diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
The Hob's Bargain was on my radar for a while, since it's a standalone fantasy novel. Plus, I wanted to read something by Patricia Briggs for some time now.
In the end, I was not disappointing. It's a nice spin of a beauty and the beast plot with magic, different mythical creatures and complex characters. I especially liked that author didn't neglect the character and world building (like it happens in some other fantasy romance novels).
I'll definitely read more by Patricia Briggs in the future.
In the end, I was not disappointing. It's a nice spin of a beauty and the beast plot with magic, different mythical creatures and complex characters. I especially liked that author didn't neglect the character and world building (like it happens in some other fantasy romance novels).
I'll definitely read more by Patricia Briggs in the future.
rdawnl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
heathersbike's review against another edition
5.0
If you didn't go back and read this after reading the popular Mercy series, you're doing yourself a disservice.
starknits13's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
nutmegcollects's review against another edition
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
bookscrystals93's review against another edition
4.0
It’s been a little while since I’ve read fantasy so this was nice. I was drawn in instantly. Such a well written fantasy book. Definitely recommend.
eb00kie's review
3.0
A medium-to-bad book about improbable-to-impossible worlds - let's your mind let go.
itabar's review against another edition
2.0
I rated this 4 stars based on the feelings I remembered having when I read it.
I recently listened to it and the slower pace of listening magnified the shortcomings in the story. So I ended up liking this book mildly.
I recently listened to it and the slower pace of listening magnified the shortcomings in the story. So I ended up liking this book mildly.
flowerwlf's review against another edition
2.0
Not my favorite story by this author. I skimmed a lot of it. I never really cared about the people.
a_ab's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like it much more than I did. The writing was great and engaging, the characters interesting, but the story failed to touch me.
There were too many unknown, diverse and unknowable elements all jumbled together into an overwhelming mess. And I do not think the author handled her own setup well. One minute it was all realistic and believable and the next we were thrown into something completely unbelievable, fantastical or fairy-tale-like simplistic, then back to mundane, and so on. So the book felt very uneven and gave me the impression that it never quite settled on what kind of story it wanted to be.
I also felt that the book touched on some themes that I would have loved to see better explored, but all those opportunities were missed in favor of running around and piling on more paranormal creatures and concepts.
I realize that the story is 20 years old and most books with similar tales I've read are newer, but I do think that this story (or something close enough to it) has been told better since. Alas.
There were too many unknown, diverse and unknowable elements all jumbled together into an overwhelming mess. And I do not think the author handled her own setup well. One minute it was all realistic and believable and the next we were thrown into something completely unbelievable, fantastical or fairy-tale-like simplistic, then back to mundane, and so on. So the book felt very uneven and gave me the impression that it never quite settled on what kind of story it wanted to be.
I also felt that the book touched on some themes that I would have loved to see better explored, but all those opportunities were missed in favor of running around and piling on more paranormal creatures and concepts.
I realize that the story is 20 years old and most books with similar tales I've read are newer, but I do think that this story (or something close enough to it) has been told better since. Alas.