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ashefaye's reviews
126 reviews
The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of "rumpelstiltskin" by Suzanne Weyn
3.0
I will say this book was kinda interesting nonetheless. It was more historical fiction than I expected. The beginning kinda dragged a lot and I had to push myself to read more. But what I liked about the book was the history it brought up and the ending. If anyone has ever read the American Girl Samantha books, they talk about the work industry, factories, and child labor in New York. This book does the same thing but in a different way by bringing in people from another country and what they had to deal with. As sad and true as it is, I still enjoyed reading it and being able to learn from it. As far as the rest of the book goes, I can’t say I disliked it or that I loved it. There were multiple times I was worried about the main character and got a little annoyed with her. But I did enjoy the facts that it brought up and of course the happy ending. Definitely a Rumplestiltskin tale that I wasn’t expecting.
Wild Orchid: A Retelling of "the Ballad of Mulan" by Cameron Dokey
3.0
Well that was.... anticlimactic? I guess that’s what I would call it. I was a little worried about reading this book because I thought it might be boring. As it turns out I was right, unfortunately. There were so many issues that I had with it. I wish this story was more accurate in Chinese history. It was very similar to the Disney movie Mulan, which I do love btw, but I know even that movie got ridiculed by China because it didn’t follow their history and laws. So I would hope that the author of the book that would retell the story would actually do some research and learn what their culture was like back then so this could be an accurate portrayal. But no, they did not. I will also say that this book dragged leading up to the war and then there was basically no war. Barely even a fight for that matter. Mulan fought more in the Disney movie and had way more action than this book. I was very disappointed. I really did hope that this book would prove to be better than how I felt before I started reading it but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.
The Diamond Secret: A Retelling of Anastasia by Suzanne Weyn
5.0
Oh man! This is an amazing retelling! I was a little worried about reading this book because I love the story of Anastasia and it holds a special place in my heart. This story was a beautiful mix of historical facts and imagination! My only critique is that I wish there was a little more conflict in a certain part of the storyline. But all in all it was a great read and I loved the historical note at the end. This is in my top favs of this series!
Water Song: A Retelling of The Frog Prince by Suzanne Weyn
3.0
This book was good but could’ve been better. I found it very interesting that the story took place in WWI but I wish there was more history incorporated with that fact. I also felt like the main characters could’ve had more interaction to actually build a strong relationship with each other so that the ending would make a bit more sense. Also this might sound silly, but seriously there were too many frog analogies! There was one analogy that was done tastefully but the rest just felt like the author was trying too hard to remind us this is a retelling of the frog prince which she could’ve done in multiple different ways. Aside from that, the story itself was decent just wish there was more to it.
Winter's Child: A Retelling of The Snow Queen by Cameron Dokey
3.0
This book was.....confusing is probably the best word for it. While I liked the story and the way the author laid it out to be similar to the original story. There was way too many details and gaps in the story so when it hit the ending none of it really made sense. Another thing that kinda bugged me was that there was no description of the main characters aside from the “Snow Queen.” That made it very hard for my imagination to picture everything that was happening. This could’ve been a great retelling but overall the whole story felt very rushed.
Violet Eyes by Debbie Viguié
5.0
OMG THIS BOOK!!! My only complaint is that it’s not longer! I was really worried about this retelling because the story of the princess and the pea is a very simple one. But man, did I underestimate it! This story was very well written and so good! I had the hardest time putting it down! I just wish it was longer to add some more details in certain areas that felt a bit rushed. I really enjoyed this one and will probably read it again!
The World Above by Cameron Dokey
4.0
This was actually a decent story, though it was hard for me to actually get into it. There was just no pull or captivation to push me to read it. But I did enjoy it and the plot was decent. So I don’t really have anything bad to say about it besides that it could’ve been a bit more exciting.