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cpcromer13's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
erikajay's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely love this series! But I could only give this book three stars because Ceony was getting on my nerves. When will she learn??
That being said, I still love the storyline and Emery is the best! I liked the new setting for a large majority of the book.
That being said, I still love the storyline and Emery is the best! I liked the new setting for a large majority of the book.
actuallycandy's review against another edition
3.0
The final conclusion in The Paper Magician trilogy and I can safely say this was a 3.5⭐ read for me. Slightly above ok only because I love Emery Thane. Ceony however, after 3 books, I can say she is not my favourite heroine.
This book begins nearly 2 years after the death of Grath in The Glass Magician (book 2). Ceony is preparing herself to sit for her magicians test only to find that Saraj, the captured Excisioner has escaped custody. What does Ceony think of all this? That Saraj is wanting to hurt her family in an act of revenge.
But this is where the first plot hole of many begins. Judging Saraj and his character from the second book in this trilogy he is painted as the sadistic psychopath that is leashed by Grath. Because these villains are so one dimensional with zero reason for anything they do I have a few questions. If Saraj was such an unpredictable guy who had to be leashed, why would he even bother listening to Grath? What commitment does he have to Lira or Grath? None of this is really explained. Also, Saraj was not the one who threatened Ceony's family, it was Grath who did so. Which begs to question what was her motive to hunt down Saraj? It was until I read this:
"CEONY HAD NO giant paper gliders at her disposal and didn’t want to involve Bennet any further in her dark-rooted hobby" - She literally called tracking down a serial killer a dark-rooted hobby. Not as selfless as you seem Ceony...
Which mind you judging by how Grath and Saraj split up in the second book, one can assume they were going their separate ways with different agendas. And Criminal Affairs is utterly useless. They apparently have magician's in their arsenal and yet they couldn't provide some assistance in this pursuit? Instead taking anonymous tips and arriving way too late? You'd think they would have gaffers, smelters and spires on hand. But no, they are just another pawn. And may I add how not menacing Saraj sounds as a villain? Constantly calling Ceony kitten? Just eewww...
We even come to know that Saraj had absolutely no interest in Ceony when she encountered him in Reading. Which by the way I was cringing the entire time Ceony was tracking down the Excisioner. And once again this girl had no growth from previous books, continuously seeking danger with stupid motives and very little thought. And to make matters worse she has the knowledge of how to unbind and bind to every magical material. This would make Ceony the most powerful magician. Unfortunately in the hands of the most dimwitted character. Honestly I was hoping her character was going to be redeemed. But that was wishful thinking on my part. So during the encounter she decides this is the perfect time to attack. With absolutely no plan she shows him the very thing that would give him motive to seek her out. She burns him as a spire, and he gets away. Convenient, now we have a motive...
We know that Saraj has killed the smelter magician that assisted Emery in his arrest. Now this would make sense. That he hunts down those who captured him before in an act of revenge. But no, he doesn't go for Emery, because he is just trying to gather resources to leave England. But Ceony has now given the bugger a reason to stay.
All this happens as Ceony is supposed to be preparing for the magicians exam. Which I admit was interesting but nothing really happened. She gets transferred to Magician Bailey's estate (a nemesis of sorts for Magician Thane). We get whispers of the academy changing the apprenticeships for different sexed pairs. Who really cares at this point? We get introduced to Bennet, which I suspect will be in her spinoff novels based in the same world. Why else would he be introduced. But I disliked Bennet for this excerpt in the book:
“I’m a bit surprised,” he confessed. “I admit I was a little jealous of you when you came to stay with us. You and Magician Thane seemed close. I envied your relationship. But I didn’t think you . . .” He shrugged. “I guess I didn’t think you were that kind of woman.” -
This book begins nearly 2 years after the death of Grath in The Glass Magician (book 2). Ceony is preparing herself to sit for her magicians test only to find that Saraj, the captured Excisioner has escaped custody. What does Ceony think of all this? That Saraj is wanting to hurt her family in an act of revenge.
But this is where the first plot hole of many begins. Judging Saraj and his character from the second book in this trilogy he is painted as the sadistic psychopath that is leashed by Grath. Because these villains are so one dimensional with zero reason for anything they do I have a few questions. If Saraj was such an unpredictable guy who had to be leashed, why would he even bother listening to Grath? What commitment does he have to Lira or Grath? None of this is really explained. Also, Saraj was not the one who threatened Ceony's family, it was Grath who did so. Which begs to question what was her motive to hunt down Saraj? It was until I read this:
"CEONY HAD NO giant paper gliders at her disposal and didn’t want to involve Bennet any further in her dark-rooted hobby" - She literally called tracking down a serial killer a dark-rooted hobby. Not as selfless as you seem Ceony...
Which mind you judging by how Grath and Saraj split up in the second book, one can assume they were going their separate ways with different agendas. And Criminal Affairs is utterly useless. They apparently have magician's in their arsenal and yet they couldn't provide some assistance in this pursuit? Instead taking anonymous tips and arriving way too late? You'd think they would have gaffers, smelters and spires on hand. But no, they are just another pawn. And may I add how not menacing Saraj sounds as a villain? Constantly calling Ceony kitten? Just eewww...
We even come to know that Saraj had absolutely no interest in Ceony when she encountered him in Reading. Which by the way I was cringing the entire time Ceony was tracking down the Excisioner. And once again this girl had no growth from previous books, continuously seeking danger with stupid motives and very little thought. And to make matters worse she has the knowledge of how to unbind and bind to every magical material. This would make Ceony the most powerful magician. Unfortunately in the hands of the most dimwitted character. Honestly I was hoping her character was going to be redeemed. But that was wishful thinking on my part. So during the encounter she decides this is the perfect time to attack. With absolutely no plan she shows him the very thing that would give him motive to seek her out. She burns him as a spire, and he gets away. Convenient, now we have a motive...
We know that Saraj has killed the smelter magician that assisted Emery in his arrest. Now this would make sense. That he hunts down those who captured him before in an act of revenge. But no, he doesn't go for Emery, because he is just trying to gather resources to leave England. But Ceony has now given the bugger a reason to stay.
All this happens as Ceony is supposed to be preparing for the magicians exam. Which I admit was interesting but nothing really happened. She gets transferred to Magician Bailey's estate (a nemesis of sorts for Magician Thane). We get whispers of the academy changing the apprenticeships for different sexed pairs. Who really cares at this point? We get introduced to Bennet, which I suspect will be in her spinoff novels based in the same world. Why else would he be introduced. But I disliked Bennet for this excerpt in the book:
“I’m a bit surprised,” he confessed. “I admit I was a little jealous of you when you came to stay with us. You and Magician Thane seemed close. I envied your relationship. But I didn’t think you . . .” He shrugged. “I guess I didn’t think you were that kind of woman.” -
martakdestler's review against another edition
3.0
That Not So Short Review — @thatshortwriter on IG
| Recensione in italiano dopo quella in inglese
3 ★
As mentioned in The Glass Magician review, I believe this third book should not even exist. Yes, the second ends with a plot twist that could revolutionise the magical world, but in this third one it doesn't resolve itself. On the contrary: we get an open ending. What's the point, then? Furthermore, history seems to repeat itself even when certain circles have been closed previously, as if the author was short of ideas (see the return of a certain villain); Ceony doesn't mature at all; indeed, she keeps making the same mistakes over and over again; and there are somewhat incomprehensible things that are solved in a moment and others that have no consequences at all.
In the heat I had given it four stars, but in retrospect maybe it’s better to go down to three. It’s certainly the weakest volume of the trilogy; I went on reading it just to see how the relationship between Ceony and Emery would evolve and, although it has many and gigantic question marks, it’s still a fast read and it intrigues the reader.
TW: violence, torture, blood, death.
If you want to read a mini review of the other two books in the trilogy, you can find them on Goodreads here for The Paper Magician (4.5 stars) and here for The Glass Magician (3 stars).
| ITALIANO
Come accennato nella recensione di The Glass Magician, credo che questo terzo libro potesse anche non esistere. Sì, il secondo finisce con un plot twist che potrebbe rivoluzionare il mondo magico, ma in questo terzo la cosa non si risolve. Anzi: finale aperto. Che senso ha, allora? Inoltre la storia sembra ripetersi anche quando certi cerchi sono stati chiusi in precedenza, come se l’autrice fosse a corto di idee (vedi il ritorno di un certo villain); Ceony non matura affatto; anzi, continua a fare gli stessi errori più e più volte; e ci sono cose un po’ incomprensibili che vengono risolte in un attimo e altre che non hanno conseguenze alcune.
A caldo avevo dato quattro stelle, ma ripensandoci bene forse è meglio scendere a tre. È sicuramente il volume più debole della trilogia; sono andata avanti solo per vedere come si sarebbe evoluta la relazione tra Ceony ed Emery e la lettura, per quanto abbia tanti e giganteschi punti interrogativi, è pur sempre veloce e incuriosisce parecchio.
TW: violenza, tortura, sangue, morte.
Se volete leggere una mini recensione sugli altri due libri della trilogia, potete trovarle su Goodreads qui per The Paper Magician (4.5 stelle) e qui per The Glass Magician (3 stelle).
| Recensione in italiano dopo quella in inglese
3 ★
As mentioned in The Glass Magician review, I believe this third book should not even exist. Yes, the second ends with a plot twist that could revolutionise the magical world, but in this third one it doesn't resolve itself. On the contrary: we get an open ending. What's the point, then? Furthermore, history seems to repeat itself even when certain circles have been closed previously, as if the author was short of ideas (see the return of a certain villain); Ceony doesn't mature at all; indeed, she keeps making the same mistakes over and over again; and there are somewhat incomprehensible things that are solved in a moment and others that have no consequences at all.
In the heat I had given it four stars, but in retrospect maybe it’s better to go down to three. It’s certainly the weakest volume of the trilogy; I went on reading it just to see how the relationship between Ceony and Emery would evolve and, although it has many and gigantic question marks, it’s still a fast read and it intrigues the reader.
TW: violence, torture, blood, death.
If you want to read a mini review of the other two books in the trilogy, you can find them on Goodreads here for The Paper Magician (4.5 stars) and here for The Glass Magician (3 stars).
| ITALIANO
Come accennato nella recensione di The Glass Magician, credo che questo terzo libro potesse anche non esistere. Sì, il secondo finisce con un plot twist che potrebbe rivoluzionare il mondo magico, ma in questo terzo la cosa non si risolve. Anzi: finale aperto. Che senso ha, allora? Inoltre la storia sembra ripetersi anche quando certi cerchi sono stati chiusi in precedenza, come se l’autrice fosse a corto di idee (vedi il ritorno di un certo villain); Ceony non matura affatto; anzi, continua a fare gli stessi errori più e più volte; e ci sono cose un po’ incomprensibili che vengono risolte in un attimo e altre che non hanno conseguenze alcune.
A caldo avevo dato quattro stelle, ma ripensandoci bene forse è meglio scendere a tre. È sicuramente il volume più debole della trilogia; sono andata avanti solo per vedere come si sarebbe evoluta la relazione tra Ceony ed Emery e la lettura, per quanto abbia tanti e giganteschi punti interrogativi, è pur sempre veloce e incuriosisce parecchio.
TW: violenza, tortura, sangue, morte.
Se volete leggere una mini recensione sugli altri due libri della trilogia, potete trovarle su Goodreads qui per The Paper Magician (4.5 stelle) e qui per The Glass Magician (3 stelle).
meg_elyse's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sofia_santana's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
tanya_tate's review against another edition
2.0
2 stars
Just read the first two and skim through this one.
You'll thank me.
Just read the first two and skim through this one.
You'll thank me.
leafblade's review against another edition
4.0
3.75/5
I think it was too short??? I kind of struggled with the previous books because I felt like they were too long, but this just kind of... didn't have a middle??? It just had a beginning and all of a sudden they were fighting Saraj????
But this was the easiest one to read by far, and I really enjoyed meeting another Folders in depth. I'd like to read a fourth book, with the politics for unbonding and bonding again, and how Emery and Ceony are doing. I learnt not to mind the age gap at all in this one, and I don't know if it's because I'm totally okay with this or because I have come to a point where I just ignore it.
The magic is so pretty and if that's the only reason you have to read this trilogy please do!!!!
I think it was too short??? I kind of struggled with the previous books because I felt like they were too long, but this just kind of... didn't have a middle??? It just had a beginning and all of a sudden they were fighting Saraj????
But this was the easiest one to read by far, and I really enjoyed meeting another Folders in depth. I'd like to read a fourth book, with the politics for unbonding and bonding again, and how Emery and Ceony are doing. I learnt not to mind the age gap at all in this one, and I don't know if it's because I'm totally okay with this or because I have come to a point where I just ignore it.
The magic is so pretty and if that's the only reason you have to read this trilogy please do!!!!
linzthebookworm's review against another edition
3.0
Compared to the other books, especially The Glass Magician, I felt like The Master Magician was missing something. Everything happened as it was suppose to happen, and the trilogy ended well. For me, however, it felt like a very dry journey. It didn't feel as whimsical and some of the humor was missing. I'm really glad that this isn't a long series. I think that I'd get tired of it quickly. It's a nice short read, but I just didn't really feel like this held up to the Glass Magician. I expected a bigger finale.
krhodes's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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