"Violet's in her element. Cosplay at the ready, she can't wait to feel part of her favorite fandom: The Gallows Dance, a mega book and movie franchise that she and her friends know every word of (canon and fanfic included).
But at Comic Con, a freak accident transports Violet and her friends into the story for real. And in just the first five minutes, they cause the death of the heroine, and get taken prisoner by the rebel group she was supposed to lead to victory.
It's up to Violet to take her place, and play out the plot the way it was written. But stories have a life of their own, and when you change the script in one place, the rest gets revised too...."
Review:
Alright this wasn't exactly what I was expecting. The nerdy girl has to replace the brave heroine from her favorite book?? Exciting. Or is it? Shrinking Violet and all her friends (and her dorky younger brother) all fall into the tale. All except Katie know how the plot is supposed to go. And yet... something is amiss. Aside from them literally ruining the story that is.
The story takes unexpected turns in one place but also manages to get stay in one place. Despite having friends along with her for the ride, they're almost immediately separated and aren't really in the book. Aside from her little brother, but we'll get to that. We don't see any of her friends until just before the third act, and then in the climactic scene Vi has been working towards, it's suddenly... about Alice???? The selfish best friend whose had barely any presence in the book???? But is somehow the pivotal character in the end????? WHAT??? And the big reveal also, with who the real villain behind it all turns out to be... is not at all original or creative. In fact, it felt like a cop out.
For all the bad pieces though, there were good ones. I really loved that the love interest was not the original from her favorite book, but a side character who had no prior significant role. And Vi's brother Nate was probably my favorite character by far; his arc really evoked a lot of emotion from me. For him solely, I think I'll read the sequel. Overall, I feel pretty mixed about this one. It wasn't at all what I expected it to be, but in some ways it was better... and worse. I don't know.
Let me know your own thoughts and feels down below in the comments! Which side are you on? Gems or Imps?
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