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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
truly… mid… if it werent for the dedication I would probably DNF this. It made me feel like I owe the author’s 12 y.o self or something😭
Nicole is a dangerous kind of supernatural who spent all her life hiding from The Wake, an organization who would hunt or use her if they know what she is. She made it her mission to decode her mother’s last message, but when she was so close, the painting which the message encoded in was stolen. Next thing she knew she made a reluctant alliance with Kyan, an agent from The Wake because his target is apparently the painting’s thief. She knew she should avoid him for her own sake, but she couldn’t help but gravitate toward him. And him to her.
I could see the potential but in the end nothing’s really appealing to me. The plot was so-so, the characters weren’t prominent and I didn’t feel the romance’s chemistry. Most of the time I just wanted to be done with it quickly so I could move on to another book.
It’s also unfortunate that, for a book that has multi-gender multiple POV, there’s only 1 female narrator. She’s not bad per se but I think I would enjoy it better if there’s at lease a male narrator too…
Nicole is a dangerous kind of supernatural who spent all her life hiding from The Wake, an organization who would hunt or use her if they know what she is. She made it her mission to decode her mother’s last message, but when she was so close, the painting which the message encoded in was stolen. Next thing she knew she made a reluctant alliance with Kyan, an agent from The Wake because his target is apparently the painting’s thief. She knew she should avoid him for her own sake, but she couldn’t help but gravitate toward him. And him to her.
I could see the potential but in the end nothing’s really appealing to me. The plot was so-so, the characters weren’t prominent and I didn’t feel the romance’s chemistry. Most of the time I just wanted to be done with it quickly so I could move on to another book.
It’s also unfortunate that, for a book that has multi-gender multiple POV, there’s only 1 female narrator. She’s not bad per se but I think I would enjoy it better if there’s at lease a male narrator too…
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
mysterious
fast-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
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to HarperCollins and Megan Scott for the digital ARC copy of The Temptation of Magic. I do have a question for HarperCollins UK - “Why aren’t we seeing more of this book out there?”
A unique blend of fact and mythology come together to form this gripping, rich story that’s full of feisty, beguiling characters and a niche plot that makes this a page-turner. The Temptation of Magic sucked me into an epic world of secret organisations, mythical conspiracy theories, and underground supernatural creatures tied together with a delicious plot to bring together clandestine enemies-to-lovers working to uncover secrets hidden in historical artworks.
The Temptation of Magic boldly takes our modern world, deftly reshapes and paints it with mesmerising realism into a thrilling dark, and dangerous secret world. I love how brilliantly ingeniously this plot merges myths and legends from so many different cultures to produce this enthralling world – Megan Scott’s got amazing world-building skills to bring this melting pot of mythology together sculpting it into a fantastical masterpiece. Beautiful descriptive writing brings to life each location in exceptional detail – from the two POVs of the two protagonists Kyan and Nicole, who each bring a unique voice to their chapters with little insights about how they see the world and portray it to the reader. I was kicking my heels up and down in delight at the accuracy and sensual atmospheric specifics tucked into the body of the book’s text.
If the plot is the bones of a story, the characters are the flesh. A wonderful cast of charming, engaging, and relatable characters fills the pages of The Temptation of Magic. Lovingly constructed, you notice the real detail invested by Megan Scott to make each character memorable, with motivations and flaws sown clearly into the story to feed the character arcs and force the characters to change throughout the story. Striking that delicate balance were plot and characters drive the story forward without one overpowering the other.
I loved the close-knit family dynamic portrayed around the Palmer family. Fantasy features a lot of lone wolves who find posses found families tropes. Despite tragedy and loss featuring as part of characters back-stories, the bonds and family connections between Nicole, her father, and her siblings reveal a softer side to her, who feels very skittish, defensive, and closed-off in most scenes in the book as she attempts to keep her true nature hidden and protect her secrets.
If Kyan McCarter doesn’t become a book-boyfriend phenomenon, I am going to eat a hat. He’s powerful, intelligent, gorgeous (not to mention built to delight), loyal, honourable, and genuinely a nice guy at heart, but isn’t afraid to inflict a little damage on anyone hurting his lady. He’s a breath of fresh air from all the market-saturated morally grey bad boys out there – I am sold. His presence leaps off the page – I don’t want to give spoilers but book girls you need to watch out for the towel scene… (you can thank me later for tempting you to read this book with that juicy little glimpse of a spoiler).
Some teasing spicy scenes with lots and lots of sizzling and sparking between Kyan and Nicole. Oh boy… lots of teasing…you are going to love the forbidden romance between Kyan and Nicole.
I’m glad to be getting this as a Fairyloot Special Edition. I’ve got some high hopes for the sprayed edges – please let them be Celtic knotwork designs! I’ll be eagerly awaiting for book 2. If you are a fan of A Discovery of Witches, Vampire Diaries, or A Study In Drowning, you are going to enjoy devouring this book. For others, if Celtic mythology, immortal creatures, secret identities, the world of art, and enemies-to-lovers vibes are to your taste, you should check out The Temptation of Magic too.
A unique blend of fact and mythology come together to form this gripping, rich story that’s full of feisty, beguiling characters and a niche plot that makes this a page-turner. The Temptation of Magic sucked me into an epic world of secret organisations, mythical conspiracy theories, and underground supernatural creatures tied together with a delicious plot to bring together clandestine enemies-to-lovers working to uncover secrets hidden in historical artworks.
The Temptation of Magic boldly takes our modern world, deftly reshapes and paints it with mesmerising realism into a thrilling dark, and dangerous secret world. I love how brilliantly ingeniously this plot merges myths and legends from so many different cultures to produce this enthralling world – Megan Scott’s got amazing world-building skills to bring this melting pot of mythology together sculpting it into a fantastical masterpiece. Beautiful descriptive writing brings to life each location in exceptional detail – from the two POVs of the two protagonists Kyan and Nicole, who each bring a unique voice to their chapters with little insights about how they see the world and portray it to the reader. I was kicking my heels up and down in delight at the accuracy and sensual atmospheric specifics tucked into the body of the book’s text.
If the plot is the bones of a story, the characters are the flesh. A wonderful cast of charming, engaging, and relatable characters fills the pages of The Temptation of Magic. Lovingly constructed, you notice the real detail invested by Megan Scott to make each character memorable, with motivations and flaws sown clearly into the story to feed the character arcs and force the characters to change throughout the story. Striking that delicate balance were plot and characters drive the story forward without one overpowering the other.
I loved the close-knit family dynamic portrayed around the Palmer family. Fantasy features a lot of lone wolves who find posses found families tropes. Despite tragedy and loss featuring as part of characters back-stories, the bonds and family connections between Nicole, her father, and her siblings reveal a softer side to her, who feels very skittish, defensive, and closed-off in most scenes in the book as she attempts to keep her true nature hidden and protect her secrets.
If Kyan McCarter doesn’t become a book-boyfriend phenomenon, I am going to eat a hat. He’s powerful, intelligent, gorgeous (not to mention built to delight), loyal, honourable, and genuinely a nice guy at heart, but isn’t afraid to inflict a little damage on anyone hurting his lady. He’s a breath of fresh air from all the market-saturated morally grey bad boys out there – I am sold. His presence leaps off the page – I don’t want to give spoilers but book girls you need to watch out for the towel scene… (you can thank me later for tempting you to read this book with that juicy little glimpse of a spoiler).
Some teasing spicy scenes with lots and lots of sizzling and sparking between Kyan and Nicole. Oh boy… lots of teasing…you are going to love the forbidden romance between Kyan and Nicole.
I’m glad to be getting this as a Fairyloot Special Edition. I’ve got some high hopes for the sprayed edges – please let them be Celtic knotwork designs! I’ll be eagerly awaiting for book 2. If you are a fan of A Discovery of Witches, Vampire Diaries, or A Study In Drowning, you are going to enjoy devouring this book. For others, if Celtic mythology, immortal creatures, secret identities, the world of art, and enemies-to-lovers vibes are to your taste, you should check out The Temptation of Magic too.
medium-paced
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was so excited for this one. A sleepy cornish town with a university that specialises in folklore WITH creatures attending the university? Sign me up!
Instead I got a main character who was so bland and a relationship that was had no chemistry. It took me nine days to get through and I wish I DNF'ed. I called every plot beat and cliche.
Yep, definitely not reading on with this series.
Instead I got a main character who was so bland and a relationship that was had no chemistry. It took me nine days to get through and I wish I DNF'ed. I called every plot beat and cliche.
Yep, definitely not reading on with this series.
Thankyou to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | Magpie for a free e-arc in exchange of an honest review.
I didn't have many expectations for this book going in as YA isn't something i generally gravitate to however when i saw it was going to be a Fairyloot pick it prompted me to see what it was like. I enjoyed this so much more than i anticipated. The magic system was really interesting and i liked finding out about the different creatures. The characters were really likeable and i liked the side character dynamics a lot. Dark academic atmosphere done well and had really good pacing- definitely recommend the audiobook too.
4 Star and ill definitely be reading the sequal
I didn't have many expectations for this book going in as YA isn't something i generally gravitate to however when i saw it was going to be a Fairyloot pick it prompted me to see what it was like. I enjoyed this so much more than i anticipated. The magic system was really interesting and i liked finding out about the different creatures. The characters were really likeable and i liked the side character dynamics a lot. Dark academic atmosphere done well and had really good pacing- definitely recommend the audiobook too.
4 Star and ill definitely be reading the sequal
Oh, to hell with it, 5 stars!
I LOVED THIS. The setting, the dark academia of it, the atmosphere, the world brimming with lore on creatures (extremely A Discovery of Witches coded which I adored!), the romantic pacing, THE YEARNING, the mystery-shrouded past of the main characters! It checked all of the boxes and had me swooning at the beautiful, poetic prose that transported me to that small, academic coastal town and had me believing everything, as if it was real and at my fingertips.
I am SO eagerly anticipating the sequel!!!
I LOVED THIS. The setting, the dark academia of it, the atmosphere, the world brimming with lore on creatures (extremely A Discovery of Witches coded which I adored!), the romantic pacing, THE YEARNING, the mystery-shrouded past of the main characters! It checked all of the boxes and had me swooning at the beautiful, poetic prose that transported me to that small, academic coastal town and had me believing everything, as if it was real and at my fingertips.
I am SO eagerly anticipating the sequel!!!