Tuesday, January 05, 2016

Review: The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long

From Goodreads: The trees swallowed her brother whole, and Jenny was there to see it. Now seventeen, she revisits the woods where Tom was taken, resolving to say good-bye at last. Instead, she's lured into the trees, where she finds strange and dangerous creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with secrets of his own. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack's help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where stunning beauty masks some of the most treacherous evils, and she's faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice - and not just her own.

My Rating: 2.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long was a book that captivated me immediately because its beginning reminded me of Natalie C. Parker’s Beware the Wild. I had no idea that this was a faerie book though, which I typically avoid. But, Long’s writing was lovely, and I was soon drawn into the story.

Over the course of the novel, however, I became annoyed by Jenny’s decisions. For example, she chooses to trust Jack for no apparent reason (and then develops feelings for him quite suddenly too), runs off by herself whenever her feelings get hurt, and decides to rescue a baby fairy because it's a baby. Uh no, a baby fairy is still a fairy!

As well, the ending was really confusing. I didn’t really understand what was going on, and I still have no idea how it became possible for Jenny to get her happy ending.

The Treachery of Beautiful Things was released by Dial Books in August 2012. 

Comments About the Cover: It’s a pretty cover, but the main character didn't go into the woods in a dress.

8 comments:

  1. Weird that the cover doesn't depict a scene from the book, but I agree it's very pretty! I'm not a fan of confusing endings, however, or annoying character decisions. That's sad :(

    Either way, great review!

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  2. I remember that this was one of the books on my 2012 wishlist. I never get a hold of a copy and after reading your review, I'm quite relieved. Thanks for the honest review!

    Precious @ Fragments of Life

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  3. I feel like I would probably be irritated with Jenny's decisions too, so I think I'm going to take a pass on this one Z! You don't go around rescuing baby fairies:)

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  4. Beautiful cover (if inaccurate, heh), but I'm typically not too keen on faerie books either. Another reminder that it's not the best idea to pick up a book just based on its cover...

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  5. It always sucks when the content of a pretty book is bad :( But I can't blame you for not liking it when the main character was making annoying decisions

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  6. I had this one on my tbr shelf for a long time. I knew it was a faeries book, but I didn't remember anything else about. After reading your review, I think it's ok to leave it on the tbr for a little while longer.

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  7. Jenny does sound annoying! I've no tolerance with characters that make idiotic decisions so I think this book is not for me.

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  8. This is so disappointing- I feel like most faerie books are getting such a bad rap- cause they're not done right. There is so much potential. Le sigh. It also sounds like Jenny was a real piece of work. I think I'll skip this one.

    Thanks for the review!

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