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cnuss333's review against another edition
5.0
I was actually very entertained by the Wish Granter and would have finished it in one sitting if I hadn’t had to work the next morning.. The plot basically incorporates the tale of Rumpelstiltskin but takes place after he fled the whole straw spinning incident that he is known for (he is still real mad about this incident and hates humans because of it.) In this version a pair of bastard twins of the King, Ari and Thad, have been tricked into making a deal- Thad will be placed on the throne of Sundraille but Alistair (Rumple in this version) holds most of the control plus gets Thad's soul after like 10 years. Alistair in this is known as a “wish granter” to the people of the kingdom and also runs a drug cartel like business on the side (strange but it somehow all works.) Ari makes it her goal to get Thad out of his deal with Alistair before his control destroys their kingdom. She therefore spends most of the book having to outwit Alistair in order to find out the secrets of his past.
I absolutely ADORED the two main characters in this! Ari is literally a lady after my own heart- she is brave, independent, and she LOVES snacks. She doesn’t go around simpering or being annoying like so many teen girls in YA novels lately- instead she finds humor in just about every awkward situation. Sebastian, the broody muscle man who agrees to help her in her quest, has a heart of gold and is just so stinkin cute when he gets all shy and embarrassed. I liked that both of these characters were dealing with magical situations but they themselves were not magical- they had to use their own smarts and brawn to get out of situations.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced, humorous, and took a different approach to the Rumpelstiltskin story. I have never read a book by C.J. Redwine before but I loved her writing style and would easily read another. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is an all time favorite of mine but I would definitely read it again. 4.5 Stars
I absolutely ADORED the two main characters in this! Ari is literally a lady after my own heart- she is brave, independent, and she LOVES snacks. She doesn’t go around simpering or being annoying like so many teen girls in YA novels lately- instead she finds humor in just about every awkward situation. Sebastian, the broody muscle man who agrees to help her in her quest, has a heart of gold and is just so stinkin cute when he gets all shy and embarrassed. I liked that both of these characters were dealing with magical situations but they themselves were not magical- they had to use their own smarts and brawn to get out of situations.
Overall I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced, humorous, and took a different approach to the Rumpelstiltskin story. I have never read a book by C.J. Redwine before but I loved her writing style and would easily read another. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is an all time favorite of mine but I would definitely read it again. 4.5 Stars
caitmarie24's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy the Ravenspire world. It's fascinating. I can't wait to read them all!
princessbilbo's review against another edition
4.0
Apparently I love me some knight/princess ship dynamics because I loved it in here. The writing style left me wanting a little more though. It didn't immerse me as much as I wanted, but still a great story.
jonseyjaguar's review against another edition
5.0
I mean....I wasn't expecting Redwine to make the villain that villainous! Did I have to stop a few things because I was nervous about what was going to happen? Yes. Yeah, that's a definite yes.
So much happens that I don't want to give anything away, but this was a winner for me.
So much happens that I don't want to give anything away, but this was a winner for me.
bluebeereads's review against another edition
4.0
Quite The Novel Idea ~ Words from the Clouds
3.5 stars
I have no idea how to start this review, honestly. This is the second sequel in a row that was very... meh to me. Great in some parts, but then not so much in others. Though, yes, this is more of a companion to The Shadow Queen (which I LOVED), it's still second in a series and it disappointed me a bit. And that gives me the sad. So now I'm confused because one half of me wants to flail about the great parts... and the other half of me wants to sulk because of the lesser parts. The life of a reviewer is not easy, I'm telling you. So for this review, I'll be using lists. Because lists are life.
WHAT I LIKED...
♦ I loved the entire first half of this book. A LOT. It started out great with the prologue, then it kept my attention with great characters, great writing, great plot, great pacing,... Great everything basically. It was on its way to becoming a 5-star-read for sure.
♦ The first chapter started with our MC, Ari, baking and hating corsets. So naturally we connected instantly.
♦ There were glorious cameo's! First Lorelai & Kol from The Shadow Queen, then a bit later none other than Hansel & Gretel showed up! Not gonna spoil anything about either of these pairs so just read it and be happy with me when they show up!
♦ I loved the writing. I love the dialogue and the narrative and the world-building and everything. There's just something about this author's writing that clicks with me and I love when that happens.
♦ THE CHARACTERS! I loved Ari and Thad and Sebastian and Cleo. I even loved the villain, Alistair Teague. He was a great villain and I loved his backstory. All of the characters are so well-developed and real and I adore them.
♦ ARI! She's such a great MC. She's resourceful, smart, witty, pro-active, stubborn, kind,... but also clumsy and she DOESN'T. HAVE. THE. PERFECT. FIGURE. And she LOVES FOOD. She's SO relatable and I loved her.
♦ SEBASTIAN! (No not the crab from The Little Mermaid...) Sebastian is the new weapon's master at the palace and he's adorable and precious and fragile but also so badass and awesome and I just felt a very strong urge to protect him at all cost. And hug him. And wrap him in warm blankets.
♦ Alistair Teague is SUCH a good villain. He's powerful and sneaky and evil and awful and dangerous. His backstory is ALL OF THE NOSTALGIA. Seriously. And I kept imagining the guy that plays Rumpelstiltskin in the TV-show Once Upon a Time as him and it fits perfectly honestly and I loved that.
♦ I loved the romance... in the first half of the book. It was sweet and slow and adorable and gave me all of the swoons.
♦ Sibling love! I loved the bond between Ari & Thad. Sibling bonds are life. Seriously. More great siblings in books, please?
WHAT I DISLIKED...
♦ I don't know what happened, but the second half wasn't nearly as good to me. I just... the story took a turn around the halfway point and it lost me a bit there. So this might be just me. I just wasn't in it as much anymore for several reasons, which are spoilery so I'll mention those in a moment.
♦ I also hated that there were quite a few side-characters hating on Ari because she was... not very skinny and had curves. That bothered me quite a bit and it wasn't necessary in my eyes.
♦ The romance sped up a bit too much in the second half and it kind of lost me. But I still liked it?? Sort of??
♦ ...
So overal it was good, but I wanted it to be great. The first half was a lot better than the second half, in my eyes. This is just my opinion though and you should absolutely read it and form your own. There's still lots to love in this book and I haven't read many retellings of Rumpelstiltskin before and this is definitely a good one. So read it. And I hope you love it.
3.5 stars
I have no idea how to start this review, honestly. This is the second sequel in a row that was very... meh to me. Great in some parts, but then not so much in others. Though, yes, this is more of a companion to The Shadow Queen (which I LOVED), it's still second in a series and it disappointed me a bit. And that gives me the sad. So now I'm confused because one half of me wants to flail about the great parts... and the other half of me wants to sulk because of the lesser parts. The life of a reviewer is not easy, I'm telling you. So for this review, I'll be using lists. Because lists are life.
WHAT I LIKED...
♦ I loved the entire first half of this book. A LOT. It started out great with the prologue, then it kept my attention with great characters, great writing, great plot, great pacing,... Great everything basically. It was on its way to becoming a 5-star-read for sure.
♦ The first chapter started with our MC, Ari, baking and hating corsets. So naturally we connected instantly.
♦ There were glorious cameo's! First Lorelai & Kol from The Shadow Queen, then a bit later none other than Hansel & Gretel showed up! Not gonna spoil anything about either of these pairs so just read it and be happy with me when they show up!
♦ I loved the writing. I love the dialogue and the narrative and the world-building and everything. There's just something about this author's writing that clicks with me and I love when that happens.
♦ THE CHARACTERS! I loved Ari and Thad and Sebastian and Cleo. I even loved the villain, Alistair Teague. He was a great villain and I loved his backstory. All of the characters are so well-developed and real and I adore them.
♦ ARI! She's such a great MC. She's resourceful, smart, witty, pro-active, stubborn, kind,... but also clumsy and she DOESN'T. HAVE. THE. PERFECT. FIGURE. And she LOVES FOOD. She's SO relatable and I loved her.
♦ SEBASTIAN! (No not the crab from The Little Mermaid...) Sebastian is the new weapon's master at the palace and he's adorable and precious and fragile but also so badass and awesome and I just felt a very strong urge to protect him at all cost. And hug him. And wrap him in warm blankets.
♦ Alistair Teague is SUCH a good villain. He's powerful and sneaky and evil and awful and dangerous. His backstory is ALL OF THE NOSTALGIA. Seriously. And I kept imagining the guy that plays Rumpelstiltskin in the TV-show Once Upon a Time as him and it fits perfectly honestly and I loved that.
♦ I loved the romance... in the first half of the book. It was sweet and slow and adorable and gave me all of the swoons.
♦ Sibling love! I loved the bond between Ari & Thad. Sibling bonds are life. Seriously. More great siblings in books, please?
WHAT I DISLIKED...
♦ I don't know what happened, but the second half wasn't nearly as good to me. I just... the story took a turn around the halfway point and it lost me a bit there. So this might be just me. I just wasn't in it as much anymore for several reasons, which are spoilery so I'll mention those in a moment.
♦ I also hated that there were quite a few side-characters hating on Ari because she was... not very skinny and had curves. That bothered me quite a bit and it wasn't necessary in my eyes.
♦ The romance sped up a bit too much in the second half and it kind of lost me. But I still liked it?? Sort of??
♦ ...
Spoiler
Around the halfway point Ari ends up at Teague's house and it just lost me. The romance went too fast, there wasn't much of the sibling love anymore, the ending was a bit too easy considering how bloody things got in that event in the halfway point and how cruel Cleo's death was... Also what happened with Maarit?? She kind of... disappeared?? I think?? The second half just really didn't work for me at all. Which is sad.So overal it was good, but I wanted it to be great. The first half was a lot better than the second half, in my eyes. This is just my opinion though and you should absolutely read it and form your own. There's still lots to love in this book and I haven't read many retellings of Rumpelstiltskin before and this is definitely a good one. So read it. And I hope you love it.
simplymeagreads's review against another edition
5.0
I love the nods to fairytales
This book is an adventure! I loved Ari and her love of food. Her loyalty, wit, persistence, and kind heart are all admirable. Sebastian was amazing. I loved his character journey. I loved the chemistry between the two characters. I loved the world building and pacing. The themes of mercy, loyalty, and forgiveness. We’re well done.
TW: mention of child abuse and trauma, death of a parent, some violence
This book is an adventure! I loved Ari and her love of food. Her loyalty, wit, persistence, and kind heart are all admirable. Sebastian was amazing. I loved his character journey. I loved the chemistry between the two characters. I loved the world building and pacing. The themes of mercy, loyalty, and forgiveness. We’re well done.
TW: mention of child abuse and trauma, death of a parent, some violence
tealeavesandfoxes's review against another edition
5.0
First off, I love that this wasn't a classic fairytale retelling, but went to one of the lesser praised tales of rumplestiltskin.
The characters were believable and they had to work to get what they wanted, it wasn't easy and you could see their progression through the novel.
I liked that it wasn't predictable, I had a general idea of how it would end but wasn't able to put all the pieces together and I love it when books keep me guessing.
I actually felt myself feeling for Teague, and any author who can get me to root for the villian while wishing for their demise will be placed in my five stars rating.
Mrs Redwine, if you read this, I love your Ravenspire Novels and can't wait to see what you do in the traitor prince and blood spell!
The characters were believable and they had to work to get what they wanted, it wasn't easy and you could see their progression through the novel.
I liked that it wasn't predictable, I had a general idea of how it would end but wasn't able to put all the pieces together and I love it when books keep me guessing.
I actually felt myself feeling for Teague, and any author who can get me to root for the villian while wishing for their demise will be placed in my five stars rating.
Mrs Redwine, if you read this, I love your Ravenspire Novels and can't wait to see what you do in the traitor prince and blood spell!
mye_corner's review against another edition
Wasn’t in the mood for it. Will pick back up
careluv's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
5.0