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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-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
This book was a wild ride! I think it’s up there as one of the fastest paced books I’ve read… it was just one thing after the other with twists and turns and rabbit holes!
At this California University, there’s a class you can take called Folklore 517… only it’s not in the course catalog, you have to find out about it by word of mouth, and you have to literally FIND the class off campus in an old theatre. Each class gets harder and harder to locate as you need to decipher clues to determine where you think they might be held (a different location each time with a new folklore told). Manage to complete the course and a credit will magically show up on your transcript.
Holland, now a TA for the Professor of this course stumbles on a clue one night that leads her to believe the folklores she learned about might actually be true… and it sets things in motion for a chain of events that just spiral.
If you loved The DiVinci Code or the movie National Treasure, I think you’ll love this. It was like a Magical Realism Treasure Hunt. I couldn’t stop trying to guess theories and couldn’t put the book down!
I went back and forth on the rating… initially I gave it 4.5 stars because I didn’t think it ended with enough tied up. After reflecting a bit, I decided since there IS a sequel, it’s best not to ding an author for doing their job and making it so you can’t WAIT for book 2. In sitting down to write this review… I’m realizing just how many things weren’t explained that weren’t monoumental enough to probably even be addressed in book 2… so for that reason I’m back to a 4.5 - it was a fairly short read and I do think we needed some more pages to answer some things while still keeping plenty of excitement for the sequel.
⭐️ 4.5/5
At this California University, there’s a class you can take called Folklore 517… only it’s not in the course catalog, you have to find out about it by word of mouth, and you have to literally FIND the class off campus in an old theatre. Each class gets harder and harder to locate as you need to decipher clues to determine where you think they might be held (a different location each time with a new folklore told). Manage to complete the course and a credit will magically show up on your transcript.
Holland, now a TA for the Professor of this course stumbles on a clue one night that leads her to believe the folklores she learned about might actually be true… and it sets things in motion for a chain of events that just spiral.
If you loved The DiVinci Code or the movie National Treasure, I think you’ll love this. It was like a Magical Realism Treasure Hunt. I couldn’t stop trying to guess theories and couldn’t put the book down!
I went back and forth on the rating… initially I gave it 4.5 stars because I didn’t think it ended with enough tied up. After reflecting a bit, I decided since there IS a sequel, it’s best not to ding an author for doing their job and making it so you can’t WAIT for book 2. In sitting down to write this review… I’m realizing just how many things weren’t explained that weren’t monoumental enough to probably even be addressed in book 2… so for that reason I’m back to a 4.5 - it was a fairly short read and I do think we needed some more pages to answer some things while still keeping plenty of excitement for the sequel.
⭐️ 4.5/5
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
this was a good mystery/magical realism novel that kept me on my toes. i hated putting it down because i was just so confused by what was happening to this poor main character lol, so many strange things are happening to her or around her and it’s just up to her to figure it out 💀
i liked it for the most part, but was left wanting more.the plot twists were good, but the magical elements felt loose and extremely unexplored. i get that time was of the essence in the book, but i think there was definitely time to have more lore explained. also, why tf did it end without explaining january and gabe’s involvement? i hate that. it made the overall book feel so unsatisfying. but i did enjoy the ride while it lasted, so i’ll keep the rating a 4. bah.
edit: i found out this is the first book in a series, so the cliffhangers aren’t so bad anymore lol
i liked it for the most part, but was left wanting more.
edit: i found out this is the first book in a series, so the cliffhangers aren’t so bad anymore lol
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was my first Stephanie Garber book so I have nothing to compare this to but I really enjoyed this one! I’m a sucker for treasure hunts and clues (think National Treasure and Dan Brown). This is essentially a mysterious treasure hunt set in a romanticized 1930s-esque fantasy version of modern LA with a little Twilight Zone thrown in. My biggest problem with this book is that I had a lot of questions at the end, so I’m not sure if there is another book coming.
Slow to start but wraps up too quickly. Interesting world building and love the overall vibe/mystery, but the love triangle feels forced and detracts from everything else.
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated