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beckaboo181987 's review for:
Gifted & Talented
by Olivie Blake
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gifted and Talented was a strange but magnetic read. Even when I wasn’t sure I liked it, I couldn’t put it down, the layered perspectives kept me engaged and left the story lingering in my mind. Blake’s characters were richly believable, with relationships and rivalries that unfolded in complex, compelling ways. The prose itself felt fresh and immersive, a style I hadn’t experienced before, carrying the book even through its most disorienting shifts.
The physical setting played little role, and the touch of magic felt more decorative than essential. But the atmosphere thrummed with tension, ambition, love, family ties, rivalry, and the desperate craving for acceptance. Thematically, this book was overflowing: fatherhood, sibling rivalry, ambition’s toll, the strain of partnerships, motherhood, grief, even the fragile line between happiness and illusion. It’s wild how many layers were packed into one story.
Overall, Gifted and Talented was thought-provoking, unsettling, and unforgettable; a book I’m still unpacking after finishing.