eviecheesepuff's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I love me a good retelling. This one…not so much as love but maybe...appreciation?
It was refreshing to see the story through the POV of Iris, one of the stepsisters. Specially because we meet her way before she becomes such but this book felt more like an exploration of sisterhood and what defines it rather than a retelling. I did have fun catching the small details that tie it to the mainstream version. However, a lot of the narration is spent on repeating information that has already been exposed to us and yet (somehow) the climax of the story is narrated instead of shown which was very disappointing imo.
Everyone told me I should have started my Gregory Maguire phase with Wicked, but I wanted to try this one because I’ve always loved Cinderella. I should have probably listened!
It was refreshing to see the story through the POV of Iris, one of the stepsisters. Specially because we meet her way before she becomes such but this book felt more like an exploration of sisterhood and what defines it rather than a retelling. I did have fun catching the small details that tie it to the mainstream version. However, a lot of the narration is spent on repeating information that has already been exposed to us and yet (somehow) the climax of the story is narrated instead of shown which was very disappointing imo.
Everyone told me I should have started my Gregory Maguire phase with Wicked, but I wanted to try this one because I’ve always loved Cinderella. I should have probably listened!
Lessons learned,
1 - Illustrated books are underrated.
2 - “You can endure any short of prison if you can apprehend a window in the dark.” My depressed ass almost had to stop reading. Omg.
3 - This book = Reminder that I am very very grateful to not have been born in the 17th Century. Thank you very much. “…for the woman who doesn’t open her mouth to speak can’t be discovered to be a shrew, a harridan, a gossip or a grump.”
4 - “Self-mockery is an uglier thing that any human face…” aka stop hating yourself girl. It's not worth it!
5 - “I hope you don’t marry the wrong man” says Caspar, a soft boy that flirts and paints and loves us for who we are. Yes please. Best character. Jack Dawson much?
notes
- If you give me romance…I need at least a kiss. I did not spend several days reading witty flirty dialog to end up this disappointed gReG! Get it together!
- Why is miss Cinder the one on the cover of the book? Iris is being disrespected even in real life…smh.
- I have a feeling Maggie is killing everyone and no one is putting it together. Just my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Death, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
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