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liacooper's review against another edition
2.0
I read a short story by Fran Wilde earlier this year (part of the Infinity's End collection) and absolutely lvoed it (easily top5 from that collection) so i wanted to try another thing by her. The Jewel and her Lapidary unfortunately did not live up to my hopes.
part of my rating is totally subjective in that there were a bunch of plot choices/character choices i did not care for and that just brought down the reading experience for me. i especially disliked the ending. it reinforced this uncomfortable slavery aspect present in the rest of the novel. (dont want to say more for spoilers sake).
furthermore, i think there was an awful lot of repetition for such a small book, both plotwise and dialogue wise. i listened to this on audiobook and im not sure if it was a fault with the audiobook editing or simply how the book was written but there would be these repeated phrases every couple of pages. at first i thought maybe these were scene breaks where the last line from the previous scene was being repeated as the first line of the next scene (terrible on its own) but some of the repeated phrases were fragments, not even sentences so by the end i had discarded my theory and was just confused. either way they didnt work, whether as a fault of the writing or the audiobook editing.
just a big miss. i will try something else from Fran Wilde though because i still really love that short story by her that i read and i want to find a longer work to love as much.
part of my rating is totally subjective in that there were a bunch of plot choices/character choices i did not care for and that just brought down the reading experience for me. i especially disliked the ending. it reinforced this uncomfortable slavery aspect present in the rest of the novel. (dont want to say more for spoilers sake).
furthermore, i think there was an awful lot of repetition for such a small book, both plotwise and dialogue wise. i listened to this on audiobook and im not sure if it was a fault with the audiobook editing or simply how the book was written but there would be these repeated phrases every couple of pages. at first i thought maybe these were scene breaks where the last line from the previous scene was being repeated as the first line of the next scene (terrible on its own) but some of the repeated phrases were fragments, not even sentences so by the end i had discarded my theory and was just confused. either way they didnt work, whether as a fault of the writing or the audiobook editing.
just a big miss. i will try something else from Fran Wilde though because i still really love that short story by her that i read and i want to find a longer work to love as much.
bookmaddie's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
lonecayt's review against another edition
2.0
This story spent way too much time explaining things to me and way too little time encouraging me to care.
buuboobaby's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 - 5 stars
I liked this novella so much I wish it had been a longer book (something I rarely say). The world-building was compelling, the details about the gems were fascinating, and Lin and Sima are willing to do anything to save their kingdom from the invaders that have taken the crown. Wow. I can hardly wait for Cloudbound now, because I like Wilde's writing so much.
I liked this novella so much I wish it had been a longer book (something I rarely say). The world-building was compelling, the details about the gems were fascinating, and Lin and Sima are willing to do anything to save their kingdom from the invaders that have taken the crown. Wow. I can hardly wait for Cloudbound now, because I like Wilde's writing so much.
kaa's review against another edition
3.0
I think maybe Fran Wilde and I were just not meant to be. There's nothing wrong with her writing, most of her stories just don't quite connect for me.
raygina's review against another edition
2.0
This was a good story, for all that it was. There was no setting or context for the story. If this had been a full novel or a series, it may have been great. Even as a short story from a side world it could have been better. By itself it was just hollow.
nghia's review against another edition
2.0
This underwhelming novella doesn't really do enough to distance itself from the tropes it employs. A fantasy kingdom, where gems are the source of magic, reels from a sudden combination of palace coup & foreign invasion. The sole survivors of the palace coup are the inconsequential and mostly useless youngest daughter of the king -- only good for marrying off -- and her confidante/advisor/childhood friend and are almost immediately captured by the invaders. Will they find some source of leverage in this desperate situation? They are cast-offs that nobody believed in...but they believe in themselves and find unexpected strengths blah blah blah.
It could be a pretty good setup: How will those two find some kind of leverage with all that stacked against them? The good: Wilde keeps things as mostly a psychological struggle of wills between the captured and the captors. This isn't some swashbuckling, action-adventure of daring escapes and fights. It's a battle of will and wits.
But everything feels curious flat, making it hard to care. (It doesn't help that there are all these twee interstitial sections that read like a faux tour guide from 200 years in the future that are weirdly dissonant from the dire straights being faced.) A prime example: there's the briefest hint that maybe Princess and her Bestie have some sapphic attraction...which kinda comes from nowhere (they've known one another their whole lives, after all, and it hasn't come up before) and disappears almost as quickly.
It could be a pretty good setup: How will those two find some kind of leverage with all that stacked against them? The good: Wilde keeps things as mostly a psychological struggle of wills between the captured and the captors. This isn't some swashbuckling, action-adventure of daring escapes and fights. It's a battle of will and wits.
But everything feels curious flat, making it hard to care. (It doesn't help that there are all these twee interstitial sections that read like a faux tour guide from 200 years in the future that are weirdly dissonant from the dire straights being faced.) A prime example: there's the briefest hint that maybe Princess and her Bestie have some sapphic attraction...which kinda comes from nowhere (they've known one another their whole lives, after all, and it hasn't come up before) and disappears almost as quickly.
dani_k's review against another edition
3.0
Some cool worldbuilding, but I think this could have benefited from being a full length novel instead of a novella.
banana_bella's review against another edition
2.0
Lush storytelling with beautiful imagery but the story felt incomplete. This felt more like the first two chapters of a much bigger novel.