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A review by paperprivateer
The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Clue. Knives Out. Inheritance Games. But with witches!
I think some of those comparisons make sense. If you’re looking for a Knives Out look at aspects of society, an Inheritance Games situation with love options, or Tim Curry, you won’t find that here. But if what you’re looking for is *vibes* based on those, then you’ve got the right book.
There are a lot of things I don’t love in this book. I don’t particularly like evil witches or zombies or any kind of blood magic. And yet… I was having such a fun time reading the book that none of those things bothered me. It's also never graphic or gory enough to disturb my scaredy-cat self.
I liked the magic system overall. I liked the way the lines of magic were separated. For the most part I had a good idea of what each line could do and what made them unique, although it could have been more clear. I personally don’t love it when media uses Salem witches as a base saying they were real witches. I think it is a little disrespectful to the very real women who were murdered because of false accusations. Despite that, I enjoyed the magic systems. I appreciate how the magic was revealed a little at a time so I never felt like there was an overall info dump to try to explain how it all worked.
I liked the characters overall. It was tricky at first to remember who was a part of what family or even which characters the male POV character was referring to since the sisters were also using false names. However, by the end of the book, I felt like almost all of the characters were distinct and interesting. I also understood why all of the characters acted the way they did by the end of the book.
I didn’t love Auden as a POV character. I think he was used more to explain the magic systems than because he’d be a good person to see the story from. I think he would have been a stronger character just from Ruby’s observations. Once the excuse is made that the sisters must have lost their memory, we could have had other characters explain how the magic worked (which had to happen most of the time anyway) instead of having his perspective. When he was depicted in Ruby’s POV, he was a lot more interesting and likable for me than when it was his own POV.
My biggest complaint about the characters is that it’s essentially insta-love for four characters. It’s bad enough when it’s the main character, but it’s both sisters! Sure, things develop a little over time, but it’s more assumed than giving us significant reasons to root for either relationship.
The mystery was a lot of fun. It kept me guessing about how it would end. It wasn’t entirely unpredictable, but I enjoyed the twists and turns.
Overall, this is a great read for a spooky season, or anytime you’re looking for something a little dark and mysterious.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
I think some of those comparisons make sense. If you’re looking for a Knives Out look at aspects of society, an Inheritance Games situation with love options, or Tim Curry, you won’t find that here. But if what you’re looking for is *vibes* based on those, then you’ve got the right book.
There are a lot of things I don’t love in this book. I don’t particularly like evil witches or zombies or any kind of blood magic. And yet… I was having such a fun time reading the book that none of those things bothered me. It's also never graphic or gory enough to disturb my scaredy-cat self.
I liked the magic system overall. I liked the way the lines of magic were separated. For the most part I had a good idea of what each line could do and what made them unique, although it could have been more clear. I personally don’t love it when media uses Salem witches as a base saying they were real witches. I think it is a little disrespectful to the very real women who were murdered because of false accusations. Despite that, I enjoyed the magic systems. I appreciate how the magic was revealed a little at a time so I never felt like there was an overall info dump to try to explain how it all worked.
I liked the characters overall. It was tricky at first to remember who was a part of what family or even which characters the male POV character was referring to since the sisters were also using false names. However, by the end of the book, I felt like almost all of the characters were distinct and interesting. I also understood why all of the characters acted the way they did by the end of the book.
I didn’t love Auden as a POV character. I think he was used more to explain the magic systems than because he’d be a good person to see the story from. I think he would have been a stronger character just from Ruby’s observations. Once the excuse is made that the sisters must have lost their memory, we could have had other characters explain how the magic worked (which had to happen most of the time anyway) instead of having his perspective. When he was depicted in Ruby’s POV, he was a lot more interesting and likable for me than when it was his own POV.
My biggest complaint about the characters is that it’s essentially insta-love for four characters. It’s bad enough when it’s the main character, but it’s both sisters! Sure, things develop a little over time, but it’s more assumed than giving us significant reasons to root for either relationship.
The mystery was a lot of fun. It kept me guessing about how it would end. It wasn’t entirely unpredictable, but I enjoyed the twists and turns.
Overall, this is a great read for a spooky season, or anytime you’re looking for something a little dark and mysterious.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.