This story blew me away. I was so fixated that I read it in two days. The suspense was fantastic. The main female character Elodie was so strong and you cannot help but root for her. I was not surprised when I read the acknowledgments that it had already been bought by Netflix and a movie is coming out in Oct. I cannot wait.

When I heard that Netflix had contracted Evelyn Skye to write an adaptation of an upcoming YA movie, I was immediately hooked. I had enjoyed her first duology greatly when it was released.

I really enjoyed this book, and for what its purpose is, it's perfect. It seems like it could be easily read before or after watching the movie that will release in the fall without being an overly repetitive story. Is it the best book I've ever read? No. Does it serve the purpose of driving viewers to watch Damsel upon release? Yes. I loved getting insight into characters we likely won't receive from the movie, and I'm so excited to see Millie Bobby Brown bring Elodie to life. The beginning is a bit slow, but I became completely immersed once the plot started moving beyond familiarizing Elodie and ourselves as readers with Aurea.

Overall, if you enjoyed watching Millie Bobby Brown as Enola Holmes, you should give this book, and its accompanying movie a shot. I found Elodie to be tonally very similar to Enola, so I'm excited to see what the film does with these characters.

DNFed at 48%

I tried to get into this story, but I couldn’t. It was fast paced, but felt very bland and not entertaining. The concept sounded good, but just wasn’t for me.

While I did end up enjoying some of this book, the beginning and middle were a bit slow for me.
We meet Elodie as her and her father talking to their people, and all of a sudden it's sprung on her that her father has arranged a marriage for her, you can tell this is a surprise, and she's not all that happy. Then all of a sudden she's on her way to meet the Prince, and she's pretty smitten with him. She also comes off as pretty naive to me, there are some pretty big red flags especially as she's on her way to being sacrificed to the dragon. She doesn't believe what's happening until Henry her now husband pushes her off a cliff.

I did enjoy the middle more than the beginning, but there were a lot of flashbacks and pov changes that took me out of the story, and it felt like Elodie was wandering around that cave forever.

The ending is where all the action happens, Elodie battles the dragon and confronts her douchebag husband and his family for what he's done. However, while I liked all that I didn't love what happened at the very end, and I'm not 100 percent sure why. While I did mostly enjoy this book, it's not one that will stick with me.

Sadly this book just didn’t grab as much as I hoped it would. I put it down and picked it up multiple times but I just couldn’t connect with it. Super bummed.

I requested a review copy of this book because I saw that it was being turned into a show on Netflix and thought I would give it a whirl... I did not enjoy this at all, and I won't be expanding on that. This just wasn't for me at all.

I requested a review copy of this book because I saw that it was being turned into a Netflix movie. Because it was getting made into a movie, I assumed this must be a great book. But as I was reading, it wasn't really grabbing my interest like I would have expected. Upon further research, I found out that this book was written after the movie was already being made so it would be like a promotion for the movie. Like how the he-man cartoons back in the day were basically made as a long advertisement to sell toys. That was a little disappointing to me. But even though I wasn't enthralled with the book it wasn't bad. I certainly don't regret reading it.

This one, for me, was a mistake. I’m not the reader for this.

I have read gorgeously written and plotted YA, that’s not the issue here. This is full on trope, stereotypical YA with the obligatory feminist heroine railing against the patriarchy. I enjoy railing against the patriarchy myself, so that’s not it either. The problem here is it’s massively trope-y, like the author asked herself how many tropes she could put into one story - the result is a heroine with nothing so special or original to make her stand out.

I rolled my eyes too many times at this one; the invented language was insultingly insipid.



Thank you to Random House Worlds and NetGalley for the DRC.

"Damsel" is a unique story that is adapted from a screenplay into a novel. The book features world building that contrasts the main character's home country of Inophe against the conventions of Aurea. By breaking tradition, the main character overcomes the silencing of women and de-centers patriarchal ideas about women's bodies such as being married a virgin or women being heads of state alongside men. Although there are many red flags, the book does not hide its premise, which focuses on female empowerment. Every chapter occurs from a different female perspective, which lends itself to the multifaceted way the women view family, tradition, and freedom. These are women from different places and generations, all united in breaking the sacrificial cycle of Aurean tradition. Overall, "Damsel" is a powerful and thought-provoking read that sheds light on the importance of challenging societal norms and empowering women.

While billed as a science fiction and fantasy I would consider this pure fantasy and target this toward a middle grade audience.

This is a sign Netflix is upping the stakes on advertising their newest films. Rather than adapting a book to the screen, they've done the opposite here, and Evelyn Skye has based this book off of a movie script. At the very least, I don't think there will be anyone disappointed that the movie wasn't faithful enough to the book.

There was a lot of action, but not much else. It was obvious this was based on a script, right from the beginning. I think it was difficult for the author to flesh out the story enough for a book (and completely justified since they didn't come up with the storyline themselves). It seems like the only change they made was the addition of the dragon's language. So reading this was unfortunately boring.

Some of the dialogue felt too over the top to me. Also, the other perspectives were very short and felt too abrupt. You can really tell this kind of abruptness was retained from the script. On-screen it would feel more natural to switch to a completely new scene and perspective without any transition (not counting flashbacks). But in a book, this didn't work too well.

Overall, this was an interesting experiment, but I think it will translate a lot better on screen. I don't think I'll be particularly interested in reading another book-from-movie adaptation, but I'll be watching this movie when it comes to Netflix!

<i>I received an ARC from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine</i>.

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for an ARC. I am leaving the following review willingly.

I agree with another person: I was invested enough to finish, but not enough to be a fan.

I’m really not sure at what point it’s the writing, or just the author having bias for how their FMC should sound. It’s like Skye watched both Enola Holmes movies and was like…’I guess Millie Bobby Brown’s FMC’s voice is going to be JUST LIKE THAT and it’s how I’m going to write my book!’

So. Enola Holmes 3. With dragons... and a Navi-like complex new language. Millie Bobby Brown is En-lodie forevermore.

Book vs Movie…my students are going to watch on Netflix. It just feels like a waste.

I requested this book based solely on the future release on Netflix as a film starring Millie Bobbie Brown, Angela Bassett, and Robin Wright. After reading, I can 100 percent say it is going to be an action packed film with a strong heroine who uses her wits and strengths to face and (possibly?) escape her fate as dragon food. It is geared more to a Young Adult audience and I think lovers of fairy tales, dragons, and action scenes will adore the book and film.

I received an ARC of Damsel from Netgalley for free and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Damsel is kind of hard for me to review. I was invested enough to finish it, and I didn't think it was bad, but it wasn't a book that will likely stick with me.

The book can be broken up into two separate parts, even though the book itself did not have parts, per se: before the dragon and during the dragon. Before the dragon, we have a girl, Elodie, who is trying to keep her people alive. To do this, she makes an auspicious match that offers all the resources to sustain her people. Though confused as to why a prince from a prosperous kingdom would want to marry a poor girl from a tiny duchy, she travels to his kingdom to marry him anyway. La-di-doo, a bunch of chapters later filled with weird things happening but nothing that felt significant to the plot, and she's been sacrificed to a dragon that takes princesses in return for leaving the rest of the kingdom alone.

Now, I'm not going to lie, that was the part I was really excited to read. Initially. I wanted to see how Elodie would do what no one had done before and escape. Live. The horrible part? It was two-thirds of the book. We spent more than half of the book in a cave with a dragon eluding being eaten. It dragged on and on, and at one point, I truly thought the book would end with her being trapped there forever, which might have almost been more satisfying than what actually happened. It was boring, essentially. I was bored.

And I can't believe I said that because I love quests, dragons, and everything this book had. But there was just something about it that felt neverending to me. It wasn't bad. But this just wasn't for me.

Review:
I read this book entirely for the fantasy aspects and to realize it was going to be a new NEtflix movie with Millie Bobby Brown was icing on the cake. This was such interesting world building and the systems within the world were interesting and I could see how different aspects might be translated to the screen and now I can't wait for the movie! Elodie was such a well developed character and the twists within the story kept me engaged and reading through this so quickly!

Synopsis:
Elodie never dreamed of a lavish palace or a handsome prince. Growing up in the famine-stricken realm of Inophe, her deepest wish was to help her people survive each winter. So when a representative from a rich, reclusive kingdom offers her family enough wealth to save Inophe in exchange for Elodie’s hand in marriage, she accepts without hesitation. Swept away to the glistening kingdom of Aurea, Elodie is quickly taken in by the beauty of the realm—and of her betrothed, Prince Henry.

But as Elodie undertakes the rituals to become an Aurean princess, doubts prick at her mind as cracks in the kingdom’s perfect veneer begin to show: A young woman who appears and vanishes from the castle tower. A parade of torches weaving through the mountains. Markings left behind in a mysterious “V.” Too late, she discovers that Aurea’s prosperity has been purchased at a heavy cost—each harvest season, the kingdom sacrifices its princesses to a hungry dragon. And Elodie is the next sacrifice.

This ancient arrangement has persisted for centuries, leading hundreds of women to their deaths. But the women who came before Elodie did not go quietly. Their blood pulses with power and memory, and their experiences hold the key to Elodie’s survival. Forced to fight for her life, this damsel must use her wits to defeat a dragon, uncover Aurea’s past, and save not only herself, but the future of her new kingdom as well.

Damsel is a novelization of the upcoming movie by Netflix of the same name starring Millie Bobby Brown. I was excited to get an e-copy of this ARC given the premise, which takes the “Save Yourself” heroine trope and pumps it up super high octane. And it delivered!

I didn’t expect Elodie to be as well prepared as she was, nor for this to be what is a fantasy survival thriller—two of my favorite genres smashed together into one awesome story. This may seem cliché, but this is NOT your typical fairy tale love story. It’s gritty, bold, and ultimately powering. Tradition is the true villain of this story.

Elodie is the eldest daughter in a remote Dukedom, Inophe, where famine and drought reign supreme. She has grown up in harsh conditions caring for their people. When the chance comes for her to be married to the prince of Aurea in exchange for the goods and services needed to support the population she has helped protect her entire life, she is eager to be able to provide something more than just solace. However, what she doesn’t know until it’s too late is that she’s not meant to be a true princess of her newly adopted land, but a sacrifice to the dragon who provides the true power that provides the abundance to the people of the land.

Elodie finds that she has not been the first—there have been 2400 princesses that have been sacrificed in the proceeding eight centuries, and not all of them have gone quietly. She finds maps, resources, and magic that have helped those before her that she is able to take advantage of. But will she be able to escape the lair of the dragon, or will she become just another pile of moldering bones deep in the heart of Aurea?

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced copy in exchange for this review.

Damsel has a pretty simple premise: a princess is wed to a prince who sacrifices her to a dragon, but she decides to fight against this fate. With a tight focus on protagonist Elodie's journey to surviving the dragon, drawing upon the aid of those who came before, Skye weaves a fast-paced adventure story that is sure to translate well to the silver screen (excited to see MBB bring this story to life!).

The book ended up being pretty straightforward, without a lot of twists that we haven't already seen done before in this genre. A golden prince who's not really so golden, a sacrificial damsel who fights back, a dragon who is more than a mere beast. Some of the writing is a bit in your face with the themes, and I had a bit of a Time trying to figure out who exactly the target demographic was. The general adventure with a dash of comedy vibe felt more middle grade, but then the heroine swears all over the place, which would make it upper YA.

All in all, Damsel was fun albeit a little standard. I did enjoy the bits where Elodie was using her love of languages to decipher the dragon's speech, and it being a nod to Skye's own daughter's polyglot skills was quite sweet.

When it’s too good to be true, it usually is!

Elodie is to marry the prince of Aurea. In return her country Inophe will be gifted enough wealth to help the drought stricken kingdom to survive. Of course she says yes. It helps that the prince is handsome and kind.
Wined and dined, made welcome, she truly has been welcomed by her new countrymen.
But after the wedding a different fate awaits.
A fantasy telling of Theseus and the Minotaur, with no ball of string but generations of “brides” leaving messages and signs for those who would come after, and the minotaur being replaced by a dragon. Elodie is in for the fight of her life—literally.
Captivating in some parts and decidedly clunky in others this felt more like a YA novel that resolved itself too quickly after the caves exploits, and the many twists.
There’s some commentary on justice and the actions of the actions of the Aureans, what would you do sort of thing, but all in all, I found the ending fell short of the action in the middle of the book.

A Random House - Ballantine ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.

I did not like this book at all. It was almost a DNF but it was short so I finished it.
Elodie is “not like the other women.” After she is wed to a prince and taken to a dragon to be sacrificed, she uses her intelligence to combat the dragon. The ending is predictable and most of the characters are unlikable.

Elodie is from Inophe, a land that has suffered from drought and hardship. But Elodie loves her people and would do almost anything for them. So when a king from a foreign land extends a marriage proposal in exchange for much needed trade access and supplies, Elodie accepts. However, the kingdom of Aurea is not what it seems. Long ago, a dragon terrorized their lands, and to appease it, Aurean royalty struck a deal: every year they have to sacrifice three princesses…and Elodie will be next.

Though there are several different viewpoint chapters throughout the novel, Elodie makes up well over ninety-five percent. As the main character, she is a decent protagonist. Trying to escape from the dragon cave, Elodie is resourceful, using her knowledge and the tools she has found to her own advantage. Most of Elodie’s decisions were decent, particularly for a YA novel, but there were a few that were questionable, at times disrupting enjoyment of the tale.

In addition to Elodie’s ability to think herself out of any situation, her relationship with her sister Floria was a highlight. Though Lady Bayron at first seems cold and resigned, her true motivations are revealed late in the novel and she gets to become a hero in her own right.

There is much working in its favor, but it’s clear that the novel is a screenplay adaptation, which is also noted in the author’s acknowledgements. Damsel was fine, but a visual medium may be a better way to tell the story. The novel often lacked subtlety, which is something an actor would be able to show rather than explicitly state in text. This made the writing at times feel clunky and even juvenile. For example, the all caps “BURN ME BITCH” line comes to mind.

Overall, this was a quick read that was relatively enjoyable. I’ll be interested to see how the movie alters the material when it comes to Netflix later this year.

📖 Book Review: Damsel by Evelyn Skye

This is a companion book to an upcoming Netflix movie, developed from the screenplay. Sometimes that leads to really great visuals (as they’ve already been mapped out for filming) but sometimes it feels clunky.

The beginning of this book was hard to get into. It takes a while to establish the main conflict of the book, and even though there’s very heavy foreshadowing about what’s to come, I didn’t feel drawn in until about halfway through the book. Once the real action starts about 2/3 through, the book gets harder to put down.

I do like the main character Elodie a lot, and having learned that Millie Bobbie Brown is tagged to play her in the movie makes a lot of sense. She is wry and capable and very intelligent (maybe a little too intelligent to be realistic) and is just the sort of character I would’ve loved to read about as a teen.

I have seen some conflicting opinions about some of the magical conventions used in the book, but the only one that bothered me was at the end. I thought some of the other magic was used interestingly, but the end just felt like SO much of a miracle that it seemed a cop-out. I get that it’s a YA story and the ending can’t be too dark, but it just felt too easy.

This book gets a ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. Recommend for YA fantasy folks who like a strong female lead.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.