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audbaum's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved this book! My only qualm was that I guessed the person responsible for the murders fairly early on in the book. That did not ruin my enjoyment, and does point to the fact that the author did a good job of foreshadowing. I also loved how queer the world seems to be. Like, being attracted to whoever is normal. Also, the primary romance that happens in the book, despite being ostensibly between a male character and a female character (I use male and female because I’m not entirely sure how gender works in this society) feels super queer or at the very least transgressive of our societal norms regarding relationships. I would recommend reading this book and I enjoyed myself the whole way through. It felt like a breath of fresh air. I loved the magic system, as a nerd who loves math it really seemed like the creation of magic was often about good formal definitions and rigorous connections between them and etc, which really makes me happy. I also loved the world building we saw in this book and I would love the author to return to this world for a different story, potentially something in a far flung part of the world or a different time period.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content, Alcohol, Blood, and Sexism
It talked about sex a good deal without really describing sexual acts in detail.ohnoitskylie's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
An enjoyable fantasy-mystery read and world building that feels incredibly real. It is a bit more of a distant than close third person, so at times I did feel as I was being told about some events that happened to people rather than living it alongside the characters. That said, I did appreciate how the author changed up the writing style just a bit for each point of view. It made thing easier to follow and more interesting. Lastly, Tsira is one of my favorite fantasy characters now!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Sexual content, Gun violence, and Violence
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
UNNATURAL MAGIC explores sexism and racism in a fantasy setting, following a human girl trying to learn magic when her brilliance is seen as threatening rather than extraordinary, a troll trying to figure out what she wants (given her mother's expectations) and the human man she finds in the snow and nurses back to health. Eventually, they all end up working to try and stop a series of murders of trolls by humans, which is a recently brutal escalation of long-simmering resentment between their two peoples.
Onna's storyline involves sexist expectations of her as a girl, not quite yet a woman. The whole reason she leaves her home country is because she was denied entry to a magical academy because the examiners dismissed her as a village girl. Her class was less of a factor than her gender, but the combination of the two meant they ignored her on a technicality.
This is the first book in what is thus far a set of two books in the same world. This one doesn’t seem to be specifically setting up anything to be resolved later, but I suspect that if and when I do read the next one I might realize things I didn’t notice on this read through. For now, this functions as a stand-alone book and can be treated as such. It resolves its own major plot points and while it gives an idea of what the characters may do next, it's in the broad strokes of the trajectories of their lives, not in way that specifically teases a sequel. There’s been a series of murders of trolls, spread across a pretty large area, but it seem that the humans of various regions don’t know that the problem is more widespread. While wealthy and well-connected trolls are at the highest levels of society with a great deal of control, individual trolls are being seemingly randomly murdered and their bodies mutilated for some unknown purpose. Onna becomes involved in the investigation as part of pursuing her magical studies. Tsira (who is half-troll and half-human) and the human she rescued end up working together to try and track down the murderers after someone close to Tsira is killed.
I love the relationship between Sara and her Pink (the human man she found in the snow). More than any individual facet of the dynamic between them, I like how they continually work at their relationship in a way that makes sense, but also shows that it’s some thing that takes work to maintain. They don’t always understand each other perfectly, but they end up finding a cadence that works for them and gives them the tools to deal with whatever happens.
The trolls have a system of social roles that are separate from gender in a way that doesn’t neatly map onto human conceptions of sex and gender. To them, a human system that’s based on anatomy seems completely nonsensical. I put a lot of thought into how to denote the kinds of queer rep rep contained in the book. Ultimately, I think the best analog for is Tsira as genderqueer and trans, because even though that definitely does not perfectly map onto how she would describe herself, it is the most analogous language I have to denote the kind of character she is and the way she is understood (or not) by the humans around her.
There's a lot of excellent worldbuilding. There’s little things like how those who do know of Onna's home, as she gets further away, know of it because it has a pencil eraser factory. Eventually, they only know about the factory and haven't heard of her village at all. I found that to be a fun detail, and her reaction to each new mention changes throughout the book as she hears it over and over. As for the broader worldbuilding, the more foundational element is the way that the magic is done through a form of advanced mathematics involving specify parameters for what will be affected by the spell. It’s a bit like making calculus magic, and the book never attempts to teach any particular magical equation because the process is the point, not the details. It means that in practical terms, the role that magic can play in the book is extremely flexible, able to be adapted for the needs of the plot, but also having limitations in a way that never feel contrived. I also noticed the while way the humans have sexism is a manner that I find broadly familiar, there are a little things that make it clear that it’s not meant to be a direct copy of the way the problems would play out in the real world. One of these little ways is that the human men are frequently described as wearing skirts. It's a little way of making it clear that this isn't just Earth with magic added, but a wholly different place which has broadly similar problems that play out in its own particular ways. It’s nearly the end of the book before the two main plot threads converge. It lends some sense of scale how wide flung the troll murders are, spanning countries and at least one sea voyage.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and will likely pick up the other book set in this world. This seems like a hidden gem, and I hope more people try it.
Onna's storyline involves sexist expectations of her as a girl, not quite yet a woman. The whole reason she leaves her home country is because she was denied entry to a magical academy because the examiners dismissed her as a village girl. Her class was less of a factor than her gender, but the combination of the two meant they ignored her on a technicality.
This is the first book in what is thus far a set of two books in the same world. This one doesn’t seem to be specifically setting up anything to be resolved later, but I suspect that if and when I do read the next one I might realize things I didn’t notice on this read through. For now, this functions as a stand-alone book and can be treated as such. It resolves its own major plot points and while it gives an idea of what the characters may do next, it's in the broad strokes of the trajectories of their lives, not in way that specifically teases a sequel. There’s been a series of murders of trolls, spread across a pretty large area, but it seem that the humans of various regions don’t know that the problem is more widespread. While wealthy and well-connected trolls are at the highest levels of society with a great deal of control, individual trolls are being seemingly randomly murdered and their bodies mutilated for some unknown purpose. Onna becomes involved in the investigation as part of pursuing her magical studies. Tsira (who is half-troll and half-human) and the human she rescued end up working together to try and track down the murderers after someone close to Tsira is killed.
I love the relationship between Sara and her Pink (the human man she found in the snow). More than any individual facet of the dynamic between them, I like how they continually work at their relationship in a way that makes sense, but also shows that it’s some thing that takes work to maintain. They don’t always understand each other perfectly, but they end up finding a cadence that works for them and gives them the tools to deal with whatever happens.
The trolls have a system of social roles that are separate from gender in a way that doesn’t neatly map onto human conceptions of sex and gender. To them, a human system that’s based on anatomy seems completely nonsensical. I put a lot of thought into how to denote the kinds of queer rep rep contained in the book. Ultimately, I think the best analog for is Tsira as genderqueer and trans, because even though that definitely does not perfectly map onto how she would describe herself, it is the most analogous language I have to denote the kind of character she is and the way she is understood (or not) by the humans around her.
There's a lot of excellent worldbuilding. There’s little things like how those who do know of Onna's home, as she gets further away, know of it because it has a pencil eraser factory. Eventually, they only know about the factory and haven't heard of her village at all. I found that to be a fun detail, and her reaction to each new mention changes throughout the book as she hears it over and over. As for the broader worldbuilding, the more foundational element is the way that the magic is done through a form of advanced mathematics involving specify parameters for what will be affected by the spell. It’s a bit like making calculus magic, and the book never attempts to teach any particular magical equation because the process is the point, not the details. It means that in practical terms, the role that magic can play in the book is extremely flexible, able to be adapted for the needs of the plot, but also having limitations in a way that never feel contrived. I also noticed the while way the humans have sexism is a manner that I find broadly familiar, there are a little things that make it clear that it’s not meant to be a direct copy of the way the problems would play out in the real world. One of these little ways is that the human men are frequently described as wearing skirts. It's a little way of making it clear that this isn't just Earth with magic added, but a wholly different place which has broadly similar problems that play out in its own particular ways. It’s nearly the end of the book before the two main plot threads converge. It lends some sense of scale how wide flung the troll murders are, spanning countries and at least one sea voyage.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and will likely pick up the other book set in this world. This seems like a hidden gem, and I hope more people try it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, Sexism, Death, Gore, Grief, Blood, Classism, and Violence
Moderate: Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, and Vomit
Minor: Drug abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, Suicide, War, Drug use, and Excrement
auberginehayz's review
adventurous
funny
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? No
4.5
A different and excellent fantasy world! The characters were very compelling and relatable. Strong recommend.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Sexism
massivepizzacrust's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
An interesting idea and I enjoyed the setting and the plot. Onna's storyline was lovely, I could have kept reading about her developing her power. I really loved her initial illusion transformation and I kept thinking we were going to get an even better demonstration of her particular powers during the finale. But it was still cute and cozy.
However, I will never be able to enjoy Tsira and Jeckran's relationship. Tsira decided what was going to happen from the moment she laid her eyes on Jeckran. D/s relationships are still partnerships but this relationship was only Tsira deciding how things will happen and Jeckran putting up the mildest of fights that never get considered. When he says he's uncomfortable with something, Tsira rolls his eyes at him and thinks he's cute. Jeckran just happens to always give consent after the fact (except before the explicit non-con scene, which I did appreciate). How lucky for Tsira that she never oversteps his boundaries. Except she does and there are no consequences, even when Jeckran is so embarrassed he can't even look at her.
However, I will never be able to enjoy Tsira and Jeckran's relationship. Tsira decided what was going to happen from the moment she laid her eyes on Jeckran. D/s relationships are still partnerships but this relationship was only Tsira deciding how things will happen and Jeckran putting up the mildest of fights that never get considered. When he says he's uncomfortable with something, Tsira rolls his eyes at him and thinks he's cute. Jeckran just happens to always give consent after the fact (except before the explicit non-con scene, which I did appreciate). How lucky for Tsira that she never oversteps his boundaries. Except she does and there are no consequences, even when Jeckran is so embarrassed he can't even look at her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Racism, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
chriscarvell17's review
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This book left much to be desired in my opinion. It was heavy on sex and violence and light on the pieces of fantasy that draw me to the genre. The book itself is well written and I enjoy the author’s voice, but the plot was rather slow and focused less on Onna’s personal journey into full mage-hood than I would’ve hoped. And though I know we’re to take Tsira’s pregnancy as some type of miracle that points towards the restitution of life after so many had been taken, it shocked me that Tsira and Jeckran were the final people we see in the story when Onna’s is the one I felt most connected to. This felt like it could have been two books, although I love the way her writing weaves the stories into crossed paths.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, and Gun violence
lizreadsbooks's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Wizards and witches and trolls— oh my! This had some wonderfully quirky characters to root for and some great character pairings. I liked the magic and the mentorship in particular. The romance plot points didn’t work as well for me, and the pacing felt uneven. I think this could have been a great novella with some slow points cut out from the middle. In all, though, a fun fantasy with grit and heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual content
rmurdock's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
Moderate: Murder
szuum's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy
jlstein's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, and Violence