Review: Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson

Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson

This is a re-imagined fairy tale; the one where a pair of girls have toads/diamonds drop out of their mouth. The one who treated the old lady well had diamonds come out of her mouth, and the one who didn't had toads. Tomlinson turns the tale into a full length novel where both sisters' gifts serve a higher purpose for the goddess who granted the gifts.

The sister who speaks toads also speaks snakes, and the author makes this into a good thing. Granted, making this into a good thing is not an easy task, and Tomlinson has a pretty good crack at it although the result still seems contrived.

Both sisters go on a journey, and their stories are intertwined. The transitions between the stories are pretty well done. Other than the twist of the fairy tale, the story is somewhat standard in the story concepts it uses. There are some slaves, a lot of running, and haughty nobles.

This was a pretty interesting book which I liked although it was not fantastic.

Star Rating: 3.0/5.0

For an explanation of the Star Rating go here.

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