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asipofcozy's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was quickly enraptured into A Marvelous Light. The story-telling, the magic system, even the characters and their complex backgrounds astounded me.
I loved how intricate and unique the magic system was. Basing the magic around cradles (a Childs game with string) and intricate hand moments and just the fact that the magic itself was quite complex. Not being able to use magic outside of a "contract", how humans are affected by magics and their contracts, and how there is a limit to the use.
I will say that at times, we needed more explanation on the magic system. It took me awhile to put together that the magic was using cradles to facilitate an action. Also, we were given information about the magic system quite late into the book, which would have helped explain a lot of moments and discussions that were had between the characters.
To quickly mention the writing style. The setting of this book is 1908 English and the author does a great job at portraying proper English of that particular time. That being said it felt jarring at times. Sometimes the sentences were quite strange and there were phrases that stuck out that I had no clue to the meaning. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It just took a moment to get into the writing style and the "proper" English of the time period. However, the first 50 pages were headache inducing.
The plot also had a lot of twists and turns. Moments that you thought were giving away parts of the plot only to find out you were quite wrong. There were a few moments that I was right in my assumptions but the whole mystery aspect - most of my guesses were wrong in that respect.
And then there was our beloved characters Robin and Edwin. Out of the two, I feel like Edwin had the most growth and that Robin was there to help him with that growth. When reading Edwin's backstory, the abuse that he faced and continues to face, and his fear of getting hurt - all I wanted to do was give him a big ole hug. He hides behind books and reason - while useful can leave you sheltered from the world and emotions...which he reflects on quite a lot. Robin had some development and had moments of privilege that he also acknowledges as fault.
The chemistry those two had, had me at the seat of my chair for a majority of the book (just saying).
I am definitely looking forward to picking up the rest of the series!
I loved how intricate and unique the magic system was. Basing the magic around cradles (a Childs game with string) and intricate hand moments and just the fact that the magic itself was quite complex. Not being able to use magic outside of a "contract", how humans are affected by magics and their contracts, and how there is a limit to the use.
I will say that at times, we needed more explanation on the magic system. It took me awhile to put together that the magic was using cradles to facilitate an action. Also, we were given information about the magic system quite late into the book, which would have helped explain a lot of moments and discussions that were had between the characters.
To quickly mention the writing style. The setting of this book is 1908 English and the author does a great job at portraying proper English of that particular time. That being said it felt jarring at times. Sometimes the sentences were quite strange and there were phrases that stuck out that I had no clue to the meaning. It's not necessarily a bad thing. It just took a moment to get into the writing style and the "proper" English of the time period. However, the first 50 pages were headache inducing.
The plot also had a lot of twists and turns. Moments that you thought were giving away parts of the plot only to find out you were quite wrong. There were a few moments that I was right in my assumptions but the whole mystery aspect - most of my guesses were wrong in that respect.
And then there was our beloved characters Robin and Edwin. Out of the two, I feel like Edwin had the most growth and that Robin was there to help him with that growth. When reading Edwin's backstory, the abuse that he faced and continues to face, and his fear of getting hurt - all I wanted to do was give him a big ole hug. He hides behind books and reason - while useful can leave you sheltered from the world and emotions...which he reflects on quite a lot. Robin had some development and had moments of privilege that he also acknowledges as fault.
The chemistry those two had, had me at the seat of my chair for a majority of the book (just saying).
I am definitely looking forward to picking up the rest of the series!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Vomit, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Classism, and Murder
Minor: Death, Suicide, Murder, Violence, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent
kshertz's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book is the first in a series and in doing so they end up doing a lot of world building so that is why it’s not a higher score. I think she has some work to do as an author in order to get me to love characters more. I was not as in love with these two men as I really need to be in order for the love story to work out as it was written. But the adventure was good and I enjoyed all of the magic. I think I wish It was just more plot and more time dedicated to falling in love with the characters and the character backstory as opposed to the world building.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
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