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A review by katharine_opal
Hummingbird by Helen Harper
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
In the world of Hummingbird, there are two things known to be true. Mages are the only ones who can wield magic and a Mage can only be a man. However, Mairi discovers that she too can wield magic, in spite of the fact that she is a woman. She works in a small tartan shop during the day and studies to become an apothecary at night. She is a mute, orphan girl, who comes to realize she may be the spark to kindle a true change in the society of the city. There is also the mystery of the "Afflicted" who roam the streets at night and are one of the reasons the Mages have such an iron grip on the city and its population. I ended up liking this novel even more than I thought I would. The story is quick-paced and never goes slower than a jog. I liked Mairi's drive to accomplish her goals, and the cunning she uses to do so. However, a few of her decisions felt a tad foolish to me. Why take such a high risk for practically no reward? There were several scenes that had what I felt to be a deus ex machina. That could be my personal bias clouding my view, but it really did feel that way. I did enjoy the mystery elements of the story! I don't want to describe them for fear of spoiling them, but it was interesting to read. The magic system in this story, while one most would have heard of before, was very interesting! I couldn't tell what real-life language the magic language was based on, though perhaps it's based on Latin? There were several world-building details that were fuzzy, such as if this story is set in modern-day or historical? I ran under the assumption of historical because Mairi mentioned breeches and stays, but beyond that, I have no idea about the time period. Also not quite sure where in the city of Glasgow this takes place, but if it's ahistorical I guess it doesn't matter. The only major gripe I have is with the singular sex scene in the book. Why did there need to be a sex scene? Like, I guess it makes sense for a plot point near the end of the book but that sex scene felt so out of place. I literally read it going "Why is this happening? What is the point of this? Is this in here because of the ladies on BookTok?" One of my huge annoyances in stories is pointless sex scenes, and thankfully this book only had the one. Asides from my mild annoyances with parts of this book, I will definitely be watching out for the second part in the series. The first novel ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, so of course, I want to know what happens next.
In the world of Hummingbird, there are two things known to be true. Mages are the only ones who can wield magic and a Mage can only be a man. However, Mairi discovers that she too can wield magic, in spite of the fact that she is a woman. She works in a small tartan shop during the day and studies to become an apothecary at night. She is a mute, orphan girl, who comes to realize she may be the spark to kindle a true change in the society of the city. There is also the mystery of the "Afflicted" who roam the streets at night and are one of the reasons the Mages have such an iron grip on the city and its population. I ended up liking this novel even more than I thought I would. The story is quick-paced and never goes slower than a jog. I liked Mairi's drive to accomplish her goals, and the cunning she uses to do so. However, a few of her decisions felt a tad foolish to me. Why take such a high risk for practically no reward? There were several scenes that had what I felt to be a deus ex machina. That could be my personal bias clouding my view, but it really did feel that way. I did enjoy the mystery elements of the story! I don't want to describe them for fear of spoiling them, but it was interesting to read. The magic system in this story, while one most would have heard of before, was very interesting! I couldn't tell what real-life language the magic language was based on, though perhaps it's based on Latin? There were several world-building details that were fuzzy, such as if this story is set in modern-day or historical? I ran under the assumption of historical because Mairi mentioned breeches and stays, but beyond that, I have no idea about the time period. Also not quite sure where in the city of Glasgow this takes place, but if it's ahistorical I guess it doesn't matter. The only major gripe I have is with the singular sex scene in the book. Why did there need to be a sex scene? Like, I guess it makes sense for a plot point near the end of the book but that sex scene felt so out of place. I literally read it going "Why is this happening? What is the point of this? Is this in here because of the ladies on BookTok?" One of my huge annoyances in stories is pointless sex scenes, and thankfully this book only had the one. Asides from my mild annoyances with parts of this book, I will definitely be watching out for the second part in the series. The first novel ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, so of course, I want to know what happens next.