Scan barcode
A review by humblebee20
Small Favors by Erin A. Craig
2.0
This book was, ok? The concept sounded cool and I put off reading it until my library got it in. I have to say, I'm glad I didn't buy a copy for myself. The retelling of Rumpelstiltskin sounded fun, but when you get 300 pages in and only one deal has been struck, I feel like I'm getting stringed along (pun intended). The small town is well set up and while a lot of characters were a bit hard to keep separate in my head, I was surprised at how well I could keep track of most of the town's population. Otherwise, I just had too many gripes with the pacing and main characters to really enjoy this book. I read the majority of this book in a day, and yet the book still felt like it moved at a snail's pace. I can feel the author trying to worm in references to Rumpelstitskin without ever fully commiting. I swear I guessed the "twist" when we first meet the pretty boy love interest.
*Spoilers for here on out*
Characters are descibed as one way and almost never show that side of themselves. With Sam and Rebecca, it always felt like a "dude, trust me, they're cool, I promise" from the protag's point of view, only for them to be total assholes for the entirety of the book. While some of this can be chalked up to story reasons, I felt little sympathy for them ever, and had to really stretch to feel for Ellerie. I don't know why I continued slogging through this book other than to see more "favors" that the book so heavily advertized. And yet, I found nothing but long, drawn out sequences with nothing but baking or complaining about baking being hard. The bees and Ellerie's hair being allusions to gold were cool and yet nothing is ever done with it and they never serve as a bargining chip, just blood. Why not have a lock of hair first, then a scoop of honey, and then blood? I can't stop thinking about how cool this book could have been instead of how mediocre it was. I don't know why authors insist on having super long books now when so much filler gets stuffed in. The parents seem so important at first and by the end of the book, the protagonist just leaves the town despite spending the entire book not leaving said town so she can wait for her parents and take care of her father's prized bees. Why make that the crux of her staying if you let go of it last second?
There is something here, but I wish it were something else.
*Spoilers for here on out*
Characters are descibed as one way and almost never show that side of themselves. With Sam and Rebecca, it always felt like a "dude, trust me, they're cool, I promise" from the protag's point of view, only for them to be total assholes for the entirety of the book. While some of this can be chalked up to story reasons, I felt little sympathy for them ever, and had to really stretch to feel for Ellerie. I don't know why I continued slogging through this book other than to see more "favors" that the book so heavily advertized. And yet, I found nothing but long, drawn out sequences with nothing but baking or complaining about baking being hard. The bees and Ellerie's hair being allusions to gold were cool and yet nothing is ever done with it and they never serve as a bargining chip, just blood. Why not have a lock of hair first, then a scoop of honey, and then blood? I can't stop thinking about how cool this book could have been instead of how mediocre it was. I don't know why authors insist on having super long books now when so much filler gets stuffed in. The parents seem so important at first and by the end of the book, the protagonist just leaves the town despite spending the entire book not leaving said town so she can wait for her parents and take care of her father's prized bees. Why make that the crux of her staying if you let go of it last second?
There is something here, but I wish it were something else.