Spindle's End by Robin McKinley

Spindle's End by Robin McKinley
★


I feel terrible writing such a review about a Robin McKinley book, but truth be told, this book was abysmal. Goodness, was it awful! Ugh!

This book is supposed to be a retelling of Sleeping Beauty. The original authors, if they were alive, ought to sue for defamation of character, this book is so awful. It started of delightfully enough, with a quirky description a a land filled with magic. That is the first two pages, and the ONLY time this book feels like it will be worth reading. The remaining 427 pages are bogged down with meaningless description. I understand what Ms. McKinley was trying to do, but very few books are able to make superfluous description and unwanted narrative observations work for them - The Princess Bride is one of very few that does this excellently. Excellent, this book was not. It was a spectacular failure is what it was.

The plot of this book is the exact same as the Disney story, with the exception that if Briar Rose and her fairy godmother had been real, you could have shot them and no one would prosecute you, they were so awful. Briar rose especially.

I can't think of a single good thing to say about this book. I endured for about 60% of the 420-odd pages, skimmed some, and then skipped about 4 chapters when i couldn't take it anymore. Would that I had DNFed this after the first few page, it was so torturous.

RUN AWAY FROM THIS BOOK!! - in the other direction, as far and as fast as your legs will carry you

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Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Coraline by Neil Gaiman
My rating: ★★★★★

I love Neil Gaiman.

I love the animated version of Coraline
(I watched it long before I had any idea that the book existed), and let me tell you, that movie doesn't do this book any justice at all.

Well anyway, I just got around to reading it and it was fantastic, as expected.

Neil Gaiman's descriptions are gold. As I was reading it, I had the distinct feeling that this was Coraline's book, ie. that a small girl was telling her story, not an adult telling a young girl's story. It's wonderful, just like I knew it would be.

In (Gaiman's) own words, his book tells the story of Coraline, who was small for her age and who would find herself in the darkest danger. By the time it was over, she would find what lay behind mirrors, have a close call with a bad hand, and come face-to-face wither her other mother; she'd rescue her true parents from a fate worse than death and triumph against overwhelming odds.

He also says it's the weirdest book he's written and the book he's most proud of.
I say he's right.

Gaiman said he wrote a book that children would experience as an adventure and that that gave adults nightmares. He is right. It does give me the creeps (both the book and the movie). I loved it and highly recommend it!

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The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark
My rating: ★★★★
Callie McFay is hired by a college in the small town of Fairwick. While there, an incubus comes to her in her dreams at night, seducing the life out of her, literally. Incidentally, it seems to be the same incubus that tormented her dreams when she was younger. As she settles into the town she realizes that the townspeople are not your normal, run-of-the-mill townspeople. Instead they are a motley assortment of witches, vamps, demons and other otherworldly creatures. To save Callie they must banish her demon lover from her dreams before he manages to suck her life out.

The book is categorized under romance, but it didn't read like one.This book the same dark and serious tone that Rebecca has. The book is not fast paced. It is a meaty ride that takes us deep into the town of Fairwick and the lives of its ensemble characters. It got to a point I couldn't accurately remember who was who, but that didn't dampen my enjoyment. I liked seeing the lives of the other characters. The books also starts slowly, but once I acclimatized to the pace, I started to enjoy myself.

Ms. Dark's book is written in painstaking detail, with great finesse, and it shows. I found myself involved with the characters, eager to see what would happen, despite my misgivings. At the beginning, I wasn't so sure I was enjoying the book. Callie could be annoying sometimes, and I felt the whole situation with her human boyfriend Paul was extraneous and did not even need to be included. But as I plodded on, I realised I was enjoying myself, immensely so. I liked it a lot. If Ms. Dark were to write a sequel to this, I would get it.

*I received this eARC free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*


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