Scan barcode
darquedreamer's review
5.0
Cinderella Necromancer is a gruesome retelling, perfect for lovers of the macabre! It is both unique, and full of details from the original tale. This one is a true classic in its own, horrifying way.
Cinderella Necromancer was such a dark, gritty, gruesome tale, and I LOVED it! This one is such a unique retelling compared to others I’ve read. I loved the horrific details in the story and the terrifying plot twists. Who would have thought that such a cute fairy tale could be turned in to something of nightmares? And, this retelling is based off the fact that an ACTUAL book on Necromancy was found in Germany from the 15th century!
The plot seemed to follow the original tale, for the most part. And yet, it was full of surprises. The twist on the character personalities and the plot were extremely entertaining and satisfied the horror lover in me. The time period was portrayed well, and the imagery used was outstanding. I really felt like I could imagine everything that happened in the book! The characters were incredibly well written, as well!
Ella was a pretty unique character. She fit the tale and time period quite well. She was a kind, caring character that undergoes a major transformation to protect the ones he loves. She started off as an innocent, naive girl and quickly became a force to be reckoned with.
William, was a superb character. He did not have a heavy influence in the story, which was a refreshing take to not have the love interest thrown in the foreground, but he still had an important plot role. He was strong, dashing, and oddly mysterious. And the plot twist involving him at the end was pretty unique!
Celia, Charlotte, and Victoria were oddly satisfying villains! They were horrifically cruel to Ella and very terrifying! They each had a slightly different personality to stand against each other, but they fit the protagonists perfectly! I couldn’t imagine the evil mother and stepsisters written any other way than they were here.
I believe this has become my new favorite Cinderella retelling! It had terror, gore, action, evil spirits, and magic. If you want to satisfy both the fairy tale lover and horror fan in yourself, then look no further than Cinderella Necromancer! Rating this one 5 stars!
Check out my blog post for book quotes, and the blog tour! https://darquedreamerreads.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/blog-tour-cinderella-necromancer-by-f-m-boughan/
Cinderella Necromancer was such a dark, gritty, gruesome tale, and I LOVED it! This one is such a unique retelling compared to others I’ve read. I loved the horrific details in the story and the terrifying plot twists. Who would have thought that such a cute fairy tale could be turned in to something of nightmares? And, this retelling is based off the fact that an ACTUAL book on Necromancy was found in Germany from the 15th century!
The plot seemed to follow the original tale, for the most part. And yet, it was full of surprises. The twist on the character personalities and the plot were extremely entertaining and satisfied the horror lover in me. The time period was portrayed well, and the imagery used was outstanding. I really felt like I could imagine everything that happened in the book! The characters were incredibly well written, as well!
Ella was a pretty unique character. She fit the tale and time period quite well. She was a kind, caring character that undergoes a major transformation to protect the ones he loves. She started off as an innocent, naive girl and quickly became a force to be reckoned with.
William, was a superb character. He did not have a heavy influence in the story, which was a refreshing take to not have the love interest thrown in the foreground, but he still had an important plot role. He was strong, dashing, and oddly mysterious. And the plot twist involving him at the end was pretty unique!
Celia, Charlotte, and Victoria were oddly satisfying villains! They were horrifically cruel to Ella and very terrifying! They each had a slightly different personality to stand against each other, but they fit the protagonists perfectly! I couldn’t imagine the evil mother and stepsisters written any other way than they were here.
I believe this has become my new favorite Cinderella retelling! It had terror, gore, action, evil spirits, and magic. If you want to satisfy both the fairy tale lover and horror fan in yourself, then look no further than Cinderella Necromancer! Rating this one 5 stars!
Check out my blog post for book quotes, and the blog tour! https://darquedreamerreads.wordpress.com/2017/08/22/blog-tour-cinderella-necromancer-by-f-m-boughan/
scaifea's review
4.0
A re-telling, with Cinderella as a somewhat nonplussed conjurer of dark magic. A fun and different take on the old story.
_andbookdragons's review
2.0
*I was provided a copy of both books in this series in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own
I spent a weekend of my life reading these two books because I was supposed to write a review for the Cinderella’s Inferno blog tour, and I somehow have shockingly little to say about them. However I still feel obligated to review them, so here we go.
Let’s start with the world building. I still have no idea where this series is set. I figured it was in some fantasy world that hadn’t been named, but the second book mentions England and the French, so it’s definitely set in our world. The blurb mentions Cinderella, Necromancer is based on a 15th century German grimoire, so does that mean it’s set in Germany? As far as I know it doesn’t say so in the text, though I did skim-read book 2. And when is it set if it’s set in our world? I really can’t tell you.
I also feel like the magic wasn’t well explained. Why do whatever William and his friends are exist (I forget what they’re called)? What was William even doing out at night if they had no idea what was actually causing the unexplained and unnamed problem?
Speaking of William, I’m pretty sure the reason for him lurking around Ellison’s housea bunch is never explained, so that’s kind of creepy. Also, he and Ellison have no chemistry. She just constantly criticizes him. That’s not a healthy relationship.
In my opinion, the way to identify a good Cinderella retelling is to look at how the step-sisters are handled. Do they feel like real people that could exist like the step-sisters in Geekerella? Or do they have seemingly no motivation for being unnecessarily cruel like in this series? Sure, the reason for Ellison’s sisters being piles of awful is sort of explained, but I had already given up on Cinderella, Necromancer by that point.
Ellison provided a really frustrating perspective to read from. She was super dense, and I feel like she was written younger than her given age. She was even more frustrating in book 2, because turns out she hadn’t actually learned the lesson she was supposed to have learned at the end of the first book.
If you hated Dante’s The Divine Comedy (specifically Inferno) I do not recommend book 2. I unfortunately did not make the connection, though I for sure would not have signed up to review it if I had. Maybe I’m the dense one.
I felt like the writing was trying too hard. The writing having this forced flowery feel to it combined with the actual story did not mix well. You have what is supposed to be this dark book filled with necromancy with writing that didn’t provide the required atmosphere to make that kind of book work. It was frustrating to read.
Most importantly for me was the fact that I had to take frequent breaks while reading these books. They exhausted me to read, and I skim-read book 2. I shouldn’t have to step away from the book I’m reading after 2 chapters because I can’t stand to continue reading.
Overall, I was not a fan of this duology, earning it an average rating of 1.5 stars out of 5.
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
I spent a weekend of my life reading these two books because I was supposed to write a review for the Cinderella’s Inferno blog tour, and I somehow have shockingly little to say about them. However I still feel obligated to review them, so here we go.
Let’s start with the world building. I still have no idea where this series is set. I figured it was in some fantasy world that hadn’t been named, but the second book mentions England and the French, so it’s definitely set in our world. The blurb mentions Cinderella, Necromancer is based on a 15th century German grimoire, so does that mean it’s set in Germany? As far as I know it doesn’t say so in the text, though I did skim-read book 2. And when is it set if it’s set in our world? I really can’t tell you.
I also feel like the magic wasn’t well explained. Why do whatever William and his friends are exist (I forget what they’re called)? What was William even doing out at night if they had no idea what was actually causing the unexplained and unnamed problem?
Speaking of William, I’m pretty sure the reason for him lurking around Ellison’s housea bunch is never explained, so that’s kind of creepy. Also, he and Ellison have no chemistry. She just constantly criticizes him. That’s not a healthy relationship.
In my opinion, the way to identify a good Cinderella retelling is to look at how the step-sisters are handled. Do they feel like real people that could exist like the step-sisters in Geekerella? Or do they have seemingly no motivation for being unnecessarily cruel like in this series? Sure, the reason for Ellison’s sisters being piles of awful is sort of explained, but I had already given up on Cinderella, Necromancer by that point.
Ellison provided a really frustrating perspective to read from. She was super dense, and I feel like she was written younger than her given age. She was even more frustrating in book 2, because turns out she hadn’t actually learned the lesson she was supposed to have learned at the end of the first book.
If you hated Dante’s The Divine Comedy (specifically Inferno) I do not recommend book 2. I unfortunately did not make the connection, though I for sure would not have signed up to review it if I had. Maybe I’m the dense one.
I felt like the writing was trying too hard. The writing having this forced flowery feel to it combined with the actual story did not mix well. You have what is supposed to be this dark book filled with necromancy with writing that didn’t provide the required atmosphere to make that kind of book work. It was frustrating to read.
Most importantly for me was the fact that I had to take frequent breaks while reading these books. They exhausted me to read, and I skim-read book 2. I shouldn’t have to step away from the book I’m reading after 2 chapters because I can’t stand to continue reading.
Overall, I was not a fan of this duology, earning it an average rating of 1.5 stars out of 5.
You can read more of my reviews on my blog.
bookbriefs's review
4.0
**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Cinderella Necromancer is a fantasy re-imagining of Cinderella. But this is a dark tale of Cinderella. One that I really enjoyed! It is sold as, "Cinderella, Necromancer is Chime meets Anna Dressed in Blood and was inspired by a real medieval grimoire of necromancy from 15th-century Germany." which completely intrigued me. And it lived up to that blurb. I was hooked into this story right from the very first page.
Ella is everything I love in a heroine. She is witty and complex. She is someone that will intrigue you and will have you on her side. I felt like I was her sidekick on this journey, which is something I love. It means that the story pulled me in completely. I loved Mrs. Boughan's writing. It was dark and atmospheric and felt like a completely new cinderella tale to me. I am calling this one more of a re-imagining, rather than a re-telling for that reason.
I think what I loved most of all was the magic in this story. In the original Cinderella, there is a fairy godmother that helps out, but in Cinderella Necromancer, Ella herself is the magic. She summons the spirits to do her bidding and it gave the story an entirely different feel. This is a romance as well, but the romance took the backseat for me. That was a bit unusual but, I did enjoy the romance and the storytelling was awesome. It was the real winner for me.
Cinderella Necromancer comes out September 5th, and I would recommend it to fans of dark fairy tale re-imaginings, and fans of creepy atmospheric novels. This one was a great read for me. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed Cinderella Necromancer.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
Ella is everything I love in a heroine. She is witty and complex. She is someone that will intrigue you and will have you on her side. I felt like I was her sidekick on this journey, which is something I love. It means that the story pulled me in completely. I loved Mrs. Boughan's writing. It was dark and atmospheric and felt like a completely new cinderella tale to me. I am calling this one more of a re-imagining, rather than a re-telling for that reason.
I think what I loved most of all was the magic in this story. In the original Cinderella, there is a fairy godmother that helps out, but in Cinderella Necromancer, Ella herself is the magic. She summons the spirits to do her bidding and it gave the story an entirely different feel. This is a romance as well, but the romance took the backseat for me. That was a bit unusual but, I did enjoy the romance and the storytelling was awesome. It was the real winner for me.
Cinderella Necromancer comes out September 5th, and I would recommend it to fans of dark fairy tale re-imaginings, and fans of creepy atmospheric novels. This one was a great read for me. I was surprised at just how much I enjoyed Cinderella Necromancer.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
hauntedbybooks's review
5.0
A wonderfully dark retelling of Cinderella. The story had me hooked from the very first page! The story is unique and I loved the paranormal aspects so much. This was such a unique retelling of Cinderella. I've read a few retellings of Cinderella before but this is by far my favorite! The characters are just wonderfully written! You need this book in your life! It's a perfect read for Halloween.
More...