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fairytalearista's review
4.0
Having read Jenny's historical fiction The Shadow Things, and since her blog is one of my favorites to read, I knew I was going to love her newest book. I bought pre-order and plunged in as soon as it appeared on my Kindle.
It's a big book, and thus it took me a good few months to read properly. Jenny's writing isn't to be read in great gulps, and I had to ration myself properly. This isn't a story for the faint of heart.
I had known from The Shadow Things that Jenny doesn't shy away from the stark ugliness of human depravity, and this book was no exception. It's not a story for young readers, and there are a number of shocking incidents, some of which I'd have rather she'd left out.
The plot, at face value, seems to be that a Beauty and the Beast formula. Margaret is kidnapped and held captive by a less than kind fellow, who expects her to marry her. But then the fox shows up.
I can't say much about the fox, but he's one of my favorite characters. I might have been biased, because he shares many similarities with a fox character that I have in my own writing, but I agree with many of the other readers - this book is worth a read just for the fox.
The book takes place on the moon - though apparently not the moon that the Apollo astronauts visited, for, senery-wise, the place is little different than earth. There are plants, forests, animals - indeed, it seemed to be the same plants, forests, and animals that we have on our own sphere - and there are houses and people and wars. Really, the only difference between the world of Plenilune and our own is that Plenilune has magic.
So I was a bit disappointed in the world building, though you really won't notice with the thickness of the writing.
I recommend this to older readers who are willing to slough through thick writing and have a stomach for some pretty nasty situations.
It's a big book, and thus it took me a good few months to read properly. Jenny's writing isn't to be read in great gulps, and I had to ration myself properly. This isn't a story for the faint of heart.
I had known from The Shadow Things that Jenny doesn't shy away from the stark ugliness of human depravity, and this book was no exception. It's not a story for young readers, and there are a number of shocking incidents, some of which I'd have rather she'd left out.
The plot, at face value, seems to be that a Beauty and the Beast formula. Margaret is kidnapped and held captive by a less than kind fellow, who expects her to marry her. But then the fox shows up.
I can't say much about the fox, but he's one of my favorite characters. I might have been biased, because he shares many similarities with a fox character that I have in my own writing, but I agree with many of the other readers - this book is worth a read just for the fox.
The book takes place on the moon - though apparently not the moon that the Apollo astronauts visited, for, senery-wise, the place is little different than earth. There are plants, forests, animals - indeed, it seemed to be the same plants, forests, and animals that we have on our own sphere - and there are houses and people and wars. Really, the only difference between the world of Plenilune and our own is that Plenilune has magic.
So I was a bit disappointed in the world building, though you really won't notice with the thickness of the writing.
I recommend this to older readers who are willing to slough through thick writing and have a stomach for some pretty nasty situations.
shebephoebe's review
Even stopping at about the 3% mark, I can say there's no reason this book needed to be 660 pages long. With a good editor, it probably could have been half that. The writing isn't lyrical or archaic or masterful or intricate. It's clunky and overworked and showy without any substance; it's beyond frustrating. There was the potential for an intriguing hook (Margaret rebelling and running away from home, subsequently getting kidnapped and whisked away to a different world, and being threatened by her kidnapper) but what do we focus on? Margaret takes a bath.
She doesn't freak out. She doesn't question how she's there, let alone why. She pokes around a bit without getting caught or finding anything interesting and then she takes a frickin' bath. She doesn't even have a good think or pause to lose her composure while she's soaking. But! The bath smells like...muffins???
After skimming the reviews, I don't think I'm missing out on anything.
She doesn't freak out. She doesn't question how she's there, let alone why. She pokes around a bit without getting caught or finding anything interesting and then she takes a frickin' bath. She doesn't even have a good think or pause to lose her composure while she's soaking. But! The bath smells like...muffins???
After skimming the reviews, I don't think I'm missing out on anything.
allison_r's review
4.0
When it was released last year, this book flew around our blogging community. Impressed by the number of positive reviews, I planned on reading it sooner rather than later, and the 2014 Blogger Awards gave me a chance to turn that into a reality.
Plenilune has an official excerpt, but I don't feel it captures the heart of the book. It's such a dense, vast story that it's difficult to capture in one sentence, but I'll try.
Plenilune is about a Victorian lady named Margaret who, through a chance meeting and a twist of fate, becomes the coveted object of the two powerful rulers of a different world.
In many ways, Plenilune is gorgeous. It has a vast scope-- the story encompasses countries, a dynasty, and a civil war, but that alone doesn't make Plenilune brilliant. In the long and short of it, Plenilune is a story of power and those that wield it told from the perspective of one small, angry girl cast into the center of it. I still stand by our decision to elect Margaret the best heroine of 2014. Raised in the confines of Victorian-London society, retold through gorgeous chess imagery, her struggle with her own powerlessness and her gradual realization of her value make this novel.
Freitag's use of language rivals the skillfulness of her characters. She has a sophisticated grasp of imagery uncommon in young adult literature and displays a cunning use of repeating motifs. (Indeed, sometimes she overdoes it. But I digress.) She also has a delightful way of handling shocking revelations: namely, she refuses to over-explain them. Freitag does not talk down to her readers. She expects them to have the patience required to dig back through the novel, searching for half-referenced conversations and factoids. Her discipline is a delightful surprise in a debut novelist.
But--
You knew this was coming.
-- but the restraint she shows in referencing her own work does not apply to all of her dialogue and descriptions. Is it gorgeous? Absolutely. Did I go insane with my highlighter, picking out particularly beautiful phrases-- that is, the whole book? You bet.
Did it go too far?
I'm afraid so.
I would like to see Plenilune after it had passed through the hands of a particularly ruthless editor. Scenes wandered on and on through charming, unnecessary subplots (ahem, Woodbird), eating up a decent chunk of word count that could have been used to address another issue: the political civil war.
The world of Plenilune is a vast place-- so vast, indeed, that I only grasped about a quarter of its politics. It was easy enough to remember who disliked whom (Freitag helpfully gave the antagonists sinister names, like Bloodburn and-- well-- Rupert; never mind), but the chain of battles in the war proved more confusing. At every step the forces of good defeated the forces of evil, yet by the end of the novel they were somehow still losing. Perhaps evil greatly outnumbered the good guys; but then, why would so many people choose to follow a frankly detestable character who quite openly attempted to murder his brother?
And then there was Dammerung.
Don't even get me started on Dammerung.
Dammerung might have to be a separate post.
Suffice it to say that he is utterly amazing, and that is not necessarily a good thing.
But I digress again.
In short: Plenilune is fabulously gorgeous. I spent half of it in utter confusion (which will hopefully dissipate after future rereads), but I still fell completely in love with it. Check out Jennifer Freitag's blog and read her awesome books!
Plenilune has an official excerpt, but I don't feel it captures the heart of the book. It's such a dense, vast story that it's difficult to capture in one sentence, but I'll try.
Plenilune is about a Victorian lady named Margaret who, through a chance meeting and a twist of fate, becomes the coveted object of the two powerful rulers of a different world.
In many ways, Plenilune is gorgeous. It has a vast scope-- the story encompasses countries, a dynasty, and a civil war, but that alone doesn't make Plenilune brilliant. In the long and short of it, Plenilune is a story of power and those that wield it told from the perspective of one small, angry girl cast into the center of it. I still stand by our decision to elect Margaret the best heroine of 2014. Raised in the confines of Victorian-London society, retold through gorgeous chess imagery, her struggle with her own powerlessness and her gradual realization of her value make this novel.
Freitag's use of language rivals the skillfulness of her characters. She has a sophisticated grasp of imagery uncommon in young adult literature and displays a cunning use of repeating motifs. (Indeed, sometimes she overdoes it. But I digress.) She also has a delightful way of handling shocking revelations: namely, she refuses to over-explain them. Freitag does not talk down to her readers. She expects them to have the patience required to dig back through the novel, searching for half-referenced conversations and factoids. Her discipline is a delightful surprise in a debut novelist.
But--
You knew this was coming.
-- but the restraint she shows in referencing her own work does not apply to all of her dialogue and descriptions. Is it gorgeous? Absolutely. Did I go insane with my highlighter, picking out particularly beautiful phrases-- that is, the whole book? You bet.
Did it go too far?
I'm afraid so.
I would like to see Plenilune after it had passed through the hands of a particularly ruthless editor. Scenes wandered on and on through charming, unnecessary subplots (ahem, Woodbird), eating up a decent chunk of word count that could have been used to address another issue: the political civil war.
The world of Plenilune is a vast place-- so vast, indeed, that I only grasped about a quarter of its politics. It was easy enough to remember who disliked whom (Freitag helpfully gave the antagonists sinister names, like Bloodburn and-- well-- Rupert; never mind), but the chain of battles in the war proved more confusing. At every step the forces of good defeated the forces of evil, yet by the end of the novel they were somehow still losing. Perhaps evil greatly outnumbered the good guys; but then, why would so many people choose to follow a frankly detestable character who quite openly attempted to murder his brother?
And then there was Dammerung.
Don't even get me started on Dammerung.
Dammerung might have to be a separate post.
Suffice it to say that he is utterly amazing, and that is not necessarily a good thing.
But I digress again.
In short: Plenilune is fabulously gorgeous. I spent half of it in utter confusion (which will hopefully dissipate after future rereads), but I still fell completely in love with it. Check out Jennifer Freitag's blog and read her awesome books!
lexlingua's review
3.0
Cross-posted from my more detailed review at Lexlingua.co
Margaret Coventry is having a small bout of rebellion against her match-making family, when she is kidnapped and taken by force into the alternate universe of Plenilune. You see, Rupert de la Mare, soon-to-be Plenilune’s overlord, has been challenged whether he can take a human wife, and the nefarious Rupert doesn’t let challenges slide.
This is only a small part of the plot (the blurb doesn’t do the book any justice). Margaret is a fish out of water as she begins to learn – and love – the magical landscape and history of Plenilune and its people. Along the way, Margaret breaks a curse with the help of a dragon, hunts down a wild boar (not intentionally), and rescues a kingdom. Oh, and she meets Dammerung, the War-wolf.
Together, Dammerung and Margaret were a delightful surprise. Freitag has given him a marvelous characterization, as this noble, wise, brave, sad, inspiring leader who is also full of mocking wit and who loves his clothes. Margaret is an equally powerful protagonist: her temper gives her courage, and her courage makes her a force to reckon with.
My primary complaint about this book was that this world just seems like a mirror world to England -- so it really wasn't necessary to make this book a portal fantasy. Additionally, it’s a fairly long book and several chunks at the start and near the tail are inconsistent in pace and depth.
But all said, the writing too is simply splendid. The "medieval" imagery of the new world really stands out. It reminded me of the feud between Richard the Lionheart and the wicked King John. If you're looking for medieval literature, well worth a shot.
Margaret Coventry is having a small bout of rebellion against her match-making family, when she is kidnapped and taken by force into the alternate universe of Plenilune. You see, Rupert de la Mare, soon-to-be Plenilune’s overlord, has been challenged whether he can take a human wife, and the nefarious Rupert doesn’t let challenges slide.
This is only a small part of the plot (the blurb doesn’t do the book any justice). Margaret is a fish out of water as she begins to learn – and love – the magical landscape and history of Plenilune and its people. Along the way, Margaret breaks a curse with the help of a dragon, hunts down a wild boar (not intentionally), and rescues a kingdom. Oh, and she meets Dammerung, the War-wolf.
Together, Dammerung and Margaret were a delightful surprise. Freitag has given him a marvelous characterization, as this noble, wise, brave, sad, inspiring leader who is also full of mocking wit and who loves his clothes. Margaret is an equally powerful protagonist: her temper gives her courage, and her courage makes her a force to reckon with.
My primary complaint about this book was that this world just seems like a mirror world to England -- so it really wasn't necessary to make this book a portal fantasy. Additionally, it’s a fairly long book and several chunks at the start and near the tail are inconsistent in pace and depth.
But all said, the writing too is simply splendid. The "medieval" imagery of the new world really stands out. It reminded me of the feud between Richard the Lionheart and the wicked King John. If you're looking for medieval literature, well worth a shot.
reebeee's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
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