Book Review: Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

Cruel Beauty

Rosamund Hodge

 Published Date: January 28th 2014

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Pages: 342

Genre:  Fairy tale, Mythology, Fantasy-esqe, Romance, Young Adult

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I love the setting and world building of this book. Hodge is absolutely brilliant. It’s part fantasy, part historical fiction, part mythological retelling and part fairytale retelling. In the story, Arcadia is an island off of Greece, sharing in their mythology after the mainland had come to influence and conquer, yet also keeping their own hedge gods. It was a prosperous place until something, no one knows exactly what, happened at the castle, the sky went from blue to parchment, demons came to torture the minds of those the caught and the Gentle Lord came to bargain and rule.

Nyx is around because of one of those bargains, and her fate is sealed because of it as well. She must go off to the castle and marry the Gentle Lord, the one in charge of the demons. She is sent so that her sister can live happily and coddled and so that she can attempt to bring back the blue skies by defeating the house or the Gentle Lord himself.

As a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it is certainly one of the best and is my favourite. I like it for many of the same reasons why I like The Lunar Chronicles, it’s not a straightforward retelling and instead is very imaginative and clever.

The fairy tale and amazing world aside, however, it’s our main characters, Nyx and Ignifex, the Gentle Lord, who are really the stars of the show. There is a realness and complexity to these characters. They are far from perfect, they are even downright nasty sometimes, but they are learning to accept that in themselves and in each other. They were a joy to read in their growth as separate characters and as a couple.

I adore the idea that the entirety of Arcadia is inside the room, inside the mansion and that they all are in Pandora’s Box. In general the way all of the mythology and hedge god-ness was incorporated in the story was natural and intriguing. We are left hundreds of clues and themes dealing with the idea of Pandora’s Box and the truth.

Such as Nyx being too curious and determined to open the box and Ignifex trying so hard not to learn any more truth since he fears it.

I also really enjoyed the way that Nyx and her sister changed when reality was distorted. The way Nyx was a little less edgy and her sister was more clever and even slightly darker. Things felt more balanced.

If you like Beauty and the Beast, read this book, but even if you’re not into fairytales, if you enjoy fantasy mixed with mythology, or just great characters and a great couple, I highly recommend this book. It’s world is amazing and unique and it’s characters layered and real.

4.5 Bookmarks

Book Review: Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Princess of the Midnight Ball (Princess #1)

Jessica Day George

Publication Date: January 20th 2009

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Pages: 280

Genre:  Fairytale, Young Adult

A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn… 

Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above. 

Captivating from start to finish, Jessica Day George’s take on the Grimms’ tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses demonstrates yet again her mastery at spinning something entirely fresh out of a story you thought you knew.

If anyone keeps up and reads many of my reviews than you know that there are a few things I really appreciate in a book. I enjoy stories that are written simply and non-dramatically. In other words, I tend to find other things more exciting in a book (such as the adventure). This is possibly why I enjoy most fantasy retellings so much, as they have all ended up similar tones of storytelling.

Princess of the Midnight Ball benefits from this as well. The romance happens, but they don't dwell on it. There is a terrible thing happening to the girls, but they try their hardest to just weather through it instead of going 'woe is me' in the inner voices. It's very refreshing.

This book is a retelling of the "Twelve Dancing Princesses", a very popular fairytale to retell since it has many elements that can be dealt with in an interesting way. Unlike many of the retellings, however, a little more than half the book is told from the point of view of our hero. On top of that, most of the parts from Rose (our eldest sister's) perspective is told in a limited way, keeping our knowledge of everything at a similar level to Galen (our hero).

Speaking of Galen, he is a wonderfully faceted hero. His personality is so refreshing among all of the brooding heroes in young adult fiction. And I can't resist a man who knits and is proud of it.

Our princesses are well established as well. It is hard to get twelve sisters to stick in your mind. George managed to get half of them established enough that I knew who they were and what their personalities were like off-hand.

 

I really enjoyed the final scenes of dealing with the bishop, getting caught by the King Under the Stone and the escape. It's something I would love to see brought to life. I also adored how important knitting became.

Rose and Galen's romance is also really quite nice. It develops naturally and the two are adorable around each other.

There is also the fact that there are still sons left there, and what will happen if they find another door up? Will they go get revenge on the girls and Galen?

As this has become a basic book in the libraries of those who love fairytale retellings, I'm sure many of you have read this book. If you are a fairytale fan and you haven't yet, however, I strongly urge you to. It's cute and full of adventure.

4.5 Bookmarks

Book Review: Cress by Marissa Meyer

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles #3)

Marissa Meyer

Review of Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)
Review of Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)

Publication Date: February 4th 2014

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Pages: 550

Genre:  Fairytale, Scifi, Adventure, Young Adult

In this third book in the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run, now with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to overthrow Queen Levana and her army. 

Their best hope lies with Cress, a girl imprisoned on a satellite since childhood who's only ever had her netscreens as company. All that screen time has made Cress an excellent hacker. Unfortunately, she’s just received orders from Levana to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice. 

When a daring rescue of Cress goes awry, the group is separated. Cress finally has her freedom, but it comes at a high price. Meanwhile, Queen Levana will let nothing prevent her marriage to Emperor Kai. Cress, Scarlet, and Cinder may not have signed up to save the world, but they may be the only hope the world has

Finishing Cress left me with a similar sensation to the first time I read Scarlet, that I liked it, but not as much as I hoped I would. I think for me, the Lunar Chronicles are a series I have to reread, because for some reason I enjoy them better the second time around. Honestly this makes them more valuable as books than those that I read once, enjoy immensely and never pick up again. These books have a lasting power.

Cress sees the continuation of the overreaching plotline from Cinder with the addition of the characters from Scarlet, plus the new plotline taken from the fairy tale "Rapunzel". "Rapunzel" happens to be one of my favourite fairy tales, though I still don't know why. I remembered watching closely when I heard Disney were going to get their hands into it (long before the general public knew), the pain when it got shelved again and the joy when it was brought back and designs were released. I went to see it opening night. I also wrote my own interpretation of the story in the story telling medium of Visual Novels.

One interesting thing that I have taken from these different versions is that Rapunzel ends up being characterized the same way: naive and awkward. But really, realistically how else is a girl supposed to be when trapped in a tower for so long? Cress is certainly my favourite version I have read. The way she is written and presented as a character once again solidifies what I stated in my review of Scarlet, that Meyer does characters strong and well. The relationship is also my favourite of the three presented so far in the series, it's adorable, quirky and tentative. Both of them are out of their depths and it's wonderful.

Though the characters are the stars of the books, the plot also continues to hold my attention, which after three books of it is not an easy task.

The biggest issue I had while reading the book can only get worse, unfortunately with the final installment. With each book, there is an increase of characters and plotlines. Last book, the balance was perfect. This time around, with Cress I started to feel a little overwhelmed. The story of Rapunzel got shafted a bit in the end, having to bow to getting the characters to where they're supposed to do so the main plot doesn't fall apart. Unlike in the first two books, this time I can see obviously where bits from the fairy tale were forced it. It was less natural.

I do think that this is something that will improve upon rereading and honestly I'm being a bit strict, perhaps, but I feel as though Cinder and Scarlet have set a bar.

All of that said, I am incredibly intrugued by the charactera of Winter and her probably beau and cannot wait to read them.

The bit that is the most awkward for me in the book was Cress's kidnapping just having her end up in a safe place. I get we needed to get them back with the group, but I felt like so much that could have been was cut out, because of all the other stuff that needed to be put in the book. Meyer had to make decisions involving pacing and length, and although I'm sure most would read an 800-page book by her at this point, her publishers probably wouldn't have been so keen on it. And I don't know how that would have affected the pacing of the rest of the book. There was already a slight feeling of the book being put on pause so that desert time could be squished in.

On a plus note, I love that Iko has a body now! And I love that it's so realistic. I want Iko to have a story! I want her to have lovey dovey time. I'm also really interested in how she has gotten so much personality. What in her programming has allowed her to create such a realistic AI.

Ah! The kiss. The kiss was so cute and I loved that he remembered her desert fever babblings. I love how Cress in general kept making Thorne control himself, and through controlling himself he realizes when he starts to become fond of her that he wants to be careful and learn how to do things right and not just spurt words of meaningless love. Cress realizing he is more than a "hero" like she thought is also really nice to see.

I wish I had been surprised when I'd learned that Cress was the doctor's daughter, but I had been spoiled for that by a review on Goodreads.

Are you not reading this series yet? Seriously? Get on it! Even if you're not a fairy tale person, it's a great YA Scifi story. Though of course loving fairy tales increases it's enjoyability. I'm also starting to believe that very few authors do characters as well as she does. Pretty much I recommend this to everyone. Read it!

4 Bookmarks

Blog Review: Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

Scarlet (The Lunar Chronicles #2)

Marissa Meyer

Review of Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1)

Publication Date: February 5th 2013

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

Pages: 452

Genre:  Fairy Tale, Scifi, Romance, Young Adult

Cinder, the cyborg mechanic, returns in the second thrilling installment of the bestselling Lunar Chronicles. She's trying to break out of prison--even though if she succeeds, she'll be the Commonwealth's most wanted fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Scarlet is a much more dramatic and darker tale than its prequel, Cinder, but considering that story it comes from (Little Red Riding Hood) I feel like that's harder to avoid. There's something about this specific fairy tale that inspires darkness. The book follows two storylines for the most part (with bits from Kai's point of view). We have the continuation of the last book's plot with Cinder's escape, and then we have the introduction of our new heroine, Scarlet.

What I absolutely love about Meyer's writing style, is how strong her characters are. They have very distinct personalities, they are not flaky things that we can imprint our own selves on to, instead they have such personalities that if we met them in real life we could recognize them.

Focusing in on Scarlet's story, we have a girl whose grandmother has disappeared, yet no one will take the disappearance seriously (everyone considered her crazy and thinks she just ran off). When she gets a hint to where her grandmother may have gone/been taken, she starts off, ending up getting help from a stranger named Wolf. However she doesn't know if she can trust him or not.

Do you notice something about this summary? I certainly noticed it while I was reading the book. Meyer has not just taken the basic story of a girl in a red hood and a wolf, this is the fairy tale, with every bit Meyer could fit in from the original tale stuck in somewhere. I was duly impressed. I think Meyer has a gift for interpretation that I have not seen done better by many other writer of fairy tales. The ideas she comes up with are incredibly unique, yet they perfectly represent what they're supposed to in the original story (I mean Cinder's foot falling off instead of a shoe? Brilliant.) And, it's all done naturally.

Now all my gushing praise aside, it is true that I didn't enjoy this book as much as Cinder, however I think that is less Meyer's fault and more a personal preference. Scarlet has a slightly different feel to it. The main character is slightly older, the situations a bit more, and Wolf is much more... dramatic that Prince Kai.

The beginning also didn't catch my interest and it was slow reading for a while. If I didn't have the parts with Cinder to follow, I don't know if I'd ever gotten past that point where suddenly I was hooked.

Okay, so I love that Scarlet is the one who initiates the first kiss Wolf (not even for sure if he likes her or not, but because she wants to). I love that she just takes does it. So rarely in Young Adult or New Adult fiction is the female protagonist shown as taking the lead in the romance, as making the first move. I myself don't have the confidence or natural inclination to make a move, but I have friends who do and it was nice reading something that didn't conform to what the world tries to make us think is the norm.

I think my favourite interpreted bit in this book is hands down the Lunar twisting Scarlet's mind to see the Omega as her Grandmother, thus representing the wolf in the grandmother's clothing. It's so smooth and natural that I didn't even realize that it was a bit from the fairy tale until I was going through it again!

The Lunar Chronicles stick out among fairy tales. I think it's obvious what a success they are, when a new book comes out all the blogs are reviewing it. But, there is a reason for the hype, they are written well, they are written creatively, and they are unique takes..

4.5 Bookmarks

Book Review: Hero by Alethea Kontis

Hero (Woodcutter Sisters #2)

Alethea Kontis

Review of Enchanted (Woodcutter Sisters #1)

Publication Date: August 1st 2013

Publisher: Harcourt Books

Pages: 304

Genre:  Fairy Tale, Adventure, Young Adult

Rough and tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she's the only one of her sisters without any magic—until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world. Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, "Did romance have to be part of the adventure?" As in Enchanted, readers will revel in the fragments of fairy tales that embellish this action-packed story of adventure and, yes, romance.

Here lies the review of the sequel to the enjoyable Enchanted. And personally, this book showed improvement in Kontis's writing, and stole my heart even more than the first.

This time around we are following Saturday, the second youngest out of the Woodcutter sisters. She is the "non-magical" one, having received only an axe from her fairy godmother as opposed to the amazing things her sisters received. Of course, this has changed since she became indestructible at the end of her younger sister's adventures and it becomes obvious that she has a destiny to fulfill and until then she has to stay intact due to the logic of this world.

This time around it doesn't seem like Kontis focuses on any one fairytale and instead alludes to several while turning a few traditional fairytale tropes on their head. This time around we have a heroine saving a "prince" and it's lovely.

The writing style has shifted to fit Saturday's voice, becoming less dreamy and more practical. This especially shows in the romance in which the book doesn't even try to dress up (despite being insta-love) with drama, emotion and reasons. It presents it as "romance happens this way in fairytales, I guess we'll just go with the flow" and surprisingly this ends up working rather well and being very effective.

Where the last book suffered from Sunday feeling a little less developed, all of the characters in this one are fantastic. Saturday and Peregrine are layered characters (even without their gender-bending scenario to deal with) and all the side characters are memoriable.

I also applaud the fact that this can act as a stand-a-lone book, separate from Enchanted, though it does seem like there will be slightly more direct sequels after this one.

Peregrine is one of the most awkward characters ever in the best possible way, though I guess with his body being an odd mix of sexes and living alone sans for a chimera, this isn't too surprising. The fact that the first thing he does with Saturday is kiss her made me laugh out loud. He's just all IT'S A GIRL AHHHHHHH YAY and luckily Saturday's personality just takes it in stride.

Saturday on the other hand, I loved the way she is described. I love that she's not traditional beautiful. She is big, she is muscular and it's great. Also she punches Jack, which I prayed she would when I realized he'd popped up, because I'd wanted to punch him. He's just such a prat! Let's his family believe he's dead so he could continue adventuring along! Seriously. Thursday is off on her own, but at least she still remembers her family!

As for the ending, I do wonder how this will end up playing out. The next sister we will look at will be Friday, so I assume we'll be hearing of what goes on by hearsay, or something Friday ends up doing will influence things. The fact that Seven has fallen asleep means that this has to be an overreaching plot. My guess is that the next book after Friday's will be Monday's Daughter, who we know by description is on Thursday's ship, considering she's described like Snow White, and sleeping death is a rather Snow White thing, I'm assuming that the conclusion will come from her.

Finally, I'm still hoping for a stand-a-lone prequel of Thursday's tale.

Even if you haven't read Enchanted or didn't feel like you enjoyed it very much, I highly recommend getting your hands on Hero. It's a book that deserves to be read by lovers of the fairytale. I also think that those who are fans of Patricia C. Wrede's Enchanted Forest books will enjoy this book as well. If Kontis continues to improve, the next book, Dearest, is going to be phenomenal.

4.5 Bookmarks

Book Review: The Sweetest Spell by Suzanne Selfors

The Sweetest Spell

Suzanne Selfors

Publication Date: August 12th 2012

Publisher: Walker Childrens

Pages: 416

Genre:  Fairytale, Young Adult

Emmeline Thistle, a dirt-scratcher's daughter, has escaped death twice-first, on the night she was born, and second, on the day her entire village was swept away by flood. Left with nothing and no one, Emmeline discovers her rare and mysterious ability-she can churn milk into chocolate, a delicacy more precious than gold.

Suddenly, the most unwanted girl in Anglund finds herself desired by all. But Emmeline only wants one-Owen Oak, a dairyman's son, whose slow smiles and lingering glances once tempted her to believe she might someday be loved for herself. But others will stop at nothing to use her gift for their own gains-no matter what the cost to Emmeline. 

Magic and romance entwine in this fantastical world where true love and chocolate conquer all.

When you first encounter The Sweetest Spell, it almost seems like an author wrote it from a challenge that required the inclusion of: making chocolate, guardian cows and husband auctions. But, this book is much more than the sum of its parts.

Additionally, the summaries given for it officially do not do it justice. So let me try my hand at it. The Sweetest Spell is a retelling of "The Ugly Duckling". Emmeline, our main character, is born with a curled foot, and is left in the woods to die on the day of her birth due to the fact that a "dirt-scratcher", a low-caste farmer, cannot afford to raise a child who cannot work themselves. However, that night, the milkman's cows didn't come home, and instead they are found standing over the babe, guarding it. From that point forward, Emmeline is regarded with superstition and revulsion.

At sixteen a series of tragedies occur, leaving Emmeline homeless and thrust into another society, one that considers "dirt-scratchers"primitive, less than human. While there she discovers that she has an ability that has been thought to be lost forever: she can churn butter into chocolate.

Though the story is meant to mostly focus on "The Ugly Duckling" many, many fairy tale tropes are borrowed and incorporated into it. It honestly stands alone as it's own fairy tale, a new one. But, I think that what really sets The Sweetest Spell apart is the themes it deals with. There is racism, prejudice, and re-writing of history to benefit the race currently in power, among other things. Many of the characters carry layers to them (a few were very unexpected) and there is a light exploration of what the promise of money can do to people. Unfortunately, some that were not layered, ended up being rather caricatured (especially our villains, though it's hard to not caricature villains in a fairy tale retelling).

One of the issues that I did have with the book is the way Selfors wrapped up the finale. It both felt too easy and too much, if that makes any sense. I felt like maybe the ambassadors should have had a bigger part to play, that the milkmaids coming in should have been what the ending solely focused on... Or that Selfors should have instead just focused on the fake attack with the King and Queen running away. They're both really good ideas, but having both felt a bit crowded.

On the other hand, something that I loved that Selfors did was the labeling of the parts by the character's label, but having it be Emmeline's name at the end. It really added to the fact that throughout the book she is never a person, she is always a thing: a cripple, a witch, a dirt-scratcher, a milkmaid, a princess of a far away place that doesn't exit. Thus, it was satisfying to see her take control of how people see her.

I definitely recommend this book for people who enjoy fairy tales. It is most certainly the storytelling style of one. I also urge prospective readers to not glance over this book because of the chocolate or cow thing, everything in the book has a reason and when it is explained makes absolute sense in a very natural way. It only sounds weird when you try to summarize it out of context. 

4 Bookmarks

Book Review: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

The School for Good and Evil (The School for Good and Evil #1)

Soman Chainani

Publication Date: March 14th 2013

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 488

Genre:  Fairytale, Fantasy, Middle-Grade

The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.

But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes reversed—Sophie’s dumped in the School for Evil to take Uglification, Death Curses, and Henchmen Training, while Agatha finds herself in the School For Good, thrust amongst handsome princes and fair maidens for classes in Princess Etiquette and Animal Communication.. But what if the mistake is actually the first clue to discovering who Sophie and Agatha really are…?

The School for Good & Evil is an epic journey into a dazzling new world, where the only way out of a fairy tale is to live through one.

For a while I had forgotten what a book has to do to earn a full 5 bookmarks from me. I found myself rating books 4.5 and wondering if maybe I was being too picky. Then I finished reading this book and it fully reminded me what I felt like after finishing a book that rates 5.

Where do I start this review? I guess at the heart, with our two main characters. Sophie and Agatha are as different as night and day. Sophie has shimmering, bright blonde hair and works hard to do good deeds. Agatha cares very little for her appearance, lives in a graveyard, and is cynical. Of course as soon as you see things from their points of view, it becomes clear that appearances are only skin deep with these two. I love how strong these two characters are and how they grow and are influenced, yet still remain themselves at their core.

They are layered characters. Sophie seems to only think of herself for most things, but there will be times when something more shines through. Agatha's journey of self-love is also pretty amazing to go through.

The world is imaginative and although I have seen similar things before, this is hands down my favourite rendition of the fairytale/myth school idea. The writing is both light and nuanced. Things are hinted it throughout the book and I found myself realizing things only slightly faster than the characters. The book also walks a fine line between falling into cliches and breaking them as there were times where I was about to think something predictable was about to happen, before things would suddenly change.

The ending is incredibly satisfying as well, which is important. A rushed or messy ending can lower the enjoyment of an entire book.

The ending! I'm just so satisfied with it. I didn't see the thing with the School Master coming, though I had guessed that it had to be the evil one still alive. Then my heart soared when Agatha saved Sophie by pulling her from the tower, and then I was so proud of Sophie when she saved Agatha's life. It put down any debates a reader might have to Sophie's friendship. I also really enjoy WE DON'T NEED NO MALE LEAD, bit at the end. (Between this and Frozen, let's make this a new cliche, please, that would be fantastic if platonic love could be the focal point of stories!)

It's terrible, but the title of the second book makes me really want the Princesses rise up against the completely unfair way they are treated versus the Princes. I think the way Agatha is pretty much a Prince in the way she is good can help start a revolution, darnit!

On another note, I'm really glad we were shown bits from Tedros's point of view, because what he thinks and how he tends to act are very different. His parents' history makes a very interesting facet to him that explains a lot of his future actions. Though I almost yelled at him outloud when he led the attack against the Nevers. I was going DEFEND, NOT ATTACK, WHAT ARE YOU DOING, and then he wouldn't listen to Agatha and was all mopy about his man pride being hurt.

Though I guess if he hadn't done that we wouldn't have gotten the brilliant scene where Sophie reverses good and evil.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy, fairytale or school stories. I recommend this book for anyone who finds strongly defined characters a pleasure and those who don't mind being in the head of someone quite selfish (though this did not bother me as I loved the writing of it, I understand that some people find this unbearable). I know that I will be picking up the next book as soon as I can!

5 Bookmarks