Review: Cloaked by Alex Flinn
Cloaked
Alex Flinn
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen
Releases: February 8, 2011
Amazon
Think you know paranormal romance? Alex Flinn gives the genre a twist in this modern fairy-tale mash-up!Johnny’s not your average hero. But a little magic changes everything. There isn’t a fairy godmother or any of that.
It all starts with a curse. And a frognapping. And one hot-looking princess. And before Johnny knows it, he is on a mission in the Evergladws, with only a flock of swans and a talking fox named Joe to help guide him against the forces of an evil witch.
Review:
When 17 year old Johnny, a poor shoe cobbler, is approached by a beautiful princess, he can hardly believe his luck. Not only does Johnny repair shoes, but he also designs them. If he could just get the princess to wear one if his designs and mention that they are by a hot new designer, then maybe Johnny wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore.
But what the princess offers Johnny is even better. She proposes marriage, which would end all of Johnny’s financial problems. Little does Johnny know he is about to face much bigger problems. The princess wants Johnny to rescue her brother, an arrogant prince who has been turned into a frog by an evil witch.
Suddenly, Johnny finds himself embarking on an adventure like one he has never had before. Along for the ride is his best friend Meg, the girl he has always been able to count on. But to successfully complete his quest, Johnny has to believe in talking animals, giants, witches, magic and most of all, love. Can he do it?
Maybe I was expecting too much, but my first read by Alex Finn was a bit underwhelming. It was a cute story, with quirky characters and a touch of good humor, but the story didn’t grab me like I thought it would.
Finn’s writing style was very fluid and clever. She brilliantly tied a lot of unexpected quotes about shoes into the story. But I felt that Finn grabbed ideas from one too many fairy-tales to cram into Cloaked. It was chock full of non-stop action. Just when Johnny would get out of one mess, he’d find himself tangled in another. It was overwhelming to the point that I lost interest.
Still, there was a very sweet romance involved, even if it was a bit predicable. Also, it was comforting to know that everything worked out for Johnny in the end.
I think Cloaked will work very well with younger readers or readers who appreciate a lot of action in stories.
Challenge(s): 111 in ‘11 Challenge, Retold Fairy Tales & Enchanted Cousins
Alex Flinn's stories are great, but only if you don't expect true greatness, if you know what I mean haha surface level only…that's how I enjoyed Beastly.
Lovely review, Missie, and I appreciate your honesty
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hmmmm i bought Beastly, because it sounded awesome, but Im not sure about this one…
I havent read any of her books yet though… Thanks for the review =D
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Namesake, I love your review because it is very true. I felt the same way about Beastly, though I had read many reviews about it ahead of time so I was prepared to read it for what it was. This sounds like it's about the same type of deal. Thanks for the honest review!
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Thank you for your review! I'm looking forward to reading this
Thank you for sharing!
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Well, I'm a part of this tour. Still sounds like an interesting read. Will keep what you are saying in mind, however. Shoot. I was hoping for… it was unputdownable (it's a word… my spell check says so!).
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I've only read A Kiss In Time, but I really enjoyed that one. It only focused on one fairy tale though, so it sounds like maybe this one was trying to do too much all at once and things got a little wonky. I still might give it a try though even though I imagine I'll feel very similarly:) Thanks for your thoughts Missie!
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Usually I like fast-paced books, but I've heard this one is a little too jumbled. I've read and enjoyed Beastly and A Kiss in Time, but neither one wowed me. I'm thinking I'll read this one eventually, but I'm not in a rush.
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Cloaked doesn't really appeal to me. I think I like my fairy tales a little darker. Great review Missie
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I've never read Alex Flinn before, but I've heard a lot of mixed things. I think I'm going to start with Beastly (since the movie is coming out soon), and see how that goes. Both my roommates enjoyed it, but said that it wasn't anything phenomenal. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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Your thoughts are pretty close to how I felt about Beastly: cute and funny but underwhelming and predictable (…which I guess is unavoidable if it's a fairy tale retelling).
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I have not read any of Alex Flinn's books – somehow I am not even motivated to. Cloaked doesn't really seem like a great book , from your review. Thanks for the review!
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I love this review. It makes the book sound very interesting.
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Sorry you didn't love it. I still can't wait to read it
Thanks for the honest review.
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I am reading BEastly now and I LOVE retold fairy tales.. after I finish Beastly I will know if this is on my radar… great review!
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I have another book by this author from the library sitting on my shelf. Not sure how I'll like the retold fairy tale, but I've heard good things about Beastly and A Kiss in Time.
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