Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by chloe_pks
The Thief On the Winged Horse by Kate Mascarenhas
2.0
Release date: 6th August 2020
Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"Why do you think the Sorcerers are so secretive? It's because you don't have to be special to do what they do. You just have to have their privilege" - Kate Mascarenhas
The Thief on the Winged Horse was not the book that I thought it was going to be, and maybe that was my fault but when I read the synopsis on NetGalley I was sure this book was going to be a gripping mystery novel set in the heart of England with some magical realism undertones. Unfortunately, what I got a luke-warm family/relationship drama with the magical realism so far under, I needed a shovel.
The problem that I had with this book is that nothing seems to happen in it. It's 400 pages long and yet the whole thing reads like filler. The overarching plot is threadbare at best and completely not there at worst with the three main characters; Persephone, Larkin and Hedwig, all reading the same due to the writing style being so bland and emotionless and while that works for maybe one character having to read three POV's that are all essentially the same becomes tedious. I'm sure there could be something said for the characters being emotionless when the book itself revolves around dolls that grant people the ability to feel any emotion but that feels like a reach.
There is no atmosphere or intrigue in this book, there is only one character that could have done the crime and they did it, no suspense or build-up, no subverting my expectations, honestly the mystery isn't even a b plot with how little it's involved in the book so that begs the question, what the hell is the plot? I still don't know!
I don't know how you can take such an interesting concept as 'carefully crafted dolls that are magical and can evoke emotions in people' and make it so unexciting. I understand the idea of taking something magical and interweaving it with the mundane but it is just too much mundane for my liking. There are so many background characters in this book that I don't care about and that have no effect on the story, so much magical history that isn't explored and the ending is so rushed that I just don't know what the author wanted to achieve with this book and that is such a shame.
Don't get me wrong, there are some things I do like about this book; I did enjoy Persephone as a character, I found the way the magic was cast interesting and the theme of men hoarding information to make it rare and in turn make them more powerful was also well done but in the end, they were all overshadowed by how boring I found the overall plot.
I am finding it so hard to write this review because this book has done so little to warrant any kind of reaction out of me other than 'meh'. There was no substance to this book, there felt like there was no passion and I found it so disheartening because I thought the synopsis was so interesting but unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.
Thank you to Head of Zeus and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
"Why do you think the Sorcerers are so secretive? It's because you don't have to be special to do what they do. You just have to have their privilege" - Kate Mascarenhas
The Thief on the Winged Horse was not the book that I thought it was going to be, and maybe that was my fault but when I read the synopsis on NetGalley I was sure this book was going to be a gripping mystery novel set in the heart of England with some magical realism undertones. Unfortunately, what I got a luke-warm family/relationship drama with the magical realism so far under, I needed a shovel.
The problem that I had with this book is that nothing seems to happen in it. It's 400 pages long and yet the whole thing reads like filler. The overarching plot is threadbare at best and completely not there at worst with the three main characters; Persephone, Larkin and Hedwig, all reading the same due to the writing style being so bland and emotionless and while that works for maybe one character having to read three POV's that are all essentially the same becomes tedious. I'm sure there could be something said for the characters being emotionless when the book itself revolves around dolls that grant people the ability to feel any emotion but that feels like a reach.
There is no atmosphere or intrigue in this book, there is only one character that could have done the crime and they did it, no suspense or build-up, no subverting my expectations, honestly the mystery isn't even a b plot with how little it's involved in the book so that begs the question, what the hell is the plot? I still don't know!
I don't know how you can take such an interesting concept as 'carefully crafted dolls that are magical and can evoke emotions in people' and make it so unexciting. I understand the idea of taking something magical and interweaving it with the mundane but it is just too much mundane for my liking. There are so many background characters in this book that I don't care about and that have no effect on the story, so much magical history that isn't explored and the ending is so rushed that I just don't know what the author wanted to achieve with this book and that is such a shame.
Don't get me wrong, there are some things I do like about this book; I did enjoy Persephone as a character, I found the way the magic was cast interesting and the theme of men hoarding information to make it rare and in turn make them more powerful was also well done but in the end, they were all overshadowed by how boring I found the overall plot.
I am finding it so hard to write this review because this book has done so little to warrant any kind of reaction out of me other than 'meh'. There was no substance to this book, there felt like there was no passion and I found it so disheartening because I thought the synopsis was so interesting but unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me.