Reviews

Особо дикая магия by Allison Saft

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raemcdill's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

alphabetseeds's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-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

3.0

Overall I had a good time with this novel, even though it became evident that so much of this is lifted directly from Fullmetal Alchemist - whether entirely intentional or not. This story ended up being much more character-focused than I anticipated; the hala hunt is a side plot, it seems, to the larger plot of getting Wes and Margaret together and facing their insecurities, fears, and grief.

cha_len_novels's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Strong character development? It's complicated

2.75

“For those with impossible dreams and for those who feel dreaming is impossible. There is so much waiting for you on the horizon.”
― Allison Saft, A Far Wilder Magic

This novel is a historical fantasy..urban fantasy? A fantasy world with a strong emphasis on political and religious themes (much to my distaste) and fair attempts to enchant. The novel lured me with its synopsis; inspiring thoughts to be transported into a FMA atmosphere following a wicked hunt. Instead the "romance" was in the foreground, if you can even call it that, and all other plots became secondary. Perhaps the YA label impacted the enjoyment of this one.

rating: 2.5-3/5⭐

Content Warnings

skyllarduncan's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

3.25

youngling80's review against another edition

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3.5

I wasn't sure what to expect. This was a book I had gotten as a gift and I really didn't know much about it before I started. So let's start with the general plot ...

Wes shows up at an aging rural manor hoping to charm his way into a position as an alchemist's apprentice only to discover the master alchemist he is looking for is not currently at home ... instead her bristly teenage daughter, Margaret, is ... and his charm seems utterly wasted on her. The two later team up for their own reasons in a hunt for a magical/immortal fox and face opposition from bigoted members of the community.

What I loved ...

1. There was some absolutely lovely prose here ... I found myself wanting to highlight some lovely turns of phrase, but I was reading a paperback version and, as my daughter hates reading books with markings in them (and I wasn't sure if this was one that would be appropriate for her yet) I refrained. But still ... some absolutely lovely lines in there.

2. I felt like the author did a great job of developing the main characters in a way that made them flawed, relatable, and in a way that you understood why they made some of the stupid choices they did even while they were making them. This was especially true for Wes ... there were some moments I really wanted to dislike him. There were some moments I actually did dislike him for some of the choices he made, but after some thought, I understood why he chose to act that way (even if it was a terrible choice) ... but people are like that too. We make stupid choices based off of what our life experiences have taught us. And sometimes that's a real mess.

What I wasn't so sure about ...

1. It was clear the religious systems in here were meant to represent actual religions ... Catholicism, Judaism, Protestant, etc. That was a bit too on the nose for my tastes.

2. I also wasn't sure how the alchemical/magical system worked. The author made it sound like it was largely confined to upper class Protestant types ... but didn't explain how/why people with alchemical giftings got them. There just wasn't much detail here. You just know that Wes has some ability in this area, he's the only one in his family who does, and he sees this as his only opportunity to make a change in the fortunes of his family and his community.

3. That ending ... I'm not sure what we were supposed to get out of the killing of the fox. Was it a bad thing? A good thing? I didn't like that Wes had to go against the values of his religion in order to be successful and get where he wanted to go ... that seemed somewhat, well wrong. Compromising. I wasn't sure what to think of that.

I'm not sure how to rate this. It's probably closer to a 3.5, but I'm not sure I'll read it again.

Also, for anyone who is wondering ... there is light cursing (maybe a handful of words), some references to FMC reading smutty books, MMC being sexually frustrated, alluding to masturbation, and a non-graphic consensual sexual encounter. Just sharing because these are things I'd like to know when considering if my children should read something.