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general_riegan's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I was pleasantly surprised with this book! The plot was entertaining and the characters enjoyable!
I love how the conflict was handled and the romance was adorable and beautifully handled!
I love how the conflict was handled and the romance was adorable and beautifully handled!
theloststreetmouse's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book so much, I didn't want it to end. I would have been happy with the book going on. There was so much going on and I never lost interest.
bookph1le's review against another edition
2.0
Did not care for this one for multiple reasons. More complete review to come.
Full review:
YA fantasy, you have let me down yet again. The more of you I read, the more I start to suspect you're taking YA dystopian's place. Rather than creating interesting and engaging worlds and telling fascinating stories, you're becoming window dressing for so much bad romance. It's not that I'm opposed to romance, but I'm tired of books being flimsy because so much time is spent on giddy feelings, and I'm also tired of just plain poorly done romances.
Also, publishers, please take note: stop comparing every single fantasy novel to Game of Thrones. They're not Game of Thrones. Only Game of Thrones is Game of Thrones--and that's not even the series's real name either.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled review. Spoilers to follow.
First off, I'm going to start with my biggest rant of all: I hated Niklaas. I don't just mean that I disliked him or had a problem with his character. No, I despised him with such vehemence that I had trouble dragging myself through the initial parts of the book, even though I was intrigued by Aurora and the plot and wanted to know what would happen. Niklaas suffers from that annoying, pointless, and maddening syndrome to which so many YA hero/love interests succumb: the sexist jerk who's really a "nice" guy. No. A man who treats half the population with disdain and who uses women like tissue is not a desirable love interest. As with most heroes of his ilk, he's given a few outs: messed up life, mean daddy, and beloved sister. Still, no. Having had a bad upbringing and an evil father is not an excuse for treating women like garbage. Oh, but he doesn't hate women because he loves his sister, right? To me, this is the biggest load of dung that authors who use this trope heap on their readers. I don't care how much he loves his sister, it doesn't undo the disdain and scorn he heaps on every other woman. What I find more irritating and egregious about this particular character type, though, is that his jerkishness is meant to show how "special" the heroine is. She's so special that her specialness opens his eyes and makes him see that not all women are the same. Her specialness makes him want to be a better person. Again, no. Niklaas was obnoxious, abrasive, and off-putting. I could have sympathized with him and his plight if he'd been a decent person, but he isn't. Having a hard life doesn't give you a pass to act like a jerk.
Aurora isn't all that much better, though, really. I found her more interesting as a character, but she does a multitude of things that are just plain unacceptable. I'm of two minds about the princess/prince character torn between personal interest and their kingdom. I get where Aurora was coming from with regard to her brother, but she knows she's the last hope of her kingdom and she still puts herself in unspeakable danger? I think exploring the territory of what it means to have to put aside your personal desires and wants and needs in favor of all those you have to protect is interesting, but there's none of that here. Aurora thinks about it, but her behavior contradicts her every thought. The one thing I agreed with Niklaas about was this. I kept wondering what the fairies had done with her all those years because it seemed like they should have been preparing her for this role. She can fight, but she doesn't use her brains. Ever. She goes with her gut every time, and fortunately the plot works out for her. In reality, anyone who acted with so little forethought would likely have been dead ten pages into the novel. Her behavior with Niklaas also made no sense other than that she acted that way because the plot demanded it. Intellectually, she got that his behavior was abhorrent. That added to her own personal inability to love someone should have ensured that she would have closed herself off to him entirely--but that wouldn't have made for much of a romance, would it? Little as I liked Niklaas, she absolutely should have told him the truth about her curse, and I was repulsed by the way the book handled her treatment of him in the end. She did a whole lot of self-justifying, but there was no justification for what she did.
Other characters suffer from convenience syndrome, in that they exist simply because it's convenient for the plot. This is nowhere more obvious than with Crimsin and Haanah. Crimsin swoops in to serve as a sort of deus ex machina as well as the obligatory pretty girl that our bold heroine feels justified in hating. But, wait, for once Niklaas is able to look past her bust and realize he doesn't like her. What a hero! Haanah exists just to make her brother's behavior palatable because he loves her ever so much, so he can't be a bad guy. Not a whole lot happens with Jor either. He could have been replaced with any object of monetary value and given Aurora just as much reason to risk herself. He at least gets some page time at the end of the novel, but not enough to make him feel fully formed. Ekeeta is superfluous, and her brother's actions are inexplicable.
Really, that's the biggest problem with the structure of the book. A LOT is happening here, and none of it is as fleshed out as it should be, nor is it resolved to any sense of satisfaction. The ending is particularly bad, effectively a comic book panel with the word "boom" in white smoke, followed by a neat picture of how nice everything is when the dust settles.
While YA has a tendency to drag things out and create series where none really need to exist, this book had the opposite problem. There was a lot of plot that was poorly developed and that would have been better served had this been a series. Then it could have explored the ogres, Niklaas's family, Aurora's past, etc. I give this book two stars instead of one because I admire its ambition, and the plot was a very interesting concept. It's a shame that it didn't reach its full potential. This isn't so much a fairy tale retelling as it is a complete reboot/mash-up, but that didn't bother me. Done well, I enjoy books like this, but this book just didn't make the cut.
Full review:
YA fantasy, you have let me down yet again. The more of you I read, the more I start to suspect you're taking YA dystopian's place. Rather than creating interesting and engaging worlds and telling fascinating stories, you're becoming window dressing for so much bad romance. It's not that I'm opposed to romance, but I'm tired of books being flimsy because so much time is spent on giddy feelings, and I'm also tired of just plain poorly done romances.
Also, publishers, please take note: stop comparing every single fantasy novel to Game of Thrones. They're not Game of Thrones. Only Game of Thrones is Game of Thrones--and that's not even the series's real name either.
We now return you to your regularly scheduled review. Spoilers to follow.
First off, I'm going to start with my biggest rant of all: I hated Niklaas. I don't just mean that I disliked him or had a problem with his character. No, I despised him with such vehemence that I had trouble dragging myself through the initial parts of the book, even though I was intrigued by Aurora and the plot and wanted to know what would happen. Niklaas suffers from that annoying, pointless, and maddening syndrome to which so many YA hero/love interests succumb: the sexist jerk who's really a "nice" guy. No. A man who treats half the population with disdain and who uses women like tissue is not a desirable love interest. As with most heroes of his ilk, he's given a few outs: messed up life, mean daddy, and beloved sister. Still, no. Having had a bad upbringing and an evil father is not an excuse for treating women like garbage. Oh, but he doesn't hate women because he loves his sister, right? To me, this is the biggest load of dung that authors who use this trope heap on their readers. I don't care how much he loves his sister, it doesn't undo the disdain and scorn he heaps on every other woman. What I find more irritating and egregious about this particular character type, though, is that his jerkishness is meant to show how "special" the heroine is. She's so special that her specialness opens his eyes and makes him see that not all women are the same. Her specialness makes him want to be a better person. Again, no. Niklaas was obnoxious, abrasive, and off-putting. I could have sympathized with him and his plight if he'd been a decent person, but he isn't. Having a hard life doesn't give you a pass to act like a jerk.
Aurora isn't all that much better, though, really. I found her more interesting as a character, but she does a multitude of things that are just plain unacceptable. I'm of two minds about the princess/prince character torn between personal interest and their kingdom. I get where Aurora was coming from with regard to her brother, but she knows she's the last hope of her kingdom and she still puts herself in unspeakable danger? I think exploring the territory of what it means to have to put aside your personal desires and wants and needs in favor of all those you have to protect is interesting, but there's none of that here. Aurora thinks about it, but her behavior contradicts her every thought. The one thing I agreed with Niklaas about was this. I kept wondering what the fairies had done with her all those years because it seemed like they should have been preparing her for this role. She can fight, but she doesn't use her brains. Ever. She goes with her gut every time, and fortunately the plot works out for her. In reality, anyone who acted with so little forethought would likely have been dead ten pages into the novel. Her behavior with Niklaas also made no sense other than that she acted that way because the plot demanded it. Intellectually, she got that his behavior was abhorrent. That added to her own personal inability to love someone should have ensured that she would have closed herself off to him entirely--but that wouldn't have made for much of a romance, would it? Little as I liked Niklaas, she absolutely should have told him the truth about her curse, and I was repulsed by the way the book handled her treatment of him in the end. She did a whole lot of self-justifying, but there was no justification for what she did.
Other characters suffer from convenience syndrome, in that they exist simply because it's convenient for the plot. This is nowhere more obvious than with Crimsin and Haanah. Crimsin swoops in to serve as a sort of deus ex machina as well as the obligatory pretty girl that our bold heroine feels justified in hating. But, wait, for once Niklaas is able to look past her bust and realize he doesn't like her. What a hero! Haanah exists just to make her brother's behavior palatable because he loves her ever so much, so he can't be a bad guy. Not a whole lot happens with Jor either. He could have been replaced with any object of monetary value and given Aurora just as much reason to risk herself. He at least gets some page time at the end of the novel, but not enough to make him feel fully formed. Ekeeta is superfluous, and her brother's actions are inexplicable.
Really, that's the biggest problem with the structure of the book. A LOT is happening here, and none of it is as fleshed out as it should be, nor is it resolved to any sense of satisfaction. The ending is particularly bad, effectively a comic book panel with the word "boom" in white smoke, followed by a neat picture of how nice everything is when the dust settles.
While YA has a tendency to drag things out and create series where none really need to exist, this book had the opposite problem. There was a lot of plot that was poorly developed and that would have been better served had this been a series. Then it could have explored the ogres, Niklaas's family, Aurora's past, etc. I give this book two stars instead of one because I admire its ambition, and the plot was a very interesting concept. It's a shame that it didn't reach its full potential. This isn't so much a fairy tale retelling as it is a complete reboot/mash-up, but that didn't bother me. Done well, I enjoy books like this, but this book just didn't make the cut.
cursedskeleton's review against another edition
5.0
Man I forgot how much I love a good reworked fairytale.
abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
fantasy with fairy tale background, complete with fairies, ogres, witches, etc. Throw in a little reluctant romance between two stubborn people keeping dangerous secrets, and great writing. It makes for a wonderful adventure.
lucyrosa's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
renuked's review against another edition
4.0
Loved most of it! That was some real character development. Review to come.
bookdragon28's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
story_singer_101's review against another edition
3.0
Not a bad book. It had more sexual banter/content then I prefer, but no explicit sex scenes, which I appreciated. While the ml and fl did eventually develop into mature characters, they were pretty frustrating for the majority of the book and their chemistry felt forced at times.
On the whole a fun story but not one I’d read again.
On the whole a fun story but not one I’d read again.