Author: Rhiannon Thomas
Series: A Wicked Thing #1
Publisher: HarperTeen
Genre: YA Fantasy/Retelling
Format: ebook
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Source: egalley received from publisher via Edelweiss
Rating: 2 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***
Synopsis
from Goodreads:
One hundred years after
falling asleep, Princess Aurora wakes up to the kiss of a handsome prince and a
broken kingdom that has been dreaming of her return. All the books say that she
should be living happily ever after. But as Aurora understands all too well,
the truth is nothing like the fairy tale.
Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.
As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.
Her family is long dead. Her "true love" is a kind stranger. And her whole life has been planned out by political foes while she slept.
As Aurora struggles to make sense of her new world, she begins to fear that the curse has left its mark on her, a fiery and dangerous thing that might be as wicked as the witch who once ensnared her. With her wedding day drawing near, Aurora must make the ultimate decision on how to save her kingdom: marry the prince or run.
My
Review:
So you see that
beautiful cover? With that girl in the white dress lying down all dramatically.
That accurately describes everything that happens in this book. In a word, this
book was: boring. Nothing happened.
Seriously. This book is just Aurora going… “The world isn’t the same as when I
went to sleep.” “I don’t want to marry Rodric, but I don’t know what to do.” “I
want to be with Tristan, but I’m not sure if I should.” Blah, blah, blah.
I should have known
when I got to 70% that it wasn’t going to pick up. But I kept holding out hope
because I love Sleeping Beauty and I wanted this retelling to be amazing. But
it never got better.
Aside from the lack of
plot, the characters were also terrible. Aurora is so boring. She has no
personality at all. She’s just this quiet little mouse girl and while the author
attempted to show character development, it felt forced and fake to me.
As for the romance…
there was somewhat of a love box going on. Why???? Can we just have two people
that like each other? Why does it always have to be a messy choice? We’ve got
Rodric, the prince who woke her up. He was boring. Then we have Tristan, the
common boy she could never be with. He was also boring. And then there’s
Finnegan, another prince who had the most potential in my eyes. Finnegan and
Aurora had a lot of banter back and forth, which I usually love. But their
banter felt forced and honestly a little mean at times. It was trying too hard
to be sexy banter and it just didn’t work.
Do I have anything good
to say about this book? Honestly, no. I feel like I just wasted a few hours of
my life and I should have quit at about 45% when I was bored to tears. Another
disappointing, super hyped up 2015 release. Please don’t let this be any
indication of how 2015 releases are going to be.
Have you read this book yet? Did you find it as boring as I did?
Oh man... I'm sorry. I'll put this on my not going to read list. I've heard a lot of people that didn't like this. Sorry this was so boring. :( Too bad because the cover IS gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteReally? Thank god. I've read a few other reviews that were really positive and I was starting to think there was something wrong with me. Lol. I was so disappointed. I love Sleeping Beauty and you're right, the cover is stunning! Too bad it was just a pretty cover with this one.
DeleteAwww, sad you didn't like it! I'm reading it right now and while I do get what you're saying, there's not a lot happening, but I'm intrigued nonetheless. I'm not loving it as much as I'd hoped though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I read some more positive reviews, but it just did not work for me.
DeleteYeah.....this was a DNF for me....
ReplyDeleteKate @ Ex Libris
This should have been a DNF for me...
DeleteUgh. I just wrote out a whole comment and I don't think it took despite everything. Internet can be soooo annoying.
ReplyDeleteSad to hear that this was a disappointment. I've been seeing that a lot lately. Despite it all though I think I still might try this one. I have a love for fairytales and retellings. Though I will definitely check my library for this one.
Nice, honest review. Sorry to hear your 2015 books haven't been so great so far. Hopefully the next 2015 book will be better!
Ugh, I hate when that happens!! Stupid internet.
DeleteI've seen some positive reviews as well so maybe you will like it. The lack of plot just really killed it for me.
Thanks, I hope so too!
Well, this one is definitely a pass for me then. Boring characters and boring plot where nothing happens? Uh…no thanks. Sorry this one was such a disappointment, I hate when I'm excited about a book and that happens! Thanks for the honest review! ~Pam
ReplyDeleteYeah... so disappointing. Also, I feel like this is the year of retellings. I hope the rest of them are better than this one.
DeleteHahaha but yes. BORING. Nothing really happened...? Then finally something did and I was like "well that came out of nowhere". Rodric WAS boring. It was okay that they didn't have to have "true love" -- that's actually kind of cool that he WASN'T destined to be with her and her him... but the lack of anything there was so blah. Have them hate each other or maybe they do get along but not romantically or maybe they hash a plot to set each other up with someone else... I mean, anything. Nothing happened there.
ReplyDeleteIt was just so lackluster -- plot, characters, everything.
Yes, I totally agree. I liked that her and Rodric weren't meant to be together. It was different and broke the usual tropes, but god he could have at least been somewhat interesting.
Delete