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hedyharper's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, Xenophobia, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Blood, Kidnapping, and Murder
qrschulte's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
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
5.0
I loved this book!!! If you’re looking for a Harry Potter dupe that actually has diversity (race, gender, sexuality, disability) you have to pick this up. I loved all the nods to other authors in the “background” characters’s names; a very fun addition. AND I CAN’T WAIT TO HEAR WHAT HAPPENS NEXT TO MY SWEET BABIES!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Racism, Gaslighting, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, Confinement, Abandonment, Child abuse, Hate crime, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Murder, Torture, Medical content, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, and Child death
jupternorth's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Xenophobia, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Child death
clarabooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Bullying, and Racism
Minor: Violence, Slavery, and Murder
ejthephoenix's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
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
The book is actually 401 pages long. Its an amazing read and as a fan of Harry Potter I loved it. This book is so magical and inclusive and I wish this were real so bad. I want to be part of this world. All of the characters are so diverse and I feel like many people are represented through this book. I can't wait for the second one
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Murder, Child death, Classism, and Racism
halfbloodprincess_hogwarts's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
I love that this magical school in the clouds. Our MC Ella is the first conjuror ever to be accepted into this school. She comes from a family of conjurors and as a whole are looked down on and thought to be bad or unnatural.
Then a dangerous criminal escapes prison and thought to be aided by Ella. She then becomes a suspect in the Marvellian world and her mentor has also disappeared. So she teams up with her newfound friends to clear her name and find her mentor, Masterji Thakur.
I love the plot twists and learning the different magical abilities people possessed.
Then a dangerous criminal escapes prison and thought to be aided by Ella. She then becomes a suspect in the Marvellian world and her mentor has also disappeared. So she teams up with her newfound friends to clear her name and find her mentor, Masterji Thakur.
I love the plot twists and learning the different magical abilities people possessed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Grief, Hate crime, and Murder
emily_mh's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I can definitely see the overwhelming potential for this series and I will be continuing with it, but unfortunately this first book fell a little flat for me.
Let's start with the positives! Clayton has created an incredibly rich magical world. I liked the steampunk vibes and how this played into the types of transport featured. In terms of the Arcanum Training Institute, it was clear a lot of thought had gone into the Paragons and what magic could do, and it was cool seeing this reflected in the classes that Ella took. My absolute favourite part of the worldbuilding was the shops and foods that Clayton envisioned. It's these little details that really bring worlds to life for me!
As well as this, the main character Ella was a lovely one to follow. I liked her determination and curiosity. Finally, I thought it was sweet that Clayton named so many minor characters after her author friends - it was a nice touch.
Now time for the negatives. My biggest one is that you are really thrown in the deep end regarding worldbuilding - names and terminology are thrown at you in a kind of info-dumpy way so that for the first wee while I was a bit lost and overwhelmed. I still don't fully understand the difference between Conjuring and Marvelling, and why the latter shunned the former (maybe I missed something important??).
My other major issue with the book was pacing. I am being fully serious when I say that an actual plot directly involving the MC doesn't begin until you are over 60% of the way through the book. Prior to this Ella is finding her footing at the ATI, which is an important part of the story, but means that the overarching plot that is mentioned in the synopsis is pushed into the last third of the book and rushed through. I also found the way the climax was written to be quite anti-climactic. I will say that when the plot did kick in I was enjoying my time with the book much more, which gives me lots of hope for the next instalment in the series.
Overall, while I was a little disappointed by this book I would by no means say it was bad and I'm really looking forward to picking up the next instalment and seeing where Ella goes next.
As a side note, I listened to the audiobook for this one which I definitely would not recommend. The narrator could not do the accents required by the narrative and there were too many mispronunciations (e.g. preening was pronounced as pre-enning, and mimicry was pronounced as me-me-cry). The narrator also didn't follow textual cues (e.g. "she whispered" or "she hollered") and seemed more focussed one enunciation than narrating naturally and with flow.
Let's start with the positives! Clayton has created an incredibly rich magical world. I liked the steampunk vibes and how this played into the types of transport featured. In terms of the Arcanum Training Institute, it was clear a lot of thought had gone into the Paragons and what magic could do, and it was cool seeing this reflected in the classes that Ella took. My absolute favourite part of the worldbuilding was the shops and foods that Clayton envisioned. It's these little details that really bring worlds to life for me!
As well as this, the main character Ella was a lovely one to follow. I liked her determination and curiosity. Finally, I thought it was sweet that Clayton named so many minor characters after her author friends - it was a nice touch.
Now time for the negatives. My biggest one is that you are really thrown in the deep end regarding worldbuilding - names and terminology are thrown at you in a kind of info-dumpy way so that for the first wee while I was a bit lost and overwhelmed. I still don't fully understand the difference between Conjuring and Marvelling, and why the latter shunned the former (maybe I missed something important??).
My other major issue with the book was pacing. I am being fully serious when I say that an actual plot directly involving the MC doesn't begin until you are over 60% of the way through the book. Prior to this Ella is finding her footing at the ATI, which is an important part of the story, but means that the overarching plot that is mentioned in the synopsis is pushed into the last third of the book and rushed through. I also found the way the climax was written to be quite anti-climactic. I will say that when the plot did kick in I was enjoying my time with the book much more, which gives me lots of hope for the next instalment in the series.
Overall, while I was a little disappointed by this book I would by no means say it was bad and I'm really looking forward to picking up the next instalment and seeing where Ella goes next.
As a side note, I listened to the audiobook for this one which I definitely would not recommend. The narrator could not do the accents required by the narrative and there were too many mispronunciations (e.g. preening was pronounced as pre-enning, and mimicry was pronounced as me-me-cry). The narrator also didn't follow textual cues (e.g. "she whispered" or "she hollered") and seemed more focussed one enunciation than narrating naturally and with flow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Bullying, and Racism
Moderate: Violence and Hate crime
Minor: Excrement, Death, Toxic friendship, Blood, Gore, Murder, Police brutality, Confinement, Physical abuse, Child death, Torture, Slavery, Racism, Animal cruelty, and Medical content
Graphic: bigotry. Note: the racism in the graphic warning above refers mostly to ethnic racism. Minor: missing loved one, illness, self-injury, loss of a loved one, imprisonment.librarianlayla's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
Everything we needed and more.
If you're looking for a book filled with mystery, diverse characters and set in a magical school with a best friend trio - then this is for you.
Ella's journey through her first year at the Arcanum is non stop action. This world is rich and fully fledged with magical creatures, marvellous abilities and very real, raw, experiences.
The way that Ella is treated by students and teachers alike really drew a lot of parallels with my childhood as we as struggles that continue to this day. This book really made me feel things.
Book 2 cannot come quick enough!
If you're looking for a book filled with mystery, diverse characters and set in a magical school with a best friend trio - then this is for you.
Ella's journey through her first year at the Arcanum is non stop action. This world is rich and fully fledged with magical creatures, marvellous abilities and very real, raw, experiences.
The way that Ella is treated by students and teachers alike really drew a lot of parallels with my childhood as we as struggles that continue to this day. This book really made me feel things.
Book 2 cannot come quick enough!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, and Xenophobia
Minor: Murder, Child death, Racism, and Death
More...