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A review by cyntismiles
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I had a fun time reading this book! That may be in part because it was an installment of "sister reads" with my sister and we always have a good time.
A HUGE barrier in reading this for me was the audiobook narrator. The New York accents were...subpar (to be nice). The actual text is not written in an accent but in standard English. It is mentioned that Wes has an accent ~1 time and never specifies what that accent is. A character just recognizes that he's "from the city based on his accent". It's not set in NY (we will get to the setting later) but theoretically could be implied based on some religious/time period references but considering the setting is a whole mess, I don't think it was necessary. On top of the unfavorable New York/East Coast accents, the audiobook narrator gave some other characters other below-average accents. I think it's one thing to be able to do an accent for a bit or a 15-minute routine but this was upwards of 6 hours (assuming Wes speaks about 1/2 of the time) of an accent. I don't think they should have done it! It took me so long to get into the book because I would hear Wes say about 3 things, roll my eyes, and turn it off.
Once I got over that (I pushed through for the sister read!), I enjoyed the story! I think my sister had a much better time since she could just read the story. I thought the hunt would feature more heavily but I ended up enjoying the character-driven plot once we figured out some backstory about the characters. I think the character development was good and I ended up really rooting for them (despite my initial reaction of "come on guys!" to their shenanigans). I especially enjoyed watching Margaret's character be unveiled to the reader and her development throughout the book.
The setting of this book was ambiguous at best. I think if you don't need a deeply rooted setting it's fine. If you do, you may want to skip this. It was uniquely a mish-mash of a ton of stuff, especially time period-wise. Stella and I had a great time tracking all the different things mentioned from different time periods. It feels very pre-industrial union but also features things from the late 1900's so that was wild. The setting felt very PNW with the redwood trees coastal descriptions but implied that it was the East Coast with Irish "Catholic-implied" immigrants. There is definitely a sense of place but of what place, who knows! It's definitely a fantasy setting but the amount of real-world items that are from all around the late 1800's-late 1900's made it feel like a wibbly wobbly time.
The hunt is in the background the whole time but really takes backseat. It reminds me of how in _HP and the Goblet of Fire_, the Triwizard Tournament is important but kind of ebbs and flows out of the narrative. The characters still do other stuff and it isn't shaping every waking moment of their lives. The hunt in this book is definitely less present than that but that's what I'm reminded of vs something like the Hunger Games. In _The Hunger Games_, the Games are constantly shaping the narrative and the character's decisions/ability to survive. The hunt is nowhere near that relevant in _A Far Wilder Magic_.
The romance was fine? I definitely enjoyed them getting to know each other and becoming friends the best but that's an opinion I commonly hold. It was really sweet but sometimes the pacing was weird. It may be the whole teenage relationship thing and I am quite done with that area of life. It definitely wasn't bad though. I did end up rooting for them and wanting them to be together by the end if that's any indication!
Lastly, my favorite part of this whole book was the dog, excuse me, hound, Trouble. Literally any time he was mentioned I was ecstatic! He was truly the best and I love him very much! Also, that is somehow the best name for a dog. Who would not love to call "Trouble?" and have a hound run your way? So many good scenarios to say "I'll bring Trouble" or "I'll give you Trouble". What a genius move!
I would recommend this book if you are looking for:
--A Grumpy/Introvert and Sunshine/Extrovert friendship and romance,
--Commentary of religious prejudices (this book specifically deals with religions meant to represent the conflicts between Catholicism, Judaism, and Protestantism in the US reminiscent of tensions in the early-mid 1900's)
--A character-driven plot and following the story where it goes
I would not recommend this book if:
--Having real-world time markers from all over the place is an issue for you
--You are only interested in the actual hunt
--You would not like to read about the effects of having a neglectful/abusive parent
A HUGE barrier in reading this for me was the audiobook narrator. The New York accents were...subpar (to be nice). The actual text is not written in an accent but in standard English. It is mentioned that Wes has an accent ~1 time and never specifies what that accent is. A character just recognizes that he's "from the city based on his accent". It's not set in NY (we will get to the setting later) but theoretically could be implied based on some religious/time period references but considering the setting is a whole mess, I don't think it was necessary. On top of the unfavorable New York/East Coast accents, the audiobook narrator gave some other characters other below-average accents. I think it's one thing to be able to do an accent for a bit or a 15-minute routine but this was upwards of 6 hours (assuming Wes speaks about 1/2 of the time) of an accent. I don't think they should have done it! It took me so long to get into the book because I would hear Wes say about 3 things, roll my eyes, and turn it off.
Once I got over that (I pushed through for the sister read!), I enjoyed the story! I think my sister had a much better time since she could just read the story. I thought the hunt would feature more heavily but I ended up enjoying the character-driven plot once we figured out some backstory about the characters. I think the character development was good and I ended up really rooting for them (despite my initial reaction of "come on guys!" to their shenanigans). I especially enjoyed watching Margaret's character be unveiled to the reader and her development throughout the book.
The setting of this book was ambiguous at best. I think if you don't need a deeply rooted setting it's fine. If you do, you may want to skip this. It was uniquely a mish-mash of a ton of stuff, especially time period-wise. Stella and I had a great time tracking all the different things mentioned from different time periods. It feels very pre-industrial union but also features things from the late 1900's so that was wild. The setting felt very PNW with the redwood trees coastal descriptions but implied that it was the East Coast with Irish "Catholic-implied" immigrants. There is definitely a sense of place but of what place, who knows! It's definitely a fantasy setting but the amount of real-world items that are from all around the late 1800's-late 1900's made it feel like a wibbly wobbly time.
The hunt is in the background the whole time but really takes backseat. It reminds me of how in _HP and the Goblet of Fire_, the Triwizard Tournament is important but kind of ebbs and flows out of the narrative. The characters still do other stuff and it isn't shaping every waking moment of their lives. The hunt in this book is definitely less present than that but that's what I'm reminded of vs something like the Hunger Games. In _The Hunger Games_, the Games are constantly shaping the narrative and the character's decisions/ability to survive. The hunt is nowhere near that relevant in _A Far Wilder Magic_.
The romance was fine? I definitely enjoyed them getting to know each other and becoming friends the best but that's an opinion I commonly hold. It was really sweet but sometimes the pacing was weird. It may be the whole teenage relationship thing and I am quite done with that area of life. It definitely wasn't bad though. I did end up rooting for them and wanting them to be together by the end if that's any indication!
Lastly, my favorite part of this whole book was the dog, excuse me, hound, Trouble. Literally any time he was mentioned I was ecstatic! He was truly the best and I love him very much! Also, that is somehow the best name for a dog. Who would not love to call "Trouble?" and have a hound run your way? So many good scenarios to say "I'll bring Trouble" or "I'll give you Trouble". What a genius move!
I would recommend this book if you are looking for:
--A Grumpy/Introvert and Sunshine/Extrovert friendship and romance,
--Commentary of religious prejudices (this book specifically deals with religions meant to represent the conflicts between Catholicism, Judaism, and Protestantism in the US reminiscent of tensions in the early-mid 1900's)
--A character-driven plot and following the story where it goes
I would not recommend this book if:
--Having real-world time markers from all over the place is an issue for you
--You are only interested in the actual hunt
--You would not like to read about the effects of having a neglectful/abusive parent
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Child abuse and Animal death