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freadomlibrary's review against another edition
3.0
Trigger warnings: murder, dismemberment, body parts
Actual rating 3.5 stars
I have to say I'm a little disappointed with this book. I read the first page on Twitter two years ago and was completely hooked! I expected a laugh-out-loud funny book, with hijinks and shenanigans to the level of a boy dying because his private area exploded! But... that is not what I got haha. I did expect the book that I ended up reading, and obviously, that's all on me. So while I enjoyed the story for the most part, I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I'd known what it was actually about. However, I really liked the characters and the relationships between each other, I felt like this was explored well and was one of the main reasons I kept reading. Queer family and queer relationships are a huge part of the story and I think they were done really well. But the story was also really slow paced and was longer than I thought it should be. I wish there would've been more explanation on the magic system and it's rules at the end, but it ended better than I expected!
Actual rating 3.5 stars
I have to say I'm a little disappointed with this book. I read the first page on Twitter two years ago and was completely hooked! I expected a laugh-out-loud funny book, with hijinks and shenanigans to the level of a boy dying because his private area exploded! But... that is not what I got haha. I did expect the book that I ended up reading, and obviously, that's all on me. So while I enjoyed the story for the most part, I probably wouldn't have picked it up if I'd known what it was actually about. However, I really liked the characters and the relationships between each other, I felt like this was explored well and was one of the main reasons I kept reading. Queer family and queer relationships are a huge part of the story and I think they were done really well. But the story was also really slow paced and was longer than I thought it should be. I wish there would've been more explanation on the magic system and it's rules at the end, but it ended better than I expected!
kstanpadg's review
4.0
this was such a book! it's written in a super casual tone which kind of threw me off in certain parts. parts also felt unfinished/confused me (like the hawks and the body?) but i liked it! the creativity and magicalness sometimes reminded me of something i would write when i was a kid (not in a bad way). 2 quotes that resonated with me..
"What if I leave, and it turns out this town is the best place there is? What if I go out there and I'm too small for the rest of the world? What if I can never come back, and everything out there is too much, and there's no place for me at all?"
"Before Josh—alone felt scary. It felt like maybe if I wasn't careful, alone would be permanent."
"What if I leave, and it turns out this town is the best place there is? What if I go out there and I'm too small for the rest of the world? What if I can never come back, and everything out there is too much, and there's no place for me at all?"
"Before Josh—alone felt scary. It felt like maybe if I wasn't careful, alone would be permanent."
zombielibrarian's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
skyturtles's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ambeesbookishpages's review
4.0
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
*Thank you so much Simon Pulse and NetGalley for the advanced copy of WHEN WE WERE MAGIC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
When We Were Magic was the first book I finished in 2020 and I am so happy it is. This book is full of such a diverse cast of characters who love and support each other no matter what. Plus this book and it’s cover scream girl power! This story is about a group of witches, like c’mon!
All Alexis wanted to do on prom night was to lose her virginity, maybe it wasn’t for the best reasons but that was her plan. But when she is in the moment and her magic backfires causing a certain part of Josh explode which ends up killing him. Alexis calls her best friends to the rescue. Alexis, Roya, Pauli’s, Iris, Marceline and Maryam all have one specific thing in common: they are magic. After a spell goes wrong and their backup plan fails even worse, they must find a way to deal with the problem. But when their magic begins to punish them for the failed spells each girl must make it right.
I expected When We Were Magic to go in one direction BUT it actually went in a whole other direction that I didn’t think it was going to go. I expected it to more or less to just address the issue of Josh and whether the group of girls where going to be able to bring him back to life. When We Were Magic was so much more then that. It address Alexis’ friendship with each other girls, her growing feelings for Roya and her own insecurities that she doesn’t deserve the love and support that her friends are giving her.
I really enjoyed Alexis’s character and getting to be inside her head. I loved her rationale on certain things and her side comments, it made her feel more real to me in a way. Through out the novel we see Alexis dealing with the fall out of her decision, the regret, trying to defend it and in the end the tough love that she gets from Maryam about the whole thing. Throughout When We Were Magic we see her struggle with the idea that she doesn’t deserves her friends help and how they are sacrificing so much for her when they don’t need to be. I saw a lot of myself when Alexis would think these things because I think the same exact way sometimes.
I really enjoyed When We Were Magic and the dynamic of this witchy friend group. I’m sad to see that their story is over, but I feel like Sarah did a great job in wrapping it up and giving both Alexis and the reader the closure that was needed.
If you are looking for a book with a diverse cast, queer girls and some steamy moments, magic and witches then this is the book for you!
*Thank you so much Simon Pulse and NetGalley for the advanced copy of WHEN WE WERE MAGIC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!*
When We Were Magic was the first book I finished in 2020 and I am so happy it is. This book is full of such a diverse cast of characters who love and support each other no matter what. Plus this book and it’s cover scream girl power! This story is about a group of witches, like c’mon!
All Alexis wanted to do on prom night was to lose her virginity, maybe it wasn’t for the best reasons but that was her plan. But when she is in the moment and her magic backfires causing a certain part of Josh explode which ends up killing him. Alexis calls her best friends to the rescue. Alexis, Roya, Pauli’s, Iris, Marceline and Maryam all have one specific thing in common: they are magic. After a spell goes wrong and their backup plan fails even worse, they must find a way to deal with the problem. But when their magic begins to punish them for the failed spells each girl must make it right.
I expected When We Were Magic to go in one direction BUT it actually went in a whole other direction that I didn’t think it was going to go. I expected it to more or less to just address the issue of Josh and whether the group of girls where going to be able to bring him back to life. When We Were Magic was so much more then that. It address Alexis’ friendship with each other girls, her growing feelings for Roya and her own insecurities that she doesn’t deserve the love and support that her friends are giving her.
I really enjoyed Alexis’s character and getting to be inside her head. I loved her rationale on certain things and her side comments, it made her feel more real to me in a way. Through out the novel we see Alexis dealing with the fall out of her decision, the regret, trying to defend it and in the end the tough love that she gets from Maryam about the whole thing. Throughout When We Were Magic we see her struggle with the idea that she doesn’t deserves her friends help and how they are sacrificing so much for her when they don’t need to be. I saw a lot of myself when Alexis would think these things because I think the same exact way sometimes.
I really enjoyed When We Were Magic and the dynamic of this witchy friend group. I’m sad to see that their story is over, but I feel like Sarah did a great job in wrapping it up and giving both Alexis and the reader the closure that was needed.
If you are looking for a book with a diverse cast, queer girls and some steamy moments, magic and witches then this is the book for you!
ohclaire's review
5.0
5 Stars for the experience of reading this book! I feel like this book captured the absurdity of high school pretty well, I loved the friendships and the queer rep, and while it is a little melodramatic/weird pacing/idk some aspects just rubbed my wrong, I genuinely enjoyed reading this book so much! And that's what matters, I think, above all else. I'm not saying it's literature. I'm saying I had a great time with this book. :)
barnesbookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a little hard to get into. It starts in media res, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it took me a while to actually care about the main characters and what was going on for them. I also struggled to tell the characters apart at first, especially Maryam and Marcelina because their names start with the same letter.
Overall, the story is fine. It's not the most intriguing plot, but the story is more about friendship and women supporting women than anything. Still, it really didn't feel like the stakes were that high. Also, Alexis was angry and sad for most of the book, which was understandable given the events it starts with, but got tiresome after a while.
I found it to be a pretty average book. I wish I had gotten to know the characters before Prom night because I feel I would've been more concerned for them. I totally called Gina though.
Overall, the story is fine. It's not the most intriguing plot, but the story is more about friendship and women supporting women than anything. Still, it really didn't feel like the stakes were that high. Also, Alexis was angry and sad for most of the book, which was understandable given the events it starts with, but got tiresome after a while.
I found it to be a pretty average book. I wish I had gotten to know the characters before Prom night because I feel I would've been more concerned for them. I totally called Gina though.
amandaboyer's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
piratebaker's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
4.5