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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
dark
medium-paced
The writing is beautiful. The pacing feels very unbalanced. The first section of the book feels like nothing happens and the rest is just dizzying. The plot is a strange combination of hades and persephone, beauty and the beast, and half a dozen ballets. It doesn't lean away from the inspirations and points them out like the author is looking and winking at you. I can't tell if I enjoyed it, but I read it in one sitting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Racism, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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:
No
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can't handle how slow this is anymore and I just made it to the beginning of the romance and I'm no longer interested in it because it took almost half the book to get interesting
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I wanted so badly to love this. The concept was absolutely fabulous — a young prima ballerina who fought her way to the top becomes the beauty in a Beauty and the Beast retelling, where the beast is Death personified.
The story featured many elements I found original and/or interesting. The friendship between the main character and her best friend was heartwarming, loving, and honest. I deeply enjoyed the author’s portrayal of their healthy, loyal, intimate, supportive female friendship. Their friendship, in a book centered primarily around young female characters, thoroughly delighted me.
There are multiple reasons I scored this under four stars. Though not many, the issues I had with the book were (at least to me) significant. First, the story dragged a bit. I wanted it to move along, not necessarily more quickly, but more smoothly, with less of a stopping-and-starting pace and more finesse. Second, the narrator/protagonist was dumb as a rock. She couldn’t put together the very obvious indicators of what was happening around her, for one. But worse, she fell for the villain’s lies without questioning them, even though common sense, logic, and her own lived experiences would naturally lead anyone with half a brain to do so.
However, it was the ending that offended me most. Both supremely unsatisfying and vague, it shared a lack of sense with its protagonist. The story’s written ending left me deeply frustrated, mostly because the book should’ve continued or at the very least given a hint indicating a real conclusion.
The story featured many elements I found original and/or interesting. The friendship between the main character and her best friend was heartwarming, loving, and honest. I deeply enjoyed the author’s portrayal of their healthy, loyal, intimate, supportive female friendship. Their friendship, in a book centered primarily around young female characters, thoroughly delighted me.
There are multiple reasons I scored this under four stars. Though not many, the issues I had with the book were (at least to me) significant. First, the story dragged a bit. I wanted it to move along, not necessarily more quickly, but more smoothly, with less of a stopping-and-starting pace and more finesse. Second, the narrator/protagonist was dumb as a rock. She couldn’t put together the very obvious indicators of what was happening around her, for one. But worse, she fell for the villain’s lies without questioning them, even though common sense, logic, and her own lived experiences would naturally lead anyone with half a brain to do so.
However, it was the ending that offended me most. Both supremely unsatisfying and vague, it shared a lack of sense with its protagonist. The story’s written ending left me deeply frustrated, mostly because the book should’ve continued or at the very least given a hint indicating a real conclusion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail