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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
The book itself wasn't terrible, it was just not Alex Flinn's best work. I expected to much from it and I was let down. When I got the book, I immediately thought that I would be getting a book as amazing as Beastly, but it was not even close. If you are thinking about reading this book, don't compare it to Beastly because doing so would ruin it for you.
Very predictable and very juvenile. I predicted literally everything that happened about 40 chapters before they happened. If the writing style had more advanced, I think the story line would have worked a lot better.
This was the second Alex Flinn novel I have read, and I have to say that I enjoyed this book even more than I enjoyed Beastly. The way Flinn chose and incorporated all of the fairy tales worked very well with the over-arching storyline. The characters were engaging and interesting. The humor was well-written and not over the top. Overall, it was an enjoyable read.
As posted on Outside of a Dog:
I've said before that I'm a fan of fairy tales, and fairy tales deconstructed. I find these stories fascinating, the way they move across cultures and adapt for their surroundings. So any time a book incorporates fairy tales in its storytelling, you better bet I'll be nearby. I loved Alex Flinn's Beastly, a solid story from a different point of view with wonderful touches of magic and modernity. I haven't read her A Kiss in Time (it's on my list), but I just had the opportunity to put my paws on her newest novel, Cloaked, which once again takes up the hero's point of view and puts him on the road for a rollicking good adventure.
Taking its cues from half a dozen fairy tales (at least), Cloaked tells the story of Johnny Marco, a seventeen-year-old living in South Beach, working at his family's shoe repair shop.
"My family's run the shoe repair at the Coral Reef Grand, a posh hotel on South Beach, since before I was born - first my grandparents, then my parents, now my mother and me. So I've met the famous and the infamous, the rich and the...poor (okay, that would be me), wearers of Bruno Magli, Manolo Blahnik, and Converse (again, me). I know the beautiful people. Or at least I know their feet."
Then one day a princess walks into his shop, the young Victoriana from Aloria, a fictional, French-speaking country, and turns his life upside down. One minute Johnny's biggest worry is how to pay the electric bill, the next, he's off on a quest for the princess to recover her brother, Philippe, who has been turned into a frog and is loose somewhere in south Florida. There is magic in the world, he discovers, and he learns to use part of it by means of a cloak that will taken him anywhere he wishes (but he must learn to be very specific) and an earpiece that will allow him to speak with animals, at least those who used to be human. Along his way, Johnny is joined on his quest by his best friend, Meg, and sparks fly in every direction when they get close and when they fight. All fairy tales must have a happy ending, of course, and this one does it up right, with a few twists and surprises on the way (although I wasn't particularly surprised by one of them).
Part of the charm of Cloaked is Johnny. He's affable, a sort of teenage everyboy, but one that harbors a special dream and talent. He wants to design and make women's shoes. That in and of itself is unusual, but I love that Flinn doesn't make a big deal about it. The dude loves shoes, and that's just fine. Johnny's an easy character to like, necessary for the kind of journey Flinn puts him on, so that even when he does something dumb (and he does, often), you're still on his side. Meg doesn't succeed quite as well. She's a little bit of a stock friend character, but charming in her own way. I just happened to find the princess, with her frantic faith in Johnny as a "good boy" and slightly sneaky manipulation of her own image, a little more interesting, and I was a bit disappointed when we didn't get more of her.
The fairy tales are the real gem of this book, though. Here are stories less well known than your average princess tale, including "The Salad", a personal favorite of mine. Also at work in Cloaked are "The Elves and the Shoemaker" (of course), "The Six Swans" and "The Fisherman and His Wife". I was thrilled to find a fairy tale at work that even I was unaware of; Flinn names it "The Golden Bird", though it was originally a Russian tale called "The Firebird and the Gray Wolf". Flinn incorporates all these tales quite deftly, spinning them together into a story of her own, one that captures the imagination and keeps you on the edge of your seat. This is a must read for dedicated fairy tale fans.
I've said before that I'm a fan of fairy tales, and fairy tales deconstructed. I find these stories fascinating, the way they move across cultures and adapt for their surroundings. So any time a book incorporates fairy tales in its storytelling, you better bet I'll be nearby. I loved Alex Flinn's Beastly, a solid story from a different point of view with wonderful touches of magic and modernity. I haven't read her A Kiss in Time (it's on my list), but I just had the opportunity to put my paws on her newest novel, Cloaked, which once again takes up the hero's point of view and puts him on the road for a rollicking good adventure.
Taking its cues from half a dozen fairy tales (at least), Cloaked tells the story of Johnny Marco, a seventeen-year-old living in South Beach, working at his family's shoe repair shop.
"My family's run the shoe repair at the Coral Reef Grand, a posh hotel on South Beach, since before I was born - first my grandparents, then my parents, now my mother and me. So I've met the famous and the infamous, the rich and the...poor (okay, that would be me), wearers of Bruno Magli, Manolo Blahnik, and Converse (again, me). I know the beautiful people. Or at least I know their feet."
Then one day a princess walks into his shop, the young Victoriana from Aloria, a fictional, French-speaking country, and turns his life upside down. One minute Johnny's biggest worry is how to pay the electric bill, the next, he's off on a quest for the princess to recover her brother, Philippe, who has been turned into a frog and is loose somewhere in south Florida. There is magic in the world, he discovers, and he learns to use part of it by means of a cloak that will taken him anywhere he wishes (but he must learn to be very specific) and an earpiece that will allow him to speak with animals, at least those who used to be human. Along his way, Johnny is joined on his quest by his best friend, Meg, and sparks fly in every direction when they get close and when they fight. All fairy tales must have a happy ending, of course, and this one does it up right, with a few twists and surprises on the way (although I wasn't particularly surprised by one of them).
Part of the charm of Cloaked is Johnny. He's affable, a sort of teenage everyboy, but one that harbors a special dream and talent. He wants to design and make women's shoes. That in and of itself is unusual, but I love that Flinn doesn't make a big deal about it. The dude loves shoes, and that's just fine. Johnny's an easy character to like, necessary for the kind of journey Flinn puts him on, so that even when he does something dumb (and he does, often), you're still on his side. Meg doesn't succeed quite as well. She's a little bit of a stock friend character, but charming in her own way. I just happened to find the princess, with her frantic faith in Johnny as a "good boy" and slightly sneaky manipulation of her own image, a little more interesting, and I was a bit disappointed when we didn't get more of her.
The fairy tales are the real gem of this book, though. Here are stories less well known than your average princess tale, including "The Salad", a personal favorite of mine. Also at work in Cloaked are "The Elves and the Shoemaker" (of course), "The Six Swans" and "The Fisherman and His Wife". I was thrilled to find a fairy tale at work that even I was unaware of; Flinn names it "The Golden Bird", though it was originally a Russian tale called "The Firebird and the Gray Wolf". Flinn incorporates all these tales quite deftly, spinning them together into a story of her own, one that captures the imagination and keeps you on the edge of your seat. This is a must read for dedicated fairy tale fans.
This was a fun and silly book. I think it was meant to be a little ridiculous. I enjoyed it and laughed a lot. It was a good follow up to my last more depressing book.
I enjoyed this as a light-hearted fairytale retelling, though I do think it tried to involve far too many fairy-tales in the mix and suffered for it.
I really wanted to like this book. After all it has all the elements that I love, a bit of romance, fairy tales etc. But it all just got jumbled. The characters were inconsistent and flat. Conversations stilted, the plot-line was jumpy, I know Flinn was trying to incorporate lots of unknown fairy tales, but they got too mixed up (and to many readers they won't be that unknown).
Johnny works as a cobbler in his mother's shoe repair shop and dreams of designing his own shoes someday. Along comes Princess Victoriana who enlists Johnny's help to save her brother who has been turned into a frog. Episodic fairy tale adventures ensue.
Johnny works as a cobbler in his mother's shoe repair shop and dreams of designing his own shoes someday. Along comes Princess Victoriana who enlists Johnny's help to save her brother who has been turned into a frog. Episodic fairy tale adventures ensue.
Johnny works for his family shoe repair business in a swanky hotel in South Beach. One day Princess Victorianna comes to stay. She is rich and beautiful and Johnny is enchanted. Turns out so is her brother; Prince Philipe has been turned into a frog by a witch and Victorianna needs Johnny's help to rescue him. Of course, she promises to marry him if he succeeds. So Johnny sets of on his quest to find the frog prince; to help him along the way he has a magical cloak that will transport him anywhere, magic earbuds to speak to animals who were once people, and lots of talking animals who were once people. His best friend Meg turns up just when he is captured by the evil witch and together they continue the quest. Of course, once the curse is broken (by Meg) Prince Phillipe promises to marry her and Johnny realizes he is in love with Meg not Victorianna.
This book combines a lot of obscure fairy tales that readers may nto be aware of, like the six swans or the golden bird and the fox. They tie together nicely in this story. It is a fun, fantastical romp that will keep readers interested throughout. My problem with it was that it seemed to be written by a man and aimed at young males. Everyone is "hot" and the story is very much a teen fantasy: Poor boy meets princess who promises him love and riches. I didn't think it was the best written even though the story itself was ok.
This book combines a lot of obscure fairy tales that readers may nto be aware of, like the six swans or the golden bird and the fox. They tie together nicely in this story. It is a fun, fantastical romp that will keep readers interested throughout. My problem with it was that it seemed to be written by a man and aimed at young males. Everyone is "hot" and the story is very much a teen fantasy: Poor boy meets princess who promises him love and riches. I didn't think it was the best written even though the story itself was ok.
Where did I get this book? From the public library;)
How did I find about this book?: Themindislimitless recommended it to me, and so I read it;)
Plot: This tale follows Johnny, a seventeen-year-old boy who lives in South Beach. He works in a shoe repair shop that his mother owns to make ends meet. One day, a princess comes to stay in the hotel where he works, and everything changes. She asks him to embark on an adventure that involves frog princes, kidnapping, witches, and magic cloaks. At first he doesn’t believe her, but soon he is swept away in an adventure.
Negatives: So, the French dialogue killed me. Can we please not have French people talk like “zis” anymore in books? Its so annoying. Also, I thought some of the plot twists were fairly obvious, and I think the romance (though sweet) tended to be standard romantic comedy fare. I did think that the main character was a bit dense at times, especially where his best friend was concerned. However, he is a 17-year-old boy.
Positives: I really liked the whole idea of the story, and I liked the fact that it combined several different fairy tales into one story. I think that made it more unique than a lot of the retellings I read. I couldn’t tell exactly what stories the author was going to pull in next, and though I recognized them, it was nice to see some of the lesser-known ones get attention. I really liked Meg, and I thought Johnny had his moments;)
Rating: 3 out of 5 frog princes
Recommend: If you’re a fan of fairy tale retellings, you might want to give this a shot. This would be particularly appropriate for teenagers as well. If you’re looking for something similar I would suggest Ash by Malinda Lo, or Beauty or Spindle’s End by Robin Mckinley.
How did I find about this book?: Themindislimitless recommended it to me, and so I read it;)
Plot: This tale follows Johnny, a seventeen-year-old boy who lives in South Beach. He works in a shoe repair shop that his mother owns to make ends meet. One day, a princess comes to stay in the hotel where he works, and everything changes. She asks him to embark on an adventure that involves frog princes, kidnapping, witches, and magic cloaks. At first he doesn’t believe her, but soon he is swept away in an adventure.
Negatives: So, the French dialogue killed me. Can we please not have French people talk like “zis” anymore in books? Its so annoying. Also, I thought some of the plot twists were fairly obvious, and I think the romance (though sweet) tended to be standard romantic comedy fare. I did think that the main character was a bit dense at times, especially where his best friend was concerned. However, he is a 17-year-old boy.
Positives: I really liked the whole idea of the story, and I liked the fact that it combined several different fairy tales into one story. I think that made it more unique than a lot of the retellings I read. I couldn’t tell exactly what stories the author was going to pull in next, and though I recognized them, it was nice to see some of the lesser-known ones get attention. I really liked Meg, and I thought Johnny had his moments;)
Rating: 3 out of 5 frog princes
Recommend: If you’re a fan of fairy tale retellings, you might want to give this a shot. This would be particularly appropriate for teenagers as well. If you’re looking for something similar I would suggest Ash by Malinda Lo, or Beauty or Spindle’s End by Robin Mckinley.
Annnnnnnnnnnd another weird book :(
This would have been nice if the MC was female and like 12, its not believable this way
This would have been nice if the MC was female and like 12, its not believable this way