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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Love, love, LOVE! Karyn you were right. This is a book for me.
I enjoyed it but had trouble keeping the characters apart in my mind.
I love love loved the characters in this book, but the plot left a lot to be desired for me :c womp. 10/10 do recommend the audiobook though because all the narrators have Irish accents and I’m a BIG FAN.
I am left with several unanswered questions, but I’m okay with that.
A great, mystical story told from multiple viewpoints.
I figured out a big piece of the puzzle over halfway through, but not all of it.
“It’s happened before and it will happen again. There’s nothing you can do to stop it.
"We're made up of all of it: of longing, of belonging, and of all the things we lose along the way."
Synopsis
A spell to bring up lost things goes horribly wrong. Everybody lost something that day. It starts out with small, insignificant things—a bracelet, a hair clip, a notebook. But without a sacrifice to balance out the spell, more and more things begin to go missing, and these things aren’t so insignificant. People. Time. Innocence. Will they be able to fix what has gone wrong? Will they be able to return all that has been lost?
Prose, Voice & Dialogue
The writing was amazing all throughout, but my favorite chapters were Laurel's. Her writing was very lyrical and I absolutely loved it. I loved the lists of lost/found things at the beginning of each chapter. Fowley-Doyle’s authorial voice is so incredibly strong. There are three POVs, and each has their own group of friends that we get to know as well. So it was a bit hard to follow of the different characters at first. But the three POVs felt very distinct from one another, which helped orient me at the start of each new chapter, and I soon figured out who was who and was better able to follow.
Characters
We get the POV of Olive, Laurel and Hazel, but there are three distinct groups of friends that are all important in each of the POVs. Olive and Rose, Hazel, Rowan and Ivy, and Laurel, Holly and Ash. Like I mentioned above, it took me some time, but I soon figured out who was who and was able to follow each chapter and each character a lot easier. I thoroughly loved all of the characters and I appreciated the perspective each of the three POVs were able to bring. I felt like I really got to know each of them, which is impressive when there are so many different characters to get to know. Laurel was my favorite POV to read and my favorite character.
Plot & Pacing
The plot was engaging right from the start, and switching between the three POVs made it more interesting and engaging for my ADHD brain. There was so much mystery and intrigue that I always felt engaged, even when there wasn’t as much action happening. The twist at the end!!!!!! I sort of predicted it, but I dismissed the idea right away because I thought it would be too hard to pull off, and that there were too many plot holes. However, Fowley-Doyle pleasantly surprised me, because she made it all make sense, even though it seemed absolutely crazy at first. The hints and foreshadowing were really effective-- we are given hints, but not enough that it ruins it early on or makes it too predictable.
The Romance
Because there are so many characters to follow, there are a few different romances. They all felt adequately developed, but especially Olive and Hazel’s romance because we get both of their POVs. They were sweet together, and I appreciated that their romance wasn’t at the forefront of the story. It took a backseat to the rest of the story and the theme of friendship that is so prominent throughout the book, but we still got to see their feelings develop and their relationship grow.
Setting
This small Irish town was the perfect setting for this story. The small-town feel added to the story so much, and not only did it fit the feel/mood and themes of the book, but it also furthered the story along. For example, Olive and Rose can’t figure out who Laurel, Holly and Ash are, and determine that these are nicknames. The reason they are able to deduce that those are aliases is because their town is small enough that they were able to flip through a few yearbooks and see that there were no girls from the town with those names. Not knowing these girls’ real names or identities added an additional layer of mystery to the story.
Overall Thoughts & Recommendation
I absolutely loved this book. I honestly wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but I decided to give it a shot and I am so, so glad that I did. It was a very unique book all around, which made me love it even more. I love this book so much, and truly believe that it changed me for the better. I recommend this book to all fantasy lovers, and all girls who grew up wishing they could be a witch. There is some adult content, so I recommend this book for 18+.
Trigger/Content Warnings
R*pe, sexual harassment, alcoholism, mild violence, arson/burn injuries and use of fire as a weapon, attempted murder (sort of), child neglect, allusions to domestic violence (physical and/or emotional), mentions and graphic imagery of suicide, mentions of drowning
Synopsis
A spell to bring up lost things goes horribly wrong. Everybody lost something that day. It starts out with small, insignificant things—a bracelet, a hair clip, a notebook. But without a sacrifice to balance out the spell, more and more things begin to go missing, and these things aren’t so insignificant. People. Time. Innocence. Will they be able to fix what has gone wrong? Will they be able to return all that has been lost?
Prose, Voice & Dialogue
The writing was amazing all throughout, but my favorite chapters were Laurel's. Her writing was very lyrical and I absolutely loved it. I loved the lists of lost/found things at the beginning of each chapter. Fowley-Doyle’s authorial voice is so incredibly strong. There are three POVs, and each has their own group of friends that we get to know as well. So it was a bit hard to follow of the different characters at first. But the three POVs felt very distinct from one another, which helped orient me at the start of each new chapter, and I soon figured out who was who and was better able to follow.
Characters
We get the POV of Olive, Laurel and Hazel, but there are three distinct groups of friends that are all important in each of the POVs. Olive and Rose, Hazel, Rowan and Ivy, and Laurel, Holly and Ash. Like I mentioned above, it took me some time, but I soon figured out who was who and was able to follow each chapter and each character a lot easier. I thoroughly loved all of the characters and I appreciated the perspective each of the three POVs were able to bring. I felt like I really got to know each of them, which is impressive when there are so many different characters to get to know. Laurel was my favorite POV to read and my favorite character.
Plot & Pacing
The plot was engaging right from the start, and switching between the three POVs made it more interesting and engaging for my ADHD brain. There was so much mystery and intrigue that I always felt engaged, even when there wasn’t as much action happening. The twist at the end!!!!!! I sort of predicted it, but I dismissed the idea right away because I thought it would be too hard to pull off, and that there were too many plot holes. However, Fowley-Doyle pleasantly surprised me, because she made it all make sense, even though it seemed absolutely crazy at first. The hints and foreshadowing were really effective-- we are given hints, but not enough that it ruins it early on or makes it too predictable.
The Romance
Because there are so many characters to follow, there are a few different romances. They all felt adequately developed, but especially Olive and Hazel’s romance because we get both of their POVs. They were sweet together, and I appreciated that their romance wasn’t at the forefront of the story. It took a backseat to the rest of the story and the theme of friendship that is so prominent throughout the book, but we still got to see their feelings develop and their relationship grow.
Setting
This small Irish town was the perfect setting for this story. The small-town feel added to the story so much, and not only did it fit the feel/mood and themes of the book, but it also furthered the story along. For example, Olive and Rose can’t figure out who Laurel, Holly and Ash are, and determine that these are nicknames. The reason they are able to deduce that those are aliases is because their town is small enough that they were able to flip through a few yearbooks and see that there were no girls from the town with those names. Not knowing these girls’ real names or identities added an additional layer of mystery to the story.
Overall Thoughts & Recommendation
I absolutely loved this book. I honestly wasn't sure how I would feel about it, but I decided to give it a shot and I am so, so glad that I did. It was a very unique book all around, which made me love it even more. I love this book so much, and truly believe that it changed me for the better. I recommend this book to all fantasy lovers, and all girls who grew up wishing they could be a witch. There is some adult content, so I recommend this book for 18+.
Trigger/Content Warnings
R*pe, sexual harassment, alcoholism, mild violence, arson/burn injuries and use of fire as a weapon, attempted murder (sort of), child neglect, allusions to domestic violence (physical and/or emotional), mentions and graphic imagery of suicide, mentions of drowning
Rounding up to 3.5 for the atmosphere.
I enjoyed this book well-enough, even if the ending felt a bit rushed.
It was the atmosphere that really shone, though. Mysterious and spooky, with just enough questions left unanswered.
I enjoyed this book well-enough, even if the ending felt a bit rushed.
It was the atmosphere that really shone, though. Mysterious and spooky, with just enough questions left unanswered.
I'm genuinely surprised with how much I like this book. Really fun to read and very well done.
