zoealyce's review against another edition
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What the hell…? I thought this was YA … am I wrong? Because it very much reminded me of tween reading.
Oh well. Plot wasn't too bad, and writing style was okay… just didn't suit me at all.
DNF.
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……….
What the hell…? I thought this was YA … am I wrong? Because it very much reminded me of tween reading.
Oh well. Plot wasn't too bad, and writing style was okay… just didn't suit me at all.
DNF.
myzanm's review against another edition
4.0
This was sooo good!
There was just a few small things nagging me that prevented this to rise all the way to a 5 star rating.
There was just a few small things nagging me that prevented this to rise all the way to a 5 star rating.
honeypielovesbooksnthebeatles's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
thecannibalgirl's review against another edition
4.0
This is a slightly different take on most faery novels. It starts out with a young faerie who is full of adventure and curiosity. Her name is Knife. The story ends sweetly alluding on towards another book.
This book captured my attention from the first page and held it until the last. The characters were believable and fully developed, each having their own flavor. The story moved fast enough to keep me interested, but not too fast as to spoil the experience. I will be continuing with this series.
Spoiler
Leaving the safety of the tree is forbidden unless your job demands it. This tiny faerie child leaps out of the window and hangs onto a branch of the home tree. This is where her story truly begins. The first sight of a human intrigues the child. Humans and connecting with the outside world is forbidden by the Queen. To keep the faerie girl from leaving the tree, the queen's hunter, Thorn, scares the child into thinking that humans are the reason for the lack of magic in faeries. She grows up believing that humans are something to be feared. Knife becomes a fierce hunter for the Queen, and while leading a crow away from the tree she falls into the lap of the same human boy she saw as a child. The story continues on with Knife learning the truth about her people and the demise of her magic.This book captured my attention from the first page and held it until the last. The characters were believable and fully developed, each having their own flavor. The story moved fast enough to keep me interested, but not too fast as to spoil the experience. I will be continuing with this series.
petrel's review against another edition
1.0
Ehh. I did not like the human-fairy romance. The power dynamics just didn't sit well with me and the reveal that the fairies had to breed with humans to expand their population and were also sort of reliant on humans by acquiring their skills via some kind of magical-osmosis-due-to-proximity felt very uncomfortable.
It was also confusing why a book with such a simplistic plot and seemingly marketed to younger audiences had Paul's attempted self-harm and suicide attempt just...casually thrown in there? It simultaneously made sense considering what Paul went through, but also felt super jarring. Homeboy should go to therapy instead of rediscovering meaning in life from a romantic interest, even if said romantic interest is a magical fairy.
I suppose the insidious new disease, Bryony/Knife's egg-mother's self-sacrifice, and the threat of being eaten by crows are quite dark as well, but it didn't feel like they had any weight behind them because they were overshadowed by diary reading and the questionable romance with a super-duper-special magical love bond thrown on top for good measure.
It was also confusing why a book with such a simplistic plot and seemingly marketed to younger audiences had Paul's attempted self-harm and suicide attempt just...casually thrown in there? It simultaneously made sense considering what Paul went through, but also felt super jarring. Homeboy should go to therapy instead of rediscovering meaning in life from a romantic interest, even if said romantic interest is a magical fairy.
I suppose the insidious new disease, Bryony/Knife's egg-mother's self-sacrifice, and the threat of being eaten by crows are quite dark as well, but it didn't feel like they had any weight behind them because they were overshadowed by diary reading and the questionable romance with a super-duper-special magical love bond thrown on top for good measure.
thedayoflight's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
Bryony/Knife is a young fairy of the Oak who longs to explore outside her tree-defined world despite the Queen's edict and the fear of crows and humans.
She proves her worth and suceeds in going outside, only to meet a human, Paul, and embroil herself in an illicit relationship that nonetheless seems to be making things better in the Oak where other fairies are going into a coma-like "Silence" and noone has produced an original dress or painting or song in living memory.
A little bit of romance, a plucky youngster out to prove her strength, questioning authority, and likable characters.
Very nicely done.
This Book's Food Rating: Cinnamon rolls, for a basic, comforting sweetness in all it's layers.
She proves her worth and suceeds in going outside, only to meet a human, Paul, and embroil herself in an illicit relationship that nonetheless seems to be making things better in the Oak where other fairies are going into a coma-like "Silence" and noone has produced an original dress or painting or song in living memory.
A little bit of romance, a plucky youngster out to prove her strength, questioning authority, and likable characters.
Very nicely done.
This Book's Food Rating: Cinnamon rolls, for a basic, comforting sweetness in all it's layers.
storytimed's review against another edition
2.0
He fucked the fairy.
I'm just like.... I was excited to have a all-female society where women lay eggs! But, like, that didn't happen, so. I liked the concept of Knife hanging out with Paul? But the weird like, fairies are the muses of human men, they can't create art except by absorbing what men have to give them and also they have sex with them a ton :) felt weirdly kinky to me and I Did Not like that kink. Also the worldbuilding was hella inconsistent.
I'm just like.... I was excited to have a all-female society where women lay eggs! But, like, that didn't happen, so. I liked the concept of Knife hanging out with Paul? But the weird like, fairies are the muses of human men, they can't create art except by absorbing what men have to give them and also they have sex with them a ton :) felt weirdly kinky to me and I Did Not like that kink. Also the worldbuilding was hella inconsistent.
clairetrellahill's review
5.0
OH BOY, this book took all my preconceived fairy notions, shattered them into pieces, and then jumped on them for good measure. I looooooooooved this, it starts out with a young fairy curious about the human world and then branches out into the complexities of faery society (both before and currently), their relationship to (AND WITH) humans, art, creativity...... wow!!!! SO GOOD!!!
alicepages's review against another edition
3.0
Paranormal romance has taken a variety of stances on a the actions and lifestyles of fairies, but Anderson takes us back to traditional Victorian ideas about the mythical creatures, to little winged animals taking residence in hollow trees at the back of gardens and avoiding humans like the proverbial plague. Having said that, this novel actually plays out like a fairy-soap-opera focusing on the social life of fairy living, and the politics surrounding it, leaving magic to fizzle as a background issue, and I quite enjoyed this.
Our journey begins in the desperate world of a small fairy cluster, where magic is dying and the Queen has forbidden her subjects from leaving the confines of their home unauthorized. The story follows the curious and stubborn Bryony, a fairy who wants nothing more than to escape, and find a cure for the terrible silence, an illness killing off her people. As set-ups go, it's not anything unique, but Anderson gives the tale a few interesting dynamics. As I mentioned before, the plot focuses on the daily routine and lifestyles of a community of magic-less fairies. While keeping things traditional, Anderson manages to avoid the usual cliches. Taking us through the inexperienced perception of a young fairy is a stoke of ingenuity here. There are parts where our protagonist explores the intricacies of a human household, and I found myself pondering what it was she was looking at, working out objects by their context and description just as the character was doing so. Bryony herself is a solid and well-developed protagonist, and her personal struggles, especially towards the end, are believable and tension building. Her relationships with both humans and fairies are made particularly powerful by the comparison between the two worlds. It's a shame Anderson didn't choose to carry this further. The plot-line tends to move too quickly at times, particularly close to the beginning, pacing past some of the aspects of fairy aesthetics. Anderson misses opportunities to describe Bryony's home in order to push the plot forward.
Characters are individual, holding their own personalities and reasonings well, but lack deep exploration. I'm surprised first-person narrative wasn't used, because we only ever hear Bryony's narrative stand-point, leaving gaps where different thoughts and opinions of her counterparts could have been expressed.
Overall, I found this work refreshing, full of quiet excitement and surprising thought provoking scenarios, and adventure as it merges a fairy world with a believable fairy realm. It introduces a world you'll want to exist in the tree at the back of your garden. I'm excited for the next two.
What did you think of the book? Did you like this review? Think I can do better? Let me know in the comments at http://aliceradwell.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/knife-r-j-anderson/ I'd love to hear from you.
Our journey begins in the desperate world of a small fairy cluster, where magic is dying and the Queen has forbidden her subjects from leaving the confines of their home unauthorized. The story follows the curious and stubborn Bryony, a fairy who wants nothing more than to escape, and find a cure for the terrible silence, an illness killing off her people. As set-ups go, it's not anything unique, but Anderson gives the tale a few interesting dynamics. As I mentioned before, the plot focuses on the daily routine and lifestyles of a community of magic-less fairies. While keeping things traditional, Anderson manages to avoid the usual cliches. Taking us through the inexperienced perception of a young fairy is a stoke of ingenuity here. There are parts where our protagonist explores the intricacies of a human household, and I found myself pondering what it was she was looking at, working out objects by their context and description just as the character was doing so. Bryony herself is a solid and well-developed protagonist, and her personal struggles, especially towards the end, are believable and tension building. Her relationships with both humans and fairies are made particularly powerful by the comparison between the two worlds. It's a shame Anderson didn't choose to carry this further. The plot-line tends to move too quickly at times, particularly close to the beginning, pacing past some of the aspects of fairy aesthetics. Anderson misses opportunities to describe Bryony's home in order to push the plot forward.
Characters are individual, holding their own personalities and reasonings well, but lack deep exploration. I'm surprised first-person narrative wasn't used, because we only ever hear Bryony's narrative stand-point, leaving gaps where different thoughts and opinions of her counterparts could have been expressed.
Overall, I found this work refreshing, full of quiet excitement and surprising thought provoking scenarios, and adventure as it merges a fairy world with a believable fairy realm. It introduces a world you'll want to exist in the tree at the back of your garden. I'm excited for the next two.
What did you think of the book? Did you like this review? Think I can do better? Let me know in the comments at http://aliceradwell.wordpress.com/2011/09/19/knife-r-j-anderson/ I'd love to hear from you.