Early Review – Hero (The Woodcutter Sisters, Book 2) by Alethea Kontis (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Size: 304 pages
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: October 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0544056770
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Woodcutter Sisters series
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

I got a copy of this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. This book is the sequel to Enchanted and I liked it even more than that book. It is much more of an adventure fantasy than Enchanted was but doesn’t have quite as many fairy tale references.

This tells the story of Saturday, the rough and tumble sister of the seven sisters. Through a series of crazy circumstances she ends up on a quest to defeat an evil witch while struggling to realize her own magical abilities…all after creating an ocean in her backyard.

There was a lot of adventure in this book along with wondrous creatures, romance, and curses. I really enjoyed it alot, found it to be a very engaging story and breezed right through it.

Saturday is less sure of herself than her sisters and tends to be a bit surly about things. She is also more prone to try to bash something into submission than to think it through. She grows a lot in this book and learns about who she is and what her strengths are.

Peregrine is the male lead in this book and his character has an interesting twist to it. Basically he’s been kind of turned into a girl for most of the story. It’s gives him an interesting perspective on things. He is the most patient male character I’ve ever read about and he does a great job weathering Saturday’s rages. He is the one who helps Saturday learn to accept herself for who she is.

There is a lot more action and adventure in this book than in Enchanted. I also didn’t feel like there were quite as many references to traditional fairy tales. We got to spend more time with both Monday and Thursday as well and learn more about them as characters.

All of the characters are so easy to engage with and so likable, it makes them a joy to read about. There is humor throughout as well and some witty dialogue too. The world is well done and I love reading about all the crazy characters in the Woodcutter family.

Overall this was a wonderful classic fairy tale adventure. There is lots of humor and lots of action, as well as engaging characters that are easy to love. Saturday grows a lot in this book and learns how to be herself. We learn a lot more about the Woodcutter family as whole. All in all I loved this story and can’t wait to read what Kontis writes next. I hope to see many more tales about the Woodcutter family in the future. Highly recommended to fans of witty and heartfelt fairy tale retellings.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– 100 Books in a Year Reading Challenge
– 150+ Reading Challenge