shayneyj's review against another edition
4.0
I received a free copy of this book from World Weaver Press publications on behalf of the author, in exchange of a honest review of the book.
Quite simply put, this is a fantasy book, loosely based around the Witch from the fairy-tale of Hansel and Gretel, but believe me when I say, it’s not what you’re expecting...
This is my first ever fairy-tale retelling book that I have ever read, so I went into reading this book with high expectations, not knowing how these retellings go, intrigued at how they were going to do this with the Witch, Luna, from Hansel and Gretel. You don’t really hear much from the fairy-tale, a few pages at the most, the rest is about Lunas back round and how she got to where she was. You see her with a new set of eyes and the tale eyes differently, which it would do, being a retelling, with even Hansel and Gretel having slightly different names.
This is the second book in the Fae of Fire and Stone Trilogy, but it can be read as a stand alone book, as that is how I read it and I was able to read this book no problem and I don’t think that I missed out on anything. I would’ve liked to have read the first on Opal first, for obvious reasons, especially because we meet the character Opal in this book and it did make me wonder whether I would’ve had a better understanding. I really wish that I did read the first book Opal first, even though this is said to be a stand alone, I still believe that it may have given me a better understanding to the world that this book was set in, plus I hate reading books out of order, especially now that I want to read this book.
It did end kind of suddenly and abruptly for my liking as I wanted to find out more and left me with questions, just like Luna had herself. Questions like, why now after all this time? Which never got answered and as each book is based on a new character, I’m not expecting it to be answered. This book starts at the end, which means that you know how part of it is going to end and you are waiting for that to happen.
If you’re into fantasy and fairy-tale retellings, then you are going to enjoy this book. I would suggest reading this trilogy in order because even though this can be read as a stand alone, you do meet the character Opal, which is the name of the first book, and if you then want to read the rest of the trilogy, things may get spoiled. It may also help you to get into the world in which this tale is told a lot more easier. Like a fairy-tale, inside a fairy-tale. I’m giving it a 4 out of 5 stars because I do want to read the rest of the books in the trilogy, hopefully understand the world these books are set in a little better.
Quite simply put, this is a fantasy book, loosely based around the Witch from the fairy-tale of Hansel and Gretel, but believe me when I say, it’s not what you’re expecting...
This is my first ever fairy-tale retelling book that I have ever read, so I went into reading this book with high expectations, not knowing how these retellings go, intrigued at how they were going to do this with the Witch, Luna, from Hansel and Gretel. You don’t really hear much from the fairy-tale, a few pages at the most, the rest is about Lunas back round and how she got to where she was. You see her with a new set of eyes and the tale eyes differently, which it would do, being a retelling, with even Hansel and Gretel having slightly different names.
This is the second book in the Fae of Fire and Stone Trilogy, but it can be read as a stand alone book, as that is how I read it and I was able to read this book no problem and I don’t think that I missed out on anything. I would’ve liked to have read the first on Opal first, for obvious reasons, especially because we meet the character Opal in this book and it did make me wonder whether I would’ve had a better understanding. I really wish that I did read the first book Opal first, even though this is said to be a stand alone, I still believe that it may have given me a better understanding to the world that this book was set in, plus I hate reading books out of order, especially now that I want to read this book.
It did end kind of suddenly and abruptly for my liking as I wanted to find out more and left me with questions, just like Luna had herself. Questions like, why now after all this time? Which never got answered and as each book is based on a new character, I’m not expecting it to be answered. This book starts at the end, which means that you know how part of it is going to end and you are waiting for that to happen.
If you’re into fantasy and fairy-tale retellings, then you are going to enjoy this book. I would suggest reading this trilogy in order because even though this can be read as a stand alone, you do meet the character Opal, which is the name of the first book, and if you then want to read the rest of the trilogy, things may get spoiled. It may also help you to get into the world in which this tale is told a lot more easier. Like a fairy-tale, inside a fairy-tale. I’m giving it a 4 out of 5 stars because I do want to read the rest of the books in the trilogy, hopefully understand the world these books are set in a little better.
sopranopage's review against another edition
This is not a nice review. If you liked the book, you probably won't like what I'm about to say.
So, the positive thing about this book is the author does seem to have a knack for description. It's rare that I didn't have a clear picture of where the character was and what the place looked like.
That's pretty much the only positive thing I can say. I spent a good chunk of the book flailing with no idea what was going on. This book is touted as being a stand alone, but I hope that isn't actually true, because the alternative is the author being really bad at explaining her worldbuilding and introducing characters in a non-overwhelming way. I'm still not totally clear who all the characters are. The author also, for some reason, skipped large chunks of necessary scenes that likely would've aided in understanding what on earth was going on.
Vidar made me supremely uncomfortable from the instant he appeared on the page. Aside from the fact he, despite the fact she was not the only dark-skinned character he knew, decided asking if Luna had been burned to explain her complexion was an appropriate line of conversation, I found his "flirtatious" remarks closer to creepy than affection. Luna's initial reluctance to follow his advances wasn't properly explained as it was happening, and the transition into them having a romantic relationship was not properly developed. This is probably a symptom of the book's overall issue with not really explaining things when it comes to characters' internal thoughts. Whether Luna was actually interested in him wasn't clear through the early stages of creepy flirting.
Vidar's comment about Luna's skin was really par for the course in the way her colour was treated throughout the first half of the book in particular. From narrative description saying her feet were indistinguishable from the dirt on them, to Vidar's charming comment, this girl and her skin just could not catch a break. It's impossible to completely divorce a book from the context of the reader's world, so it's important to take into consideration what might be problematic in the real world, not just the cultural norms of the story world alone.
If I hadn't been reading this for a readathon, I likely would not have finished it.
So, the positive thing about this book is the author does seem to have a knack for description. It's rare that I didn't have a clear picture of where the character was and what the place looked like.
That's pretty much the only positive thing I can say. I spent a good chunk of the book flailing with no idea what was going on. This book is touted as being a stand alone, but I hope that isn't actually true, because the alternative is the author being really bad at explaining her worldbuilding and introducing characters in a non-overwhelming way. I'm still not totally clear who all the characters are. The author also, for some reason, skipped large chunks of necessary scenes that likely would've aided in understanding what on earth was going on.
Vidar made me supremely uncomfortable from the instant he appeared on the page. Aside from the fact he, despite the fact she was not the only dark-skinned character he knew, decided asking if Luna had been burned to explain her complexion was an appropriate line of conversation, I found his "flirtatious" remarks closer to creepy than affection. Luna's initial reluctance to follow his advances wasn't properly explained as it was happening, and the transition into them having a romantic relationship was not properly developed. This is probably a symptom of the book's overall issue with not really explaining things when it comes to characters' internal thoughts. Whether Luna was actually interested in him wasn't clear through the early stages of creepy flirting.
Vidar's comment about Luna's skin was really par for the course in the way her colour was treated throughout the first half of the book in particular. From narrative description saying her feet were indistinguishable from the dirt on them, to Vidar's charming comment, this girl and her skin just could not catch a break. It's impossible to completely divorce a book from the context of the reader's world, so it's important to take into consideration what might be problematic in the real world, not just the cultural norms of the story world alone.
If I hadn't been reading this for a readathon, I likely would not have finished it.
jamiebooksandladders's review
1.0
Actual Rating: 0.5*
All the reviews for this book are positive so I went into this expecting "masterful layers of time" and "excellent prose" and got literally none of that. I almost DNFed after 10% because I was confused, bored, and just not into this at all. I almost feel like I didn't read the same book as the other people who have reviewed this one.
I was confused af the whole time I was reading this. It says this one can be read as a standalone even thought it is the sequel to another book, but I feel like maybe reading the first one would have been helpful for context or worldbuilding. But I doubt I would have read this one if the first had been anything like this. I honestly cannot believe I finished this one.
The main problem is that nothing was explained, it all just happened. Luna was on the mountain because she was the "seventh" and had to eat a seed but it never really made sense. She also acted in certain ways but we never really understood her intentions because she never really thought about what she was doing, she just changed her mind every so often for "character development" or "plot continuation" and I was ???? the whole time. I feel like this is one case where more telling instead of showing would have been really useful.
I didn't mind Luna but I also felt like she was used as a way for the author to get her story done. She didn't really have agency because she acted in whatever way got the plot from point a to point b rather than point b happening because she acted. The reader could always tell that Point B was going to happen rather than being surprised, if that makes sense. I am being just as confusing in my review as the book was.
The racism that the other characters had towards our MC was atrocious. Asking if her skin was burnt because she was black was just not okay but of EFFING course he would be a love interest. And he was horrible to her. As well, the narrative makes specific mention to the indistinguishable nature of the dirt on Luna's feet to the colour of her feet. I had so many problems with the way her skin colour was treated in this book, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT WAS CALLED CHAR. Like can we please stop with this nonsense.
Vidar and Luna's relationship was so strange and unexplained, plus it just didn't feel real. It felt like someone said "hey you know what sells? Love triangles, so add one to your book" so the author did. But the "relationship" with Errol wasn't developed at all either, so any choice that was made didn't make sense to the reader. It felt like romance was an afterthought and both were thrown in just to have a certain appeal to a specific reader. However it was superficial and shallow -- leaving the romance reader wanting more and the reader who doesn't want romance to say why even include this.
And on top of all of this, it is called a Hansel and Gretel retelling but that should VERY LOOSELY be used to describe this book. Like I wouldn't even mention these two in the same breath. I do not recommend this book at all, in fact, stay very far away.
All the reviews for this book are positive so I went into this expecting "masterful layers of time" and "excellent prose" and got literally none of that. I almost DNFed after 10% because I was confused, bored, and just not into this at all. I almost feel like I didn't read the same book as the other people who have reviewed this one.
I was confused af the whole time I was reading this. It says this one can be read as a standalone even thought it is the sequel to another book, but I feel like maybe reading the first one would have been helpful for context or worldbuilding. But I doubt I would have read this one if the first had been anything like this. I honestly cannot believe I finished this one.
The main problem is that nothing was explained, it all just happened. Luna was on the mountain because she was the "seventh" and had to eat a seed but it never really made sense. She also acted in certain ways but we never really understood her intentions because she never really thought about what she was doing, she just changed her mind every so often for "character development" or "plot continuation" and I was ???? the whole time. I feel like this is one case where more telling instead of showing would have been really useful.
I didn't mind Luna but I also felt like she was used as a way for the author to get her story done. She didn't really have agency because she acted in whatever way got the plot from point a to point b rather than point b happening because she acted. The reader could always tell that Point B was going to happen rather than being surprised, if that makes sense. I am being just as confusing in my review as the book was.
The racism that the other characters had towards our MC was atrocious. Asking if her skin was burnt because she was black was just not okay but of EFFING course he would be a love interest. And he was horrible to her. As well, the narrative makes specific mention to the indistinguishable nature of the dirt on Luna's feet to the colour of her feet. I had so many problems with the way her skin colour was treated in this book, ESPECIALLY SINCE IT WAS CALLED CHAR. Like can we please stop with this nonsense.
Vidar and Luna's relationship was so strange and unexplained, plus it just didn't feel real. It felt like someone said "hey you know what sells? Love triangles, so add one to your book" so the author did. But the "relationship" with Errol wasn't developed at all either, so any choice that was made didn't make sense to the reader. It felt like romance was an afterthought and both were thrown in just to have a certain appeal to a specific reader. However it was superficial and shallow -- leaving the romance reader wanting more and the reader who doesn't want romance to say why even include this.
And on top of all of this, it is called a Hansel and Gretel retelling but that should VERY LOOSELY be used to describe this book. Like I wouldn't even mention these two in the same breath. I do not recommend this book at all, in fact, stay very far away.
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