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emilywrayburn's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lawbooks600's review
3.0
Trigger warnings: Near-death experiences
6/10, I was hoping that this would be another great Australian YA fantasy book after the runaway success of The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni and the concept was interesting also however the execution is just boring, where do I even begin? The concept of this is essentially when the alternate universes of Big Magic by Sarah Armstrong meet Everless where time is money. Literally. People can actually buy time to live longer and steal time from others which sounds great but I don't think this book uses these things to their fullest potential. It begins with the main character Ava Swindleton living her normal life in London in 1858 when suddenly she gets transported to an alternate London called Donlon which apparently invented steam-powered cars and renewable energy before London did. My main question here is if there's an alternate London, why don't I get to see places like an alternate Paris or New York, I don't really know but anyways half of the book is in Donlon where the not really fleshed out Ava meets some new unique characters. In the end, there was a riot in Donlon since their ruler known as the Green Witch has been stealing time from the people and so they start a revolution which Ava didn't take part in when she returned to London ending the book underwhelmingly.
6/10, I was hoping that this would be another great Australian YA fantasy book after the runaway success of The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni and the concept was interesting also however the execution is just boring, where do I even begin? The concept of this is essentially when the alternate universes of Big Magic by Sarah Armstrong meet Everless where time is money. Literally. People can actually buy time to live longer and steal time from others which sounds great but I don't think this book uses these things to their fullest potential. It begins with the main character Ava Swindleton living her normal life in London in 1858 when suddenly she gets transported to an alternate London called Donlon which apparently invented steam-powered cars and renewable energy before London did. My main question here is if there's an alternate London, why don't I get to see places like an alternate Paris or New York, I don't really know but anyways half of the book is in Donlon where the not really fleshed out Ava meets some new unique characters. In the end, there was a riot in Donlon since their ruler known as the Green Witch has been stealing time from the people and so they start a revolution which Ava didn't take part in when she returned to London ending the book underwhelmingly.
edtebay196's review
adventurous
mysterious
4.0
The author had a rich writing style and created an interesting world to explore. I think the structure could have been tighter. The climax with the twist villain reveal came too early, and the pace dropped off once he was defeated.
missdysfunktion's review
5.0
Thank you Penguin Teen AUS for sending me a copy to review
The cover is initially what drew me to this book. It has that mysterious vibe about it and then the blurb had needing to get my hands on it.
A fantasy adventure set in 1858 London and a parallel shadow city called Donlon. I don’t usually enjoy historical reads, but this was different from the typical historical book. A brilliant mixture of London and fantasy.
The world building for Donlon while still incorporating a Victorian style London is fantastic. The characters are interesting and well written.
This is a brilliant and unique young adult fantasy read for anyone who loves a little mystery with their adventure. Looking forward to the sequel When Souls Tear in 2022
The cover is initially what drew me to this book. It has that mysterious vibe about it and then the blurb had needing to get my hands on it.
A fantasy adventure set in 1858 London and a parallel shadow city called Donlon. I don’t usually enjoy historical reads, but this was different from the typical historical book. A brilliant mixture of London and fantasy.
The world building for Donlon while still incorporating a Victorian style London is fantastic. The characters are interesting and well written.
This is a brilliant and unique young adult fantasy read for anyone who loves a little mystery with their adventure. Looking forward to the sequel When Souls Tear in 2022
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