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quinn_0611 's review for:
Wildwood Dancing
by Juliet Marillier
So . . . Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. It’s Young Adult, it’s a fairytale retelling, it has rave reviews and it’s been on my TBR for years (long before I started blogging). I finally read Wildwood Dancing (via audiobook), and I have to say that I didn’t love this one.
Let’s start off with what I thought was really well done. I think the way Juliet Marillier interweaved the fairytales and the whole Romanian vampire legends was amazing. The way she wrote these tales together felt so natural, like that is the way it has always been. That aspect of this story is definitely my favorite part of Wildwood Dancing.
The writing is excellent. It’s not choppy and flows together beautifully. I also quite liked the setting for this book. It's a historical setting when women wore dresses, and didn't have a lot of options. The big house that the sisters live in totally captured my attention as well as the Other Kingdom that the sisters enter once a month.
The characters were, for the most part, well-developed (although I do have some issues with characterization - more on that later). With five sisters, it could have been difficult to differentiate one from the other, but that was never the case. I really did like the two youngest siblings, Paula and Stela. I also quite liked Jena's pet, Gogu.
But as much as I admire the above aspects of Wildwood Dancing, for the most part I felt like this book was a lesson in frustration. The more I read the more I became frustrated with the characters (particularly the protagonist, Jena, and her oldest sister, Tati).
Let's talk about Tati first. Tati falls in love with someone from the Other Kingdom who is with the Night People (sort of like vampires). Jena isn't too happy about this, but Tati is smitten and can't stop her feelings. Despite the fact that Tati falls in love immediately, that isn't what really bothered me. What did bother me was how ridiculous Tati became once she fell in love with Sorrow. She was completely in lost in her head. The sisters were having lots problems, mainly because of their nasty cousin Cezar, and a lot of awful things were happening. But she doesn't help out her sisters. She completely withdraws and zones out and it is beyond frustrating. It even gets so bad that Tati literally won't eat because she misses Sorrow (*eyeroll*). She's literally lovesick. Ugh! SO frustrating and truthfully not at all romantic.
As for Jena, the main character - wow did she annoy me. Initially I thought Jena was going to be a strong woman. She's excellent with math, and she helps her father with his merchant business and I was all YES! But then I realized how passive a character Jena is. Her cousin, Cezar, constantly bullies her, and her sisters, but Jena never does anything. And I understand initially that she doesn't stand up to him, but after awhile, I'm shocked that she doesn't at least lose her temper. Because let me tell you, Cezar is an awful person. He's just nasty.
I was also shocked and annoyed at what Jena did to her pet, Gogu. I can't go into detail, because of spoilers, but there is this one scene and Jena just infuriated me. But then she kept doing the same thing over and over, and oh my gosh, you guys, I can't remember the last time I was so frustrated with a book.
I could go on and on, but I am going to stop myself here. Wildwood Dancing did not live up to my expectations, and it turned out to be one of the most frustrating books I've ever read. While I can understand why many people liked this, I am actually a bit surprised by how much love this book gets. Clearly it was not a book for me.This review was originally posted on Quinn's Book Nook
Let’s start off with what I thought was really well done. I think the way Juliet Marillier interweaved the fairytales and the whole Romanian vampire legends was amazing. The way she wrote these tales together felt so natural, like that is the way it has always been. That aspect of this story is definitely my favorite part of Wildwood Dancing.
The writing is excellent. It’s not choppy and flows together beautifully. I also quite liked the setting for this book. It's a historical setting when women wore dresses, and didn't have a lot of options. The big house that the sisters live in totally captured my attention as well as the Other Kingdom that the sisters enter once a month.
The characters were, for the most part, well-developed (although I do have some issues with characterization - more on that later). With five sisters, it could have been difficult to differentiate one from the other, but that was never the case. I really did like the two youngest siblings, Paula and Stela. I also quite liked Jena's pet, Gogu.
But as much as I admire the above aspects of Wildwood Dancing, for the most part I felt like this book was a lesson in frustration. The more I read the more I became frustrated with the characters (particularly the protagonist, Jena, and her oldest sister, Tati).
Let's talk about Tati first. Tati falls in love with someone from the Other Kingdom who is with the Night People (sort of like vampires). Jena isn't too happy about this, but Tati is smitten and can't stop her feelings. Despite the fact that Tati falls in love immediately, that isn't what really bothered me. What did bother me was how ridiculous Tati became once she fell in love with Sorrow. She was completely in lost in her head. The sisters were having lots problems, mainly because of their nasty cousin Cezar, and a lot of awful things were happening. But she doesn't help out her sisters. She completely withdraws and zones out and it is beyond frustrating. It even gets so bad that Tati literally won't eat because she misses Sorrow (*eyeroll*). She's literally lovesick. Ugh! SO frustrating and truthfully not at all romantic.
As for Jena, the main character - wow did she annoy me. Initially I thought Jena was going to be a strong woman. She's excellent with math, and she helps her father with his merchant business and I was all YES! But then I realized how passive a character Jena is. Her cousin, Cezar, constantly bullies her, and her sisters, but Jena never does anything. And I understand initially that she doesn't stand up to him, but after awhile, I'm shocked that she doesn't at least lose her temper. Because let me tell you, Cezar is an awful person. He's just nasty.
I was also shocked and annoyed at what Jena did to her pet, Gogu. I can't go into detail, because of spoilers, but there is this one scene and Jena just infuriated me. But then she kept doing the same thing over and over, and oh my gosh, you guys, I can't remember the last time I was so frustrated with a book.
I could go on and on, but I am going to stop myself here. Wildwood Dancing did not live up to my expectations, and it turned out to be one of the most frustrating books I've ever read. While I can understand why many people liked this, I am actually a bit surprised by how much love this book gets. Clearly it was not a book for me.This review was originally posted on Quinn's Book Nook