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sarahareinhard's review against another edition
5.0
I'm pretty guilty of not knowing my fairy tales that well. And I have Regina Doman to thank for not only educating me in the last few years with her Fairy Tale Novels, but for also making them relevant to modern life.
Her latest installment, Rapunzel Let Down, is categorized adult fiction (all the others are young adult), and not only tackles a fairy tale that I didn't appreciate, but also deals with some topics that are critical and touchy.
The tale of Rapunzel is one I know, mostly, through Disney's rendering of it in one of our family's favorite movies, Tangled. Call me uncultured: I know. The Disneyification of fairy tales hasn't just affected me, and it makes me appreciate, even more, Doman's work with the Fairy Tale Novels.
Doman's rendition of this tale is based on Grimm, and she shares the thumbnail at the very end (it would ruin the plot, in some ways, to share it here or to have it as a preface to the book). I'm glad she did. It almost made me want to look it up for myself (it's pretty dark, really).
I wasn't able to stay up all night and finish this book in one or two sittings the way I would have liked to, but I was no less entertained and enthralled through the longer time spent with this plot.
The characters are honest and real in a way that I can only salute. The plot is well-done and thought out to the tiniest detail, as far as I can tell as a reader.
And...it's dark. It's scary. And whatever ending it has, you're still left haunted by the what-could-have-beens and the what-might-have-happeneds.
In Rapunzel Let Down, we get a perspective on morals, specifically as they relate to sexuality, that's unabashedly Catholic. Don't read that to mean that it's not full of ugliness and true humanity, though. One of the ways I think Doman wrote this book completely right was with her exploration of how society and sin lead people astray and how the Church (and Jesus) always wait, offering a hand and forgiveness and right relationship if only we choose.
This book is shocking in some ways and refreshing in others. You won't find apologies in this book and you'll get a hearty dose of how life really is. There are nightmare-inducing scenes and terrible consequences.
All in all, it's been one of my favorite reads of the year. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend it.
Her latest installment, Rapunzel Let Down, is categorized adult fiction (all the others are young adult), and not only tackles a fairy tale that I didn't appreciate, but also deals with some topics that are critical and touchy.
The tale of Rapunzel is one I know, mostly, through Disney's rendering of it in one of our family's favorite movies, Tangled. Call me uncultured: I know. The Disneyification of fairy tales hasn't just affected me, and it makes me appreciate, even more, Doman's work with the Fairy Tale Novels.
Doman's rendition of this tale is based on Grimm, and she shares the thumbnail at the very end (it would ruin the plot, in some ways, to share it here or to have it as a preface to the book). I'm glad she did. It almost made me want to look it up for myself (it's pretty dark, really).
I wasn't able to stay up all night and finish this book in one or two sittings the way I would have liked to, but I was no less entertained and enthralled through the longer time spent with this plot.
The characters are honest and real in a way that I can only salute. The plot is well-done and thought out to the tiniest detail, as far as I can tell as a reader.
And...it's dark. It's scary. And whatever ending it has, you're still left haunted by the what-could-have-beens and the what-might-have-happeneds.
In Rapunzel Let Down, we get a perspective on morals, specifically as they relate to sexuality, that's unabashedly Catholic. Don't read that to mean that it's not full of ugliness and true humanity, though. One of the ways I think Doman wrote this book completely right was with her exploration of how society and sin lead people astray and how the Church (and Jesus) always wait, offering a hand and forgiveness and right relationship if only we choose.
This book is shocking in some ways and refreshing in others. You won't find apologies in this book and you'll get a hearty dose of how life really is. There are nightmare-inducing scenes and terrible consequences.
All in all, it's been one of my favorite reads of the year. I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend it.
fae_sarelfi's review
3.0
Intense and longer than the others. I will say that it held my interest, and it was a little less forced and the conversations a little more natural. I believed the characters better than I have some of the characters in the other books, but the fact that many of her villains are so excessively villainous and even repetitive makes me pause to wonder if that's okay because that's the style and genre of her books or if its alright to hope for something different next time. I mean, her villains have become almost predictable – there is NOTHING they cannot and will not do. And like in her other books, there were passages that seemed preachy and unnatural. But I finished this book in two days because I couldn't put it down – it earns points for that. I will definitely be going back to reassess her writing, but as far as the story goes, I was impressed overall.
alainajreads's review against another edition
4.0
I had previously read four of Doman's books before digging into this one a couple years later. It was mostly enjoyable and good at tackling important issues such as teen pregnancy, abortion, statutory rape, and abuse in prisons. Unlike Doman's other books, it was more dark than some of her other stories, and I'm glad I read it at 18 but would not recommend it for younger audiences.
The characters were compelling for the most part, but I couldn't bring myself to like Hermes after what he did or his attitude towards it. I was pretty frustrated that he was forgiven, especially by Raphaela, so easily. However, I was glad to see that LGBT characters (Minot and Pinkie) were portrayed in a more positive light than most are, especially in Catholic literature.
In some ways, the book came across as a bit preachy, somewhat of a cautionary tale. The length was a bit much for me (450+ pages), but overall it was exciting. Doman's use of language and poetry in her works is one of my favorite things.
The characters were compelling for the most part, but I couldn't bring myself to like Hermes after what he did or his attitude towards it. I was pretty frustrated that he was forgiven, especially by Raphaela, so easily. However, I was glad to see that LGBT characters (Minot and Pinkie) were portrayed in a more positive light than most are, especially in Catholic literature.
In some ways, the book came across as a bit preachy, somewhat of a cautionary tale. The length was a bit much for me (450+ pages), but overall it was exciting. Doman's use of language and poetry in her works is one of my favorite things.
nyree42's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
wildflowerragdoll's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
i liked this book but it was hard to read again because the flaws of the characters are the main drivers of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia and Sexual assault
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Animal cruelty
catherreads's review
4.0
This was a pretty good book. It took the tale of Rapunzel--the traditional Brothers Grimm tale--and retold it in the 21st century, sticking purty close to the original tale. This gets a four star rating from me because it was fast paced (even through the dismally long trial scene), thought provoking, and generally a pretty good retelling, although I have a few problems with it, but pros before cons.
I Loved:
Hermes. At first I hated that little monster. Then I liked him a bit, then I hated him again, then he came back and it turns out I like him rather much. He's full of mistakes, he's full of good qualities. He grows up. Very nice character development on his part.
The McCaffrey family. They were amazing and because of my tendency to not like main characters, I would have to say Chris was my favorite.
The writing. It was good.
The pacing. Yes. I did stay up until two o'clock in the morning reading it. It was pretty gripping.
The moral. Sex before marriage is not a good thing. Don't do it.
the accompanying moral. Abortion is not a nice thing. Don't do it.
I didn't like:
There were a few scenes that didn't need to happen in this book. I wished they had just kept it down to what the main issue was, but they brought in homosexuality, pedophilia, molestation, and sadism. Really. I definitely could have done without the last issue.
The climax. They just kinda seemed to stretch reality in my opinion.
Politics. Bleh. I just don't like politics.
The G club. They seemed to put feminists in a bad light by putting the label of 'feminist' on a bunch of misandrists. True feminism is going for equality of the sexes, not the overthrowing of one.
Catholicism. Catholics are great and all (every single one I've met has been insanely awesome) but do Catholics really pray to their saints instead of God? That saddens me, really.
Raphaela. Does this person not have any flaws? I liked her, but there just seemed like she could do anything she put her mind to such as being ready to go to med school at fifteen, or having alive birth in the middle of the appalachian trail.
And, last of all, there were two scenes I had to skip. There was the sex scene (which probably wasn't that explicit, but I skipped it just the same), and a scene where they explained the plot of The Little Prince. Spoilers inside of a book. This is not cool.
I Loved:
Hermes. At first I hated that little monster. Then I liked him a bit, then I hated him again, then he came back and it turns out I like him rather much. He's full of mistakes, he's full of good qualities. He grows up. Very nice character development on his part.
The McCaffrey family. They were amazing and because of my tendency to not like main characters, I would have to say Chris was my favorite.
The writing. It was good.
The pacing. Yes. I did stay up until two o'clock in the morning reading it. It was pretty gripping.
The moral. Sex before marriage is not a good thing. Don't do it.
the accompanying moral. Abortion is not a nice thing. Don't do it.
I didn't like:
There were a few scenes that didn't need to happen in this book. I wished they had just kept it down to what the main issue was, but they brought in homosexuality, pedophilia, molestation, and sadism. Really. I definitely could have done without the last issue.
The climax. They just kinda seemed to stretch reality in my opinion.
Politics. Bleh. I just don't like politics.
The G club. They seemed to put feminists in a bad light by putting the label of 'feminist' on a bunch of misandrists. True feminism is going for equality of the sexes, not the overthrowing of one.
Catholicism. Catholics are great and all (every single one I've met has been insanely awesome) but do Catholics really pray to their saints instead of God? That saddens me, really.
Raphaela. Does this person not have any flaws? I liked her, but there just seemed like she could do anything she put her mind to such as being ready to go to med school at fifteen, or having a
And, last of all, there were two scenes I had to skip. There was the sex scene (which probably wasn't that explicit, but I skipped it just the same), and a scene where they explained the plot of The Little Prince. Spoilers inside of a book. This is not cool.
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