Scan barcode
A review by library_of_kindredspirits
Court of Swans by Melanie Dickerson
4.0
MY RATING SYSTEM
* "I can't believe this got published!"
** "Mediocre."
*** "It was still missing something."
**** "Good. It satisfied."
***** "Impeccable."
As predictable and simple Dickerson's novel are, they still manage to pull me in. I usually have one done in two to three days. Sometimes, even under 48 hours. Dickerson may not be Jane Austen, but she is certainly doing something right.
Dickerson's books put me in mind of films like "Ever After" and "A Princess Bride", which are both very fun, but idealistic and sometimes cheesy, stories. So if you aren't in for a good cheesy medieval romance, you should know that you may be disappointed. The characters resemble those of the formulaic Hallmark protagonists, and don't have a lot of internal conflict or complexity. The plots are relatively simple, however, if you love a good fairytale, Dickerson knows how to retell it.
Something I particularly like about this one, is the setting. Most of Dickerson's novels take place in Germany, and I much preferred to be able to pronounce the characters' names and villages. I also just have a soft spot for England, and English history. :)
If I was rating this book for it's quality, the rating would probably be a 2 or 3. The quality of writing is mediocre. Dickerson does not use a large vocabulary but I'm not sure it's a lack of vocabulary. Occasionally she'll drop a word I don't know and then the rest of the time she uses all cliché words like "look" "watch" "walk". But then again, it's easy to go into the rewriting stages with Thesaurus. Not to mention the cheesy inner dialogue she writes. Every chapter, her characters will stop to ask the same type of questions. "Did he feel the same way she did about him?" "Would they get out of here?" "Would they be strong enough to defeat the bad guy?" And it goes on for at least a paragraph. Usually the character will ask the same question every time so it starts to get redundant and to be honest, kind of hilarious.
All that said, I give this book a 4 for entertaining me and giving me all the happy feelings I get from watching a Hallmark movie. The overall plot was crafted pretty well, and it was fun to read. I'm excited to read the series, and I doubt anything will be able to stop me.
* "I can't believe this got published!"
** "Mediocre."
*** "It was still missing something."
**** "Good. It satisfied."
***** "Impeccable."
As predictable and simple Dickerson's novel are, they still manage to pull me in. I usually have one done in two to three days. Sometimes, even under 48 hours. Dickerson may not be Jane Austen, but she is certainly doing something right.
Dickerson's books put me in mind of films like "Ever After" and "A Princess Bride", which are both very fun, but idealistic and sometimes cheesy, stories. So if you aren't in for a good cheesy medieval romance, you should know that you may be disappointed. The characters resemble those of the formulaic Hallmark protagonists, and don't have a lot of internal conflict or complexity. The plots are relatively simple, however, if you love a good fairytale, Dickerson knows how to retell it.
Something I particularly like about this one, is the setting. Most of Dickerson's novels take place in Germany, and I much preferred to be able to pronounce the characters' names and villages. I also just have a soft spot for England, and English history. :)
If I was rating this book for it's quality, the rating would probably be a 2 or 3. The quality of writing is mediocre. Dickerson does not use a large vocabulary but I'm not sure it's a lack of vocabulary. Occasionally she'll drop a word I don't know and then the rest of the time she uses all cliché words like "look" "watch" "walk". But then again, it's easy to go into the rewriting stages with Thesaurus. Not to mention the cheesy inner dialogue she writes. Every chapter, her characters will stop to ask the same type of questions. "Did he feel the same way she did about him?" "Would they get out of here?" "Would they be strong enough to defeat the bad guy?" And it goes on for at least a paragraph. Usually the character will ask the same question every time so it starts to get redundant and to be honest, kind of hilarious.
All that said, I give this book a 4 for entertaining me and giving me all the happy feelings I get from watching a Hallmark movie. The overall plot was crafted pretty well, and it was fun to read. I'm excited to read the series, and I doubt anything will be able to stop me.