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thestoryowl's review against another edition
3.0
Sounded fascinating but the plot never quite delivered for me. I kept waiting for it to *begin*.
lostinagoodbook's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.
This book was a surprise to me. I was interested because I’d heard it described as being about magical bomb sweepers. What the heck does that even mean?? Turns out that is a pretty accurate description though.
Laura is a bomb “Sweeper” in training. She looks for amulets, objects that are imbued with magic that can suddenly turn foul, and erupt in destructive ways, ruining property and killing people. Her city has claimed to be free from all of these bad amulets, but in truth the devices are not only prolific but are also being used by unscrupulous individuals to manipulate and murder.
The book is not just a murder/mystery-gotta-catch-’em-all adventure story though. The action itself is spaced out through the book and not very concentrated. As a result, I have noticed that the book has widely varying reviews. This is one of those things you either latch on to or just isn’t for you. Luckily, this book is for me. To my mind it is a book about the far reaching effects of colonization and the subjugation of native people. This magic gone awry is part and parcel of the civilization’s past atrocities. Any colonizing civilization must reckon with the harm it has done sooner or later. This lends a substance to the book which I enjoyed but doesn’t weight it down.
I also really enjoyed the characters. Laura is still a bit of an enigma to me. She is a tough young woman for sure, and very driven. It’s an odd society where she is allowed a career but still expected to give it all up when she has a chance to marry a good man, which she has absolutely no intention of doing believe me! Her co-workers are complicated and the world of the Sweepers is interesting. The setting is a sort of Edwardian, turn of the century, sorta steam-punk world, which I always love. It gave me some Witchmark flavor, which was another book I loved this year.
I enjoyed this book and there is a cliff hanger that will make hanging on for the next volume a must. Here’s another author I put into my Netgalley auto search rotation! You have to love finding a new favorite!
Song for this book: While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Regina Spektor
This book was a surprise to me. I was interested because I’d heard it described as being about magical bomb sweepers. What the heck does that even mean?? Turns out that is a pretty accurate description though.
Laura is a bomb “Sweeper” in training. She looks for amulets, objects that are imbued with magic that can suddenly turn foul, and erupt in destructive ways, ruining property and killing people. Her city has claimed to be free from all of these bad amulets, but in truth the devices are not only prolific but are also being used by unscrupulous individuals to manipulate and murder.
The book is not just a murder/mystery-gotta-catch-’em-all adventure story though. The action itself is spaced out through the book and not very concentrated. As a result, I have noticed that the book has widely varying reviews. This is one of those things you either latch on to or just isn’t for you. Luckily, this book is for me. To my mind it is a book about the far reaching effects of colonization and the subjugation of native people. This magic gone awry is part and parcel of the civilization’s past atrocities. Any colonizing civilization must reckon with the harm it has done sooner or later. This lends a substance to the book which I enjoyed but doesn’t weight it down.
I also really enjoyed the characters. Laura is still a bit of an enigma to me. She is a tough young woman for sure, and very driven. It’s an odd society where she is allowed a career but still expected to give it all up when she has a chance to marry a good man, which she has absolutely no intention of doing believe me! Her co-workers are complicated and the world of the Sweepers is interesting. The setting is a sort of Edwardian, turn of the century, sorta steam-punk world, which I always love. It gave me some Witchmark flavor, which was another book I loved this year.
I enjoyed this book and there is a cliff hanger that will make hanging on for the next volume a must. Here’s another author I put into my Netgalley auto search rotation! You have to love finding a new favorite!
Song for this book: While My Guitar Gently Weeps – Regina Spektor
dbguide2's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think a lot of times I’ll read so much modern world fantasy or low fantasy that I’ll forget how fun a full fantasy with a heavy emphasis on the world-building and the magic system is. I know this happened with The Unspoken Name and definitely was the case with this book. I’ll admit (quite easily) that magic systems can and do confuse me and that was present here. I didn’t understand much of it so I hope that’ll be different when I return to it. Or I just enjoy the book and not understand everything! I’m good with that too.
I thought the characters were interesting but the emphasis in this book clearly was on the world-building and the plots. Not that the characters didn’t develop, but I could tell it will be gradual development. I think with series; characters can be introduced and developed over the series but most of the world-building and magic systems should be introduced and explained in the first book. And that’s what Bolender did here!
I liked Clae. He had a fun, dry sense of humour and he kept a lot of his personality closed off, though you were still able to get a feel for his personality. I liked Okane too. He has an incredibly difficult backstory and trauma that they haven’t explored enough. I also think he has more power than he realises and I’d like to see that improve.
I liked Laura as a narrator, though I probably would’ve preferred Clae as that spot but that’s because I liked him more. I hope in the next book she’s able to fully come into her personality and then I’ll like her some more. I hope that Laura and Okane don’t get into a relationship over the series. I just really don’t see them as a romantic couple. Friends, absolutely. Confidants. Even Laura essentially being a pseudo-mentor to him. We’ll see what the author does.
I liked Clae. He had a fun, dry sense of humour and he kept a lot of his personality closed off, though you were still able to get a feel for his personality. I liked Okane too. He has an incredibly difficult backstory and trauma that they haven’t explored enough. I also think he has more power than he realises and I’d like to see that improve.
I liked Laura as a narrator, though I probably would’ve preferred Clae as that spot but that’s because I liked him more. I hope in the next book she’s able to fully come into her personality and then I’ll like her some more. I hope that Laura and Okane don’t get into a relationship over the series. I just really don’t see them as a romantic couple. Friends, absolutely. Confidants. Even Laura essentially being a pseudo-mentor to him. We’ll see what the author does.
theamyleblanc's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was okay. It didn't blow me away but it kept me interested enough to keep reading. Laura, Clae, and Okane are all lovely, unique characters. I'd be happy to bother Clae all day. But they weren't terribly compelling; I wasn't drawn in and invested in their individual stories.
The concept is definitely one of the more original ones I've read so props for that! But the mechanics of magic and how it all works were difficult to understand at times. I wrapped my head around enough of it that the story still worked but I felt like there were gaps in my understanding.
My biggest problem was the writing itself. So much of it felt like exposition. I would read parts and think, "I'm being told this to explain things that have or will happen." It was a lot of telling and not nearly enough showing.
While I did finish this book, I'm not sure I'd read the sequel.
This book was okay. It didn't blow me away but it kept me interested enough to keep reading. Laura, Clae, and Okane are all lovely, unique characters. I'd be happy to bother Clae all day. But they weren't terribly compelling; I wasn't drawn in and invested in their individual stories.
The concept is definitely one of the more original ones I've read so props for that! But the mechanics of magic and how it all works were difficult to understand at times. I wrapped my head around enough of it that the story still worked but I felt like there were gaps in my understanding.
My biggest problem was the writing itself. So much of it felt like exposition. I would read parts and think, "I'm being told this to explain things that have or will happen." It was a lot of telling and not nearly enough showing.
While I did finish this book, I'm not sure I'd read the sequel.
erinnejc's review against another edition
4.0
Thrilling story with a plot that kept me turning the pages, really well written with great characters. Highly recommend to everyone who is a fan of this genre. Really great addition to the sci fi genre.
chromatick's review against another edition
2.0
Meh. 2.5 stars
It's always a bummer when the book blurb makes a novel seem like it's going to be one thing and then you read it and it's not. I was expecting a really cool story about an elite "bomb" squad dealing with magical infestations. What I got was a slow, boring book with annoying and lifeless characters. I also got a lot of info dumps.
The world-building was actually not too bad, although again...too many info dumps.
I don't know what else to say. I really wanted to like this book. Can't imagine I will read the next book in the series.
It's always a bummer when the book blurb makes a novel seem like it's going to be one thing and then you read it and it's not. I was expecting a really cool story about an elite "bomb" squad dealing with magical infestations. What I got was a slow, boring book with annoying and lifeless characters. I also got a lot of info dumps.
The world-building was actually not too bad, although again...too many info dumps.
I don't know what else to say. I really wanted to like this book. Can't imagine I will read the next book in the series.
rkstumblingbear's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
darrahsteffenwrites's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
4.0
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
City of Broken Magic is the first book in the new Chronicles of Amicae series by Mirah Bolender. Released 20th Nov 2018 by Tor, it's 400 pages and available in paperback, ebook, and audio formats.
The world building is interesting with some nice twists. The cities are more like disconnected independent city-states. The female protagonist is fascinated by other cities and collects pictures of other cityscapes to use in a collage in her room. Although introduced as a fairly rigid male dominated society, there are strong female characters in positions of power who seem to be flouting the system without especial repercussions. I don't know if the author plans to address that in future or if it's just a tacked on background, but I did find it somewhat odd/jarring.
The monsters are very nasty indeed. The introductory scene in the book was creepy/horrifying enough that I had deep reservations about reading further. I persisted and did enjoy the book. I did, admittedly, find the pacing and development a tad slow, but overall a well made story. This is the first of a multi-book story arc, so there are a fair number of dangling plot elements at the end of book 1.
There is some rough language but nothing more extreme than the average modern NA fantasy. There is very little romantic content, just some mild teasing and banter, with a small bi-acceptance dialogue worked in, which I thought was nice. The dialogue is well written (although a bit over-the-top snarky now and then).
It often takes a couple books for a new series to really find its way. I'll be sticking with this one for another book or two before making a decision.
Three and a half stars rounded up for the quality of the writing. Especially impressive for a first time author.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
City of Broken Magic is the first book in the new Chronicles of Amicae series by Mirah Bolender. Released 20th Nov 2018 by Tor, it's 400 pages and available in paperback, ebook, and audio formats.
The world building is interesting with some nice twists. The cities are more like disconnected independent city-states. The female protagonist is fascinated by other cities and collects pictures of other cityscapes to use in a collage in her room. Although introduced as a fairly rigid male dominated society, there are strong female characters in positions of power who seem to be flouting the system without especial repercussions. I don't know if the author plans to address that in future or if it's just a tacked on background, but I did find it somewhat odd/jarring.
The monsters are very nasty indeed. The introductory scene in the book was creepy/horrifying enough that I had deep reservations about reading further. I persisted and did enjoy the book. I did, admittedly, find the pacing and development a tad slow, but overall a well made story. This is the first of a multi-book story arc, so there are a fair number of dangling plot elements at the end of book 1.
There is some rough language but nothing more extreme than the average modern NA fantasy. There is very little romantic content, just some mild teasing and banter, with a small bi-acceptance dialogue worked in, which I thought was nice. The dialogue is well written (although a bit over-the-top snarky now and then).
It often takes a couple books for a new series to really find its way. I'll be sticking with this one for another book or two before making a decision.
Three and a half stars rounded up for the quality of the writing. Especially impressive for a first time author.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
compel4086's review against another edition
4.0
Cool world building here. At times it was repetitive and inconsistent with its pace, but I enjoyed the characters enough to look past it.