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A review by doahdancer
Entreat Me by Grace Draven
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Grace Draven is an amazing writer and her books have never failed me. Entreat Me has beautiful prose and dialogue. It doesn't disappoint as a unique take on Beauty and the Beast that manages to stick close to the source material.
What I didn't love:
For being a relatively long book, many of the side characters, especially the son of the MMC, who is integral to the plot, were disappointingly undeveloped. The son plays a critical role in the breaking of the curse, but we have no idea what to expect from him because he feels completely absent from the book. He sleeps down the hall from the main characters, but it feels like we never see him and he has very little dialogue. The other characters are waiting on him to take an action for half the book but we get nothing that would elude to why he's taking so much time to make a decision. It was very plot convenient behavior, irreverent to his character.
I also thought that sticking so close to the beauty and the beast tale was a tired approach. I think readers drawn to that particular setup will think my suggestion ruinous to what makes this a good book, but I would have preferred more deviation from the series of expected events. The predictability took some of the lustre out of the experience.
Those two complaints aside, I really enjoyed the characters and the writing. This is another great example of an older, adult woman (and a widow to boot) taking the lead on an adventure that required not just her wit, but her physical defense of herself and others - without an unreasonably short training period turning her into a top-tier warrior.
What I didn't love:
For being a relatively long book, many of the side characters, especially the son of the MMC, who is integral to the plot, were disappointingly undeveloped. The son plays a critical role in the breaking of the curse, but we have no idea what to expect from him because he feels completely absent from the book. He sleeps down the hall from the main characters, but it feels like we never see him and he has very little dialogue. The other characters are waiting on him to take an action for half the book but we get nothing that would elude to why he's taking so much time to make a decision. It was very plot convenient behavior, irreverent to his character.
I also thought that sticking so close to the beauty and the beast tale was a tired approach. I think readers drawn to that particular setup will think my suggestion ruinous to what makes this a good book, but I would have preferred more deviation from the series of expected events. The predictability took some of the lustre out of the experience.
Those two complaints aside, I really enjoyed the characters and the writing. This is another great example of an older, adult woman (and a widow to boot) taking the lead on an adventure that required not just her wit, but her physical defense of herself and others - without an unreasonably short training period turning her into a top-tier warrior.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Vomit, Death of parent, and Pregnancy