The Seventh Bride

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.