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A review by thereadingchemist
The Puppetmaster's Apprentice by Lisa Deselm
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up
I was immediately drawn to this story with the comparison Pinocchio meets Frankenstein. I am a sucker for fairytale retellings, especially when they are on the darker side. That being said, while I still enjoyed The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice, I envisioned a much darker story reminiscent of Kiersten White’s The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.
Pirouette ‘Piro’ is the daughter of the renowned puppetmaster. Unlike everyone else, Pirouette’s father brought her to life using magic under the blue moon. Pirouette trains under her father as his apprentice, honing the craft as her own. When Pirouette is faced with dire circumstances, she has no choice but to create marionettes for the Margrave even if the nature in which he intends to use them is evil.
The prose in this book is beautiful and delicate, which is also how I felt about Pirouette for the first 50 percent of the book. Pirouette is dedicated to both her father and her craft. While I enjoyed her character, I much preferred the paradigm shift that we see in the latter half of the book. Pirouette changes from the timid and delicate daughter to someone who is strong, independent, and unrelenting.
I loved that the author put a spin on the traditional nose elongation that accompanies lying. Pirouette also must pay the price for lying but the way in which it was carried out was really interesting and original. I love that everything tied back to the wood that Pirouette was made from. It was more reminiscent of magic coming at a price versus being wielded without consequence.
The pacing of the story was slower than I would’ve liked to see. Again, the first 50 percent of the story feels more like an elegant waltz and then we move into the more rapid pace and darkness that I prefer in the second half of the book.
Thank you to Turn the Page Tours for the tour invite. Thank you to Page Street YA for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.
I was immediately drawn to this story with the comparison Pinocchio meets Frankenstein. I am a sucker for fairytale retellings, especially when they are on the darker side. That being said, while I still enjoyed The Puppetmaster’s Apprentice, I envisioned a much darker story reminiscent of Kiersten White’s The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein.
Pirouette ‘Piro’ is the daughter of the renowned puppetmaster. Unlike everyone else, Pirouette’s father brought her to life using magic under the blue moon. Pirouette trains under her father as his apprentice, honing the craft as her own. When Pirouette is faced with dire circumstances, she has no choice but to create marionettes for the Margrave even if the nature in which he intends to use them is evil.
The prose in this book is beautiful and delicate, which is also how I felt about Pirouette for the first 50 percent of the book. Pirouette is dedicated to both her father and her craft. While I enjoyed her character, I much preferred the paradigm shift that we see in the latter half of the book. Pirouette changes from the timid and delicate daughter to someone who is strong, independent, and unrelenting.
I loved that the author put a spin on the traditional nose elongation that accompanies lying. Pirouette also must pay the price for lying but the way in which it was carried out was really interesting and original. I love that everything tied back to the wood that Pirouette was made from. It was more reminiscent of magic coming at a price versus being wielded without consequence.
The pacing of the story was slower than I would’ve liked to see. Again, the first 50 percent of the story feels more like an elegant waltz and then we move into the more rapid pace and darkness that I prefer in the second half of the book.
Thank you to Turn the Page Tours for the tour invite. Thank you to Page Street YA for providing a review copy. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.