indieandajean's reviews
427 reviews

3.5 because I love Lulu and am super in love with this series, but am feeling so-so on the Dex development. 

This entire series makes me miss my local Ren faire (which I sincerely wish was a little more like Willow Creek) and long for summer every time I so much as look at one of the covers (which are very cute).  

That said this one wasn't the homerun that I was hoping it would be. Spoilers for how I felt about Dex's characterization.

Dex, while attractive and interesting, didn't really seem to earn the redemption he got in this book. I mean, don't get me wrong, I think his relationship with Lulu showed a lot of growth here, and I'm all for sex-positivity, but it just seems like he got bored with hook ups rather than really putting much work into the "I want to be an equal partner in a long term relationship" Dex that we got in the end. With it being from Lulu's POV I know why we didn't see more of that, but it doesn't mean I'm fully happy with his character growth. Also a little more "I regret how I handled myself with the Stacey situation" could have gone a long way here rather than a short conversation between Stacey and Lulu that boiled down to "you wanted more than he was willing to give and you just feel weird about what your man did in the situation so you blame Dex" because gosh just Dex even for a moment saying something like "It's Stacey's story to tell, and while it all worked out, I wish I would have addressed her directly and been more up front with what our situation was" would have gone a long way towards me seeing him as a good guy.

I do love Lulu though, and her growth in this book is fantastic to see. We love seeing a woman get everything she wants and deserves in life. I felt very attached to her and I think a "stop giving your energy to something/ someone who doesn't give back to you" plot is always needed. I appreciate it every time it's part of a romance plot because I need to hear it and plenty of others do too. 

All said, I enjoyed this book. Lulu is great, I loved getting to know the kilts a little more, but I wish that Dex's character development was earned a little more. 

This is a great collection of Grimm's fairytales and the full cast narration is excellent. 

I would have liked to have seen a bit more variety in the chosen stories in this edition. There are plenty of classics and the versions they chose of these classics are excellent, but some of the lesser known tales with more unique characters might have improved this to make it a five star audiobook. The inclusion of both The Twelve Brothers and The Six Swans as well as several of the "king's daughter up for marriage to a man who can solve a problem/riddle/challenge" stories just made me wish for the inclusion of something else like The  Bremen Musicians or Godfather Death, just to vary the story structures, characters and morals a bit. 

Generally this is a solid way to introduce Grimm's fairytales to readers and I did enjoy it, I would have just liked a bit more variation. 

I've never really thought to stop and ask myself what a high level D&D character would do after they finished off the BBEG but honestly opening a coffee shop and becoming a pacifist seems right. 

This book was perfection. I usually avoid fantasy novels written for adults despite being a huge fan of children's and teen fantasy because while YA and Juv fantasy feels fun and inviting, adult fantasy often feels overly complicated and the stakes can be seriously anxiety inducing. Here though the bar for entry was low, the characters were warm and likeable and the stakes were low enough that I didn't feel like I was having palpations the whole time I read. 

The found family trope is executed perfectly here, and the romance is soft and slow. 

This is the perfect relaxing read, and I just want to wrap myself up in it.