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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Edit: actual rating is 3.5*
likes:
- the ridiculous world building and the whimsy writing that just added to the wonderland charm even tho it did get really weird sometimes
- hatta. that’s it. honestly found his last scene in the book a heartbreaking :’)
- Cath as a main character. Ik a lot of the review seem to hate on her because it seemed like she never actually did anything about her struggles except whine about them. but personally that’s the case. from very early on in the book we see how Cath doesn’t want to disappoint her parents or others who look up to her. ie the society in general. and the pressure one feels to please society is real. and to be fair we did see her doing her best to find a way to make her bakery dream come through and it’s not her fault that everything is backlashing. and one other thing that struck me about her was that she never really blamed the king for her troubles. in fact, she always repeated to herself that he was just happy man who meant no harm and honestly thought that was so mature of her :))
- Jest as a love interest because it was refreshing to see someone with black hair who wasn’t brooding for once. and he’s adorable (also- we’re gonna ignore the fact that he pulled the “you’re different from the others line”)
- the concept of her being quite literally heartless because that’s cool stuff
what could be better:
- the pacing because looking back, it does really feel like almost nothing that happened in the first half of the book moved the plot forward. and in contrast the last 100 pages had so much packed in it it felt like i was reading two different books jammed into one :’)
- the love story. it felt very insta love-y and while i usually hate that stuff, i decided to forgive it in this book since it’s meant to be a fairytale. but what i couldn’t forgive was the lack of development in their relationship. it felt like romeo and juliet lol when they fell in love at their first meeting and confessed their love for each other at their fourth. and look where that ended up in both stories
likes:
- the ridiculous world building and the whimsy writing that just added to the wonderland charm even tho it did get really weird sometimes
- hatta. that’s it. honestly found his last scene in the book a heartbreaking :’)
- Cath as a main character. Ik a lot of the review seem to hate on her because it seemed like she never actually did anything about her struggles except whine about them. but personally that’s the case. from very early on in the book we see how Cath doesn’t want to disappoint her parents or others who look up to her. ie the society in general. and the pressure one feels to please society is real. and to be fair we did see her doing her best to find a way to make her bakery dream come through and it’s not her fault that everything is backlashing. and one other thing that struck me about her was that she never really blamed the king for her troubles. in fact, she always repeated to herself that he was just happy man who meant no harm and honestly thought that was so mature of her :))
- Jest as a love interest because it was refreshing to see someone with black hair who wasn’t brooding for once. and he’s adorable (also- we’re gonna ignore the fact that he pulled the “you’re different from the others line”)
- the concept of her being quite literally heartless because that’s cool stuff
what could be better:
- the pacing because looking back, it does really feel like almost nothing that happened in the first half of the book moved the plot forward. and in contrast the last 100 pages had so much packed in it it felt like i was reading two different books jammed into one :’)
- the love story. it felt very insta love-y and while i usually hate that stuff, i decided to forgive it in this book since it’s meant to be a fairytale. but what i couldn’t forgive was the lack of development in their relationship. it felt like romeo and juliet lol when they fell in love at their first meeting and confessed their love for each other at their fourth. and look where that ended up in both stories
Terrible. The romance took at turn and Catherine was terrible to Jest, especially near the end. The romance didn't turn out nearly as much as I would have liked.
dark
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
when you think this could've all been avoided, had cath not gone back to heart.... but it gave me one of the best corruption arcs ive ever read so honestly? im sad but not mad
heartbreaking, a GOOD origin story for a villain who wasn’t a villain at all, well written, my baby cath duden deserved that and jest ill miss you for ever
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
N/A
This is difficult to rate as for awhile it was difficult to read. The pacing is at times like molasses and I felt as though very good characters and an inspired premise were wasted on a dull pedestrian story. I kept at it because the characters are so interesting and the writing is so good and then something happened. The plot got going. And going and going. Once it starts, it fulfills the promise of the premise with gusto.
And thus, I grant four stars. I can't forgive how slow the buildup is enough to bestow a five. Yes, the pace allows for the evolution of the protagonist to be measured and handled well, but it doesn't have to be as crawling as it is. However, the payoff is well worth keeping at it.
And thus, I grant four stars. I can't forgive how slow the buildup is enough to bestow a five. Yes, the pace allows for the evolution of the protagonist to be measured and handled well, but it doesn't have to be as crawling as it is. However, the payoff is well worth keeping at it.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes