I loved Stepsister and I was super excited to pick up Poisoned by Donnelly because Snow White retellings seem to be rare for some reason. And I am glad that I picked this up. I did enjoy reading this overall, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping to.
The characters are good. The Evil Queen was interesting and I wish we'd seen more of her. I thought the reasoning behind her actions was brilliant. Sophie's character arc is interesting and overall well done. I think my biggest problem with this is that it was too...blatant. Donnelly really emphasises her key message in this and in all honesty, I don't think that amount of emphasis is needed for this book.
I read a lot of fantasy so this could be a me thing. But, Sophie is 18 in this and I think the key problem is that the target audience is unclear. I'm still not sure which age range, Donnelly is targeting within YA. The way the message is written suggests the younger side of YA but a lot of the themes suggest the opposite end. And that's why I think this was a three-star read rather than a four or five star read.
That doesn't sound great, Jasmine! Why would I pick this up? I'd say that it still is a great retelling! Donnelly does a lot of unique things with this that I enjoyed and it's a really accessible read! Sophie's arc is fun and the romance is this is so sweet and somehow didn't feel insta-love even though I thought it would. I did think a few things were predictable but I read a lot of fantasy so they might not be.
Overall, I will forever read anything Donnelly comes out with because she is a great writer and I usually love what she does...I just don't think was her best work. I'm excited to see which retelling is next and I would recommend this. If you love retellings which are quick and easy to read then pick this up!
My favourite quotes:
"Nothing scares a weak man more than a strong woman."
"They can tell you everything you're not, but they can't make you believe it - only you can do that."
"Sometimes the thing that makes us all wrong is the thing that makes us perfect."
The characters are good. The Evil Queen was interesting and I wish we'd seen more of her. I thought the reasoning behind her actions was brilliant. Sophie's character arc is interesting and overall well done. I think my biggest problem with this is that it was too...blatant. Donnelly really emphasises her key message in this and in all honesty, I don't think that amount of emphasis is needed for this book.
I read a lot of fantasy so this could be a me thing. But, Sophie is 18 in this and I think the key problem is that the target audience is unclear. I'm still not sure which age range, Donnelly is targeting within YA. The way the message is written suggests the younger side of YA but a lot of the themes suggest the opposite end. And that's why I think this was a three-star read rather than a four or five star read.
That doesn't sound great, Jasmine! Why would I pick this up? I'd say that it still is a great retelling! Donnelly does a lot of unique things with this that I enjoyed and it's a really accessible read! Sophie's arc is fun and the romance is this is so sweet and somehow didn't feel insta-love even though I thought it would. I did think a few things were predictable but I read a lot of fantasy so they might not be.
Overall, I will forever read anything Donnelly comes out with because she is a great writer and I usually love what she does...I just don't think was her best work. I'm excited to see which retelling is next and I would recommend this. If you love retellings which are quick and easy to read then pick this up!
My favourite quotes:
"Nothing scares a weak man more than a strong woman."
"They can tell you everything you're not, but they can't make you believe it - only you can do that."
"Sometimes the thing that makes us all wrong is the thing that makes us perfect."