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gondorgirl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Blood
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, and Kidnapping
amhud1030's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Magical books, family secrets
Magic has caused these sisters to lose touch and live very different lives.
Esther is out experiencing the world but must move every year severing her relationships and connections.
Joanna is left at the family home tending to the books in her family’s collection and is terribly lonely as she can’t let anyone into her life.
Mix in the death of their father while reading a book, the mystery of a group called “The Library” and Esther’s choice not to move and a whole web of secrets and lies start to unravel.
The first half is a bit slow while we’re being lead through the backstory and world building. It’s worth sticking with it though as I couldn’t read the second half fast enough.
Lots of plot twists and turns most I saw coming and some I didn’t.
The main characters are very well fleshed out and have depth. I really enjoyed the magic that was performed and that they weren’t referred to as witches which usually has a negative connotation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Medical content and Confinement
cameronreads's review against another edition
3.5
I really enjoyed the concept here; magical books will always be a buzzword for me and I think they were done really interestingly here. I liked the plot as well, for the most part I liked the plot twists and figuring things out with the characters, although the final reveal felt a little info-dumpy. I think there was something just a little off about the pacing, with the beginning feeling a bit slow. The first 100 pages or so spent a lot of time on flashbacks and explanations, but it did make the book less confusing. There were definitely characters I liked better than others; I really enjoyed Nicholas and Esther but think Joanna’s character could have been developed a bit more. I also wanted to see a bit more out of the sister relationship. I did really like the vibes and atmosphere of this book though, and it was a lot of fun. The writing was also well done, especially for a debut. There was just something stopping me from being 100% attached or feeling that typical ‘on the edge of your seat’ feeling, but I’m not sure what. Still, I definitely enjoyed this, and am looking forward to seeing more from this author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Body horror, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Alcohol, Torture, and Vomit
graculus's review against another edition
4.0
After a bunch of books which I thought would work for me but failed to stick the landing, this book was a really pleasant surprise. There's been a plethora of books in recent years about magical libraries or magical books, so I have to admit I wasn't expecting all that much.
The book opens with one of our protagonists, Esther, who is working as an electrician on a research station in Antarctica where she's just signed on for another 12-month contract - prior to this, she's led a very peripatetic lifestyle, having been warned by her father not to stay in anyone place longer than a year. This is, we discover, all to do with the possession by her family of some magical books and how they react to both Esther and her half-sister Jo. One of those books, we later discover, has taken life of Esther and Jo's father and something about Esther means that if she goes home, their hidden farmstead can be located and staying in one place too long puts Esther at risk as well. It doesn't take long before one of a new set of workers coming into the Antarctic base turns violent towards Esther and her girlfriend, meaning that Esther has to protect them both and then also leave both her job and girlfriend behind.
Meanwhile, literally on the other side of the world in London, we meet our other main protagonist, Nicholas - his family is involved with these magical books too, as he leads a sheltered life as someone whose blood is literally used as part of the ritual to create them. While he's gone along with what's been asked of him before, Nicholas starts to question what he's been told about how his very constrained world actually works, especially when his uncle's long-term partner helps him discover things aren't quite as he's always been told. When Nicholas takes the opportunity to leave the world he knows, his path naturally crosses with that of Esther and things develop from there.
The author does a really nice job of keeping all the moving parts of this novel working out, with some solid character work and some nice touches to the world-building - I particularly liked the idea of magical NDA, which were used/broken effectively as a way to drop new information in and take things in directions I didn't 100% see coming. At least one of the twists later on was a little predictable but others weren't and that kept me involved all the way through to the end. This looks like being a standalone novel but I'd be happy to read more about these characters and will also definitely keep an eye out for whatever this author does next.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
The book opens with one of our protagonists, Esther, who is working as an electrician on a research station in Antarctica where she's just signed on for another 12-month contract - prior to this, she's led a very peripatetic lifestyle, having been warned by her father not to stay in anyone place longer than a year. This is, we discover, all to do with the possession by her family of some magical books and how they react to both Esther and her half-sister Jo. One of those books, we later discover, has taken life of Esther and Jo's father and something about Esther means that if she goes home, their hidden farmstead can be located and staying in one place too long puts Esther at risk as well. It doesn't take long before one of a new set of workers coming into the Antarctic base turns violent towards Esther and her girlfriend, meaning that Esther has to protect them both and then also leave both her job and girlfriend behind.
Meanwhile, literally on the other side of the world in London, we meet our other main protagonist, Nicholas - his family is involved with these magical books too, as he leads a sheltered life as someone whose blood is literally used as part of the ritual to create them. While he's gone along with what's been asked of him before, Nicholas starts to question what he's been told about how his very constrained world actually works, especially when his uncle's long-term partner helps him discover things aren't quite as he's always been told. When Nicholas takes the opportunity to leave the world he knows, his path naturally crosses with that of Esther and things develop from there.
The author does a really nice job of keeping all the moving parts of this novel working out, with some solid character work and some nice touches to the world-building - I particularly liked the idea of magical NDA, which were used/broken effectively as a way to drop new information in and take things in directions I didn't 100% see coming. At least one of the twists later on was a little predictable but others weren't and that kept me involved all the way through to the end. This looks like being a standalone novel but I'd be happy to read more about these characters and will also definitely keep an eye out for whatever this author does next.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Death
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