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nori_nichole's review against another edition
2.0
Maybe this book isn't for me. I really tried to get through this book and see where it goes. I thought maybe it would be a slow burn. However I reached page 123 and it was just very slow for me. It was really hard to follow in parts and at times I wasn't sure what was happening. I found myself confused and having a hard time picturing what was happening. There were times I had to read things twice to understand what was going on.
Again, maybe this book is just not for me.
I will say there are some beautiful poems that the writer added in her story. There's also eloquent paragraphs that were written.
In the end though, it was just too hard for me to follow along and I wasn't enjoying myself. I wish it had been written a little more clearly. I really do think the premise of the book is interesting. The execution though seemed very muddled. Really bummed by that.
Again, maybe this book is just not for me.
I will say there are some beautiful poems that the writer added in her story. There's also eloquent paragraphs that were written.
In the end though, it was just too hard for me to follow along and I wasn't enjoying myself. I wish it had been written a little more clearly. I really do think the premise of the book is interesting. The execution though seemed very muddled. Really bummed by that.
saunteringvaguelydownward's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
spiderwitch's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
slow-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
3.0
disabledbookdragon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-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
3.25
mjfmjfmjf's review
1.0
Sigh. That was not worth my time. Pointless and endless. Cool details that led nowhere. Ugly unnecessary language that just stopped me in my tracks. Interesting odd characters but completely unbelievable. And the story in a story added nothing. And our trio of youngsters just magically were together because. For the same reason the story was in Pittsburgh, because. And yet this got nominated for awards. And oh so slow. Just plain no.
vortacist's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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
4.0
essinink's review
DNF on page 127
I wanted to like this. I've had good experience with Hairston, but Will do Magic is a slog. The writing feels choppy and unfinished. The storyline breaks and jumps in odd places. The characters are paper-thin. Or so go my impressions.
The worst part is that the premise is actually interesting, it's just not at-all well-executed.
I wanted to like this. I've had good experience with Hairston, but Will do Magic is a slog. The writing feels choppy and unfinished. The storyline breaks and jumps in odd places. The characters are paper-thin. Or so go my impressions.
The worst part is that the premise is actually interesting, it's just not at-all well-executed.
amandadevoursbooks's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Remember when you were a teenager, and you were out of the house for the first few times. You were hanging out with your friends, no adults, no rules, just a wide-open sky and future. Remember those conversations. The ones that shifted and danced. The ones half unsaid. This book was like those possibility-filled nights. The narrative structure shifts and moves, often without me noticing. Because of this, this book is not going to be for everyone. I savored it.
The book has two separate story lines. The first follows Cinnamon, and the second follows the wanderer (an alien) from the 1890s to 1980s in a story within the story.
Cinnamon, a glamazon, is tall, big Black queer theater teen in the 1980s. Her dad, Raven, is in a coma. Her mom is coming unraveled between the violence that disabled her husband and the death of her oldest child's from an over dose.
We meet Cinnamon and her large family at her Sekou's funeral. We follow her to a theater audition where she meets new friends who may be more than friends. Cinnamon holds out hope that her dad will wake up, and she just might have the power to help him return to his body.
Taiwo, the wanderer, meets Kehinde, falls in love, and they travel first to find Kehinde's dead brother's wife and child, and second to get a new life in Chicago, USA. Their story line is a travelog filled with aje (demons), magic, love, betrayal, and murder.
Taken together, the magic spills from the pages. From Sekou's ghost to lightning hands and one scattered soul, reading this book is like walking through the most interesting curio shop you have ever seen.
I enjoyed this book. At the times, the pacing was a little slow, but it made sense to be slow. At times, I felt like I missed the plot or a characterization, but the disorientation ADDED to the novel. If you like Black Speculative fiction and you enjoy odd books, you might like this one.
The book has two separate story lines. The first follows Cinnamon, and the second follows the wanderer (an alien) from the 1890s to 1980s in a story within the story.
Cinnamon, a glamazon, is tall, big Black queer theater teen in the 1980s. Her dad, Raven, is in a coma. Her mom is coming unraveled between the violence that disabled her husband and the death of her oldest child's from an over dose.
We meet Cinnamon and her large family at her Sekou's funeral. We follow her to a theater audition where she meets new friends who may be more than friends. Cinnamon holds out hope that her dad will wake up, and she just might have the power to help him return to his body.
Taiwo, the wanderer, meets Kehinde, falls in love, and they travel first to find Kehinde's dead brother's wife and child, and second to get a new life in Chicago, USA. Their story line is a travelog filled with aje (demons), magic, love, betrayal, and murder.
Taken together, the magic spills from the pages. From Sekou's ghost to lightning hands and one scattered soul, reading this book is like walking through the most interesting curio shop you have ever seen.
I enjoyed this book. At the times, the pacing was a little slow, but it made sense to be slow. At times, I felt like I missed the plot or a characterization, but the disorientation ADDED to the novel. If you like Black Speculative fiction and you enjoy odd books, you might like this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Slavery, Suicide, Body shaming, Homophobia, Gun violence, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, and Murder
beforeviolets's review against another edition
ink i'm going to be DNF-ing this for now, though I hope to come back to it someday. (p. 276)
On paper, this book is wonderfully up my alley. It has ghosts, stories about stories about stories, theatre, discussions about Christian imperialism, multiple timelines, and African mythology. And I was intrigued by all those concepts, but I just found myself having an incredibly hard time really sinking my teeth into the story, and I tried REALLY hard. The most interesting part of this work, the only thing that was really keeping me going, was its thematic conversations of decolonizing spirituality and bearing witness via story. And these are strong! Really strong! So strong that I still think I might pick this book back up again someday to see how these come to fruition. (I really loved the exploration of magic and wisdom found in the spaces between things - and how artists and creatives are more deeply connected to those in-between moments/places - as well as the bleeding together of time and space through storytelling.)
But unfortunately it's just too long. (and that’s saying a lot, because that’s a complaint I NEVER have. I'm always asking for things to be longer.) There wasn't enough narrative direction or substance to keep the work feeling fulfilling, which made it feel oddly stretched out. A single scene may take place over several chapters, with minimal emotional/narrative distance covered by the characters or the plot. (There was some more plot going on with the Wanderer's timeline, but it still lacked a forward motion.) Especially some of the detail work in Cinnamon's POV felt disconnected and random, as it often didn't help to build tone/world/story/character/etc. (which was especially frustrating for a book that aims to explore the connection between all things). It caused the writing to become too meandering and tangential, forcing a large amount of repetition to keep the through-lines feeling well-saturated. I think the messaging and story would’ve flourished MUCH more at half the length.
Again, I really do hope to pick it up one day in the future (I want to see these brilliant themes play out!), and maybe it'll strike me as masterful then, but for now, reading this book feels a bit like staring at the horizon line and trying to see the curve of the Earth, but the perspective is just too small, and the Earth is just too wide.
CW (so far): grief, loss of family, homophobia & slurs, racism (anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Indigenous), gun violence, war, violence, blood & gore, decapitation, SA, rape (offscreen, recounted p. 81), childbirth (on-page), suicide attempt, fatphobia, bullying, eating disorder, slavery, drug use/overdose, emesis
On paper, this book is wonderfully up my alley. It has ghosts, stories about stories about stories, theatre, discussions about Christian imperialism, multiple timelines, and African mythology. And I was intrigued by all those concepts, but I just found myself having an incredibly hard time really sinking my teeth into the story, and I tried REALLY hard. The most interesting part of this work, the only thing that was really keeping me going, was its thematic conversations of decolonizing spirituality and bearing witness via story. And these are strong! Really strong! So strong that I still think I might pick this book back up again someday to see how these come to fruition. (I really loved the exploration of magic and wisdom found in the spaces between things - and how artists and creatives are more deeply connected to those in-between moments/places - as well as the bleeding together of time and space through storytelling.)
But unfortunately it's just too long. (and that’s saying a lot, because that’s a complaint I NEVER have. I'm always asking for things to be longer.) There wasn't enough narrative direction or substance to keep the work feeling fulfilling, which made it feel oddly stretched out. A single scene may take place over several chapters, with minimal emotional/narrative distance covered by the characters or the plot. (There was some more plot going on with the Wanderer's timeline, but it still lacked a forward motion.) Especially some of the detail work in Cinnamon's POV felt disconnected and random, as it often didn't help to build tone/world/story/character/etc. (which was especially frustrating for a book that aims to explore the connection between all things). It caused the writing to become too meandering and tangential, forcing a large amount of repetition to keep the through-lines feeling well-saturated. I think the messaging and story would’ve flourished MUCH more at half the length.
Again, I really do hope to pick it up one day in the future (I want to see these brilliant themes play out!), and maybe it'll strike me as masterful then, but for now, reading this book feels a bit like staring at the horizon line and trying to see the curve of the Earth, but the perspective is just too small, and the Earth is just too wide.
CW (so far): grief, loss of family, homophobia & slurs, racism (anti-Black, anti-Asian, anti-Indigenous), gun violence, war, violence, blood & gore, decapitation, SA, rape (offscreen, recounted p. 81), childbirth (on-page), suicide attempt, fatphobia, bullying, eating disorder, slavery, drug use/overdose, emesis
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
This is a marmite book: you can love or hate, I was more on the love site that most.
It's an original story with a lot of potential and a cast of intriguing characters. The world building is fascinating and complex.
There's two notes: it's too long, some parts seem to drag and are a bit boring. The storytelling is good but sometimes things get mixed and I could have enjoyed it more but switch from one timeline to other was quite brusque at times.
I would recommend to read a couple of chapters to understand if you are on the love or hate field.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
It's an original story with a lot of potential and a cast of intriguing characters. The world building is fascinating and complex.
There's two notes: it's too long, some parts seem to drag and are a bit boring. The storytelling is good but sometimes things get mixed and I could have enjoyed it more but switch from one timeline to other was quite brusque at times.
I would recommend to read a couple of chapters to understand if you are on the love or hate field.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine