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A review by kyleofbooks
Innate Magic by Shannon Fay
2.0
Okay, this one is gonna be messy. I apologize beforehand.
I’m always put off by stories that involve the loss of autonomy. The fact that Paul’s innate magic allows for anyone he meets to want to be his friend bugs me. Free will is a big deal, and that sort of manipulative ability would certainly creep me out if I had it: If someone didn’t have the choice whether to like me or not. So, that part of the story really put a damper on my reading experience. The magic could’ve been made to be ANYTHING! Why go with that? I know it’s described as a “first impressions only” sort of deal, but still…
From the get-go, I was a bit confused. The worldbuilding is fine; the idea of cloth magic is pretty cool, and the “book binding” and idea of innate magic interesting, but that’s about it. The characters were also just… fine. I liked Paul and Thom’s friendship the most (for the first 2/3rds, at least). However, I was irked by how much Paul played into the stereotypes of a bisexual (i.e. the incessant flirting and wanting to sleep with everyone and anyone). It was really unfortunate.. Another thing
My biggest gripe here, however, is with the plot. The story itself meanders. I wanted it to stick with one thread: innate magic, or the multitude of burgeoning relationships, or Verity’s mystery. Instead, the plot consists of too much all at once. Honestly, it was all over the place. If it didn’t jump around so much, I might’ve enjoyed it more. The whole time I was reading it, I wasn’t immersed. I was reading about the things that were happening, sure, but I wasn’t having any kind of reaction to it. There was this disconnect between my brain and the story. The book didn’t know whether to be a lighthearted romp with a diverse cast, or a graphic deep dive into magic. And when I say “graphic,” I mean graphic. Some of the passages are downright brutal.
One thing that seemed to bug a lot of readers (from what I’ve seen) is the multitude of religious tones. Is it really that awful to have a queer MC who is also Catholic? So what if they know about the Bible and speak of God? Reviewers have this adverse reaction to religion in this book, and it’s baffling. To me, it sounds like self-righteous, PC bandwagoning. The religious aspects were not preachy or exclusionary. So, give it a rest.
I can’t say whether or not I’m going to read the next installment. The ending here was such a, well, nonending, and all the cons right now outweigh the pros. But still, I’m a little curious. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
I’m always put off by stories that involve the loss of autonomy. The fact that Paul’s innate magic allows for anyone he meets to want to be his friend bugs me. Free will is a big deal, and that sort of manipulative ability would certainly creep me out if I had it: If someone didn’t have the choice whether to like me or not. So, that part of the story really put a damper on my reading experience. The magic could’ve been made to be ANYTHING! Why go with that? I know it’s described as a “first impressions only” sort of deal, but still…
From the get-go, I was a bit confused. The worldbuilding is fine; the idea of cloth magic is pretty cool, and the “book binding” and idea of innate magic interesting, but that’s about it. The characters were also just… fine. I liked Paul and Thom’s friendship the most (for the first 2/3rds, at least). However, I was irked by how much Paul played into the stereotypes of a bisexual (i.e. the incessant flirting and wanting to sleep with everyone and anyone). It was really unfortunate.
Spoiler
Plus, the fact that both of Paul’s romantic interests here are cishet women, didn’t make me go “Yeah, now THIS is a queer book!” Hector Hollister doesn’t count for numerous reasons, and Paul’s past same-sex pairings are meager. I would’ve liked more queer content from a book being marketed as suchSpoiler
the whole Verity/Tonya situation was off-putting. How quickly Paul jumped into bed with Tonya after being involved with Verity so heavily was just… wrong. I don’t care that they’re the same person. Paul didn’t know that, and he still went ahead with it anyways.My biggest gripe here, however, is with the plot. The story itself meanders. I wanted it to stick with one thread: innate magic, or the multitude of burgeoning relationships, or Verity’s mystery. Instead, the plot consists of too much all at once. Honestly, it was all over the place. If it didn’t jump around so much, I might’ve enjoyed it more. The whole time I was reading it, I wasn’t immersed. I was reading about the things that were happening, sure, but I wasn’t having any kind of reaction to it. There was this disconnect between my brain and the story. The book didn’t know whether to be a lighthearted romp with a diverse cast, or a graphic deep dive into magic. And when I say “graphic,” I mean graphic. Some of the passages are downright brutal.
One thing that seemed to bug a lot of readers (from what I’ve seen) is the multitude of religious tones. Is it really that awful to have a queer MC who is also Catholic? So what if they know about the Bible and speak of God? Reviewers have this adverse reaction to religion in this book, and it’s baffling. To me, it sounds like self-righteous, PC bandwagoning. The religious aspects were not preachy or exclusionary. So, give it a rest.
I can’t say whether or not I’m going to read the next installment. The ending here was such a, well, nonending, and all the cons right now outweigh the pros. But still, I’m a little curious. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.