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Sunny's Reviews > Damsel
Damsel
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by
Sunny's review
bookshelves: 2018-reads, adult, dark, fantasy, fucked-with-my-mind, new-adult
Jul 30, 2018
bookshelves: 2018-reads, adult, dark, fantasy, fucked-with-my-mind, new-adult
This is the most weirdly horrific book I've ever read in my entire life.
"One should not make a pet out of a wild beast."
Told through the classic "prince saves the damsel in distress from the big bad dragon" tale, Elana K. Arnold explores the most severe forms of sexism through the unique creation of her fantasy world. Prince Emory must find a dragon, save the damsel, and then marry her in order to become a true King. This is how it has always been, and this is how it will always be. So when Ama, our protagonist, awakes in the arms of her savior prince with no other memories from her time before this moment, she finds herself prepping to be queen in a kingdom she knows nothing of.
Note: this is NOT a YA novel, nor will you find any cheesy romance that most YA fantasy books offer.
Women have no role in this society but to bear children and to please their men. Ama slowly learns that she must become this woman for Emory. Being completely innocent and oblivious, she accepts this rule. We slowly begin to realize the Prince Emory is not as heroic as he seems. He's just another man with a dangerously high ego that only feels manly when the women around him are weak. This man is literally obsessed with himself. Anyone can sense this from the very first chapter.
I must stress that there are very many trigger warnings that come with this book. Sexual assault is a constant theme, sometimes being very descriptive. Emotional and physical abuse are blatantly apparent. As well as suicide and animal cruelty. Many people will dislike this book for its cruel and descriptive usage of nasty words. But I applaud the author for being unapologetically and brutally honest. While this book explores the severe mistreatment of women during medieval-like times, Arnold makes obvious connections to sexism in today's society. I was angry throughout the entire novel. But my constant vexed feelings were worth the satisfying ending.
P.S. The ending is honestly really weird. (Like extremely weird).
P.S.S. I will never look at the word "yard" the same way ever again for the rest of my life.
P.S.S. This book has the lowest Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ rating of any book I have ever read in my entire life. Yet, I confidently believe it is worthy of a 5 star. This is why I do not trust Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ ratings.
"One should not make a pet out of a wild beast."
Told through the classic "prince saves the damsel in distress from the big bad dragon" tale, Elana K. Arnold explores the most severe forms of sexism through the unique creation of her fantasy world. Prince Emory must find a dragon, save the damsel, and then marry her in order to become a true King. This is how it has always been, and this is how it will always be. So when Ama, our protagonist, awakes in the arms of her savior prince with no other memories from her time before this moment, she finds herself prepping to be queen in a kingdom she knows nothing of.
Note: this is NOT a YA novel, nor will you find any cheesy romance that most YA fantasy books offer.
Women have no role in this society but to bear children and to please their men. Ama slowly learns that she must become this woman for Emory. Being completely innocent and oblivious, she accepts this rule. We slowly begin to realize the Prince Emory is not as heroic as he seems. He's just another man with a dangerously high ego that only feels manly when the women around him are weak. This man is literally obsessed with himself. Anyone can sense this from the very first chapter.
I must stress that there are very many trigger warnings that come with this book. Sexual assault is a constant theme, sometimes being very descriptive. Emotional and physical abuse are blatantly apparent. As well as suicide and animal cruelty. Many people will dislike this book for its cruel and descriptive usage of nasty words. But I applaud the author for being unapologetically and brutally honest. While this book explores the severe mistreatment of women during medieval-like times, Arnold makes obvious connections to sexism in today's society. I was angry throughout the entire novel. But my constant vexed feelings were worth the satisfying ending.
P.S. The ending is honestly really weird. (Like extremely weird).
P.S.S. I will never look at the word "yard" the same way ever again for the rest of my life.
P.S.S. This book has the lowest Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ rating of any book I have ever read in my entire life. Yet, I confidently believe it is worthy of a 5 star. This is why I do not trust Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ ratings.
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Reading Progress
July 30, 2018
– Shelved as:
to-read
July 30, 2018
– Shelved
Started Reading
December 31, 2018
– Shelved as:
2018-reads
December 31, 2018
– Shelved as:
adult
December 31, 2018
– Shelved as:
dark
December 31, 2018
– Shelved as:
fantasy
December 31, 2018
– Shelved as:
fucked-with-my-mind
December 31, 2018
– Shelved as:
new-adult
December 31, 2018
–
Finished Reading
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V. A Court of Wings and Ruin is NEW ADULT/EROTICA but Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ editors won't tell you to include it in the choice awards
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Sep 07, 2018 07:36PM
You need to read The V Girl by Mya Robarts, I can't imagine any book that is more darkly tense and feminist than V girl. I'll check this one out because WE NEED MORE dark, feminist books.
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It seems like a lot of books get labeled YA just because the main character is young, which is really dumb. Content and the target audience should determine the genre, not the age(s) of the lead characters. I also agree with the rating being really off on this book. It's well written with a great message. I don't know what to make of all the negative reviews. Maybe the mislabeling as YA is the problem. YA fans may not appreciate a dark and disturbing story like this while the target audience doesn't read it because they think it's YA.
J.C. wrote: "It seems like a lot of books get labeled YA just because the main character is young, which is really dumb. Content and the target audience should determine the genre, not the age(s) of the lead ch..."Yes I agree. I have no problem with YA novels being a bit dark. But I just think that trigger warnings need to be included if they're going to be labeled as YA.
