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constant2m's review
4.0
I've got to say, starting a book with a pair of magical shoes definitely caught my attention. Portal stories are also always a lot of fun.
Karina is drawn to a pair of shoes that cause havoc on the life of a friend who borrowed them, brought a witch from another world, then brought two princesses who took Karina (and her shoes) back to their world with them.
The book is non-stop adventure, as you would expect in a middle-grade book. However, it is completely confusing. The army is trying to take down the king, as are the insurgents who oppose the army, and then is the matter of that witch who apparently used to rule the kingdom before the king? Everyone has a reason to distrust everyone else and even Karina can't figure out who to trust, making her repeatedly choose whichever person or option has the best chance of sending her back to her home. It was a fun story with a lot of fun characters, filled with surprising twists and turns throughout.
I didn't love the narration. The narrator read clearly, but too many of the voices sounded whiny or wrong, making it tempting to dislike or mistrust the characters, even though their dialogue alone may not have led to that conclusion.
I received a free audiobook from Story Origin and have reviewed it willingly.
Karina is drawn to a pair of shoes that cause havoc on the life of a friend who borrowed them, brought a witch from another world, then brought two princesses who took Karina (and her shoes) back to their world with them.
The book is non-stop adventure, as you would expect in a middle-grade book. However, it is completely confusing. The army is trying to take down the king, as are the insurgents who oppose the army, and then is the matter of that witch who apparently used to rule the kingdom before the king? Everyone has a reason to distrust everyone else and even Karina can't figure out who to trust, making her repeatedly choose whichever person or option has the best chance of sending her back to her home. It was a fun story with a lot of fun characters, filled with surprising twists and turns throughout.
I didn't love the narration. The narrator read clearly, but too many of the voices sounded whiny or wrong, making it tempting to dislike or mistrust the characters, even though their dialogue alone may not have led to that conclusion.
I received a free audiobook from Story Origin and have reviewed it willingly.
emma_did_it's review
2.0
It was okay. I skimmed most of it. I only read it for Sian and Darian, their chapters were the only good thing in this book, because the mc was very meh, and Cayla... well, I didnt like her when I read the novella, but in this book she is a mc too, and boy, she isnt fierce or brave, she is annoying and gets offended by everything. Poor Darian. He is literally telling her to take care of herself and she would always respond defensively.
I personally didnt like the book. But mostly because the main female characthers are annoying.
Im also annoyed by the names: Cayla, Nia, Ayanna, Lylah...the names are so similar! I was half way there and I didnt know who was who.
I personally didnt like the book. But mostly because the main female characthers are annoying.
Im also annoyed by the names: Cayla, Nia, Ayanna, Lylah...the names are so similar! I was half way there and I didnt know who was who.
nikkiethereader's review against another edition
4.0
Karina's world is changed forever when she finds a pair of shoes at a yard sale. They turn out to be magical shoes that are evil. She finds herself in another world looking to destroy the shoes before people can find her and take the shoes to use for evil.
I found this story to be quite adorable. The characters were really sweet. The storyline flowed very nicely. It was well put together. I think many teenagers and young adults will really enjoy the story. It's very age-appropriate.
I'm not going to give my opinion on whether or not I could connect with the characters. Half of the characters in the story were children. I feel that it would be weird for me to say. I do think that they were all pretty amazing characters.
I really don't hate the narration that Marlies Dubois did. I just think that she could have narrated it a bit better. She made most of the characters sound really whiny and airheaded. I'm sure that was not the intention. I'm also sure that I'm just being really picky. It did give me a headache though. I'm not going to lie.
I really enjoyed this story quite a lot. I'm considering going back and reading it without narration. I think that the narrator's voice pitch kind of obscured the story for me just a little. As I said though, I don't think she did a bad job. It was just a bit too high pitch for me.
I found this story to be quite adorable. The characters were really sweet. The storyline flowed very nicely. It was well put together. I think many teenagers and young adults will really enjoy the story. It's very age-appropriate.
I'm not going to give my opinion on whether or not I could connect with the characters. Half of the characters in the story were children. I feel that it would be weird for me to say. I do think that they were all pretty amazing characters.
I really don't hate the narration that Marlies Dubois did. I just think that she could have narrated it a bit better. She made most of the characters sound really whiny and airheaded. I'm sure that was not the intention. I'm also sure that I'm just being really picky. It did give me a headache though. I'm not going to lie.
I really enjoyed this story quite a lot. I'm considering going back and reading it without narration. I think that the narrator's voice pitch kind of obscured the story for me just a little. As I said though, I don't think she did a bad job. It was just a bit too high pitch for me.
akacya's review against another edition
5.0
I received a free code for Step into Magic from Audiobooks Unleashed. This did not affect my rating in any way.
When Karina finds an attractive pair of silver shoes at a yard sale, she has no idea of the adventure that’s in store for her. She follows princesses to another world, where she learns many things about herself.
This book was so fun and easy to get into. I loved the characters, the plot, and the writing style. All I have to say about the narration is it was way too slow, but speeding it up made it perfect!
When Karina finds an attractive pair of silver shoes at a yard sale, she has no idea of the adventure that’s in store for her. She follows princesses to another world, where she learns many things about herself.
This book was so fun and easy to get into. I loved the characters, the plot, and the writing style. All I have to say about the narration is it was way too slow, but speeding it up made it perfect!
bookbriefs's review against another edition
3.0
**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
Step into Magic is the first book in the middle grade fantasy series, Portals to Whyland by author Day Leitao. I thought Step into Magic was a solid first book in the series. In some ways, it was solidly in the middle grade category,, but in other ways I did think it was a little busy for a middle grade book, but I will get more into that in a bit. Step into Magic was a fun story about our main character Karina who find a pair of magic shoes, which leads her to a magic land. I really enjoyed the story and I can't wait to pick up the second book in the Portals to Whyland series.
Karina is fourteen, and what fourteen year old girl would not love to get swept away to a magical world to go on an adventure? What I loved about Step into Magic was that I was instantly hooked with the story. There was no slow start, we got to dive right into the action, which was awesome. I liked Karina. And I liked that as soon as she got to Whyland that the plot got even more interesting. Things are not what they seem in Whyland, and I was really excited to find out more. And I got more and more excited as the story progressed and we started meeting more and more characters and learning more. But then, we got to a point around half way through the book where I thought things got a little too busy. There was a lot going on, and there were a lot of characters. It was harder to keep track of everyone and everything.
I do think by the end of the book, everything kind of evened out, and there is the potential that it will be even better in the next installment, but I do wish there were a handful less characters introduced in this story. I think just focusing on Karina, Cayla, Darian and Sian would have been more than enough. I especially want to see more from Sian, so hopefully he will play a larger role in the next story.
Overall, Step into Magic was a fun magical story that is perfect for middle grade readers who are looking to go on a fast paced magical adventure. I am excited to see where the next book is going to take us.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
Step into Magic is the first book in the middle grade fantasy series, Portals to Whyland by author Day Leitao. I thought Step into Magic was a solid first book in the series. In some ways, it was solidly in the middle grade category,, but in other ways I did think it was a little busy for a middle grade book, but I will get more into that in a bit. Step into Magic was a fun story about our main character Karina who find a pair of magic shoes, which leads her to a magic land. I really enjoyed the story and I can't wait to pick up the second book in the Portals to Whyland series.
Karina is fourteen, and what fourteen year old girl would not love to get swept away to a magical world to go on an adventure? What I loved about Step into Magic was that I was instantly hooked with the story. There was no slow start, we got to dive right into the action, which was awesome. I liked Karina. And I liked that as soon as she got to Whyland that the plot got even more interesting. Things are not what they seem in Whyland, and I was really excited to find out more. And I got more and more excited as the story progressed and we started meeting more and more characters and learning more. But then, we got to a point around half way through the book where I thought things got a little too busy. There was a lot going on, and there were a lot of characters. It was harder to keep track of everyone and everything.
I do think by the end of the book, everything kind of evened out, and there is the potential that it will be even better in the next installment, but I do wish there were a handful less characters introduced in this story. I think just focusing on Karina, Cayla, Darian and Sian would have been more than enough. I especially want to see more from Sian, so hopefully he will play a larger role in the next story.
Overall, Step into Magic was a fun magical story that is perfect for middle grade readers who are looking to go on a fast paced magical adventure. I am excited to see where the next book is going to take us.
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs
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