Reviews

East by Edith Pattou

eleanor1028's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

theseasoul's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

|| 4 ⭐️ ||

When a friend recommended this book to me based on her reading of it as a child, I was not expecting much. Maybe a cheesy and mostly childish fairy tale. So I was very surprised by the quality and enjoyability of the story. It does have a fairytale feel to it, but it’s splendidly written. It almost reminds me of the Princess Bride in a way… the classic adventurous plot and fantasy/magical setting. Pleasantly surprised and impressed by how fun this was to read, and so glad I gave it a go! It was a perfect bit of escapism for a sick day.

|| Content warnings ||

Main character’s mom is extremely superstitious. There are a few instances of fortune telling and weird spirituality. a secondary (tertiary?) character is an alcoholic.

justbooksyall's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

4.0

iamcmg's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

jade_the_book_lover's review against another edition

5.0

loved this book!!!!!!!!

winemakerssister's review against another edition

4.0

4.5 stars

A charming and compelling retelling of East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

hannahinpages's review against another edition

3.0

“East of the sun and west of the moon.”

east is a solid three star for me. it's good, but not the best thing i've ever read.

east takes place in a setting full of snow and ice, with a historical setting steeped in mythology. this was easily my favorite aspect of the entire book. the setting reminded me of the winternight trilogy, which is one of my all time favs. if you enjoy that series, i would check out east! the vibes of this book were immaculate, but something was just missing.

where it fell apart for me was with the pacing and character dynamics. if i would've read this book when i was in middle school, i would've loved it. but reading it now as i'm older, it failed to intrigue me in the same way. the plot stalled out at points and character relations/motivations seemed to be relatively shallow and something i just didn't entirely get.

i see why this story is so beloved, it just wasn't the full magical package for me.

thedragonwolf's review against another edition

3.0

This story IS compelling, it reads like a fairy tale. And the Northern European elements are very interesting. But much like a fairy tale, this relies soooo much on summaries. It tells you large chunks of the story and you rarely get to be in the scene with the characters. The PoVs felt a little amateurish, like each one is just the character rambling and catching you up with what has been going on with them. They tell you things rather than show you. The story feels very magical, but the execution feels very Wattpad fanfic from 2012. Most of the prose reads like those summaries writers put at the beginning of the fanfic where they summarize the context for their fic or explain to you the circumstances under which the fic is happening.

mairelon's review against another edition

4.0

I still really loved this book, but I don't remember the ending being as anticlimactic as it was. I suppose the fact that there's a sequel now should make up for it, even if it retcons some of this book's ending?

hnnhk's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0