bloodwitch's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
repeatednean's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
worldroamer's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
storiesatstarfall's review against another edition
4.0
Star Rating: 3.75-4
The Mirror project promises to be an ambitious and interesting project, one I'm definitely intrigued to see how it progresses. Four generations. Four stories. I love this concept of a cross-generational fairytale and it all starts here with Broken Wish. Because every family curse starts somewhere.
Broken Wish is the beginning of this saga, and the one I foresee being the most traditional fairytale-esque. Centered in late 1800s Geremany, it definitely unveils the beginning of a Disney-dark fairytale. Witches, spells gone wrong, and unpredictable magic, all under the flag of fighting what it means to be different. My biggest qualm is that this story, while enchanting and very much feels like the beginning of a Disney movie franchise, is just that: a beginning. Instead of standing on its own as it's own book, Broken Wish very much feels more like a prequel novella, with the real, true story on its way.
The characters are all archetypes you know, and not all of them have much depth. The story is easy to digest in the way that Disney encourages their books to be: clean prose and straight forward story. It's YA in the way of the Twisted Tales series, which also means the writing level is more geared towards younger YA readers and MG-aged readers.
Still, I'm honestly still excited for the stories to follow. While this is more like an introduction, I love the concept of this interconnected, multigenerational story. There's so many symbols and the like that I'm eager to see how they're carried over, and the next installment already sounds like it will promise heavier topics while extending the witchy feel outside classic Grimm Bros. era and into 1920s New Orleans.
Even though Broken Wish as a standalone doesn't feel as strong of a story as it could be, it has all the potential to hold the keys to a magnificent unraveling as The Mirror series continues!
This ARC was provided by NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide in exchange for an honest review.
The Mirror project promises to be an ambitious and interesting project, one I'm definitely intrigued to see how it progresses. Four generations. Four stories. I love this concept of a cross-generational fairytale and it all starts here with Broken Wish. Because every family curse starts somewhere.
Broken Wish is the beginning of this saga, and the one I foresee being the most traditional fairytale-esque. Centered in late 1800s Geremany, it definitely unveils the beginning of a Disney-dark fairytale. Witches, spells gone wrong, and unpredictable magic, all under the flag of fighting what it means to be different. My biggest qualm is that this story, while enchanting and very much feels like the beginning of a Disney movie franchise, is just that: a beginning. Instead of standing on its own as it's own book, Broken Wish very much feels more like a prequel novella, with the real, true story on its way.
The characters are all archetypes you know, and not all of them have much depth. The story is easy to digest in the way that Disney encourages their books to be: clean prose and straight forward story. It's YA in the way of the Twisted Tales series, which also means the writing level is more geared towards younger YA readers and MG-aged readers.
Still, I'm honestly still excited for the stories to follow. While this is more like an introduction, I love the concept of this interconnected, multigenerational story. There's so many symbols and the like that I'm eager to see how they're carried over, and the next installment already sounds like it will promise heavier topics while extending the witchy feel outside classic Grimm Bros. era and into 1920s New Orleans.
Even though Broken Wish as a standalone doesn't feel as strong of a story as it could be, it has all the potential to hold the keys to a magnificent unraveling as The Mirror series continues!
This ARC was provided by NetGalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide in exchange for an honest review.
katreadsalot's review against another edition
4.0
I really appreciated how well plotted this novel was. The ending seemed like a surprise but upon reflection, fit perfectly.
amycbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
leann_ange's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I was all about this until the ending. I loved the set up for the family curse, the slight eerieness about Mathilda and the growth of the various characters. The magic was nicely done in a way that gave a sense of firm limits while still maintaining a broad scope and a sense of uncertainty that works well in a more fairy tale-like setting. Elva, too, was a good character, and I liked her relationship with Cay and Mathilda. Even Agnes I enjoyed, with the conflict between her good nature and the pressure she caved to from her husband to abuse her friendship to Mathilda. I would have given this five stars if it weren't for the ending.
SpoilerI dislike stories where it feels like nothing matters, or like the protagonist dies needlessly at the end of the book. Elva's death isn't MEANINGLESS in that it drives Mathilda's growth, but it feels pretty meaningless when Mathilda was already recognizing that she played a part in pushing others away before she learned of Elva's situation, and when you don't get to see the fruits of her growth except implied via the family tree at the back of the book. The self-fulfilling prophecy where Elva kills herself causing the storm she began experimenting with magic to prevent all left me with the sense that everything would have been better off if she had never dabbled in magic at all, and that the only real moral was that her mother shouldn't have broken her promise... which is a little hard to accept as the moral of the story when Elva dies shortly after breaking her own promise in a way that even Mathilda treats as comparable before later acknowledging was justified.
SpoilerI dislike stories where it feels like nothing matters, or like the protagonist dies needlessly at the end of the book. Elva's death isn't MEANINGLESS in that it drives Mathilda's growth, but it feels pretty meaningless when Mathilda was already recognizing that she played a part in pushing others away before she learned of Elva's situation, and when you don't get to see the fruits of her growth except implied via the family tree at the back of the book. The self-fulfilling prophecy where Elva kills herself causing the storm she began experimenting with magic to prevent all left me with the sense that everything would have been better off if she had never dabbled in magic at all, and that the only real moral was that her mother shouldn't have broken her promise... which is a little hard to accept as the moral of the story when Elva dies shortly after breaking her own promise in a way that even Mathilda treats as comparable before later acknowledging was justified.
bak8382's review against another edition
4.0
This is the kickoff to a new series written by different authors, but following the curse of the same family through several generations. I heard Dao discussing this book series on Marissa Meyer's podcast https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/ and the line up of additional authors ([a:Dhonielle Clayton|7359319|Dhonielle Clayton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1517526815p2/7359319.jpg], [a:J.C. Cervantes|16948228|J.C. Cervantes|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1535749086p2/16948228.jpg], and [a:L.L. McKinney|16354343|L.L. McKinney|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1485606521p2/16354343.jpg] sounded so good I immediately picked this up. Dao discussed a couple of additions she did at the other author's requests, and now I want to go back and listen to the podcast again now that I've read the book. It's such a fun premise and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series.