Reviews

I thought this book was a good mix of fairytale adventures with the right amount of romance. The friendship in this book was very cute. It is a more closed door friendly read. There is a small amount of swearing. Themes of family loss are also part of the story. Some violence is also present in the story. I enjoyed this book overall and think it's a great read for older teens and adult readers alike.

wanderinglynn's review against another edition

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slow-paced

1.0

While I loved [book:The Seven Year Slip|62926938], this one did not quite make the cut for me.

Right off, I was rolling my eyes. Too many inconsistencies, and too many things that just didn't fit. How is the gardener "best friends" with the King? Then I was annoyed how naive Cerys was. I get that she's only supposed to be 17, but she came across as much younger. And despite the fact that she says her kingdom, and her town, is flourishing, two chapters later, she says she and her father, who is the <i>royal</i> gardener, can barely afford seeds for the spring. So which is it?

The story definitely has a Disney-esque fairytale feel to it. Clearly Poston is a huge Disney fan—from the title to the animal friends, the curse, and all of the Disney easter eggs, like:

But can you imagine? Me, dancing with that boorish, <i>brainless</i> . . .

Sadly, the story was underwhelming. I skimmed most of it and never missed anything. The ending was, of course, predictable (from the first chapter). Off my shelf and onto my PangoBooks shelf.

crosswarrior7's review against another edition

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3.0

I would give this book a solid 3 out of 5. I see mentions of it being a retelling, but I think that’s because it’s a story that gives some fairytale vibes with its talking animals and cursed forests, but I don’t think it's a retelling, just for anyone uncertain about that.

I’ll start with weaknesses first. Journey stories can be dawdling and repetitive, and sadly this story fell into that trap a bit. Some of the character developments felt forced, especially any time Cerys claimed she was “just a gardener’s daughter.” I understood and liked the angle, it just fell flat because of delivery.

The magic was left pretty vague in terms of how it worked, like intricacy wise, which is only a weakness depending who you are. Personally, I’m always fond of having a sort of system with it, but those who like fairy tale type magic won’t have an issue with it.

The romance could be viewed as weird and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about it. Like, I liked it, but also if you get into the mindset of those involved… But I think it was handled well enough not to be taken a weird way.

The story is a standalone, which in itself isn’t a bad thing… Except it had so much lore and ideas within the world. I think the author mentioned perhaps working in the world again, and I can see why, because this felt like a very incomplete look into the broader world. It left me a little wanting.

I guess that’s the best overall complaint. It was really enjoyable, but in the end, it left a sense of wanting that it shouldn’t have as a stand alone.

Regardless, it was very enjoyable. Right from the get go we are informed we will be seeing a world that doesn’t really have its history right, and seeing how that was the case was very intriguing, especially with seeing how it connected with the resolution of the story. The lore was fascinating, and considering the fact I wanted to learn more, I know that it was good what was there (so I guess the wanting is a pro and con? XD)

I love characters who grow to just accept themselves and see they don’t have to be who they thought they had to be, possibly because I have such a character, so I really enjoyed Cerys growing in that, and I loved the other protagonist (unnamed because spoilers) because the arc didn’t feel the usual. Seeing someone come to terms with a wrong in the past isn’t entirely unusual at all, but I liked the way the book wanted to go about it. Also, the character makes horrible puns. That both earns and takes away points somehow.

For its light, fairy tale air, the book did a really nice job tackling a grey area of right and wrong and how perspective shapes history and things like that.

Overall, if anyone is looking for a light fantasy read with fairy tale vibes (without being a retelling) that tackle themes more mature than the usual fairy tale, this would probably be a great book for you.

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