3.96 AVERAGE

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Told across the span of years, many little tales and footnotes, Clarke creates an alternate history of Britain that feels foreign and yet familiar.

immaculate in its world building, style and plot. it reads like a dramatized biography.

as someone who loves to complain or poke holes honestly I'm stumped. its faultless.
it feels like its had a decade of work poured into it and so when I learned it had I wasn't at all surprised.

the only issue I find myself having is that I'm not much into classics.
"its not you its me"
adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
adventurous funny mysterious tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

4.5 stars. The beginning is a bit slow, but the majority of the story is interesting and exciting. The writing style is reminiscent of the early nineteenth century, and I love the footnotes that explore the world and history of English magic. Clarke's seamless incorporation of magic, magicians, and the fairy world into an alternate version of English history is impressive.

Clarke's ability to work comedy into her writing without being goofy in one scene and conjure imagery that would fit into a horror story in the next makes the story perfectly balanced (in my opinion).

I only wish there was a bit more resolution at the end.
adventurous funny informative slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: N/A
Strong character development: N/A
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A
dark mysterious slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
funny reflective tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The first book of this book was entertaining and well written- past then I felt like nothing really mattered, didn't go anywhere in particular, and wasn't satisfying. 

clarabooksit's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 49%

While it’s well-written and uses history in an interesting way, I was bored to tears. I either loathed or didn’t have any interest in the characters, and unfortunately, I need to be invested in at least one character but none of the ones here did it for me.

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