Scan barcode
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
4.0
This book had two parts - a fantasy and a mystery. I found the vibe to be propulsive and I enjoyed aspects of it a great deal.
The FANTASY element was excellent - the world building is light and easy to immerse into, the concepts are fun and unique enough. The characters were a bit formulaic, but that was easily ignored because of the easy writing style.
Unfortunately the mystery element seemed tacked on to the end for me. Characters that were thinly written in the fantasy portion, were required to be more fleshed out later and that flesh out felt abrupt to me. It would have been great to have the two stories more integrated from the beginning.
The teen character's choices were very "teen", but at least they had clear motivation. Most frustrating, I didn't understand the motivation of the adult characters throughout most of the book. Some were too thin in the fantasy portion so they seemed just a placeholder character, when later they were fleshed out for the mystery in a way that was conflicting to the formula - which is a choice but felt misleading to me. That said, I enjoyed the reading.
Some quotes that stopped me that I want to remember. I listened on audio, so forgive punctuation mistakes.
"I will not be your leash, my love." Chapter 5, ~54%
"Do I regret it? .... It depends on which weighs more: a life or a soul." Chapter 5, ~55%
The FANTASY element was excellent - the world building is light and easy to immerse into, the concepts are fun and unique enough. The characters were a bit formulaic, but that was easily ignored because of the easy writing style.
Unfortunately the mystery element seemed tacked on to the end for me. Characters that were thinly written in the fantasy portion, were required to be more fleshed out later and that flesh out felt abrupt to me. It would have been great to have the two stories more integrated from the beginning.
The teen character's choices were very "teen", but at least they had clear motivation. Most frustrating, I didn't understand the motivation of the adult characters throughout most of the book. Some were too thin in the fantasy portion so they seemed just a placeholder character, when later they were fleshed out for the mystery in a way that was conflicting to the formula - which is a choice but felt misleading to me. That said, I enjoyed the reading.
Spoiler
Some quotes that stopped me that I want to remember. I listened on audio, so forgive punctuation mistakes.
"I will not be your leash, my love." Chapter 5, ~54%
"Do I regret it? .... It depends on which weighs more: a life or a soul." Chapter 5, ~55%
stephtherose_'s review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written and an absolutely remarkable story!
drymming's review against another edition
2.0
How do i put this nicely. This was hard to get through. DNF at 20%
I didn’t understand why a random story started randomly in the middle of the original. I couldn’t get if magic was real or not, i was mainly confused.
The narrator spoke like a bad luna lovegood. Uninspiring and confused herself. Her father figures were also confused and toxic. Gosh.
My favourite character was the dog.
Do not recommend.
I didn’t understand why a random story started randomly in the middle of the original. I couldn’t get if magic was real or not, i was mainly confused.
The narrator spoke like a bad luna lovegood. Uninspiring and confused herself. Her father figures were also confused and toxic. Gosh.
My favourite character was the dog.
Do not recommend.
gardenfairyreads's review against another edition
5.0
woah.
This book reminded me a lot of the Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, both in the writing style and the formatting of the storytelling.
Overall, just a super beautifully written, well plotted book.
This book reminded me a lot of the Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, both in the writing style and the formatting of the storytelling.
Overall, just a super beautifully written, well plotted book.
mimikins34's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed it, I tried to take my time to let the story last.
zed's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.25
vermilionred's review against another edition
5.0
For some reason, it wasn't what I expected walking in. It was about a kid looking for her dad in a relatively modern setting against hidden the evil adult conspiracy, and for some reason that setup feels really dated to me and kind of nostalgic and also good, while also looking head-on at some of the rough edges that books from that era which follow this format often display. It was Enid Blyton's adventure children. It Bill Bergson and the White Rose Rescue. It was Swallows and Amazons. Except that it was about a mixed-race girl and her father the antiquities collector and also her dog. It was good. I liked it.
bibliogirl0511's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? No
4.0
katie_helf96's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Bad is my favorite character hands down.