Reviews

Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner

daisymartha's review

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adventurous dark funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

v_dud's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious 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? No

3.75

theunrulyasian's review

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adventurous funny mysterious relaxing 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

3.75

serisaur's review

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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

3.0

mosiia's review

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adventurous emotional funny 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? Yes

3.75

adajorda's review

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adventurous funny 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

stxfanie's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

bubbledncr's review

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4.0

Entertaining to read, I really only have one spoilery complaint.

It becomes pretty clear about halfway through the book that the author intends to make the murderer be one of the only 3 people Onna has met in the gigantic city she just moved to, which felt awfully contrived when they're in a city of thousands with who knows how many wizards in it. It wasn't even like she met any of them as part of her investigation, either. Just the three random men she's met all happen to be the best suspects.

lottiegasp's review

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

3.5

This was a fun murder mystery set in a magical world of trolls, wizards and fairies. It sometimes felt a bit young adult in its themes and writing style, but overall was enjoyable.

nightmarebees's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

this was so weird and fun! it honestly doesn’t feel like anything else i’ve read before. the world waggoner built here is just so cool: the differences in human and troll gender constructs; the in-fiction epigraphs that bring in smaller details without feeling info-dumpy; the mathematical/coding system of magic in this world… it really doesn’t remind me of any other fantasy world and that’s hard to do.

i love our main cast of characters. i love that while onna has thoughts of romance and flirtation, it’s far from being a major part of her story, focusing on her building a life as a wizard. i love tsira and jeckran’s weird little love story, and the way both of them look out for each other. 

it’s also just so well-written in terms of language and style. the sense of humor and the unique turns of phrase stood out to me.

the only thing keeping this from a full five stars for me is that the plot placing could’ve been smoother. there are some big events that get covered very quickly, while other less action/plot intensive scenes drag on a bit. very excited to read the next book