Maybe this is a niche reference, but this book was very reminiscent of Starkid's Cinderella's Castle and that's pretty much all I could picture the entire time.

Nettle is a short YA fantasy novel that pays homage to faerytales both in content and in form. With less than 300 pages and quick pacing, it's a fast and easy read. I'm not super familiar with faefolk lore outside the variations I've seen in other fantasy novels, so I don't know how much this adheres to traditional folklore. However, I'd say the faeries in the story align more with those in The Cruel Prince or Cassandra Clare's Dark Artifices series. It also just gives "twisted fairytale" vibes as a whole, which is why it reminded me of Cinderella's Castle, and I've also seen it compared to Rumpelstiltskin, and I think that comparison is fitting as well.

After falling through a portal to the faery realm, Nettle makes a deal: if she completes three tasks for the faery king, she will be allowed to return home, and her sick grandmother will be healed. The catch? These tasks are impossible. The plot is fairly straightforward and follows Nettle trying to outsmart the tasks she's been given. She befriends Conor, another human trapped by fae deals, and some other residents of the faery world. The pacing is very quick (there's not much time to dwell on subplots), which lends itself to an easy read, but it can make the story feel a bit shallow at times. In general, I do think the story can lack depth at times, but because it feels like an homage to fairytales, I'm willing to excuse some of the shallowness. I think the ending plot twist was fairly predictable, but I wasn't a huge fan of the ending itself. It makes sense (sort of), but it feels a) a bit rushed and b) like it lacks closure. The plot itself is interesting, but it lacks a bit of depth that allows for proper connections with characters, and it makes the ending feel wrong tonally.

I thought the cast of characters was intriguing on the surface, but I wish there was more exploration of them. Nettle is your typical YA fantasy protagonist; she's not like other girls (she likes walking barefoot), she's clever, and she's brave enough to face off against beings far more powerful than her. That being said, she felt a bit like what I call an "invisible narrator" in that, although the novel was written in first person, I didn't feel like I was actually getting any personal information from her. She existed, but I feel like outside a few character traits, I didn't know much about her. Conor was the most interesting premise-wise, in my opinion. His actual character reminded me of Braeden from Serafina and the Black Cloak, and I really would've liked more page-time from him. His dynamics with Nettle felt a bit rushed at first, but I enjoyed their friendship. There seemed to be implied connections with Ellion that were never explored, which was fine because I didn't really care for him. I've had enough broody, shadow fae men, I don't need more. The rest of the cast served to flesh out the world well; I really liked the twisted fairytale aesthetic they created, and I think all of the characters were relatively enticing. The only other complaint that I have with the characters is that the king felt a bit pathetic toward the end of the book, despite being a cunning protagonist up until that point.

Nettle is a short but sweet YA fantasy perfect for fans of faerytales where the faeries are more cunning than kind.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free e-ARC!

3.25/5