Reviews

Eine düstere Warnung by Chris Colfer

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rachel1731's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

smorrison4's review against another edition

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fast-paced

4.0

Another great installment in the Land of Stories series. I feel bad for Alex and Connor, they had a lot to unpack in this book. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series to see what kind of trouble these two get into next.

ellipsiscool's review against another edition

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5.0

Loved this book! Colfer's writing improves with every book and there was so much going on!

Dragons, strong women, handsome men, tyrannical Napoleonic troops, and a fanatical mystery man make this book super fun and the fantastic characterization and visuals make it impossible to put down.

tialdalw's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

thattheatrekid's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I loved this one! The European travel wasn’t too realistic and I feel like the climax went too fast with a fast end, but overall great. Can’t wait to revisit the next one

ydasaurus's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

sskaar's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

lawbooks600's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Representation: Black and Asian characters
Score: Five out of ten.

Well that was another disappointment.

I haven't read from Chris Colfer in months but I picked A Grimm Warning up to pass the time, hoping it would be better than the previous two instalments (A Wishing Spell and The Enchantress Returns.) It wasn't. I headed in with lowered expectations, but it was still underwhelming when I closed the last page.

It starts (more like continues) with Alex and Conner Bailey picking up after the events of the preceding book, but this time there's a twist, but it only makes the central storyline more disjointed. Conner lives on Earth, otherwise known as the Otherworld, but I'll use the first name (the last makes me cringe.) Alex lives in The Land of Stories, which includes fairies, the Fairy Godmother, fictional figures and mythical beasts, of course. The multiple 3rd person POV is an intriguing choice as it allows Colfer to tell two stories. The pacing is slow, though, with a length of more than 450 pages, but it could've been shorter if the filler pages weren't there. The protagonists don't develop. Rather, they remain the same throughout A Grimm Warning, adding to my disengagement.

I discovered The Enchantress Returns to lack diversity in my review, so I thought Colfer solved that issue, at least in A Grimm Warning, when he included a Black character, Lindy, and an Asian, Wendy, but they were gone soon enough, much to my dismay. There were so many side characters it felt like character soup and it was difficult to keep track, like Breanne 'Bree' Campbell, Rook, Mindy, Cindy and Emmerich. Not to mention the group of fairies. Even when Conner and Bree land in The Land of Stories, it felt repetitive as this is the third time this happened. Can I go somewhere else, at least? The concluding 100 pages are action-packed (where the fairy tale characters fight a French army from the 1800s) with a heartstopping finish, which is the only enjoyable section, but other than that it was tedious to read. The big reveal happens when the Masked Man is the twins' biological father, but I don't think the following three continuations would be an improvement.

Content Warnings

sherbear182's review against another edition

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5.0

Yet another page turner. This one, like the other three kept me anxious to read the next page. Not wanting to put the book down. The more i read the more i wanted to read. I usually don't like books that bounce back and forth between characters because i often become confused. This one however isn't like that. Though it bounces back and forth between Alex and Connor, i was never confused or lost. I was practically on the edge of my seat. You can really feel the character's emotions no matter what is happening, and i quite literally laughed out loud reading this several times. And the ending was quite brilliant. In fact i'm now almost sorry that i finished it considering it'll be a little while before the next one comes out. I'm waiting in the anticipation that it will be as good as the first three.

natskremer's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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