darquedreamer's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
I don't know what I was expecting from this one, but what I got wasn't it. It was intriguing and different enough to keep me reading until the end, but there was so much about it that I didn't enjoy.
First of all, 4 points of view were way too many. Too much to keep up. Not enough differentiation between the voices, and it was just annoying.
Second, there was no differentiation between flashbacks and present time (I. E. Italics or timestamps), so most of those were confusing. A couple of them felt unnecessary. And, I always had to go back and reread them to make sure I understand that they were flashbacks.
Third, some of the writing just felt off. It switched between trying to tell the story, and trying to be poetic and flowery, and a lot of it was just awkward and didn't add to the plot. The author just tried too hard kn some places to create an atmosphere that just didn't need to be created, and I was honestly left wondering what the final plot twist was actually supposed to be.
And, last, but certainly not least because I'm tired of listing things, I just didn't connect with the characters at all. They fell flat and felt awkward and forced. I did not enjoy their stories at all, and I felt like they didn't either.
I wish I had loved this. I finished it because I wanted to know how it ended, but the ending was a big disappointment and didn't really make sense. The entire book was such a let down that I'm wondering if I even want to read the other book I have from the same author.
First of all, 4 points of view were way too many. Too much to keep up. Not enough differentiation between the voices, and it was just annoying.
Second, there was no differentiation between flashbacks and present time (I. E. Italics or timestamps), so most of those were confusing. A couple of them felt unnecessary. And, I always had to go back and reread them to make sure I understand that they were flashbacks.
Third, some of the writing just felt off. It switched between trying to tell the story, and trying to be poetic and flowery, and a lot of it was just awkward and didn't add to the plot. The author just tried too hard kn some places to create an atmosphere that just didn't need to be created, and I was honestly left wondering what the final plot twist was actually supposed to be.
And, last, but certainly not least because I'm tired of listing things, I just didn't connect with the characters at all. They fell flat and felt awkward and forced. I did not enjoy their stories at all, and I felt like they didn't either.
I wish I had loved this. I finished it because I wanted to know how it ended, but the ending was a big disappointment and didn't really make sense. The entire book was such a let down that I'm wondering if I even want to read the other book I have from the same author.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Toxic friendship
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Child abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, and Blood
foreverinastory's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was an amazing retelling of Snow White & Rose Red! Honestly not surprised because everything McLemore writes is amazing. They are easily a favorite author of mine and I am so excited for their future books.
Rep: Latine white presenting female MC, Latine bisexual female MC, white trans male MC, white male MC, side elderly WLW couple, Latine side characters.
CWs: Blood, child abuse, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, physical abuse, racism, sexism, violence. Moderate: body horror, body shaming, bullying, dysphoria, gun violence.
Rep: Latine white presenting female MC, Latine bisexual female MC, white trans male MC, white male MC, side elderly WLW couple, Latine side characters.
CWs: Blood, child abuse, injury/injury detail, kidnapping, physical abuse, racism, sexism, violence. Moderate: body horror, body shaming, bullying, dysphoria, gun violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Dysphoria, and Gun violence
readandfindout's review
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Writing/style: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3.5 stars
Plot: 2 stars
Worldbuilding: 4 stars
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 3.5 stars
Plot: 2 stars
Worldbuilding: 4 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Bullying and Blood
fionac326's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
nonbinaryreading's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Violence
Moderate: Blood
joceraptor's review
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
as with most books i didn't love, a lot of this comes down to my expectations going in. so for some context: this is the fifth book i've read from anna-marie mclemore. their third published novel, when the moon was ours, is one of my favorite books. the beauty in their prose and the fabricated world really spoke to me and means that i generally have high hopes for their work. blanca & roja didn't work for me for several reasons.
i'll try and lay these out fairly because i do understand that this is a favorite for a lot of people.
first, what i expected from the title, blurb, and just general marketing of blanca & roja was a sister story. one of my biggest complaints is that pretty early on, blanca & roja - who we're told love each other so much that they've tried to share every aspect of their personality so that the swans can't choose between them - find themselves "competing" against one another and mostly due to a miscommunication. i don't love the miscommunication trope at the best of times and this one plays out for 300 pages and is then solved in 3. i was really hoping this story would be about sisterhood and we'd see these two fighting to be together, but i don't think we did. if anything, this felt more about the romance than about family.
secondly, as with their 2020 release, dark & deepest red, this is a multi-pov story where there isn't much distinction between the four speaking characters who all use first-person narratives. again, this is a thing i struggle with often, but if there are multiple pov, i personally need each to sound different.
third, i missed a driving force behind the story. mclemore often does character-focused magical realism, but it felt ill-fitting here. i think it needed something with a harder fantasy aspect and more plot-driven, especially considering that the subplot of why yearling disappeared and the bigger plot of the del cisnes being cursed felt like they belonged to two separate stories. there was a lack of urgency and stakes here that overall left me feeling disconnected and uninterested.
fourth and finally, to get really nitpicky and personal, i was let down by the negligence and sheer amount of violence from family members. i fully recognize that many people grow up in toxic homes. however, there was a bleakness here that put me off. blanca & roja's family only seemed to care about their daughters to the extent that one of them wouldn't be alive longer than 15 years because of this curse. on top of that, yearling's constant description of his cousin beating him black and blue got to a point that was gratuitous to me.
i must stress again that these are all me things. there's very little i find "objectively" bad here, it's just not at all what i wanted or needed from what i thought i was getting into.
i'll try and lay these out fairly because i do understand that this is a favorite for a lot of people.
first, what i expected from the title, blurb, and just general marketing of blanca & roja was a sister story. one of my biggest complaints is that pretty early on, blanca & roja - who we're told love each other so much that they've tried to share every aspect of their personality so that the swans can't choose between them - find themselves "competing" against one another and mostly due to a miscommunication. i don't love the miscommunication trope at the best of times and this one plays out for 300 pages and is then solved in 3. i was really hoping this story would be about sisterhood and we'd see these two fighting to be together, but i don't think we did. if anything, this felt more about the romance than about family.
secondly, as with their 2020 release, dark & deepest red, this is a multi-pov story where there isn't much distinction between the four speaking characters who all use first-person narratives. again, this is a thing i struggle with often, but if there are multiple pov, i personally need each to sound different.
third, i missed a driving force behind the story. mclemore often does character-focused magical realism, but it felt ill-fitting here. i think it needed something with a harder fantasy aspect and more plot-driven, especially considering that the subplot of why yearling disappeared and the bigger plot of the del cisnes being cursed felt like they belonged to two separate stories. there was a lack of urgency and stakes here that overall left me feeling disconnected and uninterested.
fourth and finally, to get really nitpicky and personal, i was let down by the negligence and sheer amount of violence from family members. i fully recognize that many people grow up in toxic homes. however, there was a bleakness here that put me off. blanca & roja's family only seemed to care about their daughters to the extent that one of them wouldn't be alive longer than 15 years because of this curse. on top of that, yearling's constant description of his cousin beating him black and blue got to a point that was gratuitous to me.
i must stress again that these are all me things. there's very little i find "objectively" bad here, it's just not at all what i wanted or needed from what i thought i was getting into.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
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