Reviews

Bewitching by Alex Flinn

chelsbells1994's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

eesh25's review

4.0

This was a surprisingly cool read.

The book follows quite a few characters but mainly, two. One is Emma who a nerdy and sweet girl tormented by her stepsister Lisette. It's a twist on the Cinderella story.

The other is Kendra, who is a witch. We follow her on a few of her witch-y, short story, escapades throughout the years, like her being stuck in a gingerbread house, helping a princess with a test set by her to-be mother-in-law, and helping a mermaid.

I really liked all parts of the book. Th three short stories were really fun and I liked the author's take on the different fairytales. Kendra has a habit of messing up more than anyone else I've known but she's still kinda endearing because she always intends to do the right things. She always tries to help but can't usually manage it.

The main story, the Cinderella retelling, was really good. I loved how Cinderella, Lisette, was pure evil. It was a great take on the classic and I had a lot of fun with it.

I loved Emma as a character and I loved seeing her grow and I really, really liked the ending.

The book is light and loads of fun. It doesn't take itself too seriously and it's not some deep, meaningful, tragic story. It is what it is and, that is, a good time.

I had some problems with the writing when we went into the past but it was nothing too bothersome. The book, and Kendra, is knowing and intentionally over-the-top and it's great.

Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and I recommend checking it out whenever you're in the mood for something cute, fun and light.

jenny_hedberg's review

3.0

The end caught me by surprise, I must say. I really thought that the "masterplan" was going to work out and that Emma would finally be free of her bitch of a sister nasty sister. Bewitching is a great book and I highly recommend it for an easy read.

chrystalo's review against another edition

2.0

I love fairy tale adaptations. I really do. I love when they take the story you know and love and turn it into something else that you can know and love in a different way. Unfortunately, this book ws not one of those adaptations that I loved. I read a lot of YA fiction, and this one was especially juvenile. The voice of Emma, I guess, could be expected to be a little younger than I'm used to, but there was no excuse to make the voice of Kendra, a witch who's been around for hundreds of years, as unsympathetic and naive as it was. I really wanted to feel more for these characters, but there wasn't a single one that wasn't a caricature of itself. There was no depth there. There was no hope that even though these people were making mistakes, they were working ultimately from what they thought was best, or that they felt some guilt about what they put each other true. I'm kind of bummed because the story took so many detours (probably because the author couldn't think of more story to include, if I'm being honest). A 2 star rating is somewhat generous. I'm going to try another book by this author, but my expectations are very low for what could have been a very promising premise.

jnjackson's review

2.0

I was disappointed with this book - the main "Cinderella" storyline was pretty good. But it kept jumping to other shorter fairy tale stories, which ruined the flow of the book. I wasn't interested in reading about the Princess and the Pea, although the Hansel & Gretal and The Little Mermaid were okay. They should have been their own novellas though.

sweetrosegirl76's review

4.0

I liked it! Very girly, note for everyone. Middle school girls, I'd say. But I did like the
the stories, cute and interesting.

emma_amerson's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I like how there was other stories included in this one story. It kept me from getting bored of one plot. 

lizzielynn13's review

4.0

For anyone who loved Beastly, this is a companion novel of sorts. This tells Kendra's story through the eyes of several of the people she has helped throughout the years. Fairytales are put into history; Titanic becomes The Little Mermaid, and King Louis' search for a wife becomes The Princess and the Pea. A wonderful collection of fairly tale retellings!

glomdi's review

3.0

Light spoilers throughout.

Bewitching is one of those books that maybe turn out alright in the end, but drive you crazy all throughout the middle, and not in a good way. The biggest issue I had with this book is the (semi)main character, Emma. She's the most perfect goody-two shoes a person can be, and while innocent is sometimes a good thing, with her it was just annoying. It was very obvious from the beginning that her step-sister was just trying to get what she has, but little Emma can only see the good in people so even after Lisette steals her earrings Emma still thinks Lisette is trying to be her friend.

I rather enjoyed the short stories, which seemed very out of place but fit anyway. In most other books they wouldn't have worked, but Flinn made it so that you got all caught up in them and almost forget about Emma, but then when the focus turned back to Emma again you were right at home. The ending to the mermaid one was unexpected and so completely awesome!

Maybe one of my biggest issues was Warner. [spoiler]He seemed like a good guy, but then all of a sudden he was a complete douchebag. I liked that for once it wasn't the typical "I found my true love on the first try," but it was so sudden that it just didn't feel right. I can have no respect for a boy who says he loves a girl and then instantly believes the lies someone tells him about said girl and cheats on her because of it. How can someone be so stupid? He should have confronted her about it, asked her if it was true. Even if she lied, if he "loves" her he should be able to tell when she lies and therefore have an answer. And never should he cheat on her just because he thinks she's a jerk! That just makes him a jerk instead.[/spoiler]

But even though the middle area made me want to pull my hair out, I feel like the ending made up for it. It's not a stupid, cliche ending, and that took me off guard because I completely expected it to be. Because of that I liked it a lot. [spoiler]Even though it's stupid how fast Travis(or whatever his name is) starts to like Emma. Just because a girl has the same taste in books as you doesn't mean you have an instant attraction, and I thought Emma was a little fickle just getting over Warner that fast.[/spoiler]

If you picked this book up expecting to read another [b:Beastly|544891|Beastly (Kendra Chronicles)|Alex Flinn|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1334260193s/544891.jpg|532177], drop it now. If you picked it up wanting it to be centered around Kendra like the description says, drop it. But I think it's still a good read and I recommend it to anyone who loves fairy tales and doesn't mind a lot of chick drama.

Also, I just want to put it out there that you don't need to read Beastly to understand this at all. It references it at some points but not in a big way, and only saying things that you could read from the description of the book or figure out from the classic story.

rosietheripper's review

1.0

terrible, just so terrible. the plot was all over the place like she couldn’t figure out what she wanted to do until the every end. it was just so muddled and painful haha. and the mini stories didn’t really add much at all? what was the point.

and the fact that emma continued to call him daddy even tho she was 16 was just cringe lol.