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sarahowens's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyed this one! Picked it up since it was on lists for voting for books of the year, and definitely a fun one! Very cool magical system with the use of books for spells and the power struggles that come along with them. Loved the characters and the surprises along the way
mikaiu's review against another edition
2.5
another writer who has succumbed to accidentally creating a friendship between two dudes that makes for a more compelling basis of a romance than the intended romance. it's such a shame that because of the sacred laws that have been inscribed in the universe since the dawn of time, we cannot have two homosexual relationships in a single novel. it's just basic math for all of us here to deduce that the only age-appropriate single woman leftover by the end of this book is in need of an equally age-appropriate single man. we are so very fortunate that there is not one, but two such specimens standing here before us. we'll choose collins because he *checks notes* likes long hair. also he's very big and strong and that other dude is anemic and unsocialized so he can't be a love interest. not to mention, collins is large.
okay jokes aside,
this book had a lot of potential but was in desperate need of a trip to the chopping block. part one drags on a lot and much of the time is spent inside the three main characters' heads with their thoughts. if you're lucky, something might happen to move the plot forward incrementally in each chapter. esther's pov was by far the most interesting and for awhile it felt like i was being forced to get through joanna and nicholas's chapters just so that i could get back to esther. the characters are extremely passive and by the end of the book you look back on them and you're like wow okay every single one of them were essentially puppets at the behest of one character telling them what to do. there's also a whole lot of telling over showing happening, which is most glaring during the massive expositional info-dump about someone's backstory that is meant to put all the pieces together even though half the cast is not present.
the official summary also felt misleading. it implies that because of the father's death, esther and joanna rush to reunite and solve the mystery of it. rather, his death is simply another event that occurs and they continue on with their lives until another character mobilizes them for other purposes. the circumstances of his death end up having little to do with the plot, which wasn't quite as grand as the summary made it out to be. there's a fascinating magic system regarding the books but focus is primarily on the characters, who weren't developed enough. this probably comes down to my expectations of the genre, because this is marketed as a fantasy and it reads more like literary fiction with magical realism.
okay jokes aside,
this book had a lot of potential but was in desperate need of a trip to the chopping block. part one drags on a lot and much of the time is spent inside the three main characters' heads with their thoughts. if you're lucky, something might happen to move the plot forward incrementally in each chapter. esther's pov was by far the most interesting and for awhile it felt like i was being forced to get through joanna and nicholas's chapters just so that i could get back to esther. the characters are extremely passive and by the end of the book you look back on them and you're like wow okay every single one of them were essentially puppets at the behest of one character telling them what to do. there's also a whole lot of telling over showing happening, which is most glaring during the massive expositional info-dump about someone's backstory that is meant to put all the pieces together even though half the cast is not present.
the official summary also felt misleading. it implies that because of the father's death, esther and joanna rush to reunite and solve the mystery of it. rather, his death is simply another event that occurs and they continue on with their lives until another character mobilizes them for other purposes. the circumstances of his death end up having little to do with the plot, which wasn't quite as grand as the summary made it out to be. there's a fascinating magic system regarding the books but focus is primarily on the characters, who weren't developed enough. this probably comes down to my expectations of the genre, because this is marketed as a fantasy and it reads more like literary fiction with magical realism.
hollipapa's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
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
3.75
I really enjoyed the premise of this book; the plot, the characters, the magic, the settings (I LOVE that part of it was set in Antarctica), and the twists were all great, but the wordiness was a bit of a drag. I ended up skimming the last third of the book because it really started to drag but I needed to know what happened (which is a good thing).
Even with the wordiness of the last third (which made it feel a bit YA, but that is probably due to this being a first novel) I would recommend this read to anyone who enjoys fast paced books based around book magic, or contemporary fantasy with multiple pov and travel (both of which I enjoy).
Even with the wordiness of the last third (which made it feel a bit YA, but that is probably due to this being a first novel) I would recommend this read to anyone who enjoys fast paced books based around book magic, or contemporary fantasy with multiple pov and travel (both of which I enjoy).
loganvw's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
[audiobook] Fun enough. Not too long.
logoddess's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ellenareads's review against another edition
Will continue next month, it's just gonna give me anxiety if I leave it on CR until then...
laurora's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
hanis's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.0
Highly recommended! It’s very good!
taylors_escapism's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
3.25
omgmkg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I devoured this book! It is a lovely meditation on sisterhood with all my favorite fantasy tropes—but grown up! I don’t think I loooooved the way the big reveal was handled—just all the info at once —but everything else was deftly done, which is always hard in a magical book.