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A review by readingmissfroggy
Spindle Fire by Lexa Hillyer
2.0
I got an arc through Edelweiss, all opinions are my own. Check out my review here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQjOIblZYiI
2.5 stars - I was really excited about this one but it after reading it I just feel meah...
The two reasons why I wanted to read this book was because a) it is a retelling and b) the characters. The retelling part was pretty obvious and sadly not very special. It felt like it only really took some of the highlights and put them in this book. It did not feel like a retelling, it felt like a book with similar elements as Sleeping Beauty.
The characters were okay. Aurora is unable to feel anything and her struggles totally intrigued me. But her character itself was just okay. She was very meek and accepted some things just waaaaay too easily. She does not try to doubt things or at least think critical when certain characters reveal something. I understand that she isn't a strong kick-ass girl like Katniss, I also understand that we can't all be like her to begin with, but Aurora is on the complete opposite side of that spectrum. Isabella is blind and I also felt interested in her struggles, not only with being blind but also being an illegitimate daughter of the king. She was more fun and interesting to follow around but I felt like I never really connected with her as a character. She definitely made the book better, I don't think I would have enjoyed the book as much if we had only followed Aurora. I think that part of the reason why I felt this way is because I really wished that the characters (background, relationships, reactions, emotions) would have been worked out more. The two sisters have some of it but a lot of characters don't. The sisterly bond in the beginning is awesome but they are separated for most of the book. It was nice to see their desire to be together despite the situation but I would have liked to see them more together than they were to really see the sisterly love instead of being told that it is there.
Now the story itself was pretty cool. I liked the world and the events that took place. I liked the history, for as far as we got to see it, but there were also some things that made it not as good as it could have been. Throughout the first quarter of the book the author is hinting at the reason why the sisters are blind/can't feel anything. She hints and hints and hints and also tries to make you understand that this thing that she is hinting at is big and important but I never feel it because I don't know what she is talking about! At 26.9% (yes, I checked) she finally explains it by doing a flashback. I really think that the story would have been better and more clear on why it was important if that had been the opening scene of the book. It would have intrigued me more and also made me understand the world a bit more. It might be considered a bit obvious, given that it is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but I was expecting the author to play around with the SB concept a bit more rather than just taking the main elements and putting it in her story.
The last thing that bothered me is at the ending. Most of the kingdom has been asleep for a while. And somehow, some people have died but others have not. Supposedly they died because they were unable to drink or eat. Please explain to me how it can be that our most important characters survive this but some other minor characters don't? It really made no sense...
So overall I liked the plot, I kinda liked the characters and the world. But there were also some things that could have been worked out better if you ask me. I like the potential but it felt a bit unfinished. I saw that there is a sequel and I think I will pick it up just to see if it will be better than book 1.
2.5 stars - I was really excited about this one but it after reading it I just feel meah...
The two reasons why I wanted to read this book was because a) it is a retelling and b) the characters. The retelling part was pretty obvious and sadly not very special. It felt like it only really took some of the highlights and put them in this book. It did not feel like a retelling, it felt like a book with similar elements as Sleeping Beauty.
The characters were okay. Aurora is unable to feel anything and her struggles totally intrigued me. But her character itself was just okay. She was very meek and accepted some things just waaaaay too easily. She does not try to doubt things or at least think critical when certain characters reveal something. I understand that she isn't a strong kick-ass girl like Katniss, I also understand that we can't all be like her to begin with, but Aurora is on the complete opposite side of that spectrum. Isabella is blind and I also felt interested in her struggles, not only with being blind but also being an illegitimate daughter of the king. She was more fun and interesting to follow around but I felt like I never really connected with her as a character. She definitely made the book better, I don't think I would have enjoyed the book as much if we had only followed Aurora. I think that part of the reason why I felt this way is because I really wished that the characters (background, relationships, reactions, emotions) would have been worked out more. The two sisters have some of it but a lot of characters don't. The sisterly bond in the beginning is awesome but they are separated for most of the book. It was nice to see their desire to be together despite the situation but I would have liked to see them more together than they were to really see the sisterly love instead of being told that it is there.
Now the story itself was pretty cool. I liked the world and the events that took place. I liked the history, for as far as we got to see it, but there were also some things that made it not as good as it could have been. Throughout the first quarter of the book the author is hinting at the reason why the sisters are blind/can't feel anything. She hints and hints and hints and also tries to make you understand that this thing that she is hinting at is big and important but I never feel it because I don't know what she is talking about! At 26.9% (yes, I checked) she finally explains it by doing a flashback. I really think that the story would have been better and more clear on why it was important if that had been the opening scene of the book. It would have intrigued me more and also made me understand the world a bit more. It might be considered a bit obvious, given that it is a Sleeping Beauty retelling, but I was expecting the author to play around with the SB concept a bit more rather than just taking the main elements and putting it in her story.
The last thing that bothered me is at the ending. Most of the kingdom has been asleep for a while. And somehow, some people have died but others have not. Supposedly they died because they were unable to drink or eat. Please explain to me how it can be that our most important characters survive this but some other minor characters don't? It really made no sense...
So overall I liked the plot, I kinda liked the characters and the world. But there were also some things that could have been worked out better if you ask me. I like the potential but it felt a bit unfinished. I saw that there is a sequel and I think I will pick it up just to see if it will be better than book 1.