Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by the_cover_contessa
A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 41%.
You'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't know the story of Aladdin. Especially the Disney version with its knock your socks off funny Genie. I will not be shy in saying I loved this movie so had high expectations of a retelling where the villain gets to have his story told. I'm a sucker for finding out why the villain acts as they do. Unfortunately, I just did not love this story. At least the part of it I got through.
The first 25% or so of the book is an exact retelling of Aladdin. Almost word for word what you get in the movie. And, while I'm all for rehashing some of what I know as a reminder, it's just not what I was expecting. I was expecting a different tale from the start. But I didn't get that.
I found the characters childish, which, given it's a Disney inspired retelling, I kind of get. But the characters are definitely supposed to be YA in this story and I was expecting more of that aspect. I was expecting more maturity. But the book reads as a middle grade. And how the characters are portrayed didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy, or have any connection to them at all. They had no passion; they had no umph. Their dialogue literally felt flat, like a piece of cardboard. And let's not talk about the insta-love, which I get for a movie, but for a book there can be so much more.
The plot line lacked in keeping me interested. There was no hook from the start. Just the story I know very well.
This was definitely not the epic fantasy retelling of a beloved story I know well at all. Unfortunately, it was a DNF at 40% for me.
The first 25% or so of the book is an exact retelling of Aladdin. Almost word for word what you get in the movie. And, while I'm all for rehashing some of what I know as a reminder, it's just not what I was expecting. I was expecting a different tale from the start. But I didn't get that.
I found the characters childish, which, given it's a Disney inspired retelling, I kind of get. But the characters are definitely supposed to be YA in this story and I was expecting more of that aspect. I was expecting more maturity. But the book reads as a middle grade. And how the characters are portrayed didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy, or have any connection to them at all. They had no passion; they had no umph. Their dialogue literally felt flat, like a piece of cardboard. And let's not talk about the insta-love, which I get for a movie, but for a book there can be so much more.
The plot line lacked in keeping me interested. There was no hook from the start. Just the story I know very well.
This was definitely not the epic fantasy retelling of a beloved story I know well at all. Unfortunately, it was a DNF at 40% for me.