226 pages
Published Nov. 24, 2015 by 47North.
Young Rhea is a miller's daughter of low birth, so she is understandably surprised when a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up on her doorstep and proposes marriage. Since commoners don't turn down lords--no matter how sinister they may seem--Rhea is forced to agree to the engagement.
Lord Crevan demands that Rhea visit his remote manor before their wedding. Upon arrival, she discovers that not only was her betrothed married six times before, but his previous wives are all imprisoned in his enchanted castle. Determined not to share their same fate, Rhea asserts her desire for freedom. In answer, Lord Crevan gives Rhea a series of magical tasks to complete, with the threat "Come back before dawn, or else I'll marry you."
With time running out and each task more dangerous and bizarre than the last, Rhea must use her resourcefulness, compassion, and bravery to rally the other wives and …
Young Rhea is a miller's daughter of low birth, so she is understandably surprised when a mysterious nobleman, Lord Crevan, shows up on her doorstep and proposes marriage. Since commoners don't turn down lords--no matter how sinister they may seem--Rhea is forced to agree to the engagement.
Lord Crevan demands that Rhea visit his remote manor before their wedding. Upon arrival, she discovers that not only was her betrothed married six times before, but his previous wives are all imprisoned in his enchanted castle. Determined not to share their same fate, Rhea asserts her desire for freedom. In answer, Lord Crevan gives Rhea a series of magical tasks to complete, with the threat "Come back before dawn, or else I'll marry you."
With time running out and each task more dangerous and bizarre than the last, Rhea must use her resourcefulness, compassion, and bravery to rally the other wives and defeat the sorcerer before he binds her to him forever.
First, I’d like to say that this book is blessedly well-written. I was able to just enjoy the story and get lost in it. It’s also creative. Even though it’s set in a standard Western European fairytale world, the story & characters are unique and interesting. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes fantasy.
I haven’t previously read anything by this author, and this fairytale-inspired story looked interesting.
I came away with the strong impression the book was really written for young readers, though I’m not sure just how young.Part of that was the jokey/cute tone and little asides. This feeling was reinforced by the plot being essentially linear and villain Crevan being unambiguously villainous, absolutely no doubt in anyone’s minds. I still have no idea why he assigned Rhea her various tasks: if it was merely to show her he was the boss, it was a convoluted way of going about it. On a related note, pretty much all the other characters (whether benign or not so much) direct Rhea’s actions and sometimes lent a hand (or paw), leaving her nearly no agency of her own.
A light and unchallenging read in a fairytale world.
I liked this a lot - maybe a little less than "Nettle and Bone" by the same author because it's not quite as snarky. It's super wholesome and put me in a light mood. The characters are very likable and down to earth, plus it has a lot of fresh ideas and plays on common fantasy tropes, which I liked.
Eine etwas formlose Angelegenheit, ein bisschen wie eine Gutenachtgeschichte, an die jeden Abend ein weiteres Kapitel dranimprovisiert wird. Aber es kommt ein Igel als familiar vor, und das reicht.
The language was too young, the topic too mature for the language and somehow the plot was too simple. It felt like a long novella. A lot of repetition instead of developing the worldbuilding. The antagonist was much too flat. But at least the plot made sense. The book really could have benefitted from a few extra chapters to allow for depth.
A couple of the descriptive sequences in this really made the read, and the characters were pretty solid throughout.
