Lisa DeSelm

"I hope and pray that I will do this piece justice, giving the wood the honor it deserves. In the days that follow, I labor over smoothing every angle, refining every curve and ligature so that its stringed movement will be a thing of beauty. Of feline grace. Of terror.
If it were alive, of course"
Oh my word, this story was glorious.
First off, the characters. All were so well developed and the friendships were phenomenal. The makers reminded me of the Inklings, the group that Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were part of. The group was always there to help out the ones struggling and it was oh-so-nice.
Can we please talk about the fact that this book is 100% unique? Seriously. When was the last time YA had a Pinocchio retelling? I've never read one.
The romance was actually the only thing I was not a fan of. I was shipping hard for the first quarter of the book but then I wasn't. It felt like the characters rushed into a relationship after more of a slow-burn type.
I sincerely hope that Lisa plans to publish more books because I'd read them in a heartbeat.

Rating:
Language: n/a
Romance: some kissing
Spiritual: n/a
Violence: murders, deaths

*I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required. Quote is taken from ARC and subject to change at publication.… (mere)

Pinocchio was one of the first Disney films that I saw as a child and I loved it, so I was delighted to see this gender-bent retelling. I love Pirouette, she is just so courageous, and kind. The story was a delightful wild ride that included many ups and downs. I like that it didn't quite follow the Pinocchio story, but did have some of the famous elements such as Piro being unable to lie. The book just felt so fresh and new, and a bit darker than I thought it was going to be, almost like a Grimms' fairy tale (but not that dark).

There were some moments in which things felt slow but it did pick up the pace after a while, especially at the end. The romance was nice and did not overwhelm or take away from the plot of the story which it can sometimes do in other books. I wish there was a longer epilogue at the end so I could know what happens after everything goes down or maybe this could turn into a series, which would be very interesting and follow different fairy tale characters. I really enjoyed DeSelm's writing, so much so that I read this in one sitting, she definitely has some Disney magic in her finger tips.

Overall, if your a fan of fairy tales and retellings, pick this up.

*A Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this. This is my honest review*… (mere)

This was new at my library today, as of 10/15/20. The ebook version anyway, since my city is in Phase Two of reopening at the time of this writing. I looked at the cover first and was curious due to that. It said "YA fantasy, possibly romance," and I was right for half of the book. The prologue made sense for the story! I was pleased. For the first few chapters, I couldn't figure out how old Pirouette was. I think she's eighteen, and still consider this to be a YA novel since the tropes are there. This is a genderswapped Pinocchio/Frankenstein retelling. It takes place on the French-German border or somewhere similar, in the 1800s or it seemed. I liked the imagery and descriptions. They were my favorite parts of the book. Instead of Pirouette's nose growing, she got splinters of varying sizes (tiny sliver, whole wood chip) in varying places of her body (ankle, ear, cheek) depending on the lie. Such decision on part of the author did away with an anti-Semitic trope and maintained the character's secret in a creative, realistic way. Much appreciated. I thought Pirouette saving each wood chip and splinter was interesting, and wondered what the symbolism was. And she -bleeds- each time a wood chip or splinter emerges. The magical realism of that fascinated me. The wooden puppets, whether they were ones Pirouette constructed or not, conversed with her. Trees did, too. This was such a creative and intriguing new layer.

Halfway through the book, the tone abruptly veers jarringly into something far darker. This is where the Frankenstein retelling happens, only the Pinocchio one is still going on, too. The tone shift is a noticeable and immediate escalation with no buildup or foreshadowing at all. It goes from "the government is working us exhaustingly and severely underpaying us, and locking us up for reasons they decide on the spot" to "horrible, sudden murder and fascist government". Which...is how a lot of that happens in the real, modern world. Chilling and unfair. What a jarring structural choice for a book to have. It--I--shall continue. The book varied in levels of creepiness, but was unsettling throughout. The action scenes that led to the HEA were unsettling and creepy, and gave me vivid, realistic nightmares. That's an achievement on part of the author. Books don't make it into my dreams often, let alone into vivid nightmares. The HEA made me smile. It was a neat read and so nice for the month of Halloween.… (mere)

Pinocchio was one of the first Disney films that I saw as a child and I loved it, so I was delighted to see this gender-bent retelling. I love Pirouette, she is just so courageous, and kind. The story was a delightful wild ride that included many ups and downs. I like that it didn't quite follow the Pinocchio story, but did have some of the famous elements such as Piro being unable to lie. The book just felt so fresh and new, and a bit darker than I thought it was going to be, almost like a Grimms' fairy tale (but not that dark).

There were some moments in which things felt slow but it did pick up the pace after a while, especially at the end. The romance was nice and did not overwhelm or take away from the plot of the story which it can sometimes do in other books. I wish there was a longer epilogue at the end so I could know what happens after everything goes down or maybe this could turn into a series, which would be very interesting and follow different fairy tale characters. I really enjoyed DeSelm's writing, so much so that I read this in one sitting, she definitely has some Disney magic in her finger tips.

Overall, if your a fan of fairy tales and retellings, pick this up.

*A Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this. This is my honest review*… (mere)