You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
graceoc 's review for:
Spellbook of the Lost and Found
by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
*3.5 ⭐️
Waking up the morning after the town party, Olive notices that things have disappeared. Some more valuable than others. Her friend, Rose, may or may not have also lost something more important that she can’t talk about. They then meet Ivy, Rowan and Hazel. Three teenagers that ran away and have many secrets. When they find a spellbook that promises them ways to fix their problems, they can’t help but cast a spell that could do more damage than good.
I have to firstly say that I adore Moïra’s writing. She’s able to evoke such beautiful imagery and explain things in magical ways. I haven’t read many books set in Ireland (which I should do more of seeing as I live here) and she’s able to capture rural Ireland perfectly,
For what ever reason though, I found it hard to pick this book up. There was just something about the plot that didn’t have me hooked. It was perhaps a bit too long and too slow for me to be gripped by it.
I did however think the ending was perfect. The mystery was extremely satisfying and shocking even if I don’t think the lead up entirely made sense. But I have been reading the book for a while so that might have been my fault.
While I like the characters in theory, the execution wasn’t there. I spent the majority of the first third of the book confusing them all. It didn’t help that the names sounded familiar but I don’t think it was just that. The characters didn’t feel that distinct from one another. I just never connected with any of them and wanted more from them. I do appreciate the representation in this book and how it was never the sole focus of the characters, just a part of who they are.
All in all, while I loved elements of this and the mystery, the characters felt distant and made me not care for the story as much. I’m looking forward to reading All the Bad Apples, hopefully I like it just as much as The Accident Season.
Waking up the morning after the town party, Olive notices that things have disappeared. Some more valuable than others. Her friend, Rose, may or may not have also lost something more important that she can’t talk about. They then meet Ivy, Rowan and Hazel. Three teenagers that ran away and have many secrets. When they find a spellbook that promises them ways to fix their problems, they can’t help but cast a spell that could do more damage than good.
I have to firstly say that I adore Moïra’s writing. She’s able to evoke such beautiful imagery and explain things in magical ways. I haven’t read many books set in Ireland (which I should do more of seeing as I live here) and she’s able to capture rural Ireland perfectly,
For what ever reason though, I found it hard to pick this book up. There was just something about the plot that didn’t have me hooked. It was perhaps a bit too long and too slow for me to be gripped by it.
I did however think the ending was perfect. The mystery was extremely satisfying and shocking even if I don’t think the lead up entirely made sense. But I have been reading the book for a while so that might have been my fault.
While I like the characters in theory, the execution wasn’t there. I spent the majority of the first third of the book confusing them all. It didn’t help that the names sounded familiar but I don’t think it was just that. The characters didn’t feel that distinct from one another. I just never connected with any of them and wanted more from them. I do appreciate the representation in this book and how it was never the sole focus of the characters, just a part of who they are.
All in all, while I loved elements of this and the mystery, the characters felt distant and made me not care for the story as much. I’m looking forward to reading All the Bad Apples, hopefully I like it just as much as The Accident Season.