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arlaubscher's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Murder, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cursing, Colonisation, and Suicide
rosemaryandrue's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Ropa should be on cloud nine, helping organize the Society of Skeptical Enquirers’ biennial conference and hobnobbing with all the bigwigs of Scottish magic. But when she’s left scrambling to investigate a politically charged theft, she begins to wonder if the world of magic is more trouble than it’s worth.
This is the third book in the Edinburgh Nights series, which follows teenage ghostalker Ropa as she investigates magical crimes in a politically uneasy Scotland. In this book, we seem to shift from the individual mysteries we’ve seen so far into the start of an overarching plot for the series. Ropa wins some but loses plenty, and there’s some pretty big shifts in the status quo.
I continued to enjoy following Ropa and her friends on their adventures; they’re all likable yet distinctly flawed, and their blind spots make them feel real. The world-building, always intriguing, expanded in leaps and bounds here as for the first time we get a clear look at the incredibly fraught situation between Scottish and English magic, as well as how magic and politics interlace. Tension remained high throughout the story, ramped up by all the twists and turns that the author throws at us.
However, there were unfortunately some growing pains as a result of the story expanding its scope. I felt like some characterization fell a little by the wayside – Ropa says and does some things that I would have expected of her in the first book, not the third, and minor characters we met in previous books act startlingly different here. The central mystery of the missing scroll was also given short shrift through chunks of the book as the political situation is elaborated on. I wished there was a little more balance.
Still, the ambiguous ending left me on tetherhooks, and I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
This is the third book in the Edinburgh Nights series, which follows teenage ghostalker Ropa as she investigates magical crimes in a politically uneasy Scotland. In this book, we seem to shift from the individual mysteries we’ve seen so far into the start of an overarching plot for the series. Ropa wins some but loses plenty, and there’s some pretty big shifts in the status quo.
I continued to enjoy following Ropa and her friends on their adventures; they’re all likable yet distinctly flawed, and their blind spots make them feel real. The world-building, always intriguing, expanded in leaps and bounds here as for the first time we get a clear look at the incredibly fraught situation between Scottish and English magic, as well as how magic and politics interlace. Tension remained high throughout the story, ramped up by all the twists and turns that the author throws at us.
However, there were unfortunately some growing pains as a result of the story expanding its scope. I felt like some characterization fell a little by the wayside – Ropa says and does some things that I would have expected of her in the first book, not the third, and minor characters we met in previous books act startlingly different here. The central mystery of the missing scroll was also given short shrift through chunks of the book as the political situation is elaborated on. I wished there was a little more balance.
Still, the ambiguous ending left me on tetherhooks, and I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Classism, Murder, and Colonisation
bergha1998's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
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
4.0
Wow, this one was outstanding. I really liked the first two books, but this one was a refinement of everything I already liked. The mystery was well paced and interesting, the historical tidbits were even more interesting, and the humor continued to be top notch. I’m just sad the next one is so far off.
Mystery Fantasy, Found Family
“Words have great power. Through them we create reality.”
“The thing about armour is it’s heavy and weighs the wearer down. Yes, it protects you–for a while. But there’s a cost. It blinds you in certain ways too. You can’t see the full picture from behind your visor. All you catch is snapshots of a hostile world, and from that you draw your own assumptions. Carrying all that weight eventually exhausts you, and the determined enemy will find a chink if they prod long enough. I know, ’cause I’m wearing my own armour too.”
“But other people’s pain isn’t collateral damage. I can’t treat it like abstract theory.”
“I’m always amused by how historians value written records as primary sources. They’re full of lies anyway. Power doesn’t care about the truth.”
Mystery Fantasy, Found Family
“Words have great power. Through them we create reality.”
“The thing about armour is it’s heavy and weighs the wearer down. Yes, it protects you–for a while. But there’s a cost. It blinds you in certain ways too. You can’t see the full picture from behind your visor. All you catch is snapshots of a hostile world, and from that you draw your own assumptions. Carrying all that weight eventually exhausts you, and the determined enemy will find a chink if they prod long enough. I know, ’cause I’m wearing my own armour too.”
“But other people’s pain isn’t collateral damage. I can’t treat it like abstract theory.”
“I’m always amused by how historians value written records as primary sources. They’re full of lies anyway. Power doesn’t care about the truth.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Classism, Violence, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Medical content, Murder, Blood, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, and Panic attacks/disorders
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