teodora_paslaru's review against another edition
5.0
I just finished this book and I must admit that I loved it far more than I would have expected. I expected it to be an easy read that would fill my days and keep me from getting bored, but I absolutly adored this book. I can't find a wrong thing to say about it!
Dashti was such a great character! I was amazed by her. I admired her. She was strong and she had a strange power of being happy in unhappy situations. Most of the times, even if there were thousants of things going wrong and only one going right she would be greatful for that thing going right. And she would always find the power to laugh, even when the times were bad. At least, this was the image I got of her. I think that this is some kind of power you get when your life was always hard, as was hers, but you refuse to give up.
Can anyone beieve that this book even made me cry? Yes, I cried... Sad tears at first, but then, as I reached the end, they turned in tears of joy! And all of this from a book for teens, a fary tale! But I've always loved fary tales, especially when there was romance involved, as was the case of this book. But this book had more: interesting characters, interesting story line and a it gives us a lot to learn about how to go on with our life. There may be hard times, but we have to keep on going. It also seemed realistic. The only elements belonging to the magical relam were the werewolfs and the songs that had power to heal. And if we're thinking at it from a historical perspective, they are not that unrealistic, since people back then believed in such things. So those things fit just right in the story. And yes, I know that the story is more fantsy then history, that the author's inspiration was a tale by the Brothers Grimm, but this tale was still inspired by real events and by the culture of people of Mongolia, so there are things to be learen. Also, the author had studied the people of this country herself before writning this book.
One thing I found strange: the noble ladys were not skilled with letters, but their maids were. I think that this situation would explain a lot of the situation were the lord preferes the lady's maid company instead of hers...
I don't know to whom to recomend this book. If you love fary tales as a child and some of that love still lives in you, like it is on my case, you would love this book. If you like romaces with a happy ending, than I guess you would also like this book, but you must know that this is not a graphic romance or one meant for adults. It's purely about love (and I liked it about the book). But the main idea is that I read this book just on time, just when I was longing for something like this, so this is way my opinion is not that objective...
Dashti was such a great character! I was amazed by her. I admired her. She was strong and she had a strange power of being happy in unhappy situations. Most of the times, even if there were thousants of things going wrong and only one going right she would be greatful for that thing going right. And she would always find the power to laugh, even when the times were bad. At least, this was the image I got of her. I think that this is some kind of power you get when your life was always hard, as was hers, but you refuse to give up.
Can anyone beieve that this book even made me cry? Yes, I cried... Sad tears at first, but then, as I reached the end, they turned in tears of joy! And all of this from a book for teens, a fary tale! But I've always loved fary tales, especially when there was romance involved, as was the case of this book. But this book had more: interesting characters, interesting story line and a it gives us a lot to learn about how to go on with our life. There may be hard times, but we have to keep on going. It also seemed realistic. The only elements belonging to the magical relam were the werewolfs and the songs that had power to heal. And if we're thinking at it from a historical perspective, they are not that unrealistic, since people back then believed in such things. So those things fit just right in the story. And yes, I know that the story is more fantsy then history, that the author's inspiration was a tale by the Brothers Grimm, but this tale was still inspired by real events and by the culture of people of Mongolia, so there are things to be learen. Also, the author had studied the people of this country herself before writning this book.
One thing I found strange: the noble ladys were not skilled with letters, but their maids were. I think that this situation would explain a lot of the situation were the lord preferes the lady's maid company instead of hers...
I don't know to whom to recomend this book. If you love fary tales as a child and some of that love still lives in you, like it is on my case, you would love this book. If you like romaces with a happy ending, than I guess you would also like this book, but you must know that this is not a graphic romance or one meant for adults. It's purely about love (and I liked it about the book). But the main idea is that I read this book just on time, just when I was longing for something like this, so this is way my opinion is not that objective...
fallono's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
2023 reread:
Bumping this up from 4 to 4.5 stars on this read, though I'm not quite ready to mark it as an all time favorite. Mostly it's just a sweet story with lovable characters, but that does what it does very well. This time through I also noticed how well done the character arcs and development work.
There's a short section where the classic relationship lie comes up as a plot point, which actually makes total sense in the context, but still stresses me out just enough to keep this from being a true favorite.
Bumping this up from 4 to 4.5 stars on this read, though I'm not quite ready to mark it as an all time favorite. Mostly it's just a sweet story with lovable characters, but that does what it does very well. This time through I also noticed how well done the character arcs and development work.
There's a short section where the classic relationship lie comes up as a plot point, which actually makes total sense in the context, but still stresses me out just enough to keep this from being a true favorite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Classism, Grief, Death of parent, Confinement, and Bullying
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Mental illness
Minor: Excrement, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts
princessleia4life's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book so much. I could just read it over and over again.
laphenix's review against another edition
3.0
Rather simple, yet exciting. I grew to like the characters, and overlook the underdeveloped villain.
elsiebrady's review against another edition
3.0
Fun, easy read. You just never know when your luck is going to change:)
kerridwen's review against another edition
5.0
I love Shannon Hale’s figurative writing. Her similes and metaphors really being her descriptions to life.
Does anyone know what Grimm story this is based on?
Does anyone know what Grimm story this is based on?
nickoliver's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Death of parent