taylorreadsbooks's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 stars. I loved Beastly, but the last 2 books of Flinn's have been a little less then stellar. Somewhat disapointed.
calinda24's review against another edition
5.0
This book is by the author who wrote Beastly, and even though I haven't read that book, I've seen the movie and really liked it so I thought I'd give this book a try. Obviously I liked it since I gave it five stars.
This book is a modern retelling of different fairy tales (some of which I'd never heard of), but it all came together quite nicely. It's a young adult novel but I think anyone, no matter their age, who likes magical stories will really enjoy this book.
This book is a modern retelling of different fairy tales (some of which I'd never heard of), but it all came together quite nicely. It's a young adult novel but I think anyone, no matter their age, who likes magical stories will really enjoy this book.
bokbubblan's review against another edition
1.0
So I loved Alex Flinn's Beastly and that other one about Sleeping Beauty. But this was just tedious and I couldn't get through it. I felt bad, way back then for not finishing it. But I am just kind of done with that at the moment. I appreciate the idea of telling the stories of other lesser know fairy tales, however this was boring and I won't pick it up again.
ld277's review against another edition
1.0
I've read "A Kiss in Time" and "Beastly" by Alex Flinn and I really liked those two, so I thought this one would be similarly well written. Briefly worded: it wasn't. Maybe it was because I read the German version of this book and not the original one in English (I read the other two in English). The main Protagonist is a guy named Johnny Marco, who pretty much does nothing except fixing shoes. So one day when a Princess offers to marry him (if he saves her brother, who was turned into a frog by a witch), he accepts. Gotta admit, Johnny has to be one of the most boring and hypocritical characters ever. He reminds me of those people who say "I'm not like the others" - the special snowflake. He sees himself above the others, imo, which really puts me off. (and when he finds out his best friend Meg, who he suddenly realizes he is in love, is also a witch, he asks her if she put him under a spell so he would fall in love with her. He also treats her like she owes him something. Always compares her to the princess - in general treats her like a second choice, like a compromise. He still has complaints about her when she saves his life! (seriously, dude, get it together)). I would have liked if the story had involved more of Meg. Treated her more as an equal and not like a stupid person whose only goal is to be loved by Johnny (let's not even talk how she acts with the Prince, who gives her stupid pet names and generally treats her like shit. She tries to make Johnny jealous with making out with him. seriously, wouldn't really pass the Bechdel test). She was a witch after all.
The story is pretty much ... okay ... I would even say boring (but people should see that for themselves). It's a mix of several different fairy tales. In my opinion, waay to many - it gets kinda confusing. It also has plot holes (nothing major) - like that one time Johnny has suddenly a rope in his hands and you don't know where the hell it came from and stuff like that.
I got this book for my birthday a couple of years ago and it has been on my bookshelf since then (yes I'm one of those people) and I was sorting things out when this book caught my eye and I decided to read it, considering I liked the other two I read by Alex Flinn. But I gotta say, this book is definitely not MY cup of tea.
The story is pretty much ... okay ... I would even say boring (but people should see that for themselves). It's a mix of several different fairy tales. In my opinion, waay to many - it gets kinda confusing. It also has plot holes (nothing major) - like that one time Johnny has suddenly a rope in his hands and you don't know where the hell it came from and stuff like that.
I got this book for my birthday a couple of years ago and it has been on my bookshelf since then (yes I'm one of those people) and I was sorting things out when this book caught my eye and I decided to read it, considering I liked the other two I read by Alex Flinn. But I gotta say, this book is definitely not MY cup of tea.
marmeelovesbook's review against another edition
5.0
This is yeat another fairy tale meets contemporary world tale and somehow I think Alex Finn has mastered this type of novel. I think with each one she gets better. She does a nice job in this one in melding a conglomeration of different fairy tales into one book. Her characters are fun, flawed and real. I greatly enjoy her sense of humor and the flow of the book is constant and good. This is nice guy Johnny meets gorgrous princess and through a series of adventures to free her prince turned frog brother, he helps a lot of poeple along the way and learns that maybe those closest to us are the dearest. This is a sweet story, yes somewhat predictable but in this genre where it's a fairy tale and you expect happily ever after, it works.
softpinecone's review against another edition
4.0
Although to did enjoy this book it was a little slow, and it's not my favorite of her books, but still a good read.
abenajanet's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars. ok read but not as captivating as Beastly and A Kiss in Time
lumos_libros's review against another edition
4.0
Before anything I have to mention that for some reason I assumed that this was a re-telling of Red Riding Hood , and for those of you (probably not too many because I'm exceptionally dim sometimes) who thought it was as well I'm here to tell you it isn't. There is a cloak in the story, but no oblivious girls or furry looking grandmothers in sight.
This story follows the life of Johnny, a seventeen-year-old who aspires to be a shoe designer, but what he does is help out with his family's business. They repair shoes in South Beach, Florida. It's just him and his mom, and his dad has been missing for years. Unfortunately they have a hard time making ends meet, but with some luck or fate you could say, a princess comes to town that will seem to have the key (or more like money) to make all those problems go away. The princess claims that her brother has been turned into a frog and she thinks Johnny is the right person to find him and bring him back. What ensues is a whirlwind adventure, and Johnny gets a lot more out of it than he had anticipated.
I'm a huge fan of fairy tale re-tellings and though I did enjoy this I gotta say it was a bit of an overload. The fairy tales used here aren't that commonly known by people (myself included), and it felt too stuffed. Too many events happening and too many storylines for one story. I felt like we were jumping from crisis to crisis ALL the time. But then again that was probably what the author was trying to achieve; the feeling that our character was almost literally flying by the seat of his pants. All that aside I did appreciate the magical elements, and how they were interwoven in the storyline. I'm getting too clever for my own good though (probably not true but...) because I could see the "twists" coming most of the time, but fairytales are often that way. Meghan, who is Johnny's best friend, is a great character and I loved the relationship between them.
What made this story good, even though it felt hurried, was Johnny. He tries hard to help his mom, and he has a vision of how things should be. But at the same time he has his faults. He's convinced the money will fix everything and he'll do almost anything so he and his mom can have a better life. How can you not like a character like that?
Now for what has been irking me since I read this book: Does anyone know why there is a red flower on the cover? I do not remember a red flower being mentioned, or somebody saying something about a red flower. I'm baffled, stumped, and it's really nagging at me. I feel like I missed something, so if anyone can inform me I would greatly appreciate it.
This story follows the life of Johnny, a seventeen-year-old who aspires to be a shoe designer, but what he does is help out with his family's business. They repair shoes in South Beach, Florida. It's just him and his mom, and his dad has been missing for years. Unfortunately they have a hard time making ends meet, but with some luck or fate you could say, a princess comes to town that will seem to have the key (or more like money) to make all those problems go away. The princess claims that her brother has been turned into a frog and she thinks Johnny is the right person to find him and bring him back. What ensues is a whirlwind adventure, and Johnny gets a lot more out of it than he had anticipated.
I'm a huge fan of fairy tale re-tellings and though I did enjoy this I gotta say it was a bit of an overload. The fairy tales used here aren't that commonly known by people (myself included), and it felt too stuffed. Too many events happening and too many storylines for one story. I felt like we were jumping from crisis to crisis ALL the time. But then again that was probably what the author was trying to achieve; the feeling that our character was almost literally flying by the seat of his pants. All that aside I did appreciate the magical elements, and how they were interwoven in the storyline. I'm getting too clever for my own good though (probably not true but...) because I could see the "twists" coming most of the time, but fairytales are often that way. Meghan, who is Johnny's best friend, is a great character and I loved the relationship between them.
What made this story good, even though it felt hurried, was Johnny. He tries hard to help his mom, and he has a vision of how things should be. But at the same time he has his faults. He's convinced the money will fix everything and he'll do almost anything so he and his mom can have a better life. How can you not like a character like that?
Now for what has been irking me since I read this book: Does anyone know why there is a red flower on the cover? I do not remember a red flower being mentioned, or somebody saying something about a red flower. I'm baffled, stumped, and it's really nagging at me. I feel like I missed something, so if anyone can inform me I would greatly appreciate it.
skiracechick's review
4.0
I thought this story was pretty cute. I like Beastly, but it was way too predictable. This story? Not so much, so it really kept you on your toes. So many fairy tales rolled into one tale!
locke_reads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5