A review by shoutaboutbooks
Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Oop. Let's talk about the danger of expectations because I so wish I had loved this. In theory, I should have. It promised academia, witches, rivals to lovers – there was even a VERY bold comp to Howl's Moving Castle. But, sadly, none of these are convincingly delivered and I fear all the issues I have come back to a questionable editorial process. I've learnt that Modern Divination was acquired by Tor after being independently published and "going viral" on TikTok. This was news to me, but it definitely checks out with my experience of the TikTok hype-trad publishing pipeline.

Agajanian is clearly a talented, creative, passionate writer and artist. Their sentences are poetic, their imagery is vibrant. However, though the level of consideration is admirable, trying to phrase everything in the most beautiful or original way you can doesn't necessarily make for a clear, coherent or enjoyable reading experience. Admittedly, plot and character are also underdeveloped, but Modern Divination is most in need of a substantial 'Kill Your Darlings' edit for clarity. I had to flick back and reread sentences, paragraphs and even whole chapters to check whether I'd missed something critical to understanding what was happening/why/why I should care. I hadn't. Things happen because the author says so and the characters aren't particularly interested in questioning any of it, so why should the reader?

I also had no emotional investment in the dynamic or the relationship shift between the useless main character and the drip love interest, and the eventual sex scenes gave me the ick I am so sorry 😂

If you have the desire to read 500 pages of a vaguely cosy but ultimately confusing, surface-level fantasy, absolutely knock yourself out babes. Have fun. It's just 200 pages of waffling too many for me. Maybe I should've rewatched Howl's Moving Castle instead.