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amandasbrews's Reviews (458)
3 magical, multicultural, interwoven stars
Read my full review HERE. :)
Big Takeaway
This book was fun, and wove together many different fairytales from multiple different cultures, while adding more diverse representation, which was super cool! I liked the overarching story and how the characters told stories within the story. But I couldn't help feeling like it needed to be fleshed out more.
Read my full review HERE. :)
Big Takeaway
This book was fun, and wove together many different fairytales from multiple different cultures, while adding more diverse representation, which was super cool! I liked the overarching story and how the characters told stories within the story. But I couldn't help feeling like it needed to be fleshed out more.
3.5 Briar Rose Stars
I had a lot of fun reading this book. I love when retellings get really creative and change a lot of things, because reading the exact same story can be so boring. It was a great book to binge and was interesting and creative, but I could definitely tell that it was a debut novel.
There were moments where I had to pause and think, "did I really just read about a heart beat so loud that people can probably hear it....again?" There were also some moments that definitely could have been shorter. There was a lot of internal dialogue that I felt didn't need to be explained in the way that it did. It just felt longer than it needed to be.
Despite the repetition and the sporadic drawn out pieces, I did enjoy the world building, and all the background of Briar. There weren't elements that I disliked enough to take out, it just felt like there was ... kind of a lot of stuff happening.
I almost was willing to give this four stars, almost. I think for how drawn out some of it was, and how many things were happening all at once, that the ending was rushed. It felt a little, ahem, in the end. Most of you know the feeling.
Big Takeaway:
Definitely a fun debut novel, with a fun twist on Sleeping Beauty, but perhaps missing that element of literary magic to all come together better. BUT I'm very excited for more books by Heather Walter. I can feel that she will grow as an author and she can blow us all away one day.
*I was given a review copy of this book & am leaving a review voluntarily
I had a lot of fun reading this book. I love when retellings get really creative and change a lot of things, because reading the exact same story can be so boring. It was a great book to binge and was interesting and creative, but I could definitely tell that it was a debut novel.
There were moments where I had to pause and think, "did I really just read about a heart beat so loud that people can probably hear it....again?" There were also some moments that definitely could have been shorter. There was a lot of internal dialogue that I felt didn't need to be explained in the way that it did. It just felt longer than it needed to be.
Despite the repetition and the sporadic drawn out pieces, I did enjoy the world building, and all the background of Briar. There weren't elements that I disliked enough to take out, it just felt like there was ... kind of a lot of stuff happening.
I almost was willing to give this four stars, almost. I think for how drawn out some of it was, and how many things were happening all at once, that the ending was rushed. It felt a little, ahem,
Spoiler
like Game of ThronesBig Takeaway:
Definitely a fun debut novel, with a fun twist on Sleeping Beauty, but perhaps missing that element of literary magic to all come together better. BUT I'm very excited for more books by Heather Walter. I can feel that she will grow as an author and she can blow us all away one day.
*I was given a review copy of this book & am leaving a review voluntarily
Holy cow, what a good book. Review to come...probably, hopefully
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Bookish Brews | Twitter | Pinterest | Tumblr | Facebook
Gosh, this story made me feel like I was a part of the forest as well. Somehow I felt like I could feel what the forest feels. That i was drip-drip-dripping dew too. The whole thing was so pretty I couldn't put it down and basically read it in one sitting.
I wish it were a rainy day read with a view of nature, that would have been absolute bliss.
I wish it were a rainy day read with a view of nature, that would have been absolute bliss.
Weird, dark, interesting. I, uh, wanted to like it more, but maybe I just didn't get it?
**Updating this review just to say this is officially published!!! YAY GO SI CLARKE and go check this out :)**
WOW! This book really surprised me. The promise of a diverse cast really caught my attention, and Si Clarke ABSOLUTELY delivered.
This beautifully queer civilization on Mars was absolutely delightful to read about. I initially thought there wasn't enough action, but as I continued, I realized that my desire for more action is simply because I'm not used to just delightful sci-fi books. There WAS action, just not the kind that I expected. I was also initially overwhelmed by characters, because there were so many. By the end, however, I was so happy that there were so many characters, because they were all a practice in acceptance.
It's incredibly clear that Clarke put a lot of work and thought into this book and how the colony should work. It did not go unnoticed or unappreciated! There are references in the back about the research done to create Devon Island, which was so awesome to see and understand!
This was just a lovely story of humanity surviving and thriving socially even after we've had to leave our beautiful home on Earth. We learn to move on, and we learn to accept each other. Delightful! By the end I was just smiling to myself about all of it. :) I really felt like I was there, building the colony through the mears with them!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
WOW! This book really surprised me. The promise of a diverse cast really caught my attention, and Si Clarke ABSOLUTELY delivered.
This beautifully queer civilization on Mars was absolutely delightful to read about. I initially thought there wasn't enough action, but as I continued, I realized that my desire for more action is simply because I'm not used to just delightful sci-fi books. There WAS action, just not the kind that I expected. I was also initially overwhelmed by characters, because there were so many. By the end, however, I was so happy that there were so many characters, because they were all a practice in acceptance.
It's incredibly clear that Clarke put a lot of work and thought into this book and how the colony should work. It did not go unnoticed or unappreciated! There are references in the back about the research done to create Devon Island, which was so awesome to see and understand!
This was just a lovely story of humanity surviving and thriving socially even after we've had to leave our beautiful home on Earth. We learn to move on, and we learn to accept each other. Delightful! By the end I was just smiling to myself about all of it. :) I really felt like I was there, building the colony through the mears with them!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
This was a strong 4 stars for me until the end, now I need to decompress, I don't even know what this did to me but I think it was good
I feel like I need to give this to everyone I know