This was a retelling of an already well known fairytale so there was only so much originality that it could bring: but I don’t feel like it brought that much at all. There wasn’t much here that was different from other retellings; a prince that turned out to be evil; a love interest in a penniless boy; an antagonist who was defeated with little effort; an hoard of disheartened subjects waiting in the woods to make an army. There was nothing original here. As I said, I know it’s a retelling, but so is Ella Enchanted (of Cinderella) and that takes a hugely new spin on a traditional take. I just felt like Poisoned should have been something more.
That said, I did read it all the way through, Donnelly’s writing style is easy and enjoyable. I wanted to complete the book, though it did sit around untouched for days at a time; I wasn’t desperate to pick it up and devour the story. Equally, I might try some of her other books if they present themselves too me, but I’m not going to go out of my way to find them myself.
That said, I did read it all the way through, Donnelly’s writing style is easy and enjoyable. I wanted to complete the book, though it did sit around untouched for days at a time; I wasn’t desperate to pick it up and devour the story. Equally, I might try some of her other books if they present themselves too me, but I’m not going to go out of my way to find them myself.