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mircea_tudorica's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
autumnatic93's review against another edition
1.0
I was so bored with the book, I never even finished it. DON'T PICK IT UP! The saying is so true: Don't judge a book by its cover. It looked interesting to me at first. But I got through a good portion of the book, and nothing had really happened. There was no hook to this story. I need a decent hook that makes me want to know why a certain event is going to take place. Something that makes me say, "Wait, why are they in danger/being suicidal/anything suspenseful. What happened? Who are theyy?" Stuff like that. I don't really want background info at the beginning. It has to be sprinkled throughout the book, and it has to be relevant. Like, okay the orphanage thing was important. But Gosling? Ugh. Boring bully, got that. Move on.
miffyf's review against another edition
5.0
In which Rossamund leaves the Foundlingry for Winstermere, and meets the wonderful, fearsome Europe for the first time.
Sublime!
Sublime!
catherine_mack's review against another edition
4.0
Well here's another very imaginative author! I thoroughly enjoyed the world Cornish has created and the main character - a boy who will be a hero. Altho' I was originally a bit sorry that nearly a quarter of the book was given over to his explanarium -- I ended up working my way through it and enjoying the added information. His pencil and charcoal illustrations are stunning. I will look for the second in the series and definitely obtain a copy of this for our school library.
michelehoward's review against another edition
4.0
Good story, not scary like I was told(but that was from an 11 year old), but I'll have to finish the trilogy.
jrosenstein's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a little while to get into this book but I ended up enjoying it enough that I'm currently reading the next one. Cornish has a nice sense of character and action, and the world he creates is interesting with its elemental struggle between human and monsters. However, he really takes his world creation a bit too far. The glossary and appendix takes up a quarter of the book and it only gets worse in the sequel. He makes up all these words for different things and people that are really not necessary and just make things confusing and difficult to read.
1yourmom1's review against another edition
5.0
This entire series is highly underrated and I wish more people knew about it. I read these books right after the final book was published and I still come back to them from time to time. It’s a genuinely ORIGINAL world and storyline, which is what truly pulled me in. I hope one day these books reach the best seller list where they belong.
sydneysavior's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cityinkwell's review against another edition
5.0
An absolutely foundational text of my teen years, fundamentally changed my brain chemistry. If you want a fantasy book with detailed worldbuilding, then my god. My GOD. This book has almost 100 pages straight of just the glossary, the cartography the illustrations - just a labour of love top to bottom from an extremely talented man.
D.M. Cornish spins a gripping world of regency-era monsters and an economy based around their slaughter, focusing on a vulnerable young teenager who is swept up in all the little corners that make up this world. The character arc is in flawless lockstep with the worldbuilding from beginning to end, and finishing it left me desperately hungry for more.
The series loves its strong female characters, not in the 'power fantasy girl' sense, but in genuinely bold and striking personalities that have massive influence over Rossamünd. They are the characters that stick, more than any other in the story. It's novel, but well appreciated.
It's not a particularly breezy read, there's a lot of dry lore exploration, almost no real escalation (quite a bit of the payoff for all this book introduces is in book 2) and very very different from your typical fantasy; this is a book that slams the buttons of a particular type of reader. And that reader is MEEEEEE
D.M. Cornish spins a gripping world of regency-era monsters and an economy based around their slaughter, focusing on a vulnerable young teenager who is swept up in all the little corners that make up this world. The character arc is in flawless lockstep with the worldbuilding from beginning to end, and finishing it left me desperately hungry for more.
The series loves its strong female characters, not in the 'power fantasy girl' sense, but in genuinely bold and striking personalities that have massive influence over Rossamünd. They are the characters that stick, more than any other in the story. It's novel, but well appreciated.
It's not a particularly breezy read, there's a lot of dry lore exploration, almost no real escalation (quite a bit of the payoff for all this book introduces is in book 2) and very very different from your typical fantasy; this is a book that slams the buttons of a particular type of reader. And that reader is MEEEEEE