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A review by caitlaird
The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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? No
3.25
I read this and loved it as a child, I did not remember much but wanted to reread.
I enjoyed the romance, I thought it was very sweet. The world building was great, I think this story would have benefited from another 200 pages or so, because it was a little rushed and fantasy needs time to cook if it’s going to be easy to follow. Sometimes I got a bit confused about the lore (if you like classic fantasy I’m sure you’re fine but I’m rather unfamiliar with the ideas of seven league boots and things like that, only having heard or them, never reading them actually in use), and for a kids book it should perhaps be easier to make sense of but I got there in the end. Maybe that says more about me, but hey I can handle that.
I do think every single character could have used a lot more development, and Addie could be rather frustrating sometimes. I understand a reluctant hero but it was almost hard to root for her because it felt like she really just didn’t want to do anything, and just wanted to cry the whole time. She does eventually learn to be tougher but it almost doesn’t feel earned, like what did she do other than live through tough experiences, she didn’t really do much to help herself out of these tough situations in my opinion. Just like complained in her head.
I found the climax to be a bit hard to follow and rather rushed, and throughout the story everything was working against her and she made very silly mistakes that kept making her journey harder, and it almost felt like it was unrealistic (and believe me I get it, it’s fantasy so it’s going to be unrealistic but bear with me). Everything just kept going wrong.
And as a reader when you have to read… three days passed… two days passed that can be a bit painful. I’d rather you just cut the deadline.
I enjoyed the romance, I thought it was very sweet. The world building was great, I think this story would have benefited from another 200 pages or so, because it was a little rushed and fantasy needs time to cook if it’s going to be easy to follow. Sometimes I got a bit confused about the lore (if you like classic fantasy I’m sure you’re fine but I’m rather unfamiliar with the ideas of seven league boots and things like that, only having heard or them, never reading them actually in use), and for a kids book it should perhaps be easier to make sense of but I got there in the end. Maybe that says more about me, but hey I can handle that.
I do think every single character could have used a lot more development, and Addie could be rather frustrating sometimes. I understand a reluctant hero but it was almost hard to root for her because it felt like she really just didn’t want to do anything, and just wanted to cry the whole time. She does eventually learn to be tougher but it almost doesn’t feel earned, like what did she do other than live through tough experiences, she didn’t really do much to help herself out of these tough situations in my opinion. Just like complained in her head.
I found the climax to be a bit hard to follow and rather rushed, and throughout the story everything was working against her and she made very silly mistakes that kept making her journey harder, and it almost felt like it was unrealistic (and believe me I get it, it’s fantasy so it’s going to be unrealistic but bear with me). Everything just kept going wrong.
And as a reader when you have to read… three days passed… two days passed that can be a bit painful. I’d rather you just cut the deadline.