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katrione's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
hollye6's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body horror and Animal cruelty
jafinc's review against another edition
4.0
Note: I am not sure how to review Damsel without giving away some aspects of it, so I will give a general spoiler warning. I try not to explicitly reveal plot points, but just in case, potential spoilers ahead.
Damsel starts off like your average fairytale: a prince (Emory) is on his way across a grey barren land to slay a dragon and rescue a damsel. It is a tradition that has been done for as long as any one can remember. For a prince to become a king, he must slay a fierce dragon and return triumphant with the woman who will become his bride.
But that’s where the similarities between fairytales and Damsel end. As soon as our damsel wakes up astride a horse and in the arms of Prince Emory, no memory of her life or even her name before that moment, you can tell that this won’t be your average fairytale. This is apparent a little before, but becomes evident when *he* chooses her name for her: Ama.
The feeling of wrongness grows as the story progresses, as Ama is introduced to the former damsel and Queen Mother, as she tries to settle into life at the castle and learn her place in it and the expectations that everyone seems to have of her, as her future becomes clearer the more she learns about the women who have come before her.
“Ama was, she saw, both terrifically important and terribly insignificant, in equal measures, at exactly the same time.”
It is dark and unsettling and beautiful and tragic. Ama’s story, her position, as a damsel, as a women, is so close to home for a lot of women out there. The idea in the kingdom that just because things have always been a certain way, they should continue to be so, is one that is prevalent in a lot of societies. Traditions are important, they can be fundamental in understanding cultures and histories and lives, but some traditions are detrimental to growth. And many traditions seem to exist at the expense of women.
“That is the way of being a woman, to carve away at herself, to fit herself to the task, but, also, to be able to carve herself in a different way, when a different shape is needed.”
I’m rambling, I know, and not really discussing the book, but it contains so much commentary on the role of women and the view and burden of expectation of them that I can’t help it.
“You see, Ama, it is for men to create. It is for men to decide. It is for men to speak. It is your place to listen, and follow, and gestate. And those are no small things! For without women to listen, how would the men’s words be heard?”
Ama, our damsel, is strong and sympathetic and kind and hopeful. She begins the story with a certain naïvety having no other option but to trust what she’s being told, the stories of her rescue.
“She did not know where she had started, or what she had been, but she knew it was not this.”
Emory, our prince, is caught up in his own privilege, his inflated self-worth and entitlement being backed by a system that’s been rewarding him and his male ancestors for as far back as the memory of the land goes.
“It did not matter if she believed him. What she believed would change nothing.”
The language was beautiful, sadness and a sense of loss serving as the undercurrents of the story. The characters that surrounded Ama were alive, though most you can’t help but dislike (for reasons that make more sense if you read the book). The sense of unease that Ama feels is palpable. And the ending? Bittersweet and triumphant.
It is not an action heavy “fairytale”, nor is it romantic in anyway, despite the dragon and the prince. The journey Ama goes through, and it is very much Ama’s story, despite the initial chapters from Emory’s POV, is one of discovery. It is about gaining knowledge and truth and power, as well as a story of control. Both the lack of control women in the kingdom and Ama have of their lives, and the ways they find to take control. Some of these ways, you discover, are not at all pleasant. In fact, a lot of the incidents that occur in this book are horrifying, leaving the reader uneasy and nauseated. There are, among other things, mentions of self-harm, incidents of sexual assault, and animal cruelty.
“Secrets, like memories, do not disappear just because they are buried by snow or time or distance.”
It’s a quick read, though a bit emotionally straining, and more than worth it. This is especially true if you’re into subverting traditional stories of knights in shining armor and damsels in distress. It is a beautiful story. It is a terrible story. It is a powerful and brutal story. It is an important story. It is all these things at once and so much more.
Damsel starts off like your average fairytale: a prince (Emory) is on his way across a grey barren land to slay a dragon and rescue a damsel. It is a tradition that has been done for as long as any one can remember. For a prince to become a king, he must slay a fierce dragon and return triumphant with the woman who will become his bride.
But that’s where the similarities between fairytales and Damsel end. As soon as our damsel wakes up astride a horse and in the arms of Prince Emory, no memory of her life or even her name before that moment, you can tell that this won’t be your average fairytale. This is apparent a little before, but becomes evident when *he* chooses her name for her: Ama.
The feeling of wrongness grows as the story progresses, as Ama is introduced to the former damsel and Queen Mother, as she tries to settle into life at the castle and learn her place in it and the expectations that everyone seems to have of her, as her future becomes clearer the more she learns about the women who have come before her.
“Ama was, she saw, both terrifically important and terribly insignificant, in equal measures, at exactly the same time.”
It is dark and unsettling and beautiful and tragic. Ama’s story, her position, as a damsel, as a women, is so close to home for a lot of women out there. The idea in the kingdom that just because things have always been a certain way, they should continue to be so, is one that is prevalent in a lot of societies. Traditions are important, they can be fundamental in understanding cultures and histories and lives, but some traditions are detrimental to growth. And many traditions seem to exist at the expense of women.
“That is the way of being a woman, to carve away at herself, to fit herself to the task, but, also, to be able to carve herself in a different way, when a different shape is needed.”
I’m rambling, I know, and not really discussing the book, but it contains so much commentary on the role of women and the view and burden of expectation of them that I can’t help it.
“You see, Ama, it is for men to create. It is for men to decide. It is for men to speak. It is your place to listen, and follow, and gestate. And those are no small things! For without women to listen, how would the men’s words be heard?”
Ama, our damsel, is strong and sympathetic and kind and hopeful. She begins the story with a certain naïvety having no other option but to trust what she’s being told, the stories of her rescue.
“She did not know where she had started, or what she had been, but she knew it was not this.”
Emory, our prince, is caught up in his own privilege, his inflated self-worth and entitlement being backed by a system that’s been rewarding him and his male ancestors for as far back as the memory of the land goes.
“It did not matter if she believed him. What she believed would change nothing.”
The language was beautiful, sadness and a sense of loss serving as the undercurrents of the story. The characters that surrounded Ama were alive, though most you can’t help but dislike (for reasons that make more sense if you read the book). The sense of unease that Ama feels is palpable. And the ending? Bittersweet and triumphant.
It is not an action heavy “fairytale”, nor is it romantic in anyway, despite the dragon and the prince. The journey Ama goes through, and it is very much Ama’s story, despite the initial chapters from Emory’s POV, is one of discovery. It is about gaining knowledge and truth and power, as well as a story of control. Both the lack of control women in the kingdom and Ama have of their lives, and the ways they find to take control. Some of these ways, you discover, are not at all pleasant. In fact, a lot of the incidents that occur in this book are horrifying, leaving the reader uneasy and nauseated. There are, among other things, mentions of self-harm, incidents of sexual assault, and animal cruelty.
“Secrets, like memories, do not disappear just because they are buried by snow or time or distance.”
It’s a quick read, though a bit emotionally straining, and more than worth it. This is especially true if you’re into subverting traditional stories of knights in shining armor and damsels in distress. It is a beautiful story. It is a terrible story. It is a powerful and brutal story. It is an important story. It is all these things at once and so much more.
rereader33's review against another edition
1.0
Trigger warnings for: sexual assault, attempted sexual assault, sexual harassment, violence against animals, animal abuse, suicide, self-harm.
So, let me start off by saying there were two constants during this reading experience. One was laughing my ass off over how horribly unsubtle this novel is, and the other was wanting to bang my tablet against a hard surface because this novel was so infuriatingly unsubtle. Yes, I bounced between those two experiences frequently and was emotionally drained by the time I was done.
Quick PSA before we dive in to the review! I want to address what has been the central point of contention with this novel from readers: whether this should be labeled YA or adult because of it's content. And to be honest, I don't see why it can't be under YA. Yes, it deals with some dark and serious topics that can be triggering to people, and I am thoroughly pissed that trigger warnings were not present in the beginning because I definitely think they should, but frankly this isn't any darker than other YA novels that have tackled similar subject matter. Granted, this simply my opinion I would NEVER ask anyone to take my opinion over their intuition over this kind of subject matter, but I think it's fine being in YA. Again, take what I say with a grain of salt. What works for me may not work for you, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Right, with that out of the way, on to the rant!
People may be offended that I found portions of this book hilarious enough to laugh out loud while I read, but I want to make it clear that the SCENES where not what made me laugh; it was the hilariously bad subtlety that made me laugh. No, I don't find rape, misogyny, and animal abuse funny, but I do find horribly stereotyped male characters and forced feminism HILARIOUS.
I straight up can't tell whether Arnold thinks her audience is a bunch of ignorant dumbasses or will forget what the major themes/messages are if she doesn't beat you over the head with them in every chapter or, in some instances, every paragraph. It's almost like Arnold's saying, "hey, guys! Did you know men can be misogynistic?! You didn't?! In that case, here's a scene where Emory is being a misogynistic asshole! What's that? You didn't catch that the first time? No worries, here's him AND his best friend being misogynistic! Do ya see it?! DO YA SEE IT NOW?!" and that is pretty much the ENTIRE STORY. Wow, riveting.
That was the hilarious part of it, but the infuriating part came when it became clear that that WAS the entire story. Which was heartbreaking because I actually loved the idea of the story, it was just so horribly executed because Arnold had to jam in as much sexism, misogyny, and sexual assault to drill home the point that men are sexual deviants that only crave control, dominance, and sex. You know, how EVERY MALE IS PORTRAYED IN A FEMINIST STORY. And I feel the need to make that clear because I have seen so many people defend this story and its characters because, "it's meant to be a commentary on fairy tales because fairy tales are sexist/misogynistic!" to which my response is:
NO. FUCKING. SHIT.
Anyone who has done ANY analysis on fairy tales, or has a functioning brain for that matter, knows that fairy tales are inherently sexist and have misogynistic undertones. That's WHY there's been such a big push in the last few years to create new fairy tales or fairy tale retellings that give girls/women more agency AND call out the sexism in said stories. What I'm trying to say is THIS ISN'T FUCKING NEWS. This has been going on way before Damsel came out, it's not like Arnold created this idea, and simply pointing out the inherent sexism and misogyny in most fairy tales doesn't excuse how terribly cliche and poorly written this book is.
How are the men poorly written? As I mentioned earlier, all of the men are either sexist, misogynistic, predatory, or rapists. Emory seriously has no personality outside of craving dominance/wanting to conquer everything (physically and sexually), desiring sex, and being the walking embodiment of toxic masculinity. Pawlin, his best friend, is such an over-the-top predator-type that his character's damn near impossible to take seriously, and the rest of the men either condescend Ama (which is a fucking ATROCIOUS name) or is trying to sexually harass/rape her. I kid you not, I have seen these character types in a LOT of novels that tote themselves as feminist, yet oddly enough all seem incapable of telling a female empowerment story without painting every male character as a rapist or sexist douchebag.
Not that the women are too much better. Tillie's just a servant, Fabiana's an absolute shit human being, and the queenly mother (I think that's what she's called?) is supposed to be the one to push Ama to return to her original form, but she's obnoxious too. Oh, and Ama was NOT interesting AT ALL for most of the book. While I get why Arnold made it so Ama wouldn't have any memories to support the narrative, it made her character unbearably naive and annoying until the end. By the way, I will say that as rushed as the ending was, I did like it. That and the descriptions of the dragon's lair were the only two things I liked in this novel. Take with that what you will.
For my final thoughts, I want to make it clear that if you liked this novel, awesome. If you found it empowering, awesome. If you thought it was feminist, awesome. I didn't and I'm allowed to feel that way. Please don't bombard me with comments telling me that, "I just didn't get it," because trust me, I did, Arnold made it fucking impossible to miss what this was about. I simply didn't like it and am explaining why. Let's all try to be civil, folks.
So, let me start off by saying there were two constants during this reading experience. One was laughing my ass off over how horribly unsubtle this novel is, and the other was wanting to bang my tablet against a hard surface because this novel was so infuriatingly unsubtle. Yes, I bounced between those two experiences frequently and was emotionally drained by the time I was done.
Quick PSA before we dive in to the review! I want to address what has been the central point of contention with this novel from readers: whether this should be labeled YA or adult because of it's content. And to be honest, I don't see why it can't be under YA. Yes, it deals with some dark and serious topics that can be triggering to people, and I am thoroughly pissed that trigger warnings were not present in the beginning because I definitely think they should, but frankly this isn't any darker than other YA novels that have tackled similar subject matter. Granted, this simply my opinion I would NEVER ask anyone to take my opinion over their intuition over this kind of subject matter, but I think it's fine being in YA. Again, take what I say with a grain of salt. What works for me may not work for you, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Right, with that out of the way, on to the rant!
People may be offended that I found portions of this book hilarious enough to laugh out loud while I read, but I want to make it clear that the SCENES where not what made me laugh; it was the hilariously bad subtlety that made me laugh. No, I don't find rape, misogyny, and animal abuse funny, but I do find horribly stereotyped male characters and forced feminism HILARIOUS.
I straight up can't tell whether Arnold thinks her audience is a bunch of ignorant dumbasses or will forget what the major themes/messages are if she doesn't beat you over the head with them in every chapter or, in some instances, every paragraph. It's almost like Arnold's saying, "hey, guys! Did you know men can be misogynistic?! You didn't?! In that case, here's a scene where Emory is being a misogynistic asshole! What's that? You didn't catch that the first time? No worries, here's him AND his best friend being misogynistic! Do ya see it?! DO YA SEE IT NOW?!" and that is pretty much the ENTIRE STORY. Wow, riveting.
That was the hilarious part of it, but the infuriating part came when it became clear that that WAS the entire story. Which was heartbreaking because I actually loved the idea of the story, it was just so horribly executed because Arnold had to jam in as much sexism, misogyny, and sexual assault to drill home the point that men are sexual deviants that only crave control, dominance, and sex. You know, how EVERY MALE IS PORTRAYED IN A FEMINIST STORY. And I feel the need to make that clear because I have seen so many people defend this story and its characters because, "it's meant to be a commentary on fairy tales because fairy tales are sexist/misogynistic!" to which my response is:
NO. FUCKING. SHIT.
Anyone who has done ANY analysis on fairy tales, or has a functioning brain for that matter, knows that fairy tales are inherently sexist and have misogynistic undertones. That's WHY there's been such a big push in the last few years to create new fairy tales or fairy tale retellings that give girls/women more agency AND call out the sexism in said stories. What I'm trying to say is THIS ISN'T FUCKING NEWS. This has been going on way before Damsel came out, it's not like Arnold created this idea, and simply pointing out the inherent sexism and misogyny in most fairy tales doesn't excuse how terribly cliche and poorly written this book is.
How are the men poorly written? As I mentioned earlier, all of the men are either sexist, misogynistic, predatory, or rapists. Emory seriously has no personality outside of craving dominance/wanting to conquer everything (physically and sexually), desiring sex, and being the walking embodiment of toxic masculinity. Pawlin, his best friend, is such an over-the-top predator-type that his character's damn near impossible to take seriously, and the rest of the men either condescend Ama (which is a fucking ATROCIOUS name) or is trying to sexually harass/rape her. I kid you not, I have seen these character types in a LOT of novels that tote themselves as feminist, yet oddly enough all seem incapable of telling a female empowerment story without painting every male character as a rapist or sexist douchebag.
Not that the women are too much better. Tillie's just a servant, Fabiana's an absolute shit human being, and the queenly mother (I think that's what she's called?) is supposed to be the one to push Ama to return to her original form, but she's obnoxious too. Oh, and Ama was NOT interesting AT ALL for most of the book. While I get why Arnold made it so Ama wouldn't have any memories to support the narrative, it made her character unbearably naive and annoying until the end. By the way, I will say that as rushed as the ending was, I did like it. That and the descriptions of the dragon's lair were the only two things I liked in this novel. Take with that what you will.
For my final thoughts, I want to make it clear that if you liked this novel, awesome. If you found it empowering, awesome. If you thought it was feminist, awesome. I didn't and I'm allowed to feel that way. Please don't bombard me with comments telling me that, "I just didn't get it," because trust me, I did, Arnold made it fucking impossible to miss what this was about. I simply didn't like it and am explaining why. Let's all try to be civil, folks.
indigoblue777's review against another edition
1.0
Wow. I did not expect how dark and terrible this book was. It's so sad because it had so much potential.
What I did like about this book was how it read like a normal fairy tale at first and then proceeded to twist your expectations. That's probably one of the only things I liked about this because it just got darker and darker as it went on. Not a single character was kind to the main character.
And then the ending was just so bizarre. I kept telling myself that this book would have to get worse before it got better but it really took its time.
This is not a YA book. I got this in the YA section of the library. It is dark, adult fantasy. Please look at other reviews before you read this book.
What I did like about this book was how it read like a normal fairy tale at first and then proceeded to twist your expectations. That's probably one of the only things I liked about this because it just got darker and darker as it went on. Not a single character was kind to the main character
Spoiler
except for Sorrow/Fury the lynx and maybe the glassblowerAnd then the ending was just so bizarre. I kept telling myself that this book would have to get worse before it got better but it really took its time.
This is not a YA book. I got this in the YA section of the library. It is dark, adult fantasy. Please look at other reviews before you read this book.
Spoiler
Also, it was so so so obvious that the main character was the dragon. Simultaneously she is the least dragon-like heroine I have ever read about.mickachoo's review against another edition
2.0
I had really high hopes for this book. Not only does it have a beautiful cover, but I was really drawn in by the blurb and immediately taken by the first words of the book. But then it got weird. And weirder yet. Like some other readers have said: I see what this book was trying to do, I see the feminism, I see the message. But it really wasn't necessary to convey it in some of the ways it was done here.
This was just an odd book and I didn't jive with any of it.
This was just an odd book and I didn't jive with any of it.
streamwall's review against another edition
4.5
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
Before I get to my review, let me tell you one thing. I give this book a four star rating, but I want to warn readers. This books IS not a YA. It contains 3 explicit rape scenes, loads of abuse and assault and all the dumb arguments from men to justify their behavior every woman has heard a few too many times. It's a thought provoking, hard to stomach and uncomfortable read. Be careful with yourself and please decide whether or not you're okay with reading this, even if the last 20/30 pages and the implied thereafter are worth it.
I got this ARC in the bookboxclub from september and I was that excited about it, that I started reading it almost right away. I have to admit that I expected something slightly different from what I've gotten, mostly because it's a lot darker and more twisted and sickening than I had expected, but I nevertheless think this was a good read.
The writing does an amazing job in fooling us that it's a fairytale. All the standard fairytale story elements are used, maybe even a little too often but I think that was the point, and the story also really starts as this cute fairytale where a prince goes to rescue his damsel/future queen from a fire breathing dragon. It's partially the traditional fairytale vibe, implied by mostly the language, that does much of the job in bringing the message across.
Although the plot is not that unpredictable, I actually already guessed most of it during the first few chapters, I do think the journey, no matter how sickening it is to read it, is worth it. It's an interesting, thought provoking journey, with a lot of emotional development. The main character goes through a lot of different stages and the pay off at the very end is quit worth it and at least in some way satisfying.
I understand that Ama comes across as "weak" and "passive" and maybe even "annoyingly powerless", just like every other female character, throughout the story, but that's partly the point of it and how she grows, develops and learns and eventually becomes who she has to become at the very end makes her very sympathetic and strong in my opinion. I think how she feels, what she thinks, and what she tries, might be sadly very realistic. I do like how in the end she does get what she deserves so much.
I personally would have liked a little epilogue to explain a little what is implied in the last few chapters of what's to happen to the world that's created here. But, all in all...a very intriguing, raw, harsh and yet somehow still satisfying read. But once again: Make sure you know what you're getting into and don't be surprised by it NOT being a YA and the explicit descriptions of rape, abuse in all possible forms and patriarchy at its ugliest.
(ps. Phrasing my feelings and thoughts concerning this book is hard, I hope I brought my point across!)
I got this ARC in the bookboxclub from september and I was that excited about it, that I started reading it almost right away. I have to admit that I expected something slightly different from what I've gotten, mostly because it's a lot darker and more twisted and sickening than I had expected, but I nevertheless think this was a good read.
The writing does an amazing job in fooling us that it's a fairytale. All the standard fairytale story elements are used, maybe even a little too often but I think that was the point, and the story also really starts as this cute fairytale where a prince goes to rescue his damsel/future queen from a fire breathing dragon. It's partially the traditional fairytale vibe, implied by mostly the language, that does much of the job in bringing the message across.
Although the plot is not that unpredictable, I actually already guessed most of it during the first few chapters, I do think the journey, no matter how sickening it is to read it, is worth it. It's an interesting, thought provoking journey, with a lot of emotional development. The main character goes through a lot of different stages and the pay off at the very end is quit worth it and at least in some way satisfying.
I understand that Ama comes across as "weak" and "passive" and maybe even "annoyingly powerless", just like every other female character, throughout the story, but that's partly the point of it and how she grows, develops and learns and eventually becomes who she has to become at the very end makes her very sympathetic and strong in my opinion. I think how she feels, what she thinks, and what she tries, might be sadly very realistic. I do like how in the end she does get what she deserves so much.
I personally would have liked a little epilogue to explain a little what is implied in the last few chapters of what's to happen to the world that's created here. But, all in all...a very intriguing, raw, harsh and yet somehow still satisfying read. But once again: Make sure you know what you're getting into and don't be surprised by it NOT being a YA and the explicit descriptions of rape, abuse in all possible forms and patriarchy at its ugliest.
(ps. Phrasing my feelings and thoughts concerning this book is hard, I hope I brought my point across!)
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
3/5
Got to say, I was surprised by this book
Got to say, I was surprised by this book