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A review by mcdermottcecelia
The Charmed List by Julie Abe
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
What a cute, quick read! The Charmed List by Julie Abe is a young adult, urban fantasy romance that follows Ellie and Jack on their magical road trip to a convention center. When a prank goes wrong, Ellie is forced to take the drive down to the magical convention with her friend-turned-enemy Jack as they make short stops on behalf of their family businesses. Ellie had a plan to spend her summer with her best friend completing an epic summer bucket list, but her plans are quickly upended as the plot ensues.
This is such a fun story. I went into this book thinking it would be a cutesy YA rom-com based on the cover, but the added magical elements were a fun twist to the novel that makes it stand out from many others being released right now. The writing style was easy to follow, the character relationships were dynamic, and the premise of the novel itself combined many of the fun tropes I enjoy reading. It felt like I was watching a Disney Channel original movie or something as it combined the perfect elements to have a funny, lighthearted, urban magical journey. I really enjoyed this story, and it was the perfect book to read in between some of the longer epic fantasy books I've been reading. It's definitely more character-centric, but the characters seem well-developed and realistic. At times, Ellie felt just on the line of almost too awkward, but I was (and probably still am) just as awkward myself at her age. I think the conflict of the novel was realistic, and the plot pacing overall felt just right. I really loved reading this, and I would totally recommend this to other YA readers looking to step into urban fantasy!
My only critique of the novel is I felt like the flashbacks were sometimes a bit oddly placed. I really enjoyed seeing what Jack and Ellie were like when they were younger friends, but I might've preferred for those sections to be brief snippets in between chapters or in chapter breaks rather than mid-chapters straight from present to past to present from one paragraph to the next. It wasn't too difficult to follow by any means, but I just would've appreciated it more with other placement/formatting!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This is such a fun story. I went into this book thinking it would be a cutesy YA rom-com based on the cover, but the added magical elements were a fun twist to the novel that makes it stand out from many others being released right now. The writing style was easy to follow, the character relationships were dynamic, and the premise of the novel itself combined many of the fun tropes I enjoy reading. It felt like I was watching a Disney Channel original movie or something as it combined the perfect elements to have a funny, lighthearted, urban magical journey. I really enjoyed this story, and it was the perfect book to read in between some of the longer epic fantasy books I've been reading. It's definitely more character-centric, but the characters seem well-developed and realistic. At times, Ellie felt just on the line of almost too awkward, but I was (and probably still am) just as awkward myself at her age. I think the conflict of the novel was realistic, and the plot pacing overall felt just right. I really loved reading this, and I would totally recommend this to other YA readers looking to step into urban fantasy!
My only critique of the novel is I felt like the flashbacks were sometimes a bit oddly placed. I really enjoyed seeing what Jack and Ellie were like when they were younger friends, but I might've preferred for those sections to be brief snippets in between chapters or in chapter breaks rather than mid-chapters straight from present to past to present from one paragraph to the next. It wasn't too difficult to follow by any means, but I just would've appreciated it more with other placement/formatting!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!