You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
I enjoyed the premise of this book, but the main character was so shallow and naive at times that it was unbearable. Certain things didn't make sense in the context of the world presented, which was also really annoying to read.
Sigh. I think I'm too old for Gail Carson Levine's books.
I first read Ella Enchanted at maybe 10 or 11? It became one of my favorite books immediately and I have clear memories of rereading it at least once a year through middle school and high school. Ella Enchanted kickstarted my love of fairytale retellings and strong heroines and is one of the books that inspired me to write my own stories. I just wrote a novel during NaNoWriMo 2018 with elements of the story of Cinderella, for goodness's sake. All that to say, Ella Enchanted will always hold a special and treasured place on my bookshelf.
I also love Levine's Two Princesses of Bamarre and her fairytale retelling short story collection. But, I admit her later books have not made an impression on me. So I picked up Ogre Enchanted with low expectations.
It's a fun book, but the plot is a confusing mess. The stakes are simply nothing compared to what Ella deals with her whole life as a result of Lucinda's curse. Anyway, I'm sure I would have enjoyed this book as a kid and it's worth picking up for a fairytale loving kid in your own life.
But for HEAVEN'S SAKE GIVE THAT KID A COPY OF ELLA ENCHANTED FIRST. Please don't allow this book to be your kid's first introduction to Ella's world. Just saying.
I first read Ella Enchanted at maybe 10 or 11? It became one of my favorite books immediately and I have clear memories of rereading it at least once a year through middle school and high school. Ella Enchanted kickstarted my love of fairytale retellings and strong heroines and is one of the books that inspired me to write my own stories. I just wrote a novel during NaNoWriMo 2018 with elements of the story of Cinderella, for goodness's sake. All that to say, Ella Enchanted will always hold a special and treasured place on my bookshelf.
I also love Levine's Two Princesses of Bamarre and her fairytale retelling short story collection. But, I admit her later books have not made an impression on me. So I picked up Ogre Enchanted with low expectations.
It's a fun book, but the plot is a confusing mess. The stakes are simply nothing compared to what Ella deals with her whole life as a result of Lucinda's curse. Anyway, I'm sure I would have enjoyed this book as a kid and it's worth picking up for a fairytale loving kid in your own life.
But for HEAVEN'S SAKE GIVE THAT KID A COPY OF ELLA ENCHANTED FIRST. Please don't allow this book to be your kid's first introduction to Ella's world. Just saying.
Not as wonderful as Ella Enchanted, but it's also NOT Ella Enchanted. It needs to be judged on its own merits. It's an enjoyable read, and one that I would highly recommend to girls (and boys) who enjoy fantasy. I really like Levine's writing style, and Evie is just a good character. I read 3/4 of it in one sitting because I just couldn't put it down.
I really enjoyed it, but it made me want to read Ella Enchanted again instead.
The writing is good, the pacing is fine. I like the healing aspect. There were a lot of ‘90s/00s feeling lines though about gender and disability that bothered me. It was not great. Also, it wasn’t addictive. It was bland, I’d probably the best word. I did like the world and like I said the writing was fine but overall just an ok book.
Delightful. Although reading this right after rereading Ella Enchanted was a little off putting, because Gail Carson Levine’s writing style has changed some over the years and naturally is a little different in this book published 21 years after the first one. But after a while I got used to it and the story picks up enough that I really enjoyed it.
Ella Enchanted might be my favorite book of all time, so when I heard there was a prequel of sorts I was overjoyed. Ogre Enchanted has the same warmth and creative world building as its predecessors, and enough nods to Ella Enchanted to be clever but not distracting. Unfortunately it just didn't have the same satisfying twists and heart to make me fall in love with it - but if you love Ella, you should definitely give this story a try too.
I was so excited when I first learned about this book. Ella Enchanted was one of my favorite books in middle school, and the movie is my favorite comfort movie (to be fair, I saw it before I read the book). So, when i found out that the author was writing a prequel I just had to read it. Unfortunately, I didn't really care for this story at all.
I didn't really care for Evie as a main character. I thought she was a little rude and kind of manipulative. I mean, I get that she's supposed to be 15ish and she was turned into an ogre, but I couldn't connect to her. I didn't care for any of the side characters either which is unfortunate. All of them treated Evie so cruelly when she was an ogre and I couldn't get past that.
The romance (and by that I mean who Evie ends up with at the end) in this book was very lackluster as well. It honestly felt like it came out of nowhere so I couldn't root for the two of them. I get that this is a children's book but a huge plot point of the story is that Evie has to fall in love to become human again. I need to be invested in the characters to give a crap about the plot.
That being said, I did have a good enough time listening to the audiobook. I always wanted to keep listening. But at the end of the day, I just couldn't connect with the story like I wanted to
I didn't hate this book, but I dont think it will stick with me like Ella Enchanted. I can't see myself ever thinking about this book again to be quite honest.
I didn't really care for Evie as a main character. I thought she was a little rude and kind of manipulative. I mean, I get that she's supposed to be 15ish and she was turned into an ogre, but I couldn't connect to her. I didn't care for any of the side characters either which is unfortunate. All of them treated Evie so cruelly when she was an ogre and I couldn't get past that.
The romance (and by that I mean who Evie ends up with at the end) in this book was very lackluster as well. It honestly felt like it came out of nowhere so I couldn't root for the two of them. I get that this is a children's book but a huge plot point of the story is that Evie has to fall in love to become human again. I need to be invested in the characters to give a crap about the plot.
That being said, I did have a good enough time listening to the audiobook. I always wanted to keep listening. But at the end of the day, I just couldn't connect with the story like I wanted to
I didn't hate this book, but I dont think it will stick with me like Ella Enchanted. I can't see myself ever thinking about this book again to be quite honest.