Tag: retelling

Reviews

Geekerella Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Geekerella Review

81E7BnpXpZLThis was cute!

This is a Cinderella retelling but with a bit of a twist. We follow the story of Elle who lives with her step-mother Catherine and her twin daughters Cat and Chloe. Elle works on a food truck and is a hard-core fan girl for a classic sci-fi show called Starfield that she grew up watching with her father, that is about to be readapted into a new blockbuster movie! Darien has just cast as the lead character in the new Starfield and has to judge a cosplay contest at the ExcelsiCon that Elle has decided to enter.

Darien I actually quite liked that he wasn’t just a typical young Hollywood actor. He also had a lot of issues in his life and obstacles that he had to deal with on his rise to fame. I liked that we delved at lot deeper into his past and how everything unfolded with Brian. Having his timeline run concurrently with Elle and seeing how the texts connected them was super cute and really had me invested in the plot.

For the majority of the book Elle just got on my nerves. Letting Catherine and Chloe walk all over her and just bowing down to them and not doing anything about it. Just accepting all of the horrible things they do to her and not trying to fight back at all. I honestly can’t stand female main protagonists that have no backbone. I realise she has had to live and cope with them for years and this is her way of dealing with all of the manipulation, but I needed her to be stronger and fully snap back at them and take charge. Sage was the one who stole the dress back from Chloe; Darien was the one who stood up to Chloe at the ball. Elle had maybe one scene where she opened up to Catherine, but she cried through most of it and it wasn’t really enough. There wasn’t really any conclusion to that part of her life, she kind of just ran away from them.

Other than that I really enjoyed the rest of the book. The pacing was quick and the overall premise I thought was a unique take on the classic Cinderella tale. Sure it was a little tropey at times but it was entertaining and fun and exactly what I needed in the middle of this read-a-thon!

⭐️3/5 Quick, fun, cute read, I was just left a little unfulfilled!

Reviews

Pride Review

by amyleighreads1 Comment on Pride Review

35068632Pride is retelling of the classic tale Pride and Prejudice but with a modern twist. Zuri Benitez is a proud resident of her neighbourhood of Bushwick in Brooklyn. She has lived there her entire life and knows everyone on her block, but one day a new very wealthy family moves across the street and now it seems like change is inevitable.

Zuri kind of got on my nerves a little at the start of the book. She was a little too judgemental for my liking. She was just so passionate in her dislike for the Darcy’s that I almost found her to be a little juvenile and immature. She didn’t really come across as being seventeen in my eyes. However, as the plot progressed we did see her evolve as she grew closer to Darius and learnt more about his family and why we did see her let go of her preconceptions.

Darius at the start as well was a little too standoffish for my liking. He was almost too unlikeable for me to warm to him towards the end of the book when he did open up more and explain his situation. I get that the author wanted to stay true to the original concept but I feel the introductions happened too fast and they hated each other too quickly that it almost didn’t make sense to me.

Towards the end of the book I did come around and enjoyed the plot and how it progressed. I like that we see Zuri’s neighbourhood start to get gentrified and how she realises this throughout the course of the book and what her feelings are towards this. She really has to come around to the fact that change really is inevitable and there isn’t anything that you can do about it.  

It was a very fast paced book; I did eventually enjoy all the characters and their arcs. Zuri’s younger sisters especially were very entertaining and brought a source of amusement and light-heartedness to the novel. If the start of the book was a little more lengthened and had time to really establish the characters and why they didn’t like each other I may have been able to really engage with the story a lot more.  

⭐️3.5/5 Good book, just didn’t do enough for me personally.

Reviews

A Curse So Dark and Lonely Review

by amyleighreads3 Comments on A Curse So Dark and Lonely Review

91lOPG2p6JLThis is a dual perspective fantasy following Harper a girl who one night noticed a man dragging and unconscious woman down an alley and Rhen the crown Prince to the kingdom of Emberfall.

This was a great retelling! The original premise is there but I felt like it varied enough to keep me engaged and entertained throughout the book!

I really liked Harper. Her stubbornness and tenacity made her a very entertaining and unpredictable character. She wouldn’t back down to Grey or Rhen and she would do whatever she felt was right in the situation, even if it puts her in danger.

Rhen I found to be a little unlikeable at the beginning, but I think that was how we are supposed to perceive him because once we actually delve a little deeper into his backstory and his character throughout the course of the book I definitely warmed up to him. Especially when he started to show a bit more emotion and actually cared about what was happening outside of the castle.

I think I liked Grey a little bit more than Rhen though. He was so integral to the story and his staunchness really appealed to me. The fact that he stayed even though he wasn’t a part of the curse really proved how loyal he is to Rhen and the kingdom. I enjoyed the friendship that sparked up between him and Harper and the truthfulness that they shared between them!

Overall I really enjoyed my time reading this book! There were some passages that were a little slower paced but it was a pretty quick read for me. The plot was unique and went a completely different direction than what I originally thought it would be, which kept me intrigued. I liked how the storyline started off pretty contained and then as the book progressed it grew larger and more complex. It is a pretty good jumping off point to what I am assuming will be a series.

⭐️4/5 Dark, fierce and a little romantic…