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reading_rebecca's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
coleybooks87's review against another edition
5.0
Um I don’t have to say much.. I freaking love Magdalene Nox but her mother has a piece of my heart also.. This book was
queerafictionado's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Have you ever loved a story so much that you wish you could go back in time and read it for the first time again? That is how I felt after reading The Headmistress by Milena McKay. I was completely enraptured by that story. I found myself daydreaming about it while at work. So…imagine my delight when I saw that Milena was releasing book 2 in the series giving us Magdalene’s POV!! Friends….OH MY GOD!! It was like reliving it all over for the first time. Experiencing each moment anew and getting even more parts of the story I didn’t before. It was INCREDIBLE!!
Magdalene [f*cking] Nox is also like one of my ultimate book crushes (so maybe it was partly her I was daydreaming about lol), which made me extra excited to get her side of the story. And Abby Craden’s flawless narration, as always, makes this story even better. Every character has a distinct voice and they were exactly the same as I remembered them from book 1. Just phenomenal narrating.
I love Magdalene and Sam and the incredible, unexplainable connection they have. Getting to hear Magdalene’s POV, we get to experience more fully the profound impact Sam has on her, the way Sam has her wanting to let down her walls, to trust, to leap, to love. We get to see how all these seemingly inconsequential moments and events claw their way inside Magdalene’s broken heart and wounded soul and begin to heal a 30 year old wound.
I loved watching the Ice Queen that IS Magdalene Nox slowly melt through her relationships with both Sam and, of course, Sir Wiloughby - the best knight in shining orange fur anyone could ask for. But I also love how, even through the melting, she doesn’t lose that fierceness. She just finally feels safe enough to not let those icy walls dictate every facet of her life because she learns, for the first time in her life, what it feels like to be truly known to the depths of her soul.
I am completely captivated by this story. It will live in my heart rent free for all eternity and I will relisten to both books many many times. Thank you thank you thank, Milena, for giving your readers a chance to experience this incredible story again as if for the first time! It is a gift and a blessing!
🏳️🌈Rep: Bisexual FMC, Lesbian LI
📝Tropes/Themes: Ice Queen, Age Gap, Mature 40+ MC, Femme/Femme, Academia, Hot for Boss, Workplace Romance, Opposites attract, One Night Stand to Rivals to Lovers, Coming Out, Revenge, Alternate POV, Adorable Cat
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Classism, and Misogyny
judeinthestars's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
I know this story so well—having read and listened to The Headmistress several times and then read Magdalene Nox more than once as well, even as Milena McKay was writing it—I found myself in a very unfamiliar situation when this audiobook hit my ears. I’m so used to forgetting things that my attention is usually divided between listening to the words and experiencing the narration. Which is fine, I also listen to books I haven’t read before, and I love discovering stories, characters, details, through a narrator’s performance. That said, being able to focus almost solely on Abby Craden‘s narration was wonderful too.
I was so happy to hear Magdalene again. I already knew what she sounds like when she delivers the iconic words The Headmistress is known for (“My name is Magdalene Nox. I am the new Headmistress of Three Dragons. And you are all fired.”), and the anticipation was delicious. There’s so much more to delight in, however. Being able to actively listen allowed me to enjoy every nuance of the narration, tiny things that I would normally feel without identifying them, without noticing them. One example that blew my mind: in the prologue, Magdalene is a teenager, and Craden’s voice for her is very much Magdalene’s voice but younger. There’s a quality to it that makes it still innocent, not jaded by life yet, even if she’s well on her way to it. And yet it’s unmistakably the voice of the adult she’ll become and to whom readers were first introduced.
Everything I wrote in my review of the book, I felt even more with the audiobook. From the wonder that is Candace—for the reader/listener, if not for Magdalene—to Willoughby’s ultimate catness (and no, I didn’t remember him meowing and so didn’t expect Craden to either), to the absolute joy of experiencing Magdalene’s fall for Sam from within. Milena McKay’s beautiful words and ability to convey emotions are, once more, perfectly served by Abby Craden’s narration.
I received a copy from the author and I am voluntarily leaving a review.
Read all my reviews on my blog (and please buy from the affiliation links!): Jude in the Stars
lizzv's review against another edition
slow-paced
2.5
This pov didn’t add anything to the story imo.
lesburrata's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Stand alone it is very good. But after reading The Headmistress, this is basically the same book. That's why it felt slow to me since I read all the major points before. I liked hearing Magdalene's story but would have liked to hear a continuation of her and Sam's story, not the same plot.
trussell12's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bamruckus's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bridance's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0