kitvaria_sarene's review against another edition
5.0
A lovely story inside a story, set in the Keepers world.
I enjoyed both main characters a lot, and especially how the young princess decidedly didn't want to be saved.
The end was beautiful and left me with a smile in my face.
Couldn't ask for more!
I enjoyed both main characters a lot, and especially how the young princess decidedly didn't want to be saved.
The end was beautiful and left me with a smile in my face.
Couldn't ask for more!
jksteach's review
5.0
A really enjoyable story! This is a companion story to the author's Keeper Chronicles series. It’s one of the tales Will, a Keeper, tells in Pursuit of Shadows (and is mentioned in other books). Tomkin, the younger son of the Duke of Marshwell, wants to be a hero like his older brother, but he’s really much better at organizing and negotiating. Nevertheless, there’s maybe a dragon and he has a dragon killing sword, so what the heck, he’ll go see what’s up. He finds Lissa, or Mags as he calls her since she won’t tell him her name.
“Fine. I’ll pick a name for you. What’s a good one for a smudgy, shabby-looking girl who’s mean and bossy?” Tomkin took a grim pleasure in the glare she flashed at him. “I suppose it’s obvious. In any good story, you’d be a shrew. Magwina the Shrew.” Her eyes narrowed. “Mind if I call you Mags for short?”
Tomkin and Lissa grew on me and I enjoyed their prickly friendship. My favorite character was the loyal Kobold, Wink. (I would so love to have him come to my house!)
“Fine. I’ll pick a name for you. What’s a good one for a smudgy, shabby-looking girl who’s mean and bossy?” Tomkin took a grim pleasure in the glare she flashed at him. “I suppose it’s obvious. In any good story, you’d be a shrew. Magwina the Shrew.” Her eyes narrowed. “Mind if I call you Mags for short?”
Tomkin and Lissa grew on me and I enjoyed their prickly friendship. My favorite character was the loyal Kobold, Wink. (I would so love to have him come to my house!)
secre's review
4.0
A cute little tale about a young man who wants to be a hero and a girl who just wants to be left alone. And a dragon of course. For what tale can't be made better by a dragon. This is funny and charming; contemporary fairy tale-esque with a decent scoop of self-awareness. I found it engaging and well written, and could be a good introduction to the fantasy genre for a younger audience, whilst the main series perhaps deals with some far heavier themes. It neatly turns the trope of the damsel in distress on it's head with the depiction of 'Meg', a young run-away with no intent to be saved from her dragon.
In all, a light and entertaining bite-sized read that had me smiling from beginning to end. All in all, well done. I would say that it is probably aimed at a far younger audience than the main series, but it's light-hearted and whimsically entertaining.
In all, a light and entertaining bite-sized read that had me smiling from beginning to end. All in all, well done. I would say that it is probably aimed at a far younger audience than the main series, but it's light-hearted and whimsically entertaining.
amelianicholebooks's review
5.0
This is a great fantasy story for all ages, I can't wait to read this author's series of books! Tomkin is not your usual hero, but I love him for it. It feels more like a real life fairytale with real heroes and real consequences.
As someone who likes fairytale retellings, I noticed what seemed like a few tropes you'll find in those stories, but this book turned them on their head and had them doing cartwheels. ;)
I want to say so much more, but it would be spoilers. I'll be reading this one again. And if you haven't read this one, you should.
As someone who likes fairytale retellings, I noticed what seemed like a few tropes you'll find in those stories, but this book turned them on their head and had them doing cartwheels. ;)
I want to say so much more, but it would be spoilers. I'll be reading this one again. And if you haven't read this one, you should.
evalynex's review
5.0
So happy to be able to enjoy the famous tale of Tomkin and the Dragon that seems to be every Queensland town's favorite! Enjoyable read, loved the characters relationship with each other and other story overall.
alwroteabook's review
5.0
A fun little romp from start to finish. Well written with two enjoyable protagonists, and peppered with a gentle wit. A fairy tale that will appeal to all ages.
clairisa's review
5.0
I really enjoyed reading this book. I love the humorous way of the story and enjoyed going with Tomkin to the Castle and finding Vorath the Dragon as well as Mags also known as Lissa. Now looking forward to reading more about the Keepers in the first book of the series.
cpark2005's review
4.0
This is a fine read, a fairy tale style adventure featuring an interesting villain and some turning of tropes on their heads. Andrews’ writing is superb and I knew from nearly the first page that this was going to be a book I’d enjoy. Perhaps the best way to describe the tale is that it’s a fun jaunt in a fairy tale world. If you’re looking for epic battles and empires hanging in the balance, this likely isn’t for you. However, this perfectly scratched the “I need something light between epics” itch I was feeling.
A Keeper’s Tale is a quick read, but the pacing is spot on. Each chapter moves things along nicely, with never a feeling of filler or much downtime. Andrews has an excellent feel for keeping things moving, and it’s something I especially appreciate in a quick read of this nature. Well done. Although the book is not advertised as YA, I think it would be a great read for those who are looking for something different from typical YA fare. I loved the way Andrews turned the knight-after-a-damsel trope on its head.
The novel does have some weaknesses. I thought the characterization of the main character was somewhat juvenile. He is twenty but behaves more like a teenager. In addition, the first several chapters make him seem like a somewhat out-of-the-box thinker, but he quickly becomes a very in-the-box thinker, unable to see things from a different viewpoint. There is one point toward the end of the book where he suddenly snaps back into his out-of-the-box negotiator persona—and that works. I would have liked to have seen more stability in the characterization of the MC and less high school-ish behavior between the male and female leads. Correcting this would have taken the book from a solid, enjoyable read to something extraordinary.
While the characterization for the main character was weak, in my opinion, the rest of the book is strong enough that it certainly still deserves a read. Don’t let that single criticism keep you from enjoying a wonderful take on the dragon-slaying-knight-meets-damsel-in-distress trope.
Choosing an exact rating was a hard decision and Amazon and Goodreads allowing only “whole star” ratings made it even more difficult. In the end, I’ve given it 3.8/5 stars, though I don’t think this rating fully captures the enjoyment I received from the story.
A Keeper’s Tale is a quick read, but the pacing is spot on. Each chapter moves things along nicely, with never a feeling of filler or much downtime. Andrews has an excellent feel for keeping things moving, and it’s something I especially appreciate in a quick read of this nature. Well done. Although the book is not advertised as YA, I think it would be a great read for those who are looking for something different from typical YA fare. I loved the way Andrews turned the knight-after-a-damsel trope on its head.
The novel does have some weaknesses. I thought the characterization of the main character was somewhat juvenile. He is twenty but behaves more like a teenager. In addition, the first several chapters make him seem like a somewhat out-of-the-box thinker, but he quickly becomes a very in-the-box thinker, unable to see things from a different viewpoint. There is one point toward the end of the book where he suddenly snaps back into his out-of-the-box negotiator persona—and that works. I would have liked to have seen more stability in the characterization of the MC and less high school-ish behavior between the male and female leads. Correcting this would have taken the book from a solid, enjoyable read to something extraordinary.
While the characterization for the main character was weak, in my opinion, the rest of the book is strong enough that it certainly still deserves a read. Don’t let that single criticism keep you from enjoying a wonderful take on the dragon-slaying-knight-meets-damsel-in-distress trope.
Choosing an exact rating was a hard decision and Amazon and Goodreads allowing only “whole star” ratings made it even more difficult. In the end, I’ve given it 3.8/5 stars, though I don’t think this rating fully captures the enjoyment I received from the story.
thoughtsstained's review
4.0
Read as part of SPFBO #4, original review here: https://thoughtsstainedwithink.com/2018/12/14/a-keepers-tale-spfbo-semi-finalist/
So you know how yesterday, I talked about how I’m a sucker for chosen one stories in my review?
Well, guess what else I’m definitely a sucker for?
Motha-fucking DRAGONS.
Seriously, if there is a dragon in the book, I want to read it. I don’t honestly understand how there aren’t more dragons written in fantasy books and how they don’t completely dominate the genre (also, anyone who says dragons are overdone…no, just, just no.)
So when I was reading through the synopsis of this book as I prepped for my batch of December SPFBO books, I was immediately excited. Not only because it has dragons (YES) but also because it does another thing that I usually love: subverting and twisting classic fairytale tropes to tell it’s own version of the story.
Damn if Andrews didn’t nail this one.
The story was just so much fun. The tone perfectly matched that. It was so lighthearted and almost whimsical. I loved the way how Tomkin (heck, even his name fit perfectly into the feel of this book) wasn’t self-aware, per say, that he was a character in a book. But he was definitely aware of the traditional tropes of a fairytale and he loved to call attention to them (which I’m personally a huge fan of, even if it was a tad bit heavy handed in this, especially towards the beginning). I also really enjoyed Mags as a character and loved to watch both her and Tomkin grow. That was something I necessarily didn’t see a lot in my contest entries, so that was refreshing. Plus, giving the dragon a backstory (but can’t say more, because, you know, spoilers) was also really fun and made him a little closer to three dimensional that the typical dragon you read about in fairytales.
Also, there were just some killer one liners, especially if you read them in context. I even remembered to write down one that was my favorite.
But if there were only a handful of choices left in his story, Tomkin was going to make them count.
But this is the hardest part. Narrowing it down between my last two semi-finalists was really tough, because I could honestly see either of these going to become a finalist (or, at least, still having that chance, as I still need to read the top semi-finalist from The Alliterates’ batch). But, of course, there are can only be one, and unfortunately, with this review, A Keeper’s Tale by J.A. Andrews is my last semi-finalists to get cut.
Honestly, the issues I had with this book were pretty minor. First (though I didn’t really count this in my decision to cut this book) was that it was so short. Of course I wanted to read more about Tomkin, Mags and their adventures. But I also think it could have been fleshed out just a tiny bit more, so we could understand Tomkin and Mags more, plus get a little more worldbuilding in there. I also thought the pacing could be improved just a smidgen, some of the narrative was a bit repetitive at times in what it portrayed, some of their actions were a little questionable.
Also, I really didn’t like Tomkin for like half the book, finding him to just be plain annoying.
But honestly, I didn’t really notice most of that as I read. I had to really think, especially after I got down to my final two, about what criticisms I had about the book and though there were a few, I honestly thought this was just a really fun read and it was a book perfectly tailored to everything I love in a classic fairytale, with all the twists and subverted tropes a girl could hope for.
And according to Goodreads, this author has more books out!?!
I am here for this.
I truly do hate cutting this book from the contest, as I obviously enjoyed the hell out of it. But, there can only be one and my last semi-finalist still standing, I couldn’t get out of my head. Come back and check out that review tomorrow! But first, please do check out Andrews and her work. If her stories are all as enjoyable as this one was, I definitely feel like the winner (and my bank account a little less so).
Read on!
So you know how yesterday, I talked about how I’m a sucker for chosen one stories in my review?
Well, guess what else I’m definitely a sucker for?
Motha-fucking DRAGONS.
Seriously, if there is a dragon in the book, I want to read it. I don’t honestly understand how there aren’t more dragons written in fantasy books and how they don’t completely dominate the genre (also, anyone who says dragons are overdone…no, just, just no.)
So when I was reading through the synopsis of this book as I prepped for my batch of December SPFBO books, I was immediately excited. Not only because it has dragons (YES) but also because it does another thing that I usually love: subverting and twisting classic fairytale tropes to tell it’s own version of the story.
Damn if Andrews didn’t nail this one.
The story was just so much fun. The tone perfectly matched that. It was so lighthearted and almost whimsical. I loved the way how Tomkin (heck, even his name fit perfectly into the feel of this book) wasn’t self-aware, per say, that he was a character in a book. But he was definitely aware of the traditional tropes of a fairytale and he loved to call attention to them (which I’m personally a huge fan of, even if it was a tad bit heavy handed in this, especially towards the beginning). I also really enjoyed Mags as a character and loved to watch both her and Tomkin grow. That was something I necessarily didn’t see a lot in my contest entries, so that was refreshing. Plus, giving the dragon a backstory (but can’t say more, because, you know, spoilers) was also really fun and made him a little closer to three dimensional that the typical dragon you read about in fairytales.
Also, there were just some killer one liners, especially if you read them in context. I even remembered to write down one that was my favorite.
But if there were only a handful of choices left in his story, Tomkin was going to make them count.
But this is the hardest part. Narrowing it down between my last two semi-finalists was really tough, because I could honestly see either of these going to become a finalist (or, at least, still having that chance, as I still need to read the top semi-finalist from The Alliterates’ batch). But, of course, there are can only be one, and unfortunately, with this review, A Keeper’s Tale by J.A. Andrews is my last semi-finalists to get cut.
Honestly, the issues I had with this book were pretty minor. First (though I didn’t really count this in my decision to cut this book) was that it was so short. Of course I wanted to read more about Tomkin, Mags and their adventures. But I also think it could have been fleshed out just a tiny bit more, so we could understand Tomkin and Mags more, plus get a little more worldbuilding in there. I also thought the pacing could be improved just a smidgen, some of the narrative was a bit repetitive at times in what it portrayed, some of their actions were a little questionable.
Also, I really didn’t like Tomkin for like half the book, finding him to just be plain annoying.
But honestly, I didn’t really notice most of that as I read. I had to really think, especially after I got down to my final two, about what criticisms I had about the book and though there were a few, I honestly thought this was just a really fun read and it was a book perfectly tailored to everything I love in a classic fairytale, with all the twists and subverted tropes a girl could hope for.
And according to Goodreads, this author has more books out!?!
I am here for this.
I truly do hate cutting this book from the contest, as I obviously enjoyed the hell out of it. But, there can only be one and my last semi-finalist still standing, I couldn’t get out of my head. Come back and check out that review tomorrow! But first, please do check out Andrews and her work. If her stories are all as enjoyable as this one was, I definitely feel like the winner (and my bank account a little less so).
Read on!
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