Reviews

The amount of times I wanted to throw this book against a wall (and not in a good way). Boring and trite with nothing new to add to the Gothic or sentimental genres, The Romance of the Forest tediously retrods the most eye-roll-worthy tropes common to both genres. It includes subterranean dungeons conveniently narrated by the discovered manuscript of the man who died there, the shiny good boy who is just so virtuous and dashing and can do no wrong and patiently waits for the blushing young woman to gradually come out of her shell, and oh my god so. much. fainting. Too much fainting, even. Towards the end, our MC is fainting like every other page, a feat so ridiculous that my marginal notes were reduced to "lol."

Mind-numbing and overstays its welcome.

2/5 stars

rozziea's review against another edition

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She kept fainting 😑

juushika's review against another edition

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3.0

A family in exile has a young woman thrust upon them by brigands, and they take shelter ruins of an abbey. This is so very Radcliffe, and it's easy to see why it was popular: trashy, tropey, pulpy, all in an atmospheric and romantic way. The reveals and interconnections have a sense of inevitability and the antagonist looms over the narrative with a real sense of threat; the forest and sublime landscapes stretch in a perpetual summer. It's also didactic and contrived, and Radcliffe's poetry is consistently dreadful; and it lacks the organic complexity I found in The Mysteries of Udolpho. So whether it's good is debatable, but it scratched that gothic lit itch for me.

aabi_w's review against another edition

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5.0

This was such a beautiful, hopeful read. I continue to love the journeys Ann Radcliffe creates for the readers of her Gothic novels, in addition to her breathtaking depictions of the natural world, and "The Romance of the Forest" was no exception to her talent.

marinarasara's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

objet_petit_b's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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