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elihaliwell's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Racism, Death, and Racial slurs
penguins_save_lives's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A solid enough novel, but it’s missing the sense of wonder. The writer’s style is too choppy (and sometimes super sexist) to capture the mood of “travel through time and space with magical books.”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Sexism, and Racism
Minor: Terminal illness
collegeoflores's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
Minor: Misogyny
heidi_grey's review against another edition
I really wanted to like this, the premise is so fantastic. But the pacing was all over the place and the characters lacked some depth for my taste. It‘s like the author came up with a rough plot but didn‘t manage to properly flesh everything out.
There were also multiple comments on women struggling with food and their body images that didn‘t serve any purpose other than reinforcing stereotypes which really irked me.
There were also multiple comments on women struggling with food and their body images that didn‘t serve any purpose other than reinforcing stereotypes which really irked me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Misogyny, and Violence
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Gun violence, Blood, Death, Vomit, Murder, Racism, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
laurenmcglamery's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I was intrigued with the idea of this book and it’s so very unique.
I liked:
I loooovee Cassie and Izzy from the first page. I was sucked in. Then, the chapters themselves start jumping. Almost creating a sense of time-travel for the reader!
The descriptions of places were lovely. I enjoyed imagining what Brown was describing.
I struggled with:
The extreme violence - felt out of place in an otherwise vibey story. The characters inflicting the violence were also cartoonish in how they are “bad.”
But, the main reason I struggle to give this a 4 star fullyare the racist descriptions of characters. He does it in a way that almost feels okay which just feels so wrong.
With some coaching on how to describe people and develop his characters, Brown might be a fun author to follow!
I was intrigued with the idea of this book and it’s so very unique.
I liked:
The descriptions of places were lovely. I enjoyed imagining what Brown was describing.
I struggled with:
But, the main reason I struggle to give this a 4 star fully
With some coaching on how to describe people and develop his characters, Brown might be a fun author to follow!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Racial slurs, Gore, Racism, and Torture
carlyguari's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for a digital advanced copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest review.
One of my friends loved this book and her recommendation convinced me to get a NetGalley account to read and review this book!
This book had a lot of things going for it that I love: magical realism/magic, multiple POV, convergence, beautifully illustrative descriptions of places and things. I thought this book was 90% fast paced. Every chapter left you wanting to read onto the next chapter. It was a slow start and there were some shifts in plot or perspective that gave me some whiplash (the first chapter about The Woman, for example, I wasn't aware the book got so graphic and dark.) Later on there are some plot points that slow the plot down almost to a halt. I also liked how the author handled a particular sci-fi/fantasy plot mechanic:time travel .
However, there are things that left a bad taste in my mouth. While the description of places and things was beautiful and vivid, I found the description of people lacking. I felt like the characters were caricatures, especially the villains. To me they read almost like a cartoon villain, merely evil for the sake of evil-ness. Also, the way the author attempted to double down on one character's evil-ness was to ham-fist bigoted statements from this character. And its not just this character, later two charactersIzzy and Lottie are describing other characters and many of the descriptions are racist and unnecessary. "They look like a shampoo commercial for Nazis." The West African man who is a drug lord. The Chinese people who are rumored to work for the Communist party. As other reviewers have also said, the women in the book often comment about their looks and food. Regarding the plot, I was annoyed at how there were gaping plot holes which mostly became plot armor or a means to forward the plot. However, it didn't make sense to me that the characters would miss these kinds of things. And the delivery of the plot twists therefore felt underwhelming.
Who it's for: entry level fantasy readers, someone who needs a fast-paced stand alone read, people who love books about people who love books.
Who it's NOT for: people who think too hard about what they read (e.g. me all the time), fantasy/sci-fi pros, people who are bothered by inflammatory characterizations and language, people who don't like meta and philosophical ideas in their books.
One of my friends loved this book and her recommendation convinced me to get a NetGalley account to read and review this book!
This book had a lot of things going for it that I love: magical realism/magic, multiple POV, convergence, beautifully illustrative descriptions of places and things. I thought this book was 90% fast paced. Every chapter left you wanting to read onto the next chapter. It was a slow start and there were some shifts in plot or perspective that gave me some whiplash (the first chapter about The Woman, for example, I wasn't aware the book got so graphic and dark.) Later on there are some plot points that slow the plot down almost to a halt. I also liked how the author handled a particular sci-fi/fantasy plot mechanic:
However, there are things that left a bad taste in my mouth. While the description of places and things was beautiful and vivid, I found the description of people lacking. I felt like the characters were caricatures, especially the villains. To me they read almost like a cartoon villain, merely evil for the sake of evil-ness. Also, the way the author attempted to double down on one character's evil-ness was to ham-fist bigoted statements from this character. And its not just this character, later two characters
Who it's for: entry level fantasy readers, someone who needs a fast-paced stand alone read, people who love books about people who love books.
Who it's NOT for: people who think too hard about what they read (e.g. me all the time), fantasy/sci-fi pros, people who are bothered by inflammatory characterizations and language, people who don't like meta and philosophical ideas in their books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, and Vomit
beccisays's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
For me, this was a powerful book. I cried multiple times, especially so during the raw moments of grief and loss of paternal figures. There was an ache of loneliness that echoed throughout the book and it caught me unawares. I really connected with Cassie's desire to return to that feeling of home, of feeling displaced and adrift making her way through life.
From the beginning of the book, I was captivated by the irresistible bookish quotes and setting. Our main character works in a second-hand bookstore in New York, before being swept along on a journey to faraway places and high-stakes escapades. The glimpses of places such as Prague, Venice, New Orleans and New York have awoken my wanderlust and I'm now craving a solo trip to people watch and soak up a foreign city.
The magic system is a lovely metaphor for books holding power and having the ability to affect and transport you. All readers can relate to the feeling of getting lost or escaping within a book, as well as emerging having gained something unexpected. It reminded me a lot of The Starless Sea, The Midnight Library or The End of Mr Y, due to the prominence of books, libraries and doorways to other realities. However, this story felt more rooted in magical realism than your typical fantasy. Some twists (which I don't want to spoil) felt more sci-fi or paranormal in nature than magical and I'll be honest, many of the more scientific musings of the characters or events went over my head.
I don't disagree with other reviewers that some of the characters are abhorrent, designed to be shocking, racist, misogynistic and hateful and without those characteristics adding much to the plot. I can understand those who choose to avoid media with such content as that offends them. I am glad that I was able to stick with the story, to see the heroes take on such vile villains and values in the end.
Despite that, there is a coziness woven into the story that gives moments of comfort and respite. The Fox Library sounds like a reader's dream, made of old books, carved wood and comfy places to curl up with a cuppa. Regularly the characters steal precious minutes of camaraderie, croissants and coffee in far-flung corners of the world. I was generously provided with an e-book ARC and ended up switching to audiobook after the release and I really enjoyed the narrator's performance. She has a calm, soothing voice that lent itself to the story well. She also skillfully switched between accents and voices, Scottish, South African, French, English and American to name a few and that in itself left a lasting impression.
Thank you Random House UK and Gareth Brown for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
From the beginning of the book, I was captivated by the irresistible bookish quotes and setting. Our main character works in a second-hand bookstore in New York, before being swept along on a journey to faraway places and high-stakes escapades. The glimpses of places such as Prague, Venice, New Orleans and New York have awoken my wanderlust and I'm now craving a solo trip to people watch and soak up a foreign city.
The magic system is a lovely metaphor for books holding power and having the ability to affect and transport you. All readers can relate to the feeling of getting lost or escaping within a book, as well as emerging having gained something unexpected. It reminded me a lot of The Starless Sea, The Midnight Library or The End of Mr Y, due to the prominence of books, libraries and doorways to other realities. However, this story felt more rooted in magical realism than your typical fantasy. Some twists (which I don't want to spoil) felt more sci-fi or paranormal in nature than magical and I'll be honest, many of the more scientific musings of the characters or events went over my head.
I don't disagree with other reviewers that some of the characters are abhorrent, designed to be shocking, racist, misogynistic and hateful and without those characteristics adding much to the plot. I can understand those who choose to avoid media with such content as that offends them. I am glad that I was able to stick with the story, to see the heroes take on such vile villains and values in the end.
Despite that, there is a coziness woven into the story that gives moments of comfort and respite. The Fox Library sounds like a reader's dream, made of old books, carved wood and comfy places to curl up with a cuppa. Regularly the characters steal precious minutes of camaraderie, croissants and coffee in far-flung corners of the world. I was generously provided with an e-book ARC and ended up switching to audiobook after the release and I really enjoyed the narrator's performance. She has a calm, soothing voice that lent itself to the story well. She also skillfully switched between accents and voices, Scottish, South African, French, English and American to name a few and that in itself left a lasting impression.
Thank you Random House UK and Gareth Brown for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Gun violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Torture, Violence, and Misogyny
words_and_pages's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Misogyny, Torture, Sexism, Suicide, and Gun violence
Minor: Fatphobia
_krysta's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? Yes
4.0
This book was thought provoking and has an interesting premise. I enjoyed the overall theme of good versus bad, and how a thirst for power can corrupt. There was a surprising cast of diverse characters I wouldn't have expected to team together so well. The bad people were truly evil, which is where a lot of the horror and violence comes in. So truly consider content warnings on that front, there are some brutal murders. It goes to show how a lot of pain and suffering can lead others to inflict the worst upon the world. I felt the magic books was unique and enjoyed learning how each worked. It was also reflective on how a book can be used for good and bad, depending on the users intentions. I thought the characters also showed immense growth by the end. We get insight into each one and I appreciated the third person omniscent narration for that purpose. The time travel was well done, I didn't have to work too hard to keep track of the time jumps.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Body horror, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Torture, Death of parent, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Racism, Cursing, Eating disorder, Alcohol, and Misogyny
Gruesome death, hateful language by antagonists. Eating disorder minor, really just random comments on food by 2nd fmc.