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A review by starstruck
Small Favors by Erin A. Craig
4.5
I wasn't expecting this to be as good as it was. I picked it up on a whim as a part of a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal at B&N. After that, it sat collecting dust on my bookshelf for a couple of months. However, it seems that you can never go wrong with an online spinning wheel of names, lol. Small Favors definitely exceeded my expectations.
However, there were a few things I didn't like about it. The slow start, for one thing. It did take me quite a few pages to get into. Though it was worth it in the end, it did knock me out of my element. There was also a thing with all the minor references to the outside world that threw me out of my element, such as the characters using credit cards and mentions of the big cities and fancy restaurants in the outside world. And also, I hated all of the characters. Besides Ellerie and Whitaker, of course. For some reason, I also liked (spoiler) The Queen, though I've always been drawn to the seemingly all-powerful bad guys haha. Sam was the worst. Ever since reading The Cruel Prince, I've had hatred toward all bad siblings, and Samuel was the WORST. How someone could be that terrible of a sibling is completely beyond me, and that is coming from a pretty bad sibling herself. When he tried to trade his life for his sisters????? Why would anyone EVER do that???? And he completely manipulated Rebecca and used her for sex pretty much. Oh, AND he had the audacity to try and fault Ellerie multiple times for the things that he had caused? He was just an all-around horrible person.
The bees were such a great characterization moment that I couldn't not mention. just watching her grow as a person alongside them? Stupendous. Also, the connection between the smoke at the beginning of this novel and how it connects with the end? How can an author even come up with something that damn smart?
ALSO, final note, this book was so gorgeous. The honey-yellow color of the book (Just realized that Ellerie is connected to the bees in another way: her hair is repeatedly mentioned as "honey-colored"!) and the pretty flowers paired with the lovely dainty chapter headers were an amazing design choice. The pages separating the seasons were also beautiful! I could talk about this for hours, but I won't for whoever is reading this's sake. In conclusion, would recommend it. Will be checking out Craig's other works. Can't wait to read House of Salt and Sorrows. (Personal note: finished in 4 hrs and 10 min give-or-take)
However, there were a few things I didn't like about it. The slow start, for one thing. It did take me quite a few pages to get into. Though it was worth it in the end, it did knock me out of my element. There was also a thing with all the minor references to the outside world that threw me out of my element, such as the characters using credit cards and mentions of the big cities and fancy restaurants in the outside world. And also, I hated all of the characters. Besides Ellerie and Whitaker, of course. For some reason, I also liked (spoiler)
The bees were such a great characterization moment that I couldn't not mention. just watching her grow as a person alongside them? Stupendous. Also, the connection between the smoke at the beginning of this novel and how it connects with the end? How can an author even come up with something that damn smart?
ALSO, final note, this book was so gorgeous. The honey-yellow color of the book (Just realized that Ellerie is connected to the bees in another way: her hair is repeatedly mentioned as "honey-colored"!) and the pretty flowers paired with the lovely dainty chapter headers were an amazing design choice. The pages separating the seasons were also beautiful! I could talk about this for hours, but I won't for whoever is reading this's sake. In conclusion, would recommend it. Will be checking out Craig's other works. Can't wait to read House of Salt and Sorrows. (Personal note: finished in 4 hrs and 10 min give-or-take)