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A review by sj_54
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Summary: A decent YA fantasy with a nice romance, but with an odd amount of Irish Catholic trauma??
Pros: The use of the magic system was well-developed and blended into the storyline nicely. The characters had a lot of depth which is always nice to see in YA, with a good amount of slow burn romance.
The family trauma was heart-rending and really well-written.
Cons: What was with the world-building?? The countries and world are made-up, but the religious systems are just Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism renamed?? Like I get it, the Protestants were terrible to Jewish and Catholic Irish immigrants and and you have a bone to pick about that. But this would have been the exact same story if you kept the anti-immigration sentiment, but removed the random references to the pope and Shabbos. It impacted the story in NO way at all, and felt like it was thrown in just to make a 'STATEMENT' about it.
If you wanted to write a book about 1920s immigration issues but with alchemy... Why did you rename everything to make it a different world setting??
If you wanted to write about a fantasy world with alchemy and political issues... Why did you copy paste our religious systems and add 'oh and everyone believes in magical foxes'?
Also how come when Trouble gets half-eaten by the hala do MARGARET AND WES HAVE A PAGES-LONG CONVERSATION INSTEAD OF STITCHING HIM UP FIRST.
Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for access to the eBook ARC.
Pros: The use of the magic system was well-developed and blended into the storyline nicely. The characters had a lot of depth which is always nice to see in YA, with a good amount of slow burn romance.
The family trauma was heart-rending and really well-written.
Cons: What was with the world-building?? The countries and world are made-up, but the religious systems are just Protestantism, Catholicism, and Judaism renamed?? Like I get it, the Protestants were terrible to Jewish and Catholic Irish immigrants and and you have a bone to pick about that. But this would have been the exact same story if you kept the anti-immigration sentiment, but removed the random references to the pope and Shabbos. It impacted the story in NO way at all, and felt like it was thrown in just to make a 'STATEMENT' about it.
If you wanted to write a book about 1920s immigration issues but with alchemy... Why did you rename everything to make it a different world setting??
If you wanted to write about a fantasy world with alchemy and political issues... Why did you copy paste our religious systems and add 'oh and everyone believes in magical foxes'?
Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for access to the eBook ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Gore, Animal death, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Sexual content