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bookaholic84's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Loved this book, I loved the unique magical system, the plot was amazing and some of the twists **WOW**
Will definitely recommend this book
Will definitely recommend this book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
shannnne_reads_words's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Gun violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Murder
ijm358's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and Murder
Minor: Torture and Kidnapping
ethuiliel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Love the characters, love the relationships (especially familial, but also friendship, romance, employer/employee, and more) between the characters and how they develop. The worldbuilding is fascinating as well. And the plot is... I'm not sure how to describe it. It slowly unfolds, I couldn't predict until near the end what the final climax would involve (unlike some books where the goal is clear just way of approaching it and whether the goal succeeds in the way the character intended are what are surprising). However, none of the several twists and turns hit me out of the blue, there were little hints throughout so I gradually saw things unfold.
The ending does leave me wanting more, but not in a "wait that's it?" sort of way. In some ways it's open ended about the future, but the arc of the story is resolved. I would love to see what happens next to these characters and this setting, but also the pieces that are open ended are fun to speculate on, not leaving me unsatisfied.
The ending does leave me wanting more, but not in a "wait that's it?" sort of way. In some ways it's open ended about the future, but the arc of the story is resolved. I would love to see what happens next to these characters and this setting, but also the pieces that are open ended are fun to speculate on, not leaving me unsatisfied.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation
I listed a lot of trigger warnings but I will say that I didn't find any of it to be treated in a problematic waybbbllllbbbllll's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence and Murder
silversparkles50's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder
sassacass11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
This book was so great to read! The world comes to life and every aspect of the lore is explained beautifully within the story itself. An adventurous, dark story about sisters, this story grabs onto you and hangs on as the story twists and unearths the unexpected.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Murder
Minor: Death
asahome's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
TL;DR: Sisters, one who can never stay and one who can never go, learn why their family has been torn apart by the books they protect. A young man learns the lengths people will go to control his talent for writing magical books .
I found the first part of the book boring. I know it is intended to set up the rest of the book so you can understand the action when it gets there, but it felt too long to me. I also really struggled to understand when we were in the present versus when we were looking at the past. If there had been a format change or something to indicate we were not in the present, it would have felt less jarring to me.
I found the first part of the book boring. I know it is intended to set up the rest of the book so you can understand the action when it gets there, but it felt too long to me. I also really struggled to understand when we were in the present versus when we were looking at the past. If there had been a format change or something to indicate we were not in the present, it would have felt less jarring to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
apoppyinthewind's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It took a while for me to get into this book and it wasn't until Nicholas was introduced that I felt my interest pick up. Nicholas and Collins were the most fun to read characters and their chapters felt like it advanced the story while Esther & Joanne's chapters felt like the wheels were spinning on the same mud.
Basically Esther & Joanna's chapters could be summarized up as "They each miss their sister, their family trauma and secret keeping screws with their mental health, paranoia, people being suspicious" rinse repeat. While Nicholas & Collins chapters made me feel like I was learning more about the magical world the story was set in. The book could have just been Nicholas & Collins and I wouldn't have missed Esther or Joanna which is unfortunate since they're the main titular characters.
That said, overall it was enjoyable enough and I appreciate that the story was contained to one book. If you like books about books and magic, you might like this one.
Basically Esther & Joanna's chapters could be summarized up as "They each miss their sister, their family trauma and secret keeping screws with their mental health, paranoia, people being suspicious" rinse repeat. While Nicholas & Collins chapters made me feel like I was learning more about the magical world the story was set in. The book could have just been Nicholas & Collins and I wouldn't have missed Esther or Joanna which is unfortunate since they're the main titular characters.
That said, overall it was enjoyable enough and I appreciate that the story was contained to one book. If you like books about books and magic, you might like this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Stalking, and Murder
tracylou's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I actually did.
Törzs' gift in the book is the dialogue between characters. She crafts conversations that read honestly, cover various emotions and situations, and feel authentic to the character she's crafted. For me, these patches of dialogue were the saving grace of the novel.
The biggest problem for me, though, was a lack of focus. Any of the four main characters could have been the hero or the anti-hero, and given the book title, it probably should've been the sisters. Sadly, the sisters are the characters who feel the flattest. The friendship between Nicholas and Collins is far more interesting than the estrangement or reconnection between the sisters.
The pacing of the novel felt uneven, dragging in some places and racing to the finish in others. I found myself wishing the author would have followed a more chronological timeline, allowing the reader to follow the events, appreciate the intricacies of the magic, and enjoy the characters more.
Törzs' gift in the book is the dialogue between characters. She crafts conversations that read honestly, cover various emotions and situations, and feel authentic to the character she's crafted. For me, these patches of dialogue were the saving grace of the novel.
The biggest problem for me, though, was a lack of focus. Any of the four main characters could have been the hero or the anti-hero, and given the book title, it probably should've been the sisters. Sadly, the sisters are the characters who feel the flattest. The friendship between Nicholas and Collins is far more interesting than the estrangement or reconnection between the sisters.
The pacing of the novel felt uneven, dragging in some places and racing to the finish in others. I found myself wishing the author would have followed a more chronological timeline, allowing the reader to follow the events, appreciate the intricacies of the magic, and enjoy the characters more.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Self harm, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail