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A review by khopeisz
The Emperor's Babe by Bernardine Evaristo
3.25
Hmmmmmmm…..
Was a BIG fan of the book at the start. Something about it felt so nostalgic, reminded me of my days spent reading Gail Carson Levine. And then the middle of the book happened, and by “happened” I mean nothing happened. Like just stretches of nothing. And then Septimus enters I guess? And then Zuleika is capable of being progressive in areas of gender but not in areas of, say, slave ownership (even if her thoughts reflected that of the time, she was VERY unsympathetic to her slaves). And then supposedly there’s a running thread where she’s mourning her youth, bc she got married young, but I was never convinced that this was a big enough deal for her. That she SPOILER dies is the books saving grace lol. Good Riddance.
I’ve read only one other book in verse, Blood Water Paint, and that book was done SO much more successfully than this one. IMO this book had a lot of like plot holes because the verse was so sparse. Also, this book is victim of that early aughts type of edgy girl humor, where in you’re bratty like Carry Bradshaw and slightly racist like Bridget Jones. I picked it up bc I thought the premise sounded fun but, respectfully, I think we should keep it tucked away in Everisto’s back log 😅
Was a BIG fan of the book at the start. Something about it felt so nostalgic, reminded me of my days spent reading Gail Carson Levine. And then the middle of the book happened, and by “happened” I mean nothing happened. Like just stretches of nothing. And then Septimus enters I guess? And then Zuleika is capable of being progressive in areas of gender but not in areas of, say, slave ownership (even if her thoughts reflected that of the time, she was VERY unsympathetic to her slaves). And then supposedly there’s a running thread where she’s mourning her youth, bc she got married young, but I was never convinced that this was a big enough deal for her. That she SPOILER dies is the books saving grace lol. Good Riddance.
I’ve read only one other book in verse, Blood Water Paint, and that book was done SO much more successfully than this one. IMO this book had a lot of like plot holes because the verse was so sparse. Also, this book is victim of that early aughts type of edgy girl humor, where in you’re bratty like Carry Bradshaw and slightly racist like Bridget Jones. I picked it up bc I thought the premise sounded fun but, respectfully, I think we should keep it tucked away in Everisto’s back log 😅