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A review by vickivav
Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier
3.0
I really wanted to like this book more, but I found it to be a sometimes frustrating read. It is inventive and the scenes of the wood both in the normal world and the fairy world are very evocative and beautiful. It is hard to describe my main reason for only giving it two stars getting too spoilery, so if you don't want any spoilers at all don't read further.
Here's my issue in a nutshell, many romance books use the trope of "true love" and since this is a fairy tale I was prepared to go along with the often destructive notion that there is only ever one person in the world that is your true love and if you miss your chance your doomed to a life-time of misery. This idea wouldn't normally have bothered me too much, but there is one character who takes it to ridiculous extremes. She selfishly allows herself to waste away over her seemingly impossible love. When she is given the possibiltiy of potentially being with her love, she continues to waste away because it will take too long and she doesn't believe it will come true. This isn't true love, her actions are selfish, self defeating, and unbelievably cowardly given the sacrifices of the man she is supposed to love more than her own life. The main character is a strong and independent young woman, but seems to be completely incapable of slapping some sense into her overwrought sister. Some how we are supposed to see the two love stories as equal, but one is straight-up Victorian melodrama and the other is a more satisfying union of equals.
Here's my issue in a nutshell, many romance books use the trope of "true love" and since this is a fairy tale I was prepared to go along with the often destructive notion that there is only ever one person in the world that is your true love and if you miss your chance your doomed to a life-time of misery. This idea wouldn't normally have bothered me too much, but there is one character who takes it to ridiculous extremes. She selfishly allows herself to waste away over her seemingly impossible love. When she is given the possibiltiy of potentially being with her love, she continues to waste away because it will take too long and she doesn't believe it will come true. This isn't true love, her actions are selfish, self defeating, and unbelievably cowardly given the sacrifices of the man she is supposed to love more than her own life. The main character is a strong and independent young woman, but seems to be completely incapable of slapping some sense into her overwrought sister. Some how we are supposed to see the two love stories as equal, but one is straight-up Victorian melodrama and the other is a more satisfying union of equals.