Reviews

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the historical setting, and thought it was well-drawn. New Zealand during WWII is not something I know anything about, and I liked the focus on Land Girls. I also liked the magic and thought it was very interesting; I loved the way the real world and the magical bits interacted. I also really liked the characters, and particularly Tea and Izzy's relationship. I love queerness in my historical fiction, and this book delivered perfectly on that front.

I wasn't entirely convinced by the big denouement of the book though. While I liked the emotional payoff of Tea and her brother's relationship,

the whole going and rescuing him literally from the middle of a firefight didn't work for me at all

. I think this book was much stronger in the quiet moments, in Tea working out who she was and could be, and it didn't need to reach for this big dramatic action sequence that it didn't achieve very well. The pacing was also kind of rough, and as a whole the book didn't quite come together in the way I wish it could have done.

bregger99's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

The idea for this book is Amazing, but the plot development poorly and it is terribly written. It reads like the first draft of something. There is too much repetition, too little editing and the plot went from fantastic to predictable and cliche. I was very disappointed.

araleith's review

Go to review page

5.0

This book was magical and beautifully queer and so so so good.

afilmfatale's review

Go to review page

slow-paced

1.0

Took forever and a day to get interesting, didn’t really stay interesting unfortunately. Good bones though

vikkom's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

A really sweet simple story about a young New Zealand woman discovering and accepting herself in more ways than one.

eol's review

Go to review page

adventurous fast-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

2.75

melinac's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

3.0

ryanshmyan's review

Go to review page

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? It's complicated

3.5

I liked the concept of this book a lot! But the magic lacked clarification and I felt like I was missing something for a large part of the read. There were lots of almost-explanations. Honestly if it was a hundred pages longer there could have been more detail like

how fast she was swimming, and how long they were gone on the adventure.

and the book would have been better in my opinion. But overall a good read with good imagery and I would def recommend to queer readers that love fantasy and historical fiction.

More...