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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
[2] A pretty disappointing read. The book stretched itself too thin in terms of plot. Also, I despised the main character. Both a not convincing mystery and a implausible secret society. Don’t piss me off.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed it. Parts of it got a little muddled, but overall an interesting read!
An Intrigue of Witches by Esme Addison is the first instalment in A Secret Society Mystery, and what a blast of a start to a new paranormal adventure mystery series! Meet Sidney, a fiery red-headed heroine who's a Black historian on the cusp of discovering her true past and hidden witchy powers - how awesome is that?! Initially, I thought it was a bit of a snooze fest but once I was about 1/3 in, it became way more exciting. I enjoyed geeking out over early American history and all that jazz. There's a bit of adventure and thriller packed with conspiracy, intrigue, history, lost treasure, magic, and even time travel - talk about a wild ride! The mystery's engaging and well-plotted, and I adored the characters - I'm sure we'll learn more about them in future books, and I'm eagerly anticipating Sidney's next adventure. I highly recommend this book and I'm looking forward to book two!
Sidney's love of history and her grandmother both lead her back to her hometown to help solve a local puzzle involving a letter written by former president James Madison that is said to contain clues to a lost artifact. No one knows what the artifact actually is, but the more Sidney uncovers, the more the mystery grows.
National Treasure meets Charmed in this fun tale about centuries-old bloodlines, futuristic terrorism, and witch hunts through the ages. It ran a little long for me, and there are some slang and pop culture references throughout that make me think this will feel really dated in just a few years--these two elements are what caused the rounding down for the GR scale since half stars aren't permitted.
Overall, though, it was a fun and light read, especially for this autumn time of year when mysteries and spookies are perfect.
National Treasure meets Charmed in this fun tale about centuries-old bloodlines, futuristic terrorism, and witch hunts through the ages. It ran a little long for me, and there are some slang and pop culture references throughout that make me think this will feel really dated in just a few years--these two elements are what caused the rounding down for the GR scale since half stars aren't permitted.
Overall, though, it was a fun and light read, especially for this autumn time of year when mysteries and spookies are perfect.
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Okay! As with most of my reads, I went in to this book blind. I just finished this book and I am not sure how to rate it based on buy personal testing scale. For now I think I will give it 3 stars (maybe 2.5). To be clear, I still enjoyed it as an in between read from my other books.
As advertised, this book is a National Treasure-esq, + political conspiracy that fuses science and magic. I am not sure fuse is the word, since it plays to the argument of both things perhaps being one and the same. I will always love a good treasure hunt but the rest of the combos thrown into the pot, together, that was a new one. This book is fantasy, a little science fiction and a little historical fiction. There was A LOT thrown in.I do wish there was more magic actually in play. The title is accurate but not as much magic as one would assume.
The commentary on modern society did not go missed. What happens if you don’t pay attention to what’s going on in the world to long. Taking things at face value without a wee but of critical thinking, since just below the surface you can usually start piecing things together. Accepting things that will cause our destruction simply because they are easier and convenient. And of course, that a conspiracy is only a conspiracy until proven true.
I would recommend one not draw this book out when reading as It was a bit drawn out on its own. There is so much to it that if you take too long in between your reading sessions I belief it becomes very easy to disconnect and become bored.
I enjoyed the little bit included in the authors note that explained what the various elements of the story were based on. It is one reason I enjoy historical fiction in general. I have never heard of the Stone of Scone myth so I’ll be looking In to that. I am also glad I read the authors note on that topic because through the entire book, I simply didn’t understand why we seemed to keep pushing the Scottish background so much and it felt a bit forced in trying to attach to to black and brown people. While the history is based in truth, the book just made this element feel a wee bit forced, But just a wee bit. And only in the sense of how you could tell the book was trying to explain real world history but it didn’t flow as easily as I would have preferred. Thats of course personal preference (as I suppose this whole review is).
For the characters, I went with vibe a lot of the time as I could not fully keep up with the significance of all the characters mentioned. I think audio version, or immersive reading would be ideal for this book as well. (I would have enjoyed a different narrator tone wise, but she did a great job. ) Otherwise, while fun, I do think if this is not your preferred genre you have the potential to lose interest quickly. The middle section seemed to stretch out quite a bit even though things were happening.
Here are areas I was confused: Some I am sure was mentioned but I lost track and I wasn’t going on an another treasure hunt to find it (see what I did there lol). Please note, I try not to think too hard on stories I read, especially fantasy. They are either fun or they are not. But in a conspiracy, it’s harder to do that.
-Why did no one find it weird or call out Elias on the fact that he ACTIVELY sought out Isla to specifically have a child. It mentioned it earlier in a more negative tone of how other rulers did this and how it was part of the reason for the oppression of brown and Black people. But it was fine for Elias? Twice (Susana and Isla). I just didn’t understand this part
-I kept mixing up order of Horus and Apophis. But I usually sorted it out by the end of the scene.
-I also dont understand the significance of her being queen. That was never made clear so I couldn’t FULLY join in on the excitement like I wanted. In a world without kings and queens anymore. What exactly was the significance of her being exiled royalty and being crowned. Other Than them personally wanting it, how would this really show up in the world?
-Susannas story just kept getting lost in my head, but I’m positive that was a e problem. Disappointing nonetheless.
-And Fionas knowledge seemed a wee bit inconsistent to me. Sometimes she was aware of the Daughters of Hathor but then she wasn’t. But then she knew details but then it was all new again and shocking to her. I couldn’t keep up with the extent of her knowledge.
DNF 32%. When I saw this was being compared to National Treasurer, I was in! But I have been trying to get through this for over a week now and am only at 32% when I would normally have finished the book a few days ago. I just couldn't get in to this and I'm so sad about that!
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
I loved this book!
Thank you @booksparks & @esmeaddison for the #gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.
This book is a cozy small town magical mystery with high stakes, a mashup that works superbly well. I loved the whole cast but most especially MC Sidney Taylor. She's a dynamic heroine with an endless amount of curiosity.
Sidney leaves DC and heads to North Carolina on an invitation and the potential chance at a million dollars. She's directed on a treasure hunt that rapidly becomes quite personal. As a historian, Sidney can't help but be intrigued.
I'm grateful to have been introduced to this book that I may not have discovered on my own as it's outside of my usual wheelhouse of romance or fantasy or historical fiction. Or at least that's what I expected. But it actually combines some of my favorite things in a perfect way! I'm thrilled to add Esme to my author-to-binge list and to continue with Sidney with book two.
Thank you @booksparks & @esmeaddison for the #gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.
This book is a cozy small town magical mystery with high stakes, a mashup that works superbly well. I loved the whole cast but most especially MC Sidney Taylor. She's a dynamic heroine with an endless amount of curiosity.
Sidney leaves DC and heads to North Carolina on an invitation and the potential chance at a million dollars. She's directed on a treasure hunt that rapidly becomes quite personal. As a historian, Sidney can't help but be intrigued.
I'm grateful to have been introduced to this book that I may not have discovered on my own as it's outside of my usual wheelhouse of romance or fantasy or historical fiction. Or at least that's what I expected. But it actually combines some of my favorite things in a perfect way! I'm thrilled to add Esme to my author-to-binge list and to continue with Sidney with book two.