proper payoff for all the build-up that came before it.
Instead of twelve sisters, this book follows five sisters, which I was okay with, once I got used to the idea. I can understand why the author chose five because twelve is a lot of characters to keep track of and they would have to be really distinct from one another. I really liked the setting of Transylvania for this story, a place I was not really familiar with, and also how the author tied in vampire lore to this, though in this story they are referred to as the Night People.
The book felt a bit slow at times, like it was dragged out a bit longer than it needed to be. A little over halfway through I was feeling a bit bored because it felt like not much was happening. The ending did feel a bit rushed after having the slower build up.
Spoilers
One issue I had with Jena and Costi is the fact that they are cousins. It wouldn't have been an issue back when this is set, but I just felt a bit weirded out that Jena would marry her cousin. There is also a bit of an age gap; Jena was 5 and Costi 10 when he "drowned", so if she is 15-16 during this, he would be 20-21. Again this would not have been a big deal back then, but I'm not sure I really like the idea of it now. Overall I was hoping that Gogu would be someone other than Costi, because I wanted Costi to come back in a different way. I was still hoping there would be a confrontation between him and Cezar, but I didn't really like that he was Jena's love interest.
I was a bit disappointed Jena wasn't the one to have the final confrontation with Cezar. I felt like she deserved to be the one to do it since he took such control of her life and was essentially abusive to her. Throughout the story I wanted her to stand up to him more and I really liked the moments when she and the others did stand up to him a bit. I think it sort of robbed Jena of her power to not have her make the final confrontation. The author did a good job of making me really hate Cezar, because I actually wanted to punch him and call him a word I wouldn't normally use, since it describes him perfectly. I definitely felt how powerless Jena was to stop him, and though I wished she could do more I understood that she couldn't because of the role of women in the time and place in which she lived. She was already considered unusual and improper for a woman; she really didn't have the power to throw Cezar out. I do wish she had reminded him sooner that as far as they knew their father was still alive, and he is still in charge of their lives. Their father did not ask Cezar to take over everything, and he had no real authority over them.
I did feel like the Other Kingdom could have been fleshed out more, because all we really had was the dancing glade and whatever there was at the Dark of the Moon. I was expecting a more strange and magical world, but it didn't seem to be used to it's full potential. When Jena needed to find Draguta I was expecting she would have to travel through the forest in the other kingdom to find her so we would get to see more of this world, and I was sorely disappointed when Draguta came to her instead.
I was a little disappointed in the ending as well, because it seemed very rushed. Tati goes to the Other Kingdom with Sorrow and then their father returns alive and well and Jena plans to marry Costi and that's basically it. I thought the ending could have been drawn out a bit longer to give a proper payoff for all the build-up that came before it.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes
I saw this book drifting around the sites of many reviewers I admire before I actually took the time to order it from the library. And (*takes a deep breath*)... it was incredible.
Juliet Marillier offers larger-than-life characters, some who are wise, others silly and out of their minds, and others completely stupid (*glares at a certain group of antagonists*). But I feel as if none of them could match up to the expertly-written whirlwinds of personality known as Jena and her pet frog, Gogu. (*fangirls*) Seriously, don't get me started on how amazing the characters in this book are!!
And THE PLOT TWISTS!!!! OH MY STARS!! ...Guys, the plot twists in WILDWOOD DANCING are SO GOOD...!!!! ...I shall refrain from spelling them all out to you.
As to the writing style: Wow. Just wow. Juliet Marillier steals your heart from the first sentence, and doesn't let go until the book is finished. And then you just sit there and think, What am I supposed to do with my life?
And the themes this book had to offer were so wonderful! My favourite message had to be "respect brings respect". :)
So wow. Just wow. Don't hesitate. Read it. Honestly. You won't regret it. <3
Oh, one more thing! The cover! Whenever you read something that sounds familiar, look at the cover. It's a bit like a game of "I spy" and is oh-so-much-fun (particularly because of the AWESOME PLOT TWISTS!!).
You may want to know: There is kissing, as well as some violence and immodesty. There is also a brief scene in which a man forcefully kisses a woman against her will.
Juliet Marillier offers larger-than-life characters, some who are wise, others silly and out of their minds, and others completely stupid (*glares at a certain group of antagonists*). But I feel as if none of them could match up to the expertly-written whirlwinds of personality known as Jena and her pet frog, Gogu. (*fangirls*) Seriously, don't get me started on how amazing the characters in this book are!!
And THE PLOT TWISTS!!!! OH MY STARS!! ...Guys, the plot twists in WILDWOOD DANCING are SO GOOD...!!!! ...I shall refrain from spelling them all out to you.
As to the writing style: Wow. Just wow. Juliet Marillier steals your heart from the first sentence, and doesn't let go until the book is finished. And then you just sit there and think, What am I supposed to do with my life?
And the themes this book had to offer were so wonderful! My favourite message had to be "respect brings respect". :)
So wow. Just wow. Don't hesitate. Read it. Honestly. You won't regret it. <3
Oh, one more thing! The cover! Whenever you read something that sounds familiar, look at the cover. It's a bit like a game of "I spy" and is oh-so-much-fun (particularly because of the AWESOME PLOT TWISTS!!).
You may want to know: There is kissing, as well as some violence and immodesty. There is also a brief scene in which a man forcefully kisses a woman against her will.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot: 3/5
Characters: 2/5
Worldbuilding: 3/5
Writing: 3/5
Overall: 3/5
Darkness level: mildly dark, but one scene of sexual harassment that verges on assault
Wildwood Dancing is a retelling of "The 12 Dancing Princesses" (weird that I read two of those this year...) set in 15th century Transylvania. The main character, Jena, is one of five sisters who travel to the faerie realm every full moon to dance with the people of that land. When her father falls ill and has to leave for the winter and her sister falls in love with a dangerous stranger, though, Jena has to protect her family from threats both human and fey.
This book felt like a pretty standard fantasy story. I didn't dislike the characters, but I didn't really love them either. The world was cool, although I would have liked even more Transylvanian mythology thrown in. The writing was a little flowery, but that seems to just be this author's style. The one thing that really frustrated me was the instance theme of sexism throughout the book. Not that we shouldn't talk about sexism, it's just frustrating as a woman to read a story about a woman who has all of her power taken away from her for 90% of the book. I wanted to punch the villain in the face so. many. times. And not in a fun way. In a "why does fantasy always have to come with a slice of patriarchy" kind of way. And Jena didn't even get to overcome him in the end through her wits and power. He just....disappears. So yeah. Not as bad as the other 12 dancing princesses adaptation that I read, but still not great. Come on, authors!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual harassment