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A review by tacoshark
A Circle of Stars by Craig Montgomery
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I received an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Overall, I thought the world building was really well done and the magic system was creative and interesting and in general, I found the book very compelling. That said, the plot was extremely confusing and the writing lacked clarity, which contributed to the confusion. I found the main characters surprisingly underdeveloped - three POV characters might have been one too many. I liked a lot of the elements here, but it didn’t quite come together as strongly as I wish it had. I’ll be keeping an eye on this author and his future work, though. (This is the first book of a duology, though I think it works just fine as a stand-alone.)
Overall, I thought the world building was really well done and the magic system was creative and interesting and in general, I found the book very compelling. That said, the plot was extremely confusing and the writing lacked clarity, which contributed to the confusion. I found the main characters surprisingly underdeveloped - three POV characters might have been one too many. I liked a lot of the elements here, but it didn’t quite come together as strongly as I wish it had. I’ll be keeping an eye on this author and his future work, though. (This is the first book of a duology, though I think it works just fine as a stand-alone.)
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Abandonment, Violence, Outing, and War
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, and Death