I gave this young adult fairy-tale retelling a 3.7/5 stars. Here’s my live thoughts and notes while reading:
The mood is set that the dark forest holds monsters that are afraid of fire and years ago her father was attacked by a wolf of sorts. Adele is making the journey on the path for the first time by herself but her ‘intended’ doesn’t even like the idea of her traveling with her mother through the woods.
In the second chapter I’m noticing something that I’m trying to overcome in my own writing but it’s really obvious here because it feels rigid. Most sentences start with “noun + verb” such as:
“Hands slammed …”
“Twigs bit …”
“Basket landed …”
“Seconds slipped …”
“Something slithered …”
“My jaw snapped …”
It gets a bit tiresome to read
How would she know the difference between the growl of a wolf versus a loup garou?
I love that it’s written in first person but the amount of filtering words like “realized” creates an emotional barrier between me and the scene.
Gran’s story was a bit shocking. Poor girl. Then… Oooh forbidden love with Grainger.
I love the French hints here and there and that there’s mentions of ogres
Some of the dialogue felt a little stiff and unneeded. Or preachy.
Her little sister is going to cause some trouble for sure!
I dont like when characters say “There’s no choice.”
Page 285 was rough
Overall, I’m not hugely into shape shifting stories.
But homicidal urgings? Oh my
I’m not sure if the last line indicates an unclear ending of a standalone or a possible cliffhanger of a sequel.
Cassie Swindon 