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malana170's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
leahrosereads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Just ended up not being the book for me, and I don't think I'll be continuing with the series.
littlefawn's review against another edition
3.0
Oh boy.
Mara... a pretty mature but childish, commoner who finds a magical key to the realm of the Dark Elves. She is strong and brave, but I don't think she deserved Bran's love. He grew up with this prophecy telling him he had to marry a mortal, he knew this and knew what to expect. Granted Mara did not, but her attitude toward him was awful. She didn't really try to understand his and his peoples predicament, she just agreed to do whatever he needed in order to escape. Then as soon as she did leave, she practically killed Bran. In all, she was in Elfhame for maybe 6 days, asleep for 3 of them. All of a sudden, even though she is rude to Bran, she loves him but still finds him ugly. She is a bit exasperating, in my opinion.
Bran... the "prince" in a land with no king or queen... named after cereal. I can get past his name because he is so great. Definitely my favorite character out of the few I've met. He is loyal to his people and his wife until the end. He tried his hardest for Mara, and if her going home made her happy and it cost him his life, he would do it! He is thus great, powerful warrior not only with magic, but with his sword as well. I felt so terrible that he was stuck with Mara.
I thought all the battle scenes were lacking. Too glossed over for my liking, and definitely too simple for a war that would wipe out all of the Elfhame lands.
The romance was also lacking, on Mara's part at least... but at the same time, everything went too fast. She was barely there and it was quick into marriage to save the land. I'm hoping in book two we see more romance and courting between the two because right now they just don't "click."
2.5 stars, the story could be more if taken the time to flesh it out and add more detail and depth.
*Someone pointed out to me that this is supposed to be akin to a Beauty and the Beast retelling... I didn't catch that and don't feel like it's all there to be so.
camryndaytona's review against another edition
3.0
It's supposed to be a strange Beauty and the Beast retelling, and while I suppose it is that, I feel like it tries to hard.
Some Notes:
- There is (small) a cliffhanger at the end of the book
- It came out in 2016
- Book two came out in 2019
- I don't know if there will be any more books, goodreads doesn't say
- I don't mind gaps between books, but when you've got a potential three year wait between books, I'm afraid to get invested.
So now that we have that out of the way, lets get onto the review.
A Retelling, I Guess?
I said earlier that it 'feels like it tries too hard' and what I mean by that is that it was a good story, so I'm not sure why it needed to be Beauty and the Beast. I suppose that it's possible that books sell better with an advertisement like "fairytale retelling but with elves!"
There were a few times throughout the book where I thought "oh so this is why it's beauty and the beast" because the author would throw in things like "oh these elves are so repulsive" or "they're so different I hate them" (not exact quotes).
Without that, it's still a good book, which is why I found it strange that it HAD to be Beauty and the Beast.
The Characters
I liked most of the characters.
The main character, Mara, is your typical YA heroine. She's an 'outcast' who doesn't fit in with her family and wants more from her life than just marrying a village boy. And of course, she's the only one in her village who still believes in magic.
I found Brannon (the "beast") to be fairly tolerable, which is unusual for a YA love interest. Although, again, I'm not sure he's very 'beastly' so I don't get the connection to the fairytale. He is very much driven by what he needs to do for the good of his people, even if it means marrying someone against his wishes.
Overall
I do have to admit, I read this book over a month ago, and it was pretty forgettable. To write the review I had to go back and skim the summary and a few highlights I made while I was reading it.
Is it a good book? Yeah.
Is it a great book? Not really.
Will I be finishing the series? Probably not.