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asreadbykat's review against another edition
4.0
True Rating: 4/5 Stars
Content/Trigger Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, attempted sexual assault/rape, torture
My Thoughts:
I picked this up randomly at my bookstore's yearly summer sale, not knowing anything about it or realizing how old it was. I just thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a chance.
While not the most thought-provoking book, I did greatly enjoy it. Julia as a character is interesting; extremely flawed, but ultimately good at heart. She messes up and hurts other people, but is able to feel guilt and remorse. She's smart, but makes mistakes. She's got a strange power that makes her unique, but she can still be defeated and still needs a lot of help. I honestly think the book wouldn't succeeded without her.
The world is also interesting, especially in how it utilizes witches and how the magic system works. Although not everything is fully explained in this book, enough is explained in time that the reader isn't completely clueless. It also has some unique quirks in the powers and abilities of different creatures/beings that I found interesting.
But what I loved most is that romance stayed where it belonged: on the sidelines. It would crop up every now and then, but then it would go right back to the shadows while the main plot kept the spotlight.
All in all I enjoyed this book, and I will definitely be hunting down the rest of the trilogy.
Content/Trigger Warnings: Graphic depictions of violence, attempted sexual assault/rape, torture
My Thoughts:
I picked this up randomly at my bookstore's yearly summer sale, not knowing anything about it or realizing how old it was. I just thought it sounded interesting, so I decided to give it a chance.
While not the most thought-provoking book, I did greatly enjoy it. Julia as a character is interesting; extremely flawed, but ultimately good at heart. She messes up and hurts other people, but is able to feel guilt and remorse. She's smart, but makes mistakes. She's got a strange power that makes her unique, but she can still be defeated and still needs a lot of help. I honestly think the book wouldn't succeeded without her.
The world is also interesting, especially in how it utilizes witches and how the magic system works. Although not everything is fully explained in this book, enough is explained in time that the reader isn't completely clueless. It also has some unique quirks in the powers and abilities of different creatures/beings that I found interesting.
But what I loved most is that romance stayed where it belonged: on the sidelines. It would crop up every now and then, but then it would go right back to the shadows while the main plot kept the spotlight.
All in all I enjoyed this book, and I will definitely be hunting down the rest of the trilogy.
selket's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
rakoerose's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely a unique journey that I feel should not have taken me this long to get through… combination of reading burnout and a missing sense of investment when I first started this.
”It’s such a habit now, the endless lying. I’m covering tracks that aren’t even mine.”
This book ended up at three stars because of how much I struggled to gain interest in the beginning. The latter third of this book I read in one sitting, after putting it off for a week from my lack of engagement from the first parts. A delicate tipping scale, but now I’ve found myself really liking Julia and her acquaintances.
The disinterest came from just how YA this novel felt, very based on some typical tropes in the beginning. I either tolerate or hate love triangles and this was firmly the latter. Granted, I no longer fit in the age demographic for this! So if you’re in that demo you may actually really enjoy it! This book is not bad at all and it has set up some great things for the rest of the series.
That being said, I really like the world Egan is building and how she implements very unique fantasy concepts. It feels very much like an alternate universe where witches are real and the supernatural is an actual threat. Julia as a character is very easy to root for, and she’s a rare self-redeeming type who tries to fix her mistakes. Her abilities and all we learn about them in this is super interesting, as I feel a lot of us have imagined what it would be like to vanish into invisibility but not to this degree. I’m surprised how many of the other characters have also grown on me, like baby Theo and Mrs. Och. I would 100% protect Theo with my life and I’m glad that’s something we can all agree on by the end of this book.
Honestly, I think if you enjoyed exploring the world of the Peculiar Children series, you’d also find enjoyment here. Similar twisting of a historical setting into something supernatural and fascinating!
Would highly recommend if you’re interested, would say maybe not if you’re over YA tropes or don’t enjoy “old-timey” fantasy. Unsure if I’ll continue into this series further, we’ll have to see!
(btw a quick content warning for attempted sexual assault, kidnapping, murder/graphic violence, and cheating)
”It’s such a habit now, the endless lying. I’m covering tracks that aren’t even mine.”
This book ended up at three stars because of how much I struggled to gain interest in the beginning. The latter third of this book I read in one sitting, after putting it off for a week from my lack of engagement from the first parts. A delicate tipping scale, but now I’ve found myself really liking Julia and her acquaintances.
The disinterest came from just how YA this novel felt, very based on some typical tropes in the beginning. I either tolerate or hate love triangles and this was firmly the latter. Granted, I no longer fit in the age demographic for this! So if you’re in that demo you may actually really enjoy it! This book is not bad at all and it has set up some great things for the rest of the series.
That being said, I really like the world Egan is building and how she implements very unique fantasy concepts. It feels very much like an alternate universe where witches are real and the supernatural is an actual threat. Julia as a character is very easy to root for, and she’s a rare self-redeeming type who tries to fix her mistakes. Her abilities and all we learn about them in this is super interesting, as I feel a lot of us have imagined what it would be like to vanish into invisibility but not to this degree. I’m surprised how many of the other characters have also grown on me, like baby Theo and Mrs. Och. I would 100% protect Theo with my life and I’m glad that’s something we can all agree on by the end of this book.
Honestly, I think if you enjoyed exploring the world of the Peculiar Children series, you’d also find enjoyment here. Similar twisting of a historical setting into something supernatural and fascinating!
Would highly recommend if you’re interested, would say maybe not if you’re over YA tropes or don’t enjoy “old-timey” fantasy. Unsure if I’ll continue into this series further, we’ll have to see!
(btw a quick content warning for attempted sexual assault, kidnapping, murder/graphic violence, and cheating)
lilianaj's review against another edition
2.0
This book was hard for me to get into and I couldn't finish it
jessethereader's review against another edition
3.0
(3.5)
I'm going to do a full video review on this book, but know that I really liked this book! It isn't perfect by any means, but I see it's potential & I'm looking forward to seeing this trilogy play out.
I'm going to do a full video review on this book, but know that I really liked this book! It isn't perfect by any means, but I see it's potential & I'm looking forward to seeing this trilogy play out.
hnnh_lntz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
3.75
mehitabels's review against another edition
4.0
surprise excellent book. Ready to dive into series.
Great for fans of [a:Leigh Bardugo|4575289|Leigh Bardugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1534446099p2/4575289.jpg].
Great for fans of [a:Leigh Bardugo|4575289|Leigh Bardugo|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1534446099p2/4575289.jpg].
amibunk's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely brilliant world building! The characters are breathing, moving people captured in printed words. I think this is the best book I have read this year and I hope like mad there is a sequel.
maryfaithreads's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 or 3 / 5 stars
I don't really know where to begin with this. I did not like the beginning, nor did I really care for the end, but there were some nice moments in the middle. So, where does that leave me?
The first problem with this book was the world building. The reader is just thrust into the story with no idea of where everyone is and what's going on. I am a big fan of showing and not telling in books, but in this case it hampered my understanding. It took me a good while just to figure out if we were in a different version of our world, or in another world entirely. And then there was the magic. Oh dear, the magic. Julia having this strange power to vanish was fine. It made her interesting. Then the witches came into play, which was acceptable as well. Although it had no real beating on the main storyline, it made sense for there to be witches if Julia is able to pull this strange disappearing act. Beyond that, nothing made sense. It was almost like the author just kept throwing new layers of magic into the story for no reason at all. I know this is only the first book in a series and subsequent books are bound to clear some of the weirdness of it all up, but as of right now I am not entirely sure what was going on.
I did like the characters, and I like how Julia's criminal squad and Mrs. Och's group have come together. The story was interesting, and kept my attention enough for me to want to keep going and finish this. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, and I hope the next books can smooth things out some.
I don't really know where to begin with this. I did not like the beginning, nor did I really care for the end, but there were some nice moments in the middle. So, where does that leave me?
The first problem with this book was the world building. The reader is just thrust into the story with no idea of where everyone is and what's going on. I am a big fan of showing and not telling in books, but in this case it hampered my understanding. It took me a good while just to figure out if we were in a different version of our world, or in another world entirely. And then there was the magic. Oh dear, the magic. Julia having this strange power to vanish was fine. It made her interesting. Then the witches came into play, which was acceptable as well. Although it had no real beating on the main storyline, it made sense for there to be witches if Julia is able to pull this strange disappearing act. Beyond that, nothing made sense. It was almost like the author just kept throwing new layers of magic into the story for no reason at all. I know this is only the first book in a series and subsequent books are bound to clear some of the weirdness of it all up, but as of right now I am not entirely sure what was going on.
I did like the characters, and I like how Julia's criminal squad and Mrs. Och's group have come together. The story was interesting, and kept my attention enough for me to want to keep going and finish this. I am looking forward to the rest of the series, and I hope the next books can smooth things out some.