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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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
really good read! some parts were predictable but i couldn’t stop reading until i learned the other secrets. great one for spoop month.
I enjoyed parts of this book, but the reveals were very predictable and I was just waiting on the characters to realize like 10 different obvious things the whole book.
Also, the whole incestuous half-sibling love triangle thing was disgusting. Bad enough that Hazel was secretly lusting after her half-sister for years. Even worse that Rowan for sure kissed his half-sister when Ivy knew he was her half-brother. Even worse that it's implied they probably did 'more than kissing, less than sex'. This added nothing to the book, was never addressed, and is honestly a disgusting plot point. They should have either had a romantic past OR been half-siblings, but not both.
The whole love pentagram was forced outside of that where everyone went from being afraid to flirt or kiss to just impulsively lost their virginity to people they barely knew all at the same time in a very forced way. But I guess the abrupt relationships that didn't make much sense was just a way to get the twins out of both lusting over their sister before finding out they were related to her.
Also, the whole incestuous half-sibling love triangle thing was disgusting. Bad enough that Hazel was secretly lusting after her half-sister for years. Even worse that Rowan for sure kissed his half-sister when Ivy knew he was her half-brother. Even worse that it's implied they probably did 'more than kissing, less than sex'. This added nothing to the book, was never addressed, and is honestly a disgusting plot point. They should have either had a romantic past OR been half-siblings, but not both.
The whole love pentagram was forced outside of that where everyone went from being afraid to flirt or kiss to just impulsively lost their virginity to people they barely knew all at the same time in a very forced way. But I guess the abrupt relationships that didn't make much sense was just a way to get the twins out of both lusting over their sister before finding out they were related to her.
Holy. Shit. Um this was incredible?! The writing is absolutely gorgeous and all the characters are so well developed. I love that this is a standalone but I also hate it cause I want more! Like give me a million companion books with people finding the spell book. Also we love LGBT rep. I am so shocked by how in love I am with this book. The whole time I was thinking of a four star and then the last third hit and it blew me away. Also previously I had no interest in [b:The Accident Season|23346358|The Accident Season|Moïra Fowley-Doyle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1428338423s/23346358.jpg|42905086] but know i really want to because of my new love of her writing and the way she crafts stories. Kudos to Moira. Not only is this one of my favorite books of the year but honestly ranks among my favorites of all time.
This was really good! The prose is great and the characters are really interesting and diverse and I loved the twists.
I'm not sure how a book manages to make "magic" feel lackluster, but this one did it. The first 3/4 of the book really didn't make any sense, and was pretty confusing to me. Not because there are 3 different groups of teenagers we are following, but because what are they even doing? There is no point to what is happening and it feels all over the place. This book is also missing a strong plot. The lgbtq+ representation was a plus, but with characters that didn't feel fully developed it almost didn't matter.
The bizarre plot elements, entwined with forgettable characters, a repetitive plotline, and the cloud of confusion that followed this all did nothing to endear this book to me. I think I could be able to really love something by Fowley-Doyle in the future, but The Spellbook of the Lost and Found just isn’t that book. Full RTC at https://roelowell.wixsite.com/woodlandwanderings
Quick read. Not a lot of substance but kept me entertained the whole time. 3.5 stars
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A weird and fantastical story about things lost and found. Like Fowley-Doyle's other books, this is heavy on the magical realism, meaning it's not always very clear what's going on. I definitely think magical realism is something you like or you don't, so if you want your stories to make a lot of sense this might not be for you. It's also very hard to keep track of the characters at the beginning. There are three separate threads of plot: Ash, Laurel, and Holly; Ivy, Rowan, and Hazel; and Olive and Rose. That makes 8 different characters all named after nature things, including two Rs and two Hs. Not all of the characters have a distinct enough voice to make it always obvious who's who, and for a large percentage of the book I was confused every time the perspective swapped. However, Fowley-Doyle's prose is gorgeous, and I really liked the mysterious vibe of the book. There's also a lot of great representation, and heavy topics dealt with well.