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laden_bookshelf's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting take on pre-WWII Europe with some awesome fantasy/horror elements. Some great plot devices, not the least of which are Nazi werewolves and Eva Braun. There aren't many stories which feature a lineage of literally death-defying Jewish witches as protagonists and I kind of loved the theory of the story. Some of the characterization felt a bit lacking but overall it was a solid read with decent action.
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
Lady Lazarus is not your typical historical fantasy. What Michelle Lang has woven here is a rich tapestry of Hungarian-Jewish folklore, European pre-World War II history, and a guardian angel-mortal romance that is more of a metaphor for goodness and sacrifice than it is an ode to love.
Magdalena is a Lazarus, meaning she is a witch whose lineage is given the power to come back from the dead. In a pre-World War II Budapest inhabited by magical beings as well as mortals, Magdalena's sister's dire prophecy of Hitler's final solution forces Magdalena on a journey to find a magical book written by the Angel Raziel in order to try to stop the war.
If you've ever read Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, then you would already be familiar with Lang's poetic and somewhat reserved tone. All but her main characters of Magdalena and her wizardly nemesis, the Staff, tend to come up with pithy and ponderous pronouncements, referring to horrible events and trauma only guardedly. While integral to the plot, the romantic lead and Magdalena's dear sister are more ideals in an absence of action, obtaining their meaning from what Magdalena is willing to do for them rather than being full fledged actors on their own. For example, while the youngest sister, Gisele's, prophecy of the destruction of the Jews by Hitler is what sets Magdalena in action, Gisele is left behind from the start, and even when Magdalena returns to her at the final confrontational scene, Gisele sits out the action in a magic circle.
Coming to this book with expectations it will read like Twilight or True Blood or Dresden Files will put you on the wrong path towards reaping the benefits of the ideas about weakness in the face of a greater evil, or how will and evil interact, or what sacrifice truly means that this book holds. Magdalena's journey is about having the will to bear suffering and pain in order to stop evil, and going along on her difficult journey is what draws you to this book, not teen angst romance or sex.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: Coffee with milk sipped at Cafe Istanbul in Budapest, eaten with a rumball for the great flavors of the era and the straighforward enjoyable story.
Magdalena is a Lazarus, meaning she is a witch whose lineage is given the power to come back from the dead. In a pre-World War II Budapest inhabited by magical beings as well as mortals, Magdalena's sister's dire prophecy of Hitler's final solution forces Magdalena on a journey to find a magical book written by the Angel Raziel in order to try to stop the war.
If you've ever read Mikhail Bulgakov's The Master and Margarita, then you would already be familiar with Lang's poetic and somewhat reserved tone. All but her main characters of Magdalena and her wizardly nemesis, the Staff, tend to come up with pithy and ponderous pronouncements, referring to horrible events and trauma only guardedly. While integral to the plot, the romantic lead and Magdalena's dear sister are more ideals in an absence of action, obtaining their meaning from what Magdalena is willing to do for them rather than being full fledged actors on their own. For example, while the youngest sister, Gisele's, prophecy of the destruction of the Jews by Hitler is what sets Magdalena in action, Gisele is left behind from the start, and even when Magdalena returns to her at the final confrontational scene, Gisele sits out the action in a magic circle.
Coming to this book with expectations it will read like Twilight or True Blood or Dresden Files will put you on the wrong path towards reaping the benefits of the ideas about weakness in the face of a greater evil, or how will and evil interact, or what sacrifice truly means that this book holds. Magdalena's journey is about having the will to bear suffering and pain in order to stop evil, and going along on her difficult journey is what draws you to this book, not teen angst romance or sex.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: Coffee with milk sipped at Cafe Istanbul in Budapest, eaten with a rumball for the great flavors of the era and the straighforward enjoyable story.
witandsin's review against another edition
Magda is a Lazarus witch, the eldest daughter of an eldest daughter and the last of her kind. She’s never used her powers, never even wanted to learn to use them. But life in 1939 Budapest is not all cafés and rumballs. Hitler’s evil is spreading across Europe, and Jews like Magda are losing their homes…and if Magda’s sister’s vision comes true, losing much more than that. Magda knows she cannot stand by and do nothing while her sister’s prophesy comes true. She sets out to find the lost Book of Raziel, a book written by the Angel Raziel himself that contains secrets that must not fall into the hands of Nazis. Can a lone woman – one who does not even know how to master her ability to return from the dead – outwit and outrun demons, SS werewolves, and a Nazi wizard in order to lay claim to the fabled book? Even with the angel himself at her side, it won’t be easy…
Venture into a world of myth and magic, angels and demons, death and resurrection in Lady Lazarus. Michele Lang has managed to weave an engaging supernatural journey into one of the most heart-wrenchingly awful periods in history with fantastic results.
Good versus evil has never been so compelling, particularly when “good” has to delve into that grey area between black and white on her quest. Magda is an interesting heroine. She begins the tale, not carefree but not really in touch yet with the evil that hasn’t yet sunk its claws into her life. That changes as she sets out to find Raziel’s book. I adored watching Magda grow up, make sacrifices, and never, ever stop, no matter how indescribably hard her journey was or how much she wanted to give up.
The romance in Lady Lazarus takes a back seat to Magda’s quest, as is logical. I can’t imagine anyone being a better match for Magda than Raziel. They fit one another like lock and key and I can’t wait to see their relationship develop as Ms. Lang continues the series. Their burgeoning relationship brings softness to Lady Lazarus, bringing light to the darkness.
Ms. Lang brings her fantasy reimagining of 1939 Europe to incredible life in Lady Lazarus. I finished the first part of Magda’s journey wanting to read the second immediately. Lady Lazarus is a highly original, complex historical urban fantasy with a touch of romance that is sure to engage any reader.
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed.
Venture into a world of myth and magic, angels and demons, death and resurrection in Lady Lazarus. Michele Lang has managed to weave an engaging supernatural journey into one of the most heart-wrenchingly awful periods in history with fantastic results.
Good versus evil has never been so compelling, particularly when “good” has to delve into that grey area between black and white on her quest. Magda is an interesting heroine. She begins the tale, not carefree but not really in touch yet with the evil that hasn’t yet sunk its claws into her life. That changes as she sets out to find Raziel’s book. I adored watching Magda grow up, make sacrifices, and never, ever stop, no matter how indescribably hard her journey was or how much she wanted to give up.
The romance in Lady Lazarus takes a back seat to Magda’s quest, as is logical. I can’t imagine anyone being a better match for Magda than Raziel. They fit one another like lock and key and I can’t wait to see their relationship develop as Ms. Lang continues the series. Their burgeoning relationship brings softness to Lady Lazarus, bringing light to the darkness.
Ms. Lang brings her fantasy reimagining of 1939 Europe to incredible life in Lady Lazarus. I finished the first part of Magda’s journey wanting to read the second immediately. Lady Lazarus is a highly original, complex historical urban fantasy with a touch of romance that is sure to engage any reader.
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed.
drey72's review against another edition
2.0
I thought the premise of Lady Lazarus was interesting – an urban fantasy set in Europe during WWII. Magda Lazarus is the eldest daughter of an eldest daughter, in a line of witches. Her rebelliousness means she doesn’t know much about her lineage or her craft, which doesn’t help when she’s called upon to retrieve the Book of Raziel. Where does she start? How will she find it? And will she survive the attempt?
She doesn’t have a choice though. It is 1939, and Hitler is gathering his forces. Werewolves, warlocks, and demons feature prominently in his camp. All Magda has is her wits, her sister Gisele, their friend Eva, and the angel Raziel (it is his book, after all).
Lady Lazarus has some pretty neat characters, and you’ll enjoy Michele Lang’s populating history with paranormal creatures. The pace lagged in the middle of the story though, and I lost interest around the middle of the story – where she threw in romantic elements. This could’ve been a very gritty, tightly-paced nail-biter, and I’m disappointed that it isn’t.
drey’s rating: Ok
She doesn’t have a choice though. It is 1939, and Hitler is gathering his forces. Werewolves, warlocks, and demons feature prominently in his camp. All Magda has is her wits, her sister Gisele, their friend Eva, and the angel Raziel (it is his book, after all).
Lady Lazarus has some pretty neat characters, and you’ll enjoy Michele Lang’s populating history with paranormal creatures. The pace lagged in the middle of the story though, and I lost interest around the middle of the story – where she threw in romantic elements. This could’ve been a very gritty, tightly-paced nail-biter, and I’m disappointed that it isn’t.
drey’s rating: Ok
see_sadie_read's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
There was so much to like about this book, the Jewish heroine, the platonic love between Magda and her angel (at least in the period of the book), the difficulty of the angels' task, the best friend who I decided was her lover, the cyclone-like battles between good and evil that feel like the centre of the world only until you remember the big bad is still lurking out there waiting to pounce (reminding the reader about the importance of perspective), some of the writing (all is pretty good, but some passages really wow), and Magda's genuine and undeniable growth as a character. There is a lot to appreciate. But there was just as much that bothered me personally.
I got tired of Magda being clueless of everything. Why, oh why, are heroines always ignorant of themselves, their power, their ability, their strengths? I am just tire, TIRED of this being the kernel at the centre of just about every book I read that has a female lead. Why?
I thought the book dragged in places. The reader spends a lot of time in Magda's head or traveling. After being clueless and not knowing what to do Magda always seemed to defeat her enemy with ease and I was never entirely sure how she managed it. This feeling of ho-hum another one done is only exasperated by the fact that the book ends on the eve of Hitler's attack on Poland, so the whole thing kind of wraps up where I thought it was going to begin. And lastly, I thought there were an uncomfortable number of characters that showed up when needed and then just disappeared again.
So, I'm about balanced between those things I really liked and those things that annoyed me.
There was so much to like about this book, the Jewish heroine, the platonic love between Magda and her angel (at least in the period of the book), the difficulty of the angels' task, the best friend who I decided was her lover, the cyclone-like battles between good and evil that feel like the centre of the world only until you remember the big bad is still lurking out there waiting to pounce (reminding the reader about the importance of perspective), some of the writing (all is pretty good, but some passages really wow), and Magda's genuine and undeniable growth as a character. There is a lot to appreciate. But there was just as much that bothered me personally.
I got tired of Magda being clueless of everything. Why, oh why, are heroines always ignorant of themselves, their power, their ability, their strengths? I am just tire, TIRED of this being the kernel at the centre of just about every book I read that has a female lead. Why?
I thought the book dragged in places. The reader spends a lot of time in Magda's head or traveling. After being clueless and not knowing what to do Magda always seemed to defeat her enemy with ease and I was never entirely sure how she managed it. This feeling of ho-hum another one done is only exasperated by the fact that the book ends on the eve of Hitler's attack on Poland, so the whole thing kind of wraps up where I thought it was going to begin. And lastly, I thought there were an uncomfortable number of characters that showed up when needed and then just disappeared again.
So, I'm about balanced between those things I really liked and those things that annoyed me.
hopeevey's review
Eh. It's an okay story, but it didn't grab me, and isn't quite appealing enough to take up any more of my reading time. I read the first few chapters, and the last and just wasn't impressed.
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