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bwilcox's review against another edition
3.0
All I can say is this is one of the weirdest books I have ever read. The concept was really confusing at first, and the ending was so so so weird, that I have no idea how there is going to be a second. It is like have a book about fairies and at the very end out of now where they all get bit by zombies..... It is going to be interesting. I did not like the love triangle it was confusing and super annoying, and the end realization about gagged me....
sharonsm_28's review against another edition
3.0
This was an alright read. The concept was intriguing. The story had potential, but I was a bit disappointed with how the book turned out. I thought the main character was okay and also a bit immature. I thought the romance was okay, but not great. I found some parts of the book boring, while other parts were okay. I thought the ending was good. I hope the series gets better. Overall, an okay read.
shubba_the_emo_reader's review against another edition
5.0
Originall Reviewed on Totally Bookalicious
Crewel is one of those rare books that is simply amazing! I don't have anything negative to say about it. I was hooked from the description. I knew I wanted it and I just knew I would love it. And I did love it.
Crewel is very hard to explain without giving away spoilers. It has a mix of so many genres; fantasy, dystopian, scifi. It is set in the world of Arras which is ruled by the Guild. Girls with special abilities are sent to train as Spinsters. Spinsters help keep this world going by taking care of the looms to control time and matter in Arras. However, Adelice has trained all her life to fail. Her parents knew she has the gift but didn't want her to be sent to trained. So they had been teaching her to fail the tests. When taking a test Adelice slips up and this changes her life forever.
Adelice has got to be one of my favourite characters is YA fiction. She is feisty and can't seem to stay out of trouble. She creates enemies because she is willing to fight and talk back. However, she also manages to attract a couple of love interests. Yeah, a love triangle! Now I like a good love triangle if it fits the story that this certainly does fit. Her love interests are Jost and Erik. She has an attraction to both these male characters and the both offer something special to the plot and make it very exciting.
Crewel is completely different to anything I have ever read before. The idea of this world is fascinating and once you learn the real backstory of how Arras was created it's even more fascinating and you want to know even more. What I really like about this was that is so beautifully written. Gennifer's attention to detail is out of this world. She describes everything so the reader really gets a vivid image in their heads. It felt like I was there with the characters.
I am really trying not to spoiler anything so I am keeping this review short and sweet. I highly recommend that everyone reads this as soon as it is released!! It was truely amazing and 100% unique. It has a gripping plot that is actually quite dark, amazing characters and the writing is beautiful and the ending was perfect and leaves you begging for the sequel!!
Thank you Gennifer for writing the phenomenal debut novel that has really set the bar for me on what makes a good YA Dystopian novel. And a massive thank you to the publisher to letting me review this. I am now going to be pushing the book on everyone :)
Crewel is one of those rare books that is simply amazing! I don't have anything negative to say about it. I was hooked from the description. I knew I wanted it and I just knew I would love it. And I did love it.
Crewel is very hard to explain without giving away spoilers. It has a mix of so many genres; fantasy, dystopian, scifi. It is set in the world of Arras which is ruled by the Guild. Girls with special abilities are sent to train as Spinsters. Spinsters help keep this world going by taking care of the looms to control time and matter in Arras. However, Adelice has trained all her life to fail. Her parents knew she has the gift but didn't want her to be sent to trained. So they had been teaching her to fail the tests. When taking a test Adelice slips up and this changes her life forever.
Adelice has got to be one of my favourite characters is YA fiction. She is feisty and can't seem to stay out of trouble. She creates enemies because she is willing to fight and talk back. However, she also manages to attract a couple of love interests. Yeah, a love triangle! Now I like a good love triangle if it fits the story that this certainly does fit. Her love interests are Jost and Erik. She has an attraction to both these male characters and the both offer something special to the plot and make it very exciting.
Crewel is completely different to anything I have ever read before. The idea of this world is fascinating and once you learn the real backstory of how Arras was created it's even more fascinating and you want to know even more. What I really like about this was that is so beautifully written. Gennifer's attention to detail is out of this world. She describes everything so the reader really gets a vivid image in their heads. It felt like I was there with the characters.
I am really trying not to spoiler anything so I am keeping this review short and sweet. I highly recommend that everyone reads this as soon as it is released!! It was truely amazing and 100% unique. It has a gripping plot that is actually quite dark, amazing characters and the writing is beautiful and the ending was perfect and leaves you begging for the sequel!!
Thank you Gennifer for writing the phenomenal debut novel that has really set the bar for me on what makes a good YA Dystopian novel. And a massive thank you to the publisher to letting me review this. I am now going to be pushing the book on everyone :)
lynseyisreading's review against another edition
3.0
Although on the surface the concept and ideas behind Crewel are original and intriguing, the flat characterisations made this book a let-down for me. Especially as I'd seen many favourable reviews for it beforehand, which always raises expectations.
It could be best described as a kind of alternate-reality, Matrix-style story, only with much more in the way of pretty dresses and make-up, and less butt-kicking and slow-mo martial arts sequences. I was initially very interested in the Spinsters and their ability to weave reality, and that remains my favourite part of the book, that whole idea. But unfortunately, the rest of the nearly 400 pages were much less inspiring and original, and had a lot of the clichés and plot devices found in so many YA reads.
Essentially, a 'Spinster's' job is to maintain and weave the very fabric and matter of Arras (Arras is Crewel's entire world made up of four sectors) on great looms—making small alterations, moving important people and dignitaries from one sector to another, or removing other, weaker threads (people) or deviants altogether, also known as 'ripping" them, all in an effort to keep the peace and smooth-sailing uniformity intact, as ordered by the Guild. On top of that, there's segregation in force, tight population control and regulations on behaviour and, to a certain extent, free thought. In general, it's a world where, unless you step out of line, it's actually quite peaceful. There's no violence, no wars, people are expected to marry by 18 and start families and live happily ever after. Which is fine, except the whole point of dystopian fiction is to drop you as a reader into a highly uncomfortable, often terrifying, situation, and to really give you that sense of dread, or perhaps just a feeling of righteous indignation, depending on the setting/situation. Unfortunately, Crewel never got deep enough to affect me on that kind of level. I never felt afraid for Adelice—she was in a position of power, after all. That lack of excitement dulled my enjoyment of what looked to be such a promising book, and overall I felt there were many missed opportunities here in favour of overused tropes; Adelice finding out she's the 'chosen one', mean, nasty, power-hungry people trying to control her 'awesome powers', and of course, since this is a YA, a couple of 'hot boys' falling all over themselves to get near her.
I am baffled as to why authors continue with the love triangle idea since I know no one (no one) who really, actively searches for this plot device, and yet I know dozens (do-zens) of people that will mark a book as a DO NOT READ at the mere mention of one. In this case, we were delivered two equally...I'm going to say 'adequate', love interests, although neither of them set my world on fire (far from it). As for the romance between Adelice and the one she chose, it was just blah. It had potential, but it quickly became forced and contrived. We went from one kiss to "I will not live without you. You are my heart," literally overnight.
As protagonists go, Adelice wasn't wholly unlikeable. Neither entirely weak nor truly strong of character, she was easily led and manipulated by those around her and showed little ability to think for herself. Had it not been for her parents' wishes that she hide her gift or attempt to run, she likely would have accepted her lot as another sheep in the flock with nary a complaint.
I also didn't find any of the bad guys very threatening. Maela was particularly one-dimensional; the trademark ageing beauty in a position of power, lashing out at the young upstart through petty, female jealousy and no other motivations. She was weak and inconsistent as a villain.
So to sum up, averaging out the original premise (which I honestly did enjoy), combined with the more unoriginal elements, I've ended up with the middle-of-the-road rating of 3 stars. While I didn't hate the book (although I confess I didn't realise quite how much of it I'd disliked until writing my review) I also didn't love it and wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a good example of YA dystopian fiction. Still, it perhaps would suit younger readers (who are, of course, its intended audience- not 32-year old grumpy cows like me) as they may get more of a kick out of the dressing up, attending balls, and love triangle elements than I did.
3 Stars ★★★
ARC provided for an honest review.
It could be best described as a kind of alternate-reality, Matrix-style story, only with much more in the way of pretty dresses and make-up, and less butt-kicking and slow-mo martial arts sequences. I was initially very interested in the Spinsters and their ability to weave reality, and that remains my favourite part of the book, that whole idea. But unfortunately, the rest of the nearly 400 pages were much less inspiring and original, and had a lot of the clichés and plot devices found in so many YA reads.
Essentially, a 'Spinster's' job is to maintain and weave the very fabric and matter of Arras (Arras is Crewel's entire world made up of four sectors) on great looms—making small alterations, moving important people and dignitaries from one sector to another, or removing other, weaker threads (people) or deviants altogether, also known as 'ripping" them, all in an effort to keep the peace and smooth-sailing uniformity intact, as ordered by the Guild. On top of that, there's segregation in force, tight population control and regulations on behaviour and, to a certain extent, free thought. In general, it's a world where, unless you step out of line, it's actually quite peaceful. There's no violence, no wars, people are expected to marry by 18 and start families and live happily ever after. Which is fine, except the whole point of dystopian fiction is to drop you as a reader into a highly uncomfortable, often terrifying, situation, and to really give you that sense of dread, or perhaps just a feeling of righteous indignation, depending on the setting/situation. Unfortunately, Crewel never got deep enough to affect me on that kind of level. I never felt afraid for Adelice—she was in a position of power, after all. That lack of excitement dulled my enjoyment of what looked to be such a promising book, and overall I felt there were many missed opportunities here in favour of overused tropes; Adelice finding out she's the 'chosen one', mean, nasty, power-hungry people trying to control her 'awesome powers', and of course, since this is a YA, a couple of 'hot boys' falling all over themselves to get near her.
I am baffled as to why authors continue with the love triangle idea since I know no one (no one) who really, actively searches for this plot device, and yet I know dozens (do-zens) of people that will mark a book as a DO NOT READ at the mere mention of one. In this case, we were delivered two equally...I'm going to say 'adequate', love interests, although neither of them set my world on fire (far from it). As for the romance between Adelice and the one she chose, it was just blah. It had potential, but it quickly became forced and contrived. We went from one kiss to "I will not live without you. You are my heart," literally overnight.
As protagonists go, Adelice wasn't wholly unlikeable. Neither entirely weak nor truly strong of character, she was easily led and manipulated by those around her and showed little ability to think for herself. Had it not been for her parents' wishes that she hide her gift or attempt to run, she likely would have accepted her lot as another sheep in the flock with nary a complaint.
I also didn't find any of the bad guys very threatening. Maela was particularly one-dimensional; the trademark ageing beauty in a position of power, lashing out at the young upstart through petty, female jealousy and no other motivations. She was weak and inconsistent as a villain.
So to sum up, averaging out the original premise (which I honestly did enjoy), combined with the more unoriginal elements, I've ended up with the middle-of-the-road rating of 3 stars. While I didn't hate the book (although I confess I didn't realise quite how much of it I'd disliked until writing my review) I also didn't love it and wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a good example of YA dystopian fiction. Still, it perhaps would suit younger readers (who are, of course, its intended audience- not 32-year old grumpy cows like me) as they may get more of a kick out of the dressing up, attending balls, and love triangle elements than I did.
3 Stars ★★★
ARC provided for an honest review.
theresacole's review against another edition
4.0
A fantastic read unlike any other. Gennifer Albin's imaginative tale weaves (pardon the pun) love, loss, and fantastical elements that have never before been thought of. The ending felt a bit rushed and didn't tie up into a nice bow, but that's the only reason this book fell short of 5/5 stars.
katcanwrite's review against another edition
3.0
This was fun, but I was hoping for more explanations of the misogynistic world. Not enough answers yet for my taste. I know it's book 1 of a series, but I'd hoped for more info.
BUT! The world building is amazing. I can't wait to hear more!
BUT! The world building is amazing. I can't wait to hear more!
hannahrene2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
leftyleo19's review against another edition
3.0
Futuristic stuff is not ever my genre of choice, but this pulled me in. The Characters are well drawn and the plot is sort of outlandish but well written enough that I could suspend reality. I am looking forward to book two.
kirstenrose22's review against another edition
4.0
This book felt like a continuation of The Giver (in a good way), with non-arena elements of The Hunger Games added in. The ending was somewhat predictable, in several ways, but I did enjoy the journey of getting there. I liked this.