Scan barcode
sunnyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed Magic For Liars. My first time reading Sarah Gailey, which I picked up this one because it was a Kindle deal and the podcast What Should I Read Next put the author on my radar. I love murder mysteries, and I was so intrigued about one happening at a magic school! The ending is wrapped up very tightly with a bow, with Ivy having learned her lesson, but it just felt like Sarah Gailey had tied the story up with a bow without Ivy having actually learned her lesson. Despite that, I did enjoy the story, and I really liked that it was about a non-magic person peeking into a magic school.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Death, Gore, Medical trauma, and Terminal illness
stormwise's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book had lots of things I loved - complicated sibling relationships, casually queer characters and fascinating worldbuilding. I love the idea of a magic school where the teachers use whiteboards, there's graffiti on the lockers and teenagers are obsessed with their phones!
The main character, Ivy Gamble (PI), doesn't have magic, but she does know how to lie. As the POV character, the reader can see every choice she grapples with as she carefully manipulates the other characters, who all have their own agendas and give the impression of each thinking they are in a different kind of story. In her own way, Ivy reminded me of a stage magician using sleight of hand and misdirection to keep everything in the air - but of course, it doesn't take much before it all comes crashing down.
Halfway through this novel, I thought I would give it a 5 star rating, but the ending felt a bit too abrupt and there were a few characters whose plotlines I would have liked to have seen wrapped up. I can forgive that last complaint somewhat as the story is told through first person narrative but then again, it's established early on that Ivy is narrating from after the events of the book...yeah. Despite these minor grievances, I really enjoyed this book! I found the scenes between Ivy and her twin sister particularly powerful - Gailey does an incredible job depicting their fraught relationship.
The main character, Ivy Gamble (PI), doesn't have magic, but she does know how to lie. As the POV character, the reader can see every choice she grapples with as she carefully manipulates the other characters, who all have their own agendas and give the impression of each thinking they are in a different kind of story. In her own way, Ivy reminded me of a stage magician using sleight of hand and misdirection to keep everything in the air - but of course, it doesn't take much before it all comes crashing down.
Halfway through this novel, I thought I would give it a 5 star rating, but the ending felt a bit too abrupt and there were a few characters whose plotlines I would have liked to have seen wrapped up. I can forgive that last complaint somewhat as the story is told through first person narrative but then again, it's established early on that Ivy is narrating from after the events of the book...yeah. Despite these minor grievances, I really enjoyed this book! I found the scenes between Ivy and her twin sister particularly powerful - Gailey does an incredible job depicting their fraught relationship.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Grief, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Eating disorder
scaluba's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i just really liked how it was magic-based, but it wasn't really shoved in your face. it was a good, quick YA murder mystery and I'm not mad about it. also, yes, i did read this book because someone recommended it on tiktok
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism and Cancer
Minor: Bullying, Eating disorder, Medical trauma, and Panic attacks/disorders
nothing is really graphic save for a brief description of the dead body, but it's about the kind of stuff you would come to expect from a murder mystery novelleemused's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Medical trauma, and Violence
azyef's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Gore
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Drug use, Cursing, Blood, Cancer, Bullying, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, and Medical content
Minor: Eating disorder and Adult/minor relationship
More...