Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
In a world where people are gifted with different types of magics that correlate with the tides/moon phase, a teen mage must unravel the secret behind the death of her former friend and the secret society that she was caught up in. Emory is a student at the prestigious Aldryn College for Lunar magics, yet her healing magic is mediocare at best. Yet what happened to her the previous summer haunts her, what happened when she stumbles in on her ex best friend and a group of the most talented students committing a ritual that results in everyone dying but Emory.... she can't remember what happened or why and she'll do anything to figure it out. The only problem is that her own magic has changed since that incident and now she is discovering she has forbidden magic and that the only person to help her is the school's most reclusive student and her former best friend's brother. As Emory seeks answers she'll find herself drawn into the secret society and a world of privelege and power. Unfortunately for me this book fell completely flat after the 30% mark. I tried and tried to make this book work but I was completely bored and it was such a trudge to make it to the end. This book was SLOW and so long for no reason whatsoever. It's the first book in the series and I am not interested in continuing it at all. Emory is so annoying and there is literally NO chemistry between any of the characters. The mystery itself was boring and I really wish it wasn't. This book was advertised as Ninth House meets A Deadly Education, two book series that I absolutely adore and yet this one completely missed the mark in all cases. The characters weren't interesting, the mystery felt lacking, the pacing was clunky and slow, and honestly this kind of felt like a mess. I pushed myself to finish this books in hopes that it would get better, yet it didn't. Maybe it's a case of "its me not you" but for a book that features a magical school, murder mystery, and some romance, it should have been perfect for me yet it just wasn't. If you enjoy super slow magical school mystery stories then give this a go, maybe it'll work for you.
*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you can withstand 450 pages of awkward writing and a telegraphed plot you’ll find the last 80 pages satisfying enough to justify it.
emotional
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This is literally my favourite book now. Everything about this book is so good like it’s impossible to not get hooked ITS AMAZING.
the world building is gorgeous it’s detailed enough to get you immersed but not so much that it detracts from the plot
AND THE LORE OMG THE LORE the mythos and the stories woven into the main plot are so gracefully done and this book is just so hauntingly whimsical
And the characters are so freaking annoying but lovable like I wanted to punch Emory but I also wanted to give her a big hug because she really just wanted to be special and appreciated. BASIL AND KAI I loved them so much they deserve the whole world, the love they have for each other was my favourite thing to read about. Jae Vera and Theodore also need to show up because they are amazing. Also Professor Selandyn >>> She’s a queen, a kooky out of pocket intelligent queen who only showed up for like 5 pages but she ate.
I’m mad I have to wait for an indeterminable amount of time for the next book now I WANT MORE OF ROMIE the Brysdens need to be back together
ALSO ALSO the cover is absolutely gorgeous and the hardcover underneath the dust cover has the prettiest embossing with the eclipse imagery. The celestial body imagery that was present throughout the book was perfect it just contributed to the atmosphere all that more
Idk I’m rambling now but this book is amazing
the world building is gorgeous it’s detailed enough to get you immersed but not so much that it detracts from the plot
AND THE LORE OMG THE LORE the mythos and the stories woven into the main plot are so gracefully done and this book is just so hauntingly whimsical
And the characters are so freaking annoying but lovable like I wanted to punch Emory but I also wanted to give her a big hug because she really just wanted to be special and appreciated. BASIL AND KAI I loved them so much they deserve the whole world, the love they have for each other was my favourite thing to read about. Jae Vera and Theodore also need to show up because they are amazing. Also Professor Selandyn >>> She’s a queen, a kooky out of pocket intelligent queen who only showed up for like 5 pages but she ate.
I’m mad I have to wait for an indeterminable amount of time for the next book now I WANT MORE OF ROMIE the Brysdens need to be back together
ALSO ALSO the cover is absolutely gorgeous and the hardcover underneath the dust cover has the prettiest embossing with the eclipse imagery. The celestial body imagery that was present throughout the book was perfect it just contributed to the atmosphere all that more
Idk I’m rambling now but this book is amazing
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
First I would like to say this is a beautifully designed book and more authors need to make of an effort with book design. (And I don’t just mean add sprayed edges - it’s gotten all too lazy and common it has lost its worth). This book surprised me and angered me and I knew right away what characters not to trust. But the adventure was worth it. The writing was good and the magic system unique. I really enjoyed it.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just kept not reading and realized it wasn’t because I didn’t want to read it was because I wasn’t Into the book
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Just boring, I didn’t like the main character nor the writing style. I wasn’t interested in her and have (to be quite honest with you) already forgotten her name. I understand why some might enjoy the writing style, it was quite flowery however it really wasn’t for me.
Content Warnings
Magic system included blood letting for the purpose of using magic