A bit slow at times and the mystery aspect isn't all that enticing. It just seems very stale for the most part.

This book was pitched to me as a mash up between Labyrinth and Beauty and the Beast, making with a hint of the Hades and Persephone myth. I have to say, that's a pretty apt description, though this is definitely it's own story.

I really love books that use music as a running theme. Jae-Jones' descriptions really bring life to compositions we can't really hear and it makes me wonder what classical composers she drew inspiration from.

While I was very much down with the story, actually having some feelings for these characters and how their story "ended" *Glances at the sequel bait*, there was some problems here and there. There is a weird character shift with Liesl somewhere around the second half, going from slightly chaste, to oh my god jump me now Goblin Boy. Which was....odd.

There were also some scenes that probably could have been cut, though perhaps only one or two.

Overall, I really enjoyed it. There's definitely enough mystery and open ends to get me to read the sequel, though, if I'm being honest, if you don't care much for traditional fairy tale endings, you could just stop at the first. It actually has a decent, bittersweet ending.

More of a 3.5 star review than anything.

I think it's a real bummer that I don't like this book more than I should. I loved Bracken's teen series Passenger and its sequel, and I look forward to reading her other series The Darkest Minds.

Her first junior fiction book, however, is somewhere between a meh and good.

I want to say that I liked this book more than I hated it. I like Prosper, I like how good-natured and strong-willed he is, holding his own against Alastor's temptations. He's rational and amiable, without being too much of a goody two shoes.

I also really like Alastor, though that may stem from my love of foxes. Naturally, he's a complete brat, being both petulant and sneaky, but also surprisingly vulnerable, though he would be quick to deny it. And it will be interesting to see how this character will grow in the next book.

I think what it really boils down to is that I like the story, I just didn't like the mechanics of the story.

For one, the pacing tends to run too slow. It isn't until halfway through the book that Prosper starts going undercover at a new school, which seems a little late at this point. There are chapters where it feels like the tension is waning and I'm just anticipating for something to happen. We get there at some point, but it feels like its own journey.

This book has some twists, one that I did see coming and one that I didn't. It all depended on the hints the author gave or, in some cases, didn't give. You can probably guess which approach is more effective.

But what really irked me was the ending. After all this time and going through all these trials, nothing is resolved, at least, not the main conflict of this story. The climax happens and then the book just ends, obviously leading into the next book. I really hate it when books do this. The whole point of an ending is to gain some kind of resolution, not tack on more problems for the characters to solve. I mean, you can add problems at the end to hype up the next book, but resolve at least some problem in the first story. Falling action is needed to get some closure on the main conflict, even if it's going to be continued. I understand why Bracken chose to end this story this way and, while it may be effective for some, it just awakens a little pet peeve of mine.

To be fair, I didn't hate this book. It's just that the negative thoughts are louder than the positive ones sometimes, but that doesn't really take away the enjoyment I got from the good parts of the story. I will happily read the next book when it comes out.

While I have been a fan of Oscar Wilde for many years, I somehow have never read anything written by him. I mostly knew him through his endless quips and interesting life. Did you know he liked to box, deplored outdoor sports, and once drank a crew of American miners under the table? Not to mention his own brand of sass. Since I really admire the man, it's a shame I haven't read his works sooner.

This specific play is silly in all the right ways: mistaken identities, impossible coincidences, endless quips, and, frankly, very odd people. There are several points where you have to suspend your disbelief pretty hard, but really, I was too amused to even care. It's all so delightfully absurd that it's very easy to get swept up in what's going on.

Reading this play definitely makes me want to go out and read everything Wilde has written, as if that were ever in question.

I know this comic is basically a classic within the genre, but to me it was only...eh? Maybe because graphic novels have come such a long way since this came out?