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A review by lisawreading
Ivory Apples by Lisa Goldstein
3.0
In Ivory Apples , four young sisters end up at the mercy of an outsider who charms her way into their family and then takes over. Kate is a clever but overly obsessed fan of the classic children's fantasy book Ivory Apples -- not just because she loves the story, but because she suspects that the author, Adela Martin, had access to real magic as she wrote the book, and Kate wants some of her own.
Oldest sister Ivy is the only one not fully taken in by Kate's schemes, and breaks away from the family in order to keep her aunt's secrets, only to return in desperation when she realizes that her sisters need rescuing. Meanwhile, Kate is right about one thing -- there IS a source of real magic, and Adela and Ivy both have access to it.
I enjoyed the family dynamics and Ivy herself, as well as the central role played by the book Ivory Apples and its secrets. Not all of the magical aspects made complete sense to me, and the sense of urgency throughout lagged from time to time. Still, the book is different and unusual in all sorts of ways, and Kate makes for a devious and menacing bad guy beneath her pleasant and child-friendly exterior. I'd definitely like to read more by this author.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.
Oldest sister Ivy is the only one not fully taken in by Kate's schemes, and breaks away from the family in order to keep her aunt's secrets, only to return in desperation when she realizes that her sisters need rescuing. Meanwhile, Kate is right about one thing -- there IS a source of real magic, and Adela and Ivy both have access to it.
I enjoyed the family dynamics and Ivy herself, as well as the central role played by the book Ivory Apples and its secrets. Not all of the magical aspects made complete sense to me, and the sense of urgency throughout lagged from time to time. Still, the book is different and unusual in all sorts of ways, and Kate makes for a devious and menacing bad guy beneath her pleasant and child-friendly exterior. I'd definitely like to read more by this author.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley. Full review at Bookshelf Fantasies.