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A review by hungrybrainz
A Whole New World by Liz Braswell
4.0
I generally enjoyed this book, finished it fairly quickly. However, I felt as though at times I went from reading a published novel to a story on a fan-fiction website. I know the intent of this novel is generally the same premise as fan-fiction...but I feel as though there should be a distinct difference in the feeling that reading a novel gives you vs. if you were reading a story online. It should feel more refined vs. raw. Especially a book backed by Disney.
I was pleased with the focus on a strong female lead and how much empowerment Jasmine and Morgianna had as characters, even though some things seemed a little too nonchalant for the time period and region this story is supposed to be based in. But hey, "suspension of disbelief"...right?
I immediately noticed that there were a lot of new characters introduced without building on the already established characters that we know and love. We "visited" Aladdin and Genie's backstories, but the book could have benefited from including more of that material instead of continuing to introduce multiple new characters. For the size of the book and the purpose of the book, I really didn't understand why so many new characters were created. I almost felt as though the book was attempting to introduce a series - but I knew going into this collection of "What-If" books that it was definitely just a one-shot for this particular story. It didn't ruin the book for me, but it distracted me at times while trying to figure out who was who and the significance of their characters (other than a couple short conversations with the princess).
I personally got a little lost during the combat scenes because I didn't feel that they had to be THAT detailed, but honestly that could just be material preference.
I will not say anything specific so that I don't ruin the book for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but I was definitely left feeling a little hollow in the end. I knew with the obvious chain of events that things wouldn't turn out "perfect" but I'd hoped they would turn out a little better than they did...
Overall, it was a fun little bit to read - but I'd honestly expected more from it. I'm hoping the rest of the series will be a little more refined than this first one.
I was pleased with the focus on a strong female lead and how much empowerment Jasmine and Morgianna had as characters, even though some things seemed a little too nonchalant for the time period and region this story is supposed to be based in. But hey, "suspension of disbelief"...right?
I immediately noticed that there were a lot of new characters introduced without building on the already established characters that we know and love. We "visited" Aladdin and Genie's backstories, but the book could have benefited from including more of that material instead of continuing to introduce multiple new characters. For the size of the book and the purpose of the book, I really didn't understand why so many new characters were created. I almost felt as though the book was attempting to introduce a series - but I knew going into this collection of "What-If" books that it was definitely just a one-shot for this particular story. It didn't ruin the book for me, but it distracted me at times while trying to figure out who was who and the significance of their characters (other than a couple short conversations with the princess).
I personally got a little lost during the combat scenes because I didn't feel that they had to be THAT detailed, but honestly that could just be material preference.
I will not say anything specific so that I don't ruin the book for anyone who hasn't read it yet, but I was definitely left feeling a little hollow in the end. I knew with the obvious chain of events that things wouldn't turn out "perfect" but I'd hoped they would turn out a little better than they did...
Overall, it was a fun little bit to read - but I'd honestly expected more from it. I'm hoping the rest of the series will be a little more refined than this first one.