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mckenzierichardson's review
2.0
(Free copy through Kindle store.)I did enjoy this book a little more than the first prequel. The writing style was much more fluid and not so drawn out. As with the first prequel, I enjoyed the retelling of the fairy tale. Jace is very gifted in making connections between fairy tales, folk lore, mythology, and real history. In that way he is very talented.I really hated the dynamic between Alice and Loki. I was easily bored by their childish relationship. I know they are supposed to be young, but they bicker and flirt like elementary school children, which was very irritating. Other than the detailed connections, I felt pretty apathetic toward the characters and plot. I was interested in those connections, but didn't really care what happened.As with the first prequel, the story was interesting, but I don't feel inclined to read the actual Grimm Diaries.
carmenna's review
2.0
Ashes to Ashes and Cinder to Cinder è il secondo, brevissimo (l'ho letto durante le pause pubblicitarie di un programma televisivo) prequel dei Grimm Diaries, una serie di romanzi scritti da Cameron Jace.
Mi affascinano molto i mash up e i retelling delle fiabe, tuttavia questa seconda storia, se possibile, mi ha delusa anche più di quanto non abbia fatto il primo prequel, Snow White Blood Red.
Lo stile mi sembra migliorato, ma la storia non mi è piaciuta. A raccontare è Alice Grimm, diciassettenne, una pronipote dei famosi scrittori, affiancata in quest'avventura da un coetaneo, lo stereotipo del ragazzo hot ma arrogante e prepotente, qui anche Dreamhunter, cioè capace di entrare nei sogni degli Immortali per ucciderli e fare così in modo che non si sveglino più.
Non amo quando tutti i personaggi di un romanzo sono dei teenager, non riesco ad identificarmi, e questo prequel ha calcato molto il suo essere young adult rispetto al precedente, in cui il narratore era la Evil Queen.
Ad ogni modo, Alice si reca a Venezia, dove è stato ritrovato lo scheletro di quella che si crede fosse una strega, circondato da diciassette scarpette di cristallo. La ragazza entra nei sogni di questa donna, Bianca, per salvarla da morte certa e fare sì che sua figlia, la futura Cenerentola, possa nascere sull'isola di Murano. Ma il pericolo è dietro l'angolo, e probabilmente gli sforzi di Alice non sono valsi a nulla, perché a quanto pare anche la Evil Queen si trovava nel sogno, pronta a distruggere la felicità degli altri protagonisti delle fiabe (ed in questo mi ha ricordato molto Once upon a time).
Non so come si svolgerà la storia di Cenerentola nei Diari, mi incuriosisce molto anche il ruolo della Regina Cattiva, tuttavia per il momento ho avuto l'impressione che si potesse fare meglio, visto che le premesse per qualcosa di interessante ci sono tutte.
http://iltesorodicarta.blogspot.it/
Mi affascinano molto i mash up e i retelling delle fiabe, tuttavia questa seconda storia, se possibile, mi ha delusa anche più di quanto non abbia fatto il primo prequel, Snow White Blood Red.
Lo stile mi sembra migliorato, ma la storia non mi è piaciuta. A raccontare è Alice Grimm, diciassettenne, una pronipote dei famosi scrittori, affiancata in quest'avventura da un coetaneo, lo stereotipo del ragazzo hot ma arrogante e prepotente, qui anche Dreamhunter, cioè capace di entrare nei sogni degli Immortali per ucciderli e fare così in modo che non si sveglino più.
Non amo quando tutti i personaggi di un romanzo sono dei teenager, non riesco ad identificarmi, e questo prequel ha calcato molto il suo essere young adult rispetto al precedente, in cui il narratore era la Evil Queen.
Ad ogni modo, Alice si reca a Venezia, dove è stato ritrovato lo scheletro di quella che si crede fosse una strega, circondato da diciassette scarpette di cristallo. La ragazza entra nei sogni di questa donna, Bianca, per salvarla da morte certa e fare sì che sua figlia, la futura Cenerentola, possa nascere sull'isola di Murano. Ma il pericolo è dietro l'angolo, e probabilmente gli sforzi di Alice non sono valsi a nulla, perché a quanto pare anche la Evil Queen si trovava nel sogno, pronta a distruggere la felicità degli altri protagonisti delle fiabe (ed in questo mi ha ricordato molto Once upon a time).
Non so come si svolgerà la storia di Cenerentola nei Diari, mi incuriosisce molto anche il ruolo della Regina Cattiva, tuttavia per il momento ho avuto l'impressione che si potesse fare meglio, visto che le premesse per qualcosa di interessante ci sono tutte.
http://iltesorodicarta.blogspot.it/
booksenvogue's review
4.0
this was strangely an informative dive into the European witch hunt history...
hannahsophialin's review
4.0
Original Review posted at Bookwyrming Thoughts.
Note: Part of The Grimm Diaries Prequels 1-6. Reviewing the prequels separately.
Disclaimer: I recieved this book from the author for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my review in any way.
Like I said in my review for Snow White Blood Red* last week, I'm a sucker for fairy tales. I don't think I want to repeat it again... unless I want everyone to think I'm a broken record. But I'll mention once more that I haven't read the original Grimm Fairy Tales, so please don't assume I'll know anything about it other than the fact that they were not very pretty (read: gruesome).
Here we have Alice Grimm, a seventeen-year-old living a dangerously enchanted life, being a descendant of the Brothers Grimm, trying to locate the real Cinderella and help her. It leads to an eight centuries dead witch in Venice, Italy, with seventeen glass slippers. We also have dreamhunter Loki Blackstar, who apparently is as arrogant as me doing something really stupid (or maybe just me breaking the stove) and not realizing it until later. Way later.
Anyhoo, I kinda think the editing process was a bit more rushed here than it was in the first prequel. Some, I'll probably assume it's an accidental typo (after all... we do make them at least once in our lifetime, if not, more)... but some... not exactly. There was one that would've left the reader confused though.
What I really found helpful were the Author's Notes at the end of the prequel. For a person who apparently doesn't know her facts very well, it explained a lot of concepts used in the story to avoid confusion in most cases. What I find most memorable from the prequel is the Twilight connection there... ;)
Overall, I really enjoyed this short read, and I'm actually curious (really curious) about the very last sentence.
*Link leads to Goodreads version of review
Note: Part of The Grimm Diaries Prequels 1-6. Reviewing the prequels separately.
Disclaimer: I recieved this book from the author for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not influence my review in any way.
Like I said in my review for Snow White Blood Red* last week, I'm a sucker for fairy tales. I don't think I want to repeat it again... unless I want everyone to think I'm a broken record. But I'll mention once more that I haven't read the original Grimm Fairy Tales, so please don't assume I'll know anything about it other than the fact that they were not very pretty (read: gruesome).
Here we have Alice Grimm, a seventeen-year-old living a dangerously enchanted life, being a descendant of the Brothers Grimm, trying to locate the real Cinderella and help her. It leads to an eight centuries dead witch in Venice, Italy, with seventeen glass slippers. We also have dreamhunter Loki Blackstar, who apparently is as arrogant as me doing something really stupid (or maybe just me breaking the stove) and not realizing it until later. Way later.
Anyhoo, I kinda think the editing process was a bit more rushed here than it was in the first prequel. Some, I'll probably assume it's an accidental typo (after all... we do make them at least once in our lifetime, if not, more)... but some... not exactly. There was one that would've left the reader confused though.
What I really found helpful were the Author's Notes at the end of the prequel. For a person who apparently doesn't know her facts very well, it explained a lot of concepts used in the story to avoid confusion in most cases. What I find most memorable from the prequel is the Twilight connection there... ;)
Overall, I really enjoyed this short read, and I'm actually curious (really curious) about the very last sentence.
*Link leads to Goodreads version of review
breecreative's review
3.0
In this prequel to The Grimm Diaries series, we are introduced to Loki (a Dreamhunter who, I understand, is going to be a big part of the first book, if not the whole series), and Alice Grimm. And we are treated to the usual YA girl-meets-boy-but-doesn't-want-to-admit-she-likes-him banter between them. It was amusing, albeit slightly over-the-top, and their dialogue made me smile in a couple places. In this one, we learn the story behind Cinderella...or at least the very beginning, mixed in with some historical fact. Jace does a good job of using these prequels to sell the stories he's about to tell - expertly explaining (without being too obvious) parts that will be important in the series.
nin275's review
3.0
This story featured Alice (Who was also in the first one hidden behind a curtain), Loki (Yes, his full name's Loki Blackstar, don't roll your eyes now) and this girl Bella who are part of the actual series 'The Grimm Diaries' by the same author.
And yes, it featured Cinderella, only she's not born yet.
And yes, it featured Cinderella, only she's not born yet.
the_cover_contessa's review
3.0
I love fairy tale retellings. I love seeing how different authors decide to twist the stories and make them totally different from what we knew as children. So, given the opportunity to read prequels about such stories, I jumped right on it. I want to thank the author for providing me with a copy of the first six prequels to read and review.
This prequel gives a bit of a spin on Cinderella's story. Not only that, but it introduces us to Alice, who is some sort of history tracker/investigator descended from the Grimm brothers. Alice, you say, yes, I do believe she may be related to THAT Alice. There are definitely some references to it in the story through the secondary main character, Loki (yup, can you imagine, Loki? only not what you think he is at all). But that may have just been the sarcasm of the author showing through.
While I loved the first prequel this author wrote, I wasn't as taken with this one. I actually found myself to be a bit confused here and there when the two main characters were dialoguing. I know the effect was supposed to show the sarcastic nature of each character and how they might play off each other, but it didn't really work well for me. I also think there is a lot of information crammed into this story which made it hard to follow at times.
I can say that I love the twist the author puts on Cinderella's story, at least on how she was born. The story is actually that of her mother, so it's before her time. But we see a background for the glass slipper and are once again hearing the name of the Evil Queen, whom we met in the first prequel: Snow White Blood Read. This story will definitely be interesting to read. I need to know more about the glass makers and the glass slippers. Plus, the addition of the mortals going into an immortal's dream state to find her and figure out where things went wrong was an interesting one.
This prequel gives a bit of a spin on Cinderella's story. Not only that, but it introduces us to Alice, who is some sort of history tracker/investigator descended from the Grimm brothers. Alice, you say, yes, I do believe she may be related to THAT Alice. There are definitely some references to it in the story through the secondary main character, Loki (yup, can you imagine, Loki? only not what you think he is at all). But that may have just been the sarcasm of the author showing through.
While I loved the first prequel this author wrote, I wasn't as taken with this one. I actually found myself to be a bit confused here and there when the two main characters were dialoguing. I know the effect was supposed to show the sarcastic nature of each character and how they might play off each other, but it didn't really work well for me. I also think there is a lot of information crammed into this story which made it hard to follow at times.
I can say that I love the twist the author puts on Cinderella's story, at least on how she was born. The story is actually that of her mother, so it's before her time. But we see a background for the glass slipper and are once again hearing the name of the Evil Queen, whom we met in the first prequel: Snow White Blood Read. This story will definitely be interesting to read. I need to know more about the glass makers and the glass slippers. Plus, the addition of the mortals going into an immortal's dream state to find her and figure out where things went wrong was an interesting one.
natcrackers's review
2.0
Hear me continue to hate and love this story.
Alice Grimm's diary entry. It was written a bit too fast to even understand everything. I had to read every sentence or at least a line more than twice before I can process every detail in my mind.
Then Loki, a Dreamhunter, appears all of a sudden and helps Alice get into the dead body's dream because, “Immortal dreams are infinite, and never stop as long as they are not awake in real life.”
I'm not a big fan of Loki. He makes me cringe with all his poor, nonsense conversation lines.
Let me give you an example: the part where Alice asks about what Dreamhunters do and Loki is all like,
“The name says it all. What do you think a lawnmower does? They fly spaceships— I mean, mow the lawn.”
(This is not the accurate statement that Loki said, I'm too lazy to copy. Also, I didn't want to quote because I think there's a new version of this book that's already edited and proofread.)
Alice and Loki's conversations are literally the worst. It's so typical— so overused— expected— not even funny. I'm serious.
This is confusing as heck. When Bella and Loki explains about ‘dying in their dreams means they die in real life. so you kill immortals through their dreams.’ and then Bella says something that, I think, contradicts this statement. I don't know, I really don't quite understand.
Again, I had to read everything at least twice or thrice. But near the end, I kinda had no interest to even understand everything.
Sorry, not sorry.
Alice Grimm's diary entry. It was written a bit too fast to even understand everything. I had to read every sentence or at least a line more than twice before I can process every detail in my mind.
Then Loki, a Dreamhunter, appears all of a sudden and helps Alice get into the dead body's dream because, “Immortal dreams are infinite, and never stop as long as they are not awake in real life.”
I'm not a big fan of Loki. He makes me cringe with all his poor, nonsense conversation lines.
Let me give you an example: the part where Alice asks about what Dreamhunters do and Loki is all like,
“The name says it all. What do you think a lawnmower does? They fly spaceships— I mean, mow the lawn.”
(This is not the accurate statement that Loki said, I'm too lazy to copy. Also, I didn't want to quote because I think there's a new version of this book that's already edited and proofread.)
Alice and Loki's conversations are literally the worst. It's so typical— so overused— expected— not even funny. I'm serious.
This is confusing as heck. When Bella and Loki explains about ‘dying in their dreams means they die in real life. so you kill immortals through their dreams.’ and then Bella says something that, I think, contradicts this statement. I don't know, I really don't quite understand.
Again, I had to read everything at least twice or thrice. But near the end, I kinda had no interest to even understand everything.
Sorry, not sorry.