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inkstainedcloud's review against another edition
3.0
This book is basically a novelisation of the first season of the show, which can be a good and a bad thing.
In this case, I feel very mixed about it. I do tend to like novelisations of existing media, Star wars being the main example, where I sometimes even prefer it in written form over the actual movies. But for that, the book has to give me something that the show didn't, some extra characterisation, some insights into characters heads that cant be given in a visual media and in that regard I found the book often times was just okay if not a little underwhelming. The story of this season has also been condensed (Can't fit the run time of like. 8 movies into one book), some storylines only really relevant in one episode have either been cut, or given as a small piece of monologue to Henry telling Emma the stories, which is decision I actually enjoyed! It does also mean that the book spends the majority of the time in Storybrooke, with Snow White's story being the only exception.
Overall, there isnt much wrong with this and I did enjoy my time with it, but it sadly didn't stand out to me all that much either.
In this case, I feel very mixed about it. I do tend to like novelisations of existing media, Star wars being the main example, where I sometimes even prefer it in written form over the actual movies. But for that, the book has to give me something that the show didn't, some extra characterisation, some insights into characters heads that cant be given in a visual media and in that regard I found the book often times was just okay if not a little underwhelming. The story of this season has also been condensed (Can't fit the run time of like. 8 movies into one book), some storylines only really relevant in one episode have either been cut, or given as a small piece of monologue to Henry telling Emma the stories, which is decision I actually enjoyed! It does also mean that the book spends the majority of the time in Storybrooke, with Snow White's story being the only exception.
Overall, there isnt much wrong with this and I did enjoy my time with it, but it sadly didn't stand out to me all that much either.
joe16210's review against another edition
5.0
The book based on the first season of Once Upon a Time series... Emma Swan wants to help her son Henry to save Storybrooke from the curse of the Evil queen.
tillyjournals's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
A retelling of the first series of Once Upon a Time. Emma is an abandoned child with a complex past. On her birthday a kid shows up claiming to be her child and to be from a land of fairytale characters who have forgotten who they are due to a dark curse. Will Emma ever believe the truth and save all of them?
I don't really have anything to say about this. Its a crude retelling which is practically identical to S1 of the show. Honestly, I'd only recommend if you're needing a OUAT hit and you can't, or don't want to watch the series.
The writing was not very inspiring to be honest and some things did not relay well from screen into book form. I'm not sure the author was the right person to write this book and I think if you haven't seen the show it would be hard to follow at times.
But I love the story and the characters and it was really lovely to return to the story in another way, I loved remembering some of the little details from the show.
I don't really have anything to say about this. Its a crude retelling which is practically identical to S1 of the show. Honestly, I'd only recommend if you're needing a OUAT hit and you can't, or don't want to watch the series.
The writing was not very inspiring to be honest and some things did not relay well from screen into book form. I'm not sure the author was the right person to write this book and I think if you haven't seen the show it would be hard to follow at times.
But I love the story and the characters and it was really lovely to return to the story in another way, I loved remembering some of the little details from the show.
porschefreund24's review against another edition
Seemed to just be written form of episodes from the show
jesassa's review against another edition
1.0
While I love the show and really wanted to love this book, I didn't. It is all well and good to be a quick, easy read but I think it was something of a cheap job to do the chapters whole-cloth from the episodes. I understand that they didn't want to add anything, and that's perfectly fine, but the transitions that are effective on TV just didn't work in text. If I wasn't a faithful series watcher I would have gotten lost at some points because there was no common thread. In text form it also made the show seem ridiculous, the characters flat, and the storyline cliche. I also wonder how the choose the style for the book because the show straddles that lines between children and adult at 8pm... The book didn't work for me.
davinaherondale's review against another edition
3.0
This is the novelization of the first season of Once Upon A Time.
Here's the thing, I LOVED the show. Like, obsessively so.
Unfortunately, this book? Not the best.
I'm not talking about the story, I'm talking about the writing. It just seemed dull to me
Now that being said, I would totally read more novelizations of this series bc I love it and I miss it
darkonedagger28's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The TV-show is significantly better than the novelization. Lots of stuff is skipped and full episodes are left out. Due to the story being told from only Emma and Snow's perspectives, other characters that are specifically interesting and complex like Rumple and Regina in the series feel flat and boring in the novel. In the very few chapters that actually address the fairy tale flashbacks, the alternation between flashbacks from the Fairy Tale World and the present day Storybrooke storyline doesn't work as well as it does in the show. Everything else is just narrated and summarized by expositional "did you know this fairy tale fun fact" - talks by Henry. Another minor aspect that bothered me is that almost all iconic lines from the show are slightly different in the novel when it would have been so easy to include actual dialogue from the show.
What the novel does well is the character work on Emma and Snow.
When reading this novel, I noticed that it is clearly written for people that have seen the show. For everyone else it's lacking descriptions, etc. and many storylines and their conclusions aren't focused on properly due to the limited perspectives.
It's a quick and fun read for people that want to revisit season 1 of Once Upon A Time but not much more.
What the novel does well is the character work on Emma and Snow.
When reading this novel, I noticed that it is clearly written for people that have seen the show. For everyone else it's lacking descriptions, etc. and many storylines and their conclusions aren't focused on properly due to the limited perspectives.
It's a quick and fun read for people that want to revisit season 1 of Once Upon A Time but not much more.
weez_reads's review against another edition
4.0
Its basically the main parts of the season one of the show and either way I love this book and the show but this book did take awhile to get into but after a few chapters I was fully gripped even thou I knew what was coming it didnt bover me
mehrcamp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
monkyciti's review against another edition
3.0
So it’s basically the first season of the show in written form. I found it slightly lacking compared to the show, but a decent read overall