I was really expecting to love this book more than I did. It was perfectly nice and at points I really did enjoy it, but it just wasn't amazing like I was expecting it to be.
The integration of various fairy tales was fun and probably my favorite part of the book. The whole set up of all the different characters and their allusions to fairy tales and unique spins on those stories took up a lot of the pages and was interesting to read.
But, it felt more like a whole lot of description and background and not a whole lot of substance with the here and now story. I'm a reader who loves background stories, so I was mostly ok with this, but every once in a while I'd come up for air and realize I didn't have a cohesive story or characters I could really latch onto and care about.
There was also a kind of overdone vibe that made me feel bogged down, but I can't pinpoint what it was exactly. That's sort of strange to say because I flew through the book, but it almost felt like I was under a fairy tale spell myself, compulsively reading until I finally finished and could surface again. Usually that's a good thing, but for some reason it felt sort of suffocating.
I'm still interested in reading the sequel, but it's on the back burner for now.
Library book
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley
Another one I had high hopes for (not least of which because the sequels have beautiful covers), and another one that let me down. It's very middle grade, which can be fine but in this case made it feel boring and young.
I never fully connected with the main character, though there was nothing particularly wrong with her. The story was interesting, but nothing stood out and made me feel...much of anything.
Probably a good choice for younger readers who like historical fantasy, but it didn't leave enough of an impression on me.
Library
Rating: 3 out of 5
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I'm on such a fairytale re-telling spree that Enchanted looks inviting. However, I can totally relate to the feelings you have towards it (felt it a few times myself). I think if I see it on the shelf I'll grab it and give it a try, but like you said about the sequel, it's on the back burner. Thanks for the mini reviews Small!
ReplyDeleteI am 100% with you on Enchanted! I was totally, and unexpectedly, underwhelmed... not that I strongly disliked it or even disliked it at all... I just didn't think it used all its potential!
ReplyDeleteI thought Enchanted was okay too. I liked the integration of different fairy tales but never really fell in love with the characters.
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