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samantha_randolph 's review for:
Ash & Bramble
by Sarah Prineas
Short and Sweet:
I love the twists on the Cinderella story for this retelling, but I’m mostly left with mixed feelings.
To Elaborate…
Pin doesn’t know who she is. She is handed a needle and told she is a Seamstress, that she must stitch all day, but she knows there was something Before. When she and a Shoemaker called Shoe manage to break away from the strange fortress, they find themselves separated in a new prison, one where Lady Penelope doesn’t remember being Pin. As Penelope is pulled towards a prince and a castle, she must figure out why nothing seems real and who this mysterious Shoe is who tells her she is trapped.
I was super excited for this book because of the retelling aspect and, admittedly, the gorgeous cover. The first part of the story is intriguing but really confusing. Part of this is because of the main character, Pin’s, confusion, but even her actions/thoughts seem to come from out of nowhere sometimes. Just when things start to make a little more sense, she loses her memories again trying to escape the fortress, and it gets confusing all over again.
However, about halfway through the book, things start to fall into place, which was really helpful. I really like some of the unique spins on the Cinderella tale and the characters. It’s definitely unique, and the Godmother makes one heck of a scary villain. I also love the adventure to the story. Pen and Shoe cover a lot of ground, from the fortress to the forest to the city. There’s never a shortage of action once Pen and Shoe leave the fortress.
Overall, I liked the big plot moments and the great secondary characters, but I had a hard time connecting with Pen and muddling through all the confusion. I think Shoe is actually the more developed of the two characters, and the prince is really flat. I think there’s a planned companion for this next year (but no series), so I’m on the fence about whether or not I will read it at this point.
Originally published at The Forest of Words and Pages: http://www.forestofwordsandpages.com/2015/10/review-ash-bramble-by-sarah-prineas/
I love the twists on the Cinderella story for this retelling, but I’m mostly left with mixed feelings.
To Elaborate…
Pin doesn’t know who she is. She is handed a needle and told she is a Seamstress, that she must stitch all day, but she knows there was something Before. When she and a Shoemaker called Shoe manage to break away from the strange fortress, they find themselves separated in a new prison, one where Lady Penelope doesn’t remember being Pin. As Penelope is pulled towards a prince and a castle, she must figure out why nothing seems real and who this mysterious Shoe is who tells her she is trapped.
I was super excited for this book because of the retelling aspect and, admittedly, the gorgeous cover. The first part of the story is intriguing but really confusing. Part of this is because of the main character, Pin’s, confusion, but even her actions/thoughts seem to come from out of nowhere sometimes. Just when things start to make a little more sense, she loses her memories again trying to escape the fortress, and it gets confusing all over again.
However, about halfway through the book, things start to fall into place, which was really helpful. I really like some of the unique spins on the Cinderella tale and the characters. It’s definitely unique, and the Godmother makes one heck of a scary villain. I also love the adventure to the story. Pen and Shoe cover a lot of ground, from the fortress to the forest to the city. There’s never a shortage of action once Pen and Shoe leave the fortress.
Overall, I liked the big plot moments and the great secondary characters, but I had a hard time connecting with Pen and muddling through all the confusion. I think Shoe is actually the more developed of the two characters, and the prince is really flat. I think there’s a planned companion for this next year (but no series), so I’m on the fence about whether or not I will read it at this point.
Originally published at The Forest of Words and Pages: http://www.forestofwordsandpages.com/2015/10/review-ash-bramble-by-sarah-prineas/