2ndette 's review for:

The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg
2.0

I really enjoyed Charlie's whimsical Spellbreaker duology, so I was excited to read this one, but I was so disappointed.

This book was just so boring.

The beginning was kind of bland. It took awhile for get the plot going.

Then the last 75% of it was just the main character meandering along inside a magical heart describing scenes she saw and occasionally running into some type of situation that is easily escaped..

That's it.

I understand that description phrases are important in a book, but in this book, that's *all there is* because nothing is really happening. It's 200+ pages of descriptive word-vomit with no real plot.

I also was not a fan of the book's "Hot for Teacher" vibes when the 19 yr old main character declares her love for the 32-yr old teacher. Let's be real... nothing wrong with age gaps, and sure, 19 is "legal," but what would a 19 yr old even have in common with a 32 yr old MAN she's known for a MONTH?! Gross. That declaration of love was made towards the end. I would have stopped reading altogether if it had happened earlier in book. Since it happened towards the end, I figured I had made it that far, so I might as well finish the book.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book, and I don't plan to read the rest of the series.

Honestly, the best part of the book was
Spoiler the paper dog
.

TW for the book: a scene where a character recalls discovering a friend who "unalived" herself is mentioned, so if that topic is sensitive for you, you might want to steer clear of this book.