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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
Not quite what I wanted
It was okay. I do think it was drawn out far too long and there was nothing horribly surprising about the big reveals. I did like how Alyce tried and how she struggled with her identity and her power. But the ending didn't leave me fulfilled. I just felt kind of empty and... bored.
It was okay. I do think it was drawn out far too long and there was nothing horribly surprising about the big reveals. I did like how Alyce tried and how she struggled with her identity and her power. But the ending didn't leave me fulfilled. I just felt kind of empty and... bored.
I really really wanted to like this book. It has all the elements of what could have been a fantastic story, but the execution was just not to my liking. Personally, I thought that the characters were all two dimensional and it was hard for me to really appreciate them. The author also spends a lot of time telling (vs. showing) the history of Briar and I just feel like there was a missed opportunity for the story to feel more immersive. At times, it felt like a history book on Briar--cool, just not what I was looking for. Also, a lot of time was spent building up the social dynamics between Alyce and the court only for it to literally all get burned down in the end.
Alyce spends so much of the book in isolation, I was bummed that the author chose to montage over building up her relationship with Aurora and focuses more on her relationship with Kal (which?? wtf??). It was hard to believe that they were really fated lovers when that reveal was made. I honestly just couldn't figure out why they were into each other beyond Alyce's obvious physical attraction to Aurora and Aurora's interest in Alyce's intellect and uniqueness. It just didn't do it for me.
I was also very miffed with the treatment of Laurel's character. She is the one Grace whose death is shown and being that she's also the one (1) dark-skinned character (that I can recall, at least), I felt that that was an interesting choice. Personally, I think that Rose and Marigold would have been far more deserving of Alyce's ire. (And I get Laurel's betrayal was supremely fucked up, but Laurel spends most of the book being neutral towards Alyce whereas Rose and Marigold are actively malicious and abusive. Idk.)
As mentioned before, everything is undone in the end making the book feel like a waste. It felt like the author knew the ending they wanted and then just did a speed run to get there. It made the last few chapters feel out of place in the context of the rest of the narrative.
Alyce spends so much of the book in isolation, I was bummed that the author chose to montage over building up her relationship with Aurora and focuses more on her relationship with Kal (which?? wtf??). It was hard to believe that they were really fated lovers when that reveal was made. I honestly just couldn't figure out why they were into each other beyond Alyce's obvious physical attraction to Aurora and Aurora's interest in Alyce's intellect and uniqueness. It just didn't do it for me.
I was also very miffed with the treatment of Laurel's character. She is the one Grace whose death is shown and being that she's also the one (1) dark-skinned character (that I can recall, at least), I felt that that was an interesting choice. Personally, I think that Rose and Marigold would have been far more deserving of Alyce's ire. (And I get Laurel's betrayal was supremely fucked up, but Laurel spends most of the book being neutral towards Alyce whereas Rose and Marigold are actively malicious and abusive. Idk.)
As mentioned before, everything is undone in the end making the book feel like a waste. It felt like the author knew the ending they wanted and then just did a speed run to get there. It made the last few chapters feel out of place in the context of the rest of the narrative.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF at like 50%.
The writing isn't bad it's just that this book is so slow. I got over 200 pages in and just...nothing is happening. It's the same series of events repeated over and over again and I'm exhausted. For a book that's technically meant to be a romance, there's very little interaction between Alyce and Aurora in the pages I read. Disappointed. This could have been good but it's such a chore to get through.
The writing isn't bad it's just that this book is so slow. I got over 200 pages in and just...nothing is happening. It's the same series of events repeated over and over again and I'm exhausted. For a book that's technically meant to be a romance, there's very little interaction between Alyce and Aurora in the pages I read. Disappointed. This could have been good but it's such a chore to get through.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
THREE OUT OF FIVE STARS!!! 6.14 CAWPILE
I had such high hopes for this book...
There has been so much hype about this book on Goodreads and YouTube that I was very eager to get to this Sleeping Beauty retelling. Unfortunately it fell pretty flat.
The beginning of this book was dense and full of so much character and world fluff...I almost gave up then. However, the book did begin to pick up speed around the 60% mark.
I was pretty disappointed that the love interests in this book were very predictable and I honestly didn't care for them as characters or their relationship.
This is a duology so I'll probably pick up the next one but wow this felt like a flop.
I had such high hopes for this book...
There has been so much hype about this book on Goodreads and YouTube that I was very eager to get to this Sleeping Beauty retelling. Unfortunately it fell pretty flat.
The beginning of this book was dense and full of so much character and world fluff...I almost gave up then. However, the book did begin to pick up speed around the 60% mark.
I was pretty disappointed that the love interests in this book were very predictable and I honestly didn't care for them as characters or their relationship.
This is a duology so I'll probably pick up the next one but wow this felt like a flop.
adventurous
dark
emotional