The Seventh Bride

Not really feeling this one. I put this book down so many times but I just wanted to know how this situation would be fixed so I finally fished it. Just seems lacking in details and descriptions. I couldn't actually incision what I was reading. More imagery would do a world of good.

This was a very good book. The young voice of girl reading threw me for a few pages, but I stuck it out when I realized the charachter was 15. Its worth it if you need a rainy day read or a beach read for relaxing. If you listen while driving, be careful. You won't want to miss a word.

A clear winner.

A great read, a combination of fantasy and horror with a satisfying ending. I would like to see a sequel, Rhea was a great character both relateable and inspiring. I loved the setting, Kingfisher made a relatively limited selection of areas interesting and memorable.

I liked a lot of this book. There was some interesting ideas present and the writing is very nice, not at all feeling like it is a chore to get through. That being said, it was a bit on the light side. There was a lot, particularly in relation to the other wives, that I wish had more to there development. All in all, a nice read if you're looking for something.

I don't have much experience in reading fantasy but I wanted to broaden my horizons. It was a good story, very imaginative. But I think the age of the main character bothered me. She was 15 and kinda immature. So the next time I venture into fantasy I will go for something a little more on my level.

While I can't say I really enjoyed the book, I couldn't put it down. A lot of what could have been elaborated on was left out to keep focus on the main idea, but would have added the complexity it lacked. The tone reminded me a but of a dark Alice in Wonderland. Despite my very mixed emotions, it's a short and unique read.

How refreshing to read a fantasy without romance! The imagery was vivid, the humour sparing but relatable, and the horror of the villain reminded me of Tim Burton's work. The heroine is 15 but has to make life altering decisions.

Recommended to YA and above

I enjoyed this very much. It's not often that I read (and enjoy) a fairy tale as an adult, but this is exceptionally well done. My only complaint is that I wish we would have had more time with The Clock Wife. Overall though, this was a fun and fanciful story and quite a nice change from what I normally read.

In this fairytale reboot, Rhea, a simple Miller's daughter finds herself the unwilling bride of a man with dubious intent. Rhea uses her wit and some unlikely allies to try and disrupt the evil Cervan's plans. It is a quick read and a fun story for middle school age readers +.

The characters in this book were pretty diverse but they were not in depth, could not really invest in any of them..... Great story but I like I little more character base and building then this book gives. The ending seemed rushed and was unsatisfactory, I really enjoyed the premise of the book but unfortunately it feels like I just dove into the most amazingly delicious looking cake only to find out just the icing is edible....

I was looking for a fairy tale story. This one delivered. It is on the dark side. So if you want a happy light feel good happy story, this one may not be for you.
Would have been a 5 star except only two of the major characters were developed. The others could have used a little more work.

This was a decent read. Definitely a different story unlike anything I've read before. I thought the main character was funny and embodied a typical teen in that predicament. Also I felt liked the story dragged in some places but it eventually picked up and was truly interesting.

Fantastic fantasy read! Rhea is a great young woman of sense. I like the sense of family, sincere friendship, sometimes being caught in the web of others' weaving. Kingfisher has a great ability to craft a world of magic that is believable. I hope there is a sequal to this book. I'd like to see more of Rhea and how her character develops as she gets older. I will definitely seek out more of Kingfishers' work. Thanks for the magical read, I couldn't put it down.

I'm a sucker for adult retelling of fairy tales (I believe they are culturally significant). And this was a pleasant surprise.
A little quirky,which I like, and strong women....okay strong after the fact, but, hey, ill go for that.
Worth the read, and I bought Briyony, too

Mind you I haven't finished it, but only because it's a compact book and I don't want it to end. If you enjoy dark fairy tales and tight, intelligent writing this is the book. As a former English teacher, I would've added this to my classroom library in a shot.

How did I not remember to write a review? Oh, that's right, I sort of went SCHLORP and then I was away from the wifi, so I forgot. Woops.

It's a good book. It has a freakyscary plotline going, and a practical if young heroine, and hedgehogs. Very useful hedgehogs.

A compelling read, The Seventh Bride reminded me of a Grimm Fairy Tale. Kingfisher isn't afraid to scare the bejeezus out of you with some truly horrible creatures. But I couldn't put it down. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Great book! While the writing style didn't suit me, I loved the author's other books and I love this one also. It's Bluebeard but with less dead wives and more abused/trapped women working together to take back what was taken from them, which is pretty freaking awesome

Very strong prose style, interesting subject, way over my tolerance limit for dark, hopeless despair. I’ll read more of the author’s work, but I wouldn’t recommend that anyone I know read this one.

This is the first novel I've read by this author, but I'm definitely hoping to see more from her. The plot's very intriguing, as are the characters. There was one moment that confused me, but that was more my fault than the writing.

SPOILER

When the creatures from the white road came up to take Crevan back, and Ingeth stopped him from running, at first I thought she was trying to *help* him. Like I said, upon rereading it's pretty clear.

END SPOILER

The writing is evocative without being too wordy, and Rhea has a matter-of-fact way of doing things that's really appealing to me in a protagonist. (She reminds me a little of Cimorene from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles.)

Apparently Kingfisher/Vernon is better known as a children's author, but be aware that this is not really a children's book. Not to say that a child couldn't read it, but it does have some pretty gruesome material.

I really enjoyed this lively page turner. The characters are well crafted and the story clips along. It's interesting and entertaining. This author definitely has a great future in fantasy storytelling!

I liked all of the individual elements - the characters, the suspense, the challenges, the magic ... but they just didn't seem to piece together well enough to make much sense. At the end, I found myself with more questions than answers and feeling generally cheated out of resolution. - I don't believe I would recommend it to a friend.

The writing/story telling was well done. Humorous, quirky, enough to make you think. I didnt prefer the darker tone of the story, but it was still well done. The ending could have been better, more of a twist. I would say more detail, but the story wasn't long enough/with enough character depth to support more detail

By T. Kingfisher. Funny and tragic and tense, a wonderful twist on theclassic Bluebeard-type tale, in her highly unique style. If you are a fan of modern retellings, or a good story in general then read this.

A good spin on an old tale. I would give five stars if some of the set ups actually get completed by the end. Also like to see the main character solved a problem all by her own without getting helped.

I've read Grimm's Fairy tales enough times to be in need of some new material ... This book takes place in a world we all know just with a new protagonist, the Jill to Grimm's Jack. Great story telling with a natural, relatable voice. I laughed and cheered all the way.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was well written and not overly predictable. Things I expected to happen did not. I wish there more stories after this as I am curious about how the remaining wives faired and about their lives....a true sign of a good book.

It started out promising...I was hooked by Rhea's cute & innocent struggles with the swan over lunch. Her childish description of her home & mill. Oh how she loved it!

After she arrives at the manor, meets the others who live there, everything just turns weird. I can't think of anything else to say. Weird.

I will not be reading this story again.

I truly enjoyed this book. It was well written and not overly predictable. Things I expected to happen did not. I wish there more stories after this as I am curious about how the remaining wives faired and about their lives....a true sign of a good book.

It started out promising...I was hooked by Rhea's cute & innocent struggles with the swan over lunch. Her childish description of her home & mill. Oh how she loved it!

After she arrives at the manor, meets the others who live there, everything just turns weird. I can't think of anything else to say. Weird.

I will not be reading this story again.

Enjoyable read for the young and young at heart. I particularly enjoyed the humor interspersed throughout and that it kept you guessing, interested, and invested in Rhea, Maria, and Sylvie . . . and, of course, the hedgehog.

An incredibly creepy take on Bluebeard in Ursula Vernon's utterly inimitable style. I've been hoping for years that she would finish this story, and it did not disappoint. The characters are compelling, the setting is just the right mix of fairy tale and horror, and she sticks the landing with a very satisfying ending. Fantastic novella, extremely highly recommended.

I went out of my comfort zone and tried it. I'm so glad I did. What I liked the most was the details. Kept me on my toes. The main character was great. I would change the ending a little. I would recommend this book to someone.

I just couldn't get into this book -- it made no sense! Weird things without explanation, disconnected & hard to follow. It wasn't science fiction, it wasn't a mystery & it sure wasn't what I expected from the jacket blurb.
Others may like it but I didn't enjoy it at all.

T. Kingfisher, please know that this story does honor to you and your ancestors. I will reread this whenever the world makes no sense, but insists I be brave anyway. Which will probably be every other Thursday. Wonderful !

T. Kingfisher, please know that this story does honor to you and your ancestors. I will reread this whenever the world makes no sense, but insists I be brave anyway. Which will probably be every other Thursday. Wonderful !

This is an excellent book. At first it was a bit slow, but steady and then it stayed on steady. The characters are all interesting, the plot twists and the fantastic writing keeps you reading. Great book!

This book was boring beyond belief and had nothing to hold my interest. It seemed to be a cross between the anime Howls Moving Castle and some very bad fairytale. I would advice against purchasing this book and really want my $5 back. I kept waiting for it to get interesting but it was just "pointless."

I loved this book! For one thing--and it's something than cannot be taken for granted--it was very well written and edited. The characters are appealing. The villain is truly villainous. The heroine is just starting out her life and has a long way to go in other books. There is threat, but no violence. There is no sex, and no romance, but there are friendships. I will be reading more by this author. However, as she has written and won awards under other names, perhaps I already have....

I originally just downloaded the sample for this novel. Needless to say, as is obvious, I went ahead and bought the actual thing. It hasn't been two days since then; I've already finished reading and I have LOVED this book.

It's got a bit of a familiar feel to it, by which I mean that the language is sometimes a little colloquial, but it makes for easier reading. It also makes for an easier relation to develop between Rhea and the reader. I wouldn't say it's easy to put yourself in her shoes, but it definitely does help with getting sucked into the story.

It's a quick and beautiful read; the imagery is very striking and vivid and the author's done a very good job at mixing fantasy with suspense and just a sprinkling of almost-horror. I think my favourite part is that Rhea's reactions are human and actually relatable; none of that easy acceptance of everything that's going on. You have that disbelief, the fear and the eventual numbness to all the crazy things happening, and I think that's frankly quite beautiful.

I'd definitely recommend this to, well, pretty much anyone. It's not a masterpiece but because it's relatively short, it doesn't demand too much concentration and devotion and is generally a very good piece to read whenever you have time.

Having read and enjoyed the Clocktaur books, I was expecting an enjoyable read from the Seventh Bride. Instead, I was absolutely blown away by this innovative fairytale. It's like nothing I've ever read before, yet it feels like the perfect fairytale. Very highly recommended!