Date Started: Mar. 7th, 2023
Date Finished: Mar. 9th, 2023
Where the story fell short for me, however, was in its pacing. Things felt as if they were being resolved too quickly without enough build up or challenge. There were scenes and chapters in which I would have loved even more suspense, or even a hiccup thrown between the characters. The cadence of the story just felt a stitch off for me. I also wasn’t a fan of the description of the Duke. I understand that he is supposed to be a vile antagonist, however, I didn’t appreciate making his weight a negative attribute. There were underlying negative connotations that I felt were being pushed solely because of his weight (that were mentioned more than once throughout the course of the story’s progression) that felt unnecessary and harmful. I do believe any character can be a negative character without that negativity tying in with their body size.
Other than those two issues, I found the story easy to read with a lot of imagination and heart woven through. I especially loved learning more about horses!