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spines 's review for:
Grey Magic
by Jeffe Kennedy
adventurous
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This series is so fucking bewildering to read. The first book felt like mostly setup and world-building (though I still enjoyed reading it), and it made me excited to read the second book. The second book also felt like setup and I think it would've been better if some plot threads were removed and the two books were combined into one, but I was excited to see the conclusion of the story.
The third book... also felt like setup??? Or at the very least it wasn't a satisfying resolution at all. The main antagonists were dispatched so quickly, Gabriel is so overpowered and clever and doesn't think like anyone else in the Convocation so he defears everyone pretty much effortlessly. Every setback is overcome with little to no resistance and it feels like there were no stakes because literally nothing bad happened to any of the good guys that wasn't resolved like two chapters later. The ending is so abrupt and anticlimactic, I just feel really annoyed that it's over (and not in a good book hangover way)
Nic spent the first 2.5 books worried that Gabriel's radical plans would get them embroiled in a war, was that the war?? Sure, they defeated Sergio and Lord Elal with the power of love and equality but there are still other antagonists at large that we were seemingly meant to be concerned about. Have they given up on restructuring the Convocation?? That was literally all they argued about and it's not even going to happen?
Even beyond the long term plot points and events that (I felt) were implied and didn't get resolved, there were so many smaller things that just never got an actual conclusion. The wedding?? Why would you not devote at least half a chapter to the wedding that was being planned in the first chapters of the first book, Nic talked about planning it and it never happened! Is Maman just permanently cat-brained now? Where the fuck are Jadren and Selly??????
I found out that one of my burning questions is answered in a sequel/spinoff trilogy, but this wasn't in the book itself or mentioned on the Bonds of Magic page on the author's site, so I had to actively look through the descriptions of her other books to figure out that those characters would be revisited. Usually I continue reading books within a shared universe because I enjoyed the story, and I'm finding it very frustrating that I'm compelled to read this other trilogy because I feel so unsatisfied by the abrupt ending of this one.
It's not bad though, maybe I'll like Bonds of Magic more in hindsight once I read the next trilogy.
The third book... also felt like setup??? Or at the very least it wasn't a satisfying resolution at all. The main antagonists were dispatched so quickly, Gabriel is so overpowered and clever and doesn't think like anyone else in the Convocation so he defears everyone pretty much effortlessly. Every setback is overcome with little to no resistance and it feels like there were no stakes because literally nothing bad happened to any of the good guys that wasn't resolved like two chapters later. The ending is so abrupt and anticlimactic, I just feel really annoyed that it's over (and not in a good book hangover way)
Even beyond the long term plot points and events that (I felt) were implied and didn't get resolved, there were so many smaller things that just never got an actual conclusion.
I found out that one of my burning questions is answered in a sequel/spinoff trilogy, but this wasn't in the book itself or mentioned on the Bonds of Magic page on the author's site, so I had to actively look through the descriptions of her other books to figure out that those characters would be revisited. Usually I continue reading books within a shared universe because I enjoyed the story, and I'm finding it very frustrating that I'm compelled to read this other trilogy because I feel so unsatisfied by the abrupt ending of this one.
It's not bad though, maybe I'll like Bonds of Magic more in hindsight once I read the next trilogy.