Reviews

Jacks and Queens at the Green Mill by Marie Rutkoski

elevetha's review

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2.0

2.5 stars.

Maybe it'd help with the confusion factor if I read [b:The Shadow Society|10356760|The Shadow Society|Marie Rutkoski|http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1343484595s/10356760.jpg|15259729]. Yeah, probably. Still, nice writing but nothing spectacular and not enough length and meat to the story to make me terribly intrigued.

hun_xx's review

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I thought the title would have a cool hidden meaning that you would figure out as you read the story, but it’s literally jacks and queens at the Green Mill.

Also, can we please talk about THAT COVER. So magnificent! Too bad that it’s only a short story and not a complete book because that cover deserves all the appreciation in the world.

hunia's review

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I thought the title would have a cool hidden meaning that you would figure out as you read the story, but it’s literally jacks and queens at the Green Mill.

Also, can we please talk about THAT COVER. So magnificent! Too bad that it’s only a short story and not a complete book because that cover deserves all the appreciation in the world.

scissor_stockings's review

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adventurous fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

2.0

eol's review

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emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

taylorhudson's review

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4.0

I don't get the point of this short story, but it was pretty nice to see more of a side character we didn't really ever see.

expendablemudge's review

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4.0

Zephyr felt the weight of her flesh settle on the branch-and-twig network of bones.
***
His body was long, rangy, his stance somehow naturally dishonest, alive with the energy of someone who couldn’t be trusted, but also couldn’t be blamed for it, because it was easy to guess from the way he constantly shifted his weight that he couldn’t quite trust himself either.


This is how Author Rutkoski limns her two characters in this shortest-possible taste of a story. It's lovely. I like her work in general, though I'm not usually a YA consumer. It's not easy to beguile me into accepting majgickq or the supernatural, my eyebrows are helium-powered lifters when someone tries to splodge it all over my alternate history. But this story, and the series of books that follow it in The Shadow Society series, make the Shades (Zephyr's people) into an oppressed minority of differently abled people.

I got time for that.

Anyway. The series deals with an alternate, evil Chicago where humans, in our accustomed vile way, persecute the Others among us. It's all in this story, the basic reality that Author Rutkoski wants us to experience; and it's done with a deft and delightful touch, making words pirouette in place, so you think you see what you don't in fact see. It's lovely to watch.

AND it's free: https://www.tor.com/2012/10/17/jacks-and-queens-at-the-green-mill/

reader_fictions's review

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3.0

Too brief for much actual character building or plot but the world building is enticing and the writing lovely.

And that cover is phenomenal and perfectly tailored to the story.

keyreads's review

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3.0

This cover is amazing!! The story was a little too short for me, but still enjoyable.

ohthathayley's review

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3.0

I did not realise this was a supplementary story for The Shadow Society, which I have not read. Whoops.
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