☆’s Reviews > The Secret World of Briar Rose > Status Update

I have already written 6 pages on Word for this review, and I haven't even finished this book..

I just want to say this not because this is the worst thing I've ever read: FAR from it! But bc I will need to justify its rating for the ARC and bc I've been writing things down my notes as I am reading this. The writing is elegant, and the concept is good. There were also twists that I didn't anticipate! So that's good

We had the first hint of romantic "tension" and it was bad:

"You're Amelia. You saved me. Which makes everything confusing because I'm supposed to hate you."

Ok, SJM go off!!! The writing overall is well crafted and pretty, but this dialogue sounded so disjointed from the rest of the book... like what.... it's cringy.

Alright, this picked up a bit ngl

slow, slow. struggling a bit.

The writing is good, OK. It's just the characters and story that don't pull me in. It confirms that Amelia likes her stepmother... and funnily enough, this past time-line is the one I like most.

Also Malicent [Maleficent] just got ""misgendered"" as a she LOL, and probably a typo to be corrected. Maybe it's for the best this "antagonist" isn't supposed to be female, since in this ver. she'd be quite uninteresting :(

Transforming Maleficent, one of the most interesting female antagonists, (even pre-Disney), into a they/them demon is a... choice. Especially for a book that seems to priorize female characters. Sad.

Also, I'm sensing a romance between Amelia and her stepmother??? I'm hoping that I just misread the signs.

I don't think this book is for me, but I'll push through bc it's an ARC. Re-tellings are always a hit or miss.

START THE COUNTDOWN:
I have 17 days to finish this ARC, can I do it?

Let's find out