Reviews

Orfeia by Joanne M. Harris

smatthew459's review against another edition

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

4.0

venti's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

sad girl summer 

annailles's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

owengail22's review

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3.0

3.5

bessies_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

rex_libris's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Another expanded retelling from English folklore by Harris. Her lyrical voice brings the myth and magic to life in way that draws readers in an  inspires them to explore folklore and retellings. 

aubocado9's review against another edition

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dark hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

coruscating_pages's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

nicksbooknook's review

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2.0

Modern retellings of the stories of King Orfeo and the Elphin Knight - which I'm not all too familiar with. When I read the synopsis of the story, I saw it was about a mother's devotion to bringing her daughter back from Death. I wanted this story to be more emotional and captivating than it was; it ended up being a really cheesy and boring story as most of the conflict in the book is resolved by, in my opinion, bad folk songs accompanied by uncomfortable artwork.

Fay, the main character + Mother, is not an engaging character whatsoever. I wish her relationship with Daisy was fleshed out more in the beginning, because through the whole story I felt as if everyone was one-dimensional, and I wasn't feeling the sense of urgency that I probably should have been feeling. I feel as if the story really spells everything out for the reader which would make sense if this is supposed to be for children (not too sure), but it is constantly repeating past events to the point where I could have probably skipped 50 pages and not feel like I've missed anything significant (maybe I did that...)

I blindly chose this off the library shelf because of the intriguing cover art; maybe I shouldn't be judging books by their cover. I guess fairytales aren't my cup of tea.

fairytalest's review

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4.0

"Almost every fairy tale begins with the death of the parents. But the death of a child changes everything. The death of a child means no journey; no coming-of-age; no adventures; no happy-ever-after. All that remains of the tale is grief. Grief, the wingless bird in its cage, singing and singing and singing."

Joanne has a sense of style that captivates from the first page, poetical and intriguing. The story itself is simple, but complex in the details and riddle mastery. It really catches that mysterious air of the fae and the dangers that lie underneath the surface of the beauty. This book is a beautiful piece of art.