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Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'
Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen by Serena Valentino
6 reviews
destinystowe14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book was good. It is geared toward a younger audience which is made clear in the writing. There isn’t a lot of detail, and it seemed rushed a good bit of the time.
With that being said I still liked this book. It was a good palate cleanser, and a very quick read. I’m a slow reader and I read this in 3 days.
It works really well as an origin story for the Wicked Queen. Snow White was one of my favorite movies growing up, so it was interesting seeing things through the queen’s POV. If you’re a fan of Disney or Snow White you should definitely read this book.
With that being said I still liked this book. It was a good palate cleanser, and a very quick read. I’m a slow reader and I read this in 3 days.
It works really well as an origin story for the Wicked Queen. Snow White was one of my favorite movies growing up, so it was interesting seeing things through the queen’s POV. If you’re a fan of Disney or Snow White you should definitely read this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
shannasbooksnhooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"The Queen opened her arms to the child, and with Verona's gentle encouragement, Snow moved forward to accept the Queen's embrace. Snow was a little bird of a girl, such a lovely creature."
This. Book.
Part of me wants to leave my review at that, but at the same time, I want to leave a more in-depth review. So here we are.
I read one chapter the night of June 27 before going to bed, and the next day, I just devoured it. I loved this book so much. Although I do understand where some of the lesser-star-rating reviews came from. It was a bit hard to decipher her whole villain arc since the book did give the Queen a more sympathetic personality. However, this was something I was okay with and something that worked well within the story - the Queen was pushed to madness and obsession by grief and possible PTSD, but definitely trauma, to the point of being an evil queen and fulfilling the whole "evil stepmother" trope. (Also, there were some reviews that mentioned the Queen not having a name. This didn't bother me because the King didn't have a name either, so...I don't quite understand why people were bent out of shape because of this.)
Part of me also feels hypocritical for enjoying this because when the 2021 Cruella came out, I was not for it, and I couldn't make it past 50% of the way through the movie. And my reasoning for this is that Disney's trying to give a sympathetic backstory to a character (Cruella) who really didn't need it. I could argue the same with this book - an attempt to give a sympathetic backstory to a Disney villain who really didn't need it. However. I feel like it's important to note how the actual stories are handled. On one side, the 2021 Cruella movie: a mess of a story, the cast was meh at best, and Emma Thompson and the costuming were the only saving graces. On the other hand, the 2009 Fairest of All book: story is well put together while harking back to the source material, a more understandable, relatable reason for the villain arc, and overall decent character arcs and stories. I do recommend this book because it's a great take on the Evil Queen's backstory and it's so cohesive, both as its own story and standing with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. If you're a child and/or not comfortable with swearing, read the spoiler at your own risk.
This. Book.
Part of me wants to leave my review at that, but at the same time, I want to leave a more in-depth review. So here we are.
I read one chapter the night of June 27 before going to bed, and the next day, I just devoured it. I loved this book so much. Although I do understand where some of the lesser-star-rating reviews came from. It was a bit hard to decipher her whole villain arc since the book did give the Queen a more sympathetic personality. However, this was something I was okay with and something that worked well within the story - the Queen was pushed to madness and obsession by grief and possible PTSD, but definitely trauma, to the point of being an evil queen and fulfilling the whole "evil stepmother" trope. (Also, there were some reviews that mentioned the Queen not having a name. This didn't bother me because the King didn't have a name either, so...I don't quite understand why people were bent out of shape because of this.)
Part of me also feels hypocritical for enjoying this because when the 2021 Cruella came out, I was not for it, and I couldn't make it past 50% of the way through the movie. And my reasoning for this is that Disney's trying to give a sympathetic backstory to a character (Cruella) who really didn't need it. I could argue the same with this book - an attempt to give a sympathetic backstory to a Disney villain who really didn't need it. However. I feel like it's important to note how the actual stories are handled. On one side, the 2021 Cruella movie: a mess of a story, the cast was meh at best, and Emma Thompson and the costuming were the only saving graces. On the other hand, the 2009 Fairest of All book: story is well put together while harking back to the source material, a more understandable, relatable reason for the villain arc, and overall decent character arcs and stories. I do recommend this book because it's a great take on the Evil Queen's backstory and it's so cohesive, both as its own story and standing with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. If you're a child and/or not comfortable with swearing, read the spoiler at your own risk.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Violence, Abandonment, and War
z_thatsit's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gore, Infertility, Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
syd991's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I’m not exactly sure what to say about this book. I generally enjoy the idea of twisted fairytales and retellings, but I didn’t love this one.
I didn’t overly enjoy any of the characters or story. I do feel intrigued enough to perhaps pick up another book in the series someday.
I feel like the thing that really turned me off of this book was the style, it’s very straight to the point, and I feel like I would have loved it more if there was a bit more expressiveness in the writing.
So overall, not my personal cup of tea, but I still somewhat enjoyed it, so maybe you will too.
I didn’t overly enjoy any of the characters or story. I do feel intrigued enough to perhaps pick up another book in the series someday.
I feel like the thing that really turned me off of this book was the style, it’s very straight to the point, and I feel like I would have loved it more if there was a bit more expressiveness in the writing.
So overall, not my personal cup of tea, but I still somewhat enjoyed it, so maybe you will too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Violence and War
brandie_abbie19's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
studiouspoppy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I started reading this book because I'm interested in stories that show a different perspective of a classical story such as Snow White. Although I didn't dislike this book, it never really caught me in the plot, and I felt like the character development of the Wicked Queen was very stereotypical.
For once, the idea of the Queen being good at the beginning is represented by a very "motherly/nurturing" woman, who was once abused as a child and tries to be a good mother to her stepdaughter. Then, grief turns her into an evil woman, who is addicted to her father's approval (which she wished for all her life), and part of her "evilness" is represented by her lack of maternal feeling towards Snow, and her ambition. Obviously, there are other aspects of her new personality, like jealousy and cruelty, but I think is kind of sexist to turn her into an ambitious woman to make her look bad, making ambition to be an un-womanly trait.
There's also the idea of the mirror telling the Queen she has "matured" and that she has grown to not care about the matters of the heart, which was necessary to rule and care about more important matters. I think this is too similar to the idea of men being rationals and women being emotional, which has been used as an argument to exclude women from public life and politics.
For once, the idea of the Queen being good at the beginning is represented by a very "motherly/nurturing" woman, who was once abused as a child and tries to be a good mother to her stepdaughter. Then, grief turns her into an evil woman, who is addicted to her father's approval (which she wished for all her life), and part of her "evilness" is represented by her lack of maternal feeling towards Snow, and her ambition. Obviously, there are other aspects of her new personality, like jealousy and cruelty, but I think is kind of sexist to turn her into an ambitious woman to make her look bad, making ambition to be an un-womanly trait.
There's also the idea of the mirror telling the Queen she has "matured" and that she has grown to not care about the matters of the heart, which was necessary to rule and care about more important matters. I think this is too similar to the idea of men being rationals and women being emotional, which has been used as an argument to exclude women from public life and politics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment