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A review by netslummer
Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson
4.0
My first thought when I opened this book on my kindle was "oh boy. 504 pages is far too many pages. Woof.".
It turned out I was wrong. Those pages flew by and, after the initial few slower chapters I barely noticed the heft to the story.
Jack is a thief and magician's assistant to The Enchantress. She uses Jack's skills to steal other magician's tricks and repurposed them and gives them more flair and makes them her own and a spectacle. After stealing from the wrong guy in France, they are forced to flee to Seattle where The Enchantress has secured a residency at a theater during the World's Fair.
Wilhelm can Travel in the between. He can move objects or switch places with people. Magic. Real magic. Teddy Barnes, his caretaker/captor, uses Wil's abilities to steal objects for notoriety. He moves his attention to the World's Fair in Seattle to attempt to become a magician and earn his fame this way.
Obviously these two magician's assistants meet and casually fall in love.
Can Jack save Wil from Teddy's grasp?
Jack and Wil are both excellent characters that you actively want to root for. Ruth and Jessamy are the same. Honestly I love them all a ton. The Enchantress is a big null zone for me but she is important. Teddy/Laszlo is repugnant and I spent 95% of the book wishing someone would just murder the guy.
This book is cute and doesn't feel nearly as long as it is. I really loved that there never was comments about queer relationships in the book. They were not a spectacle or anything noteworthy. It's refreshing to see queer love as just as normal as straight love.
There IS noted racism from unnamed background characters as well as full-ass monster Teddy (who we're meant to hate).
It turned out I was wrong. Those pages flew by and, after the initial few slower chapters I barely noticed the heft to the story.
Jack is a thief and magician's assistant to The Enchantress. She uses Jack's skills to steal other magician's tricks and repurposed them and gives them more flair and makes them her own and a spectacle. After stealing from the wrong guy in France, they are forced to flee to Seattle where The Enchantress has secured a residency at a theater during the World's Fair.
Wilhelm can Travel in the between. He can move objects or switch places with people. Magic. Real magic. Teddy Barnes, his caretaker/captor, uses Wil's abilities to steal objects for notoriety. He moves his attention to the World's Fair in Seattle to attempt to become a magician and earn his fame this way.
Obviously these two magician's assistants meet and casually fall in love.
Can Jack save Wil from Teddy's grasp?
Jack and Wil are both excellent characters that you actively want to root for. Ruth and Jessamy are the same. Honestly I love them all a ton. The Enchantress is a big null zone for me but she is important. Teddy/Laszlo is repugnant and I spent 95% of the book wishing someone would just murder the guy.
This book is cute and doesn't feel nearly as long as it is. I really loved that there never was comments about queer relationships in the book. They were not a spectacle or anything noteworthy. It's refreshing to see queer love as just as normal as straight love.
There IS noted racism from unnamed background characters as well as full-ass monster Teddy (who we're meant to hate).