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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
dark
emotional
medium-paced
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
This book was a flop for me. I just could not get into it, I felt it dragged on and I just never felt compelled to pick it up. I would probably have DNF’d it except it was a NetGalley copy and I wanted to be able to give a full review. Many of the ideas and concepts in this book were interesting but fell flat in execution.
The book begins with Persephone an lonely young woman, every time she looks someone in the eye they quickly go mad/try to kill themselves. Seems like an interesting premise.
After causing another person to lose themselves under her gaze Persephone decides to start over and visit one of her few friends, Hyacinth, who she mainly knows via email, who has been begging her to visit her on Wile Isle where she lives. Persephone goes and we learn she is a witch, one of a family of cursed witches. She starts to learn of her powers, about breaking the curse and her part in it from Hyacinth and her older sister Moira. At this point the whole making eye contact and people going crazy element seems to be just completely abandoned. It's briefly explained as part of her being a untrained witch but after that never really comes up again. Why create that element of her "magic" to just abandon it, she just as easily could have been a lonely orphan without the curse who never really made friends and therefore moves around a lot.
In the meantime Persephone also finds out she is a walker between worlds and often ends up walking between them while on the island, mainly to the Library of the Lost, a living library, guarded by its captive Dorian. The library is probably my favorite part of the book, its a cool idea/place and has an interesting role in the story and I enjoyed the fact that it was hard to decide if the library was good or bad. In the end I'm still not quite sure on it. I found the romance between Dorian and Persephone lacking, I did not feel it, part of this is I think Dorian could have used more fleshing out, I wanted more of his story, the bits we got were interesting but not enough and not enough between the two of them of build the romance/feelings they develop IMO.
As things unfold and Persephone learns more about her power and past, she also learns more about the island and its other residents. Most importantly, their “enemy” and cousin witches, Ariel and Ellison Way. These two are also cursed witches from another branch of the family. We have a few unfriendly run ins with them and there is clearly a lot of history between all the women. As Persephone learns more about the past with the help of the Library, she learns things are not all as they appear. This leads her to the home of the Way sisters where she joins with them, at this point I had trouble following along with the why behind all of this. Eventually in the end they must all come together to end the curse that haunts their family.
I liked that the ending wasn't perfect, there was a lot in the book about magic and its cost. In many books at the end a lot of times characters get out of paying the cost of magic, Persephone does not, though she still gets a fairly happy ending.
Overall this book was just not for me, the whole time I felt I was slogging through it, I couldn't get into it or connect with it. The story had moment of interest but mainly it dragged on, didn't always make sense and left me wanting more.
If you enjoy found family, strong sense of place and witches you may enjoy this book, but I find myself unable to recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Copy
The book begins with Persephone an lonely young woman, every time she looks someone in the eye they quickly go mad/try to kill themselves. Seems like an interesting premise.
After causing another person to lose themselves under her gaze Persephone decides to start over and visit one of her few friends, Hyacinth, who she mainly knows via email, who has been begging her to visit her on Wile Isle where she lives. Persephone goes and we learn she is a witch, one of a family of cursed witches. She starts to learn of her powers, about breaking the curse and her part in it from Hyacinth and her older sister Moira. At this point the whole making eye contact and people going crazy element seems to be just completely abandoned. It's briefly explained as part of her being a untrained witch but after that never really comes up again. Why create that element of her "magic" to just abandon it, she just as easily could have been a lonely orphan without the curse who never really made friends and therefore moves around a lot.
In the meantime Persephone also finds out she is a walker between worlds and often ends up walking between them while on the island, mainly to the Library of the Lost, a living library, guarded by its captive Dorian. The library is probably my favorite part of the book, its a cool idea/place and has an interesting role in the story and I enjoyed the fact that it was hard to decide if the library was good or bad. In the end I'm still not quite sure on it. I found the romance between Dorian and Persephone lacking, I did not feel it, part of this is I think Dorian could have used more fleshing out, I wanted more of his story, the bits we got were interesting but not enough and not enough between the two of them of build the romance/feelings they develop IMO.
As things unfold and Persephone learns more about her power and past, she also learns more about the island and its other residents. Most importantly, their “enemy” and cousin witches, Ariel and Ellison Way. These two are also cursed witches from another branch of the family. We have a few unfriendly run ins with them and there is clearly a lot of history between all the women. As Persephone learns more about the past with the help of the Library, she learns things are not all as they appear. This leads her to the home of the Way sisters where she joins with them, at this point I had trouble following along with the why behind all of this. Eventually in the end they must all come together to end the curse that haunts their family.
I liked that the ending wasn't perfect, there was a lot in the book about magic and its cost. In many books at the end a lot of times characters get out of paying the cost of magic, Persephone does not, though she still gets a fairly happy ending.
Overall this book was just not for me, the whole time I felt I was slogging through it, I couldn't get into it or connect with it. The story had moment of interest but mainly it dragged on, didn't always make sense and left me wanting more.
If you enjoy found family, strong sense of place and witches you may enjoy this book, but I find myself unable to recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Copy
slow-paced
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
if you're going to write a bad book, at least make it not-boring
This book is primarily told from the point of view of Persephone, a woman who was orphaned and grew up in foster care and group homes with a few diary entries from her friend, Hyacinth. Persephone has problems trusting others and the fact that when people look her in the eye, they go crazy, doesn’t help. Once again running, she decides to trust her friend and travels to the island where Hyacinth lives and she instantly, magically, feels at home.
I really enjoyed the magical islands and worlds in this book. While there are magical arches that open doors to beautiful views of cliffs in Scotland, and Persephone finds herself magically transported to a library that remakes itself to suit circumstance with a grumpy, hot librarian, I felt that the story dragged a bit at times. There is a connection that Persephone feels to the island and the magical women who live there. However, the familial and generation relationships were a bit convoluted for my taste and at times confusing given the number of 2 sisters throughout their generations and who was responsible for the curse that has been placed on the island. The fact that my kindle version had incorrect names in a few spots in the explanations also added to my confusion. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it had a few flaws.
I really enjoyed the magical islands and worlds in this book. While there are magical arches that open doors to beautiful views of cliffs in Scotland, and Persephone finds herself magically transported to a library that remakes itself to suit circumstance with a grumpy, hot librarian, I felt that the story dragged a bit at times. There is a connection that Persephone feels to the island and the magical women who live there. However, the familial and generation relationships were a bit convoluted for my taste and at times confusing given the number of 2 sisters throughout their generations and who was responsible for the curse that has been placed on the island. The fact that my kindle version had incorrect names in a few spots in the explanations also added to my confusion. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it had a few flaws.
I really felt Practical Magic and Hocus Pocus vibes from this book, especially with how Persephone is thrust into magic. Persephone has felt weird things happening all her life as she attempts to be normal in the modern world, and doesn't understand until she visits her friend Hyacinth. She discovers she is a witch, has family, and maybe is also a key to a world-changing prophecy.
I enjoyed all of the characters and the lore of the Wile Isle, it meshed well with the modern time setting of the rest of the world, and did not seem out of place. While there were many layers to the island, it all just added to the mystery, without adding confusion. I also enjoyed the library and how it was integrated into the lore. Hyacinth, Moira, Ellison, and Ariel were all very distinct, and I loved getting to meet all of them. The magic system that all of the witches used was very familiar, and focuses on different elements, while also using herbs and chants. The battles were sufficiently epic, which I loved. I did feel like the villain could have been a bit more ominous, she didn't come across as scary so much as just insane. I did enjoy the ending though, it was very satisfying!
I enjoyed all of the characters and the lore of the Wile Isle, it meshed well with the modern time setting of the rest of the world, and did not seem out of place. While there were many layers to the island, it all just added to the mystery, without adding confusion. I also enjoyed the library and how it was integrated into the lore. Hyacinth, Moira, Ellison, and Ariel were all very distinct, and I loved getting to meet all of them. The magic system that all of the witches used was very familiar, and focuses on different elements, while also using herbs and chants. The battles were sufficiently epic, which I loved. I did feel like the villain could have been a bit more ominous, she didn't come across as scary so much as just insane. I did enjoy the ending though, it was very satisfying!
I’m not sure why I didn’t connect with this book more, I usually love fantasy stories involving witches. This follows Persephone's journey as she finds her powers and searches for her family.