Reviews

The Unkindness of Magicians by Kat Howard

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kelcaro1's review against another edition

4.0

If I was rating this on pure literal merit the book would be a solid 4, but with this specific book I instead chose to rate it on my enjoyment. Its not a marvel in plot development, but it manages to create a tone for each plot development that actually cause my stomach to clench at certain moments. I was literally nearly sick from anxiety at certain moments. Every character was one that I could relate to in positive and negative ways and Sydney is someone I aspire to be.

keen23's review against another edition

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5.0

In the running to be my favorite book of 2018. I want to see more of this world! I want to find out what happens to Sydney now. And Ian. And Lara.

linguisticali's review against another edition

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adventurous dark fast-paced

3.0

I actually really enjoyed this despite its flaws. The writing style included way too many sentence fragments, there was a little head hopping within the many POVs, and, most frustratingly, the scenes were so short that the book often felt like an outline. Even things that should have been major, high-stakes plot events were rushed, depriving them of any real weight.

Content Warnings

asfaltsblommor's review against another edition

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dark hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

erica13's review against another edition

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4.0

I LOVED this book. It was so fun and full of thrill, along with all of the characters we follow within the unseen world. This would possibly be a five star though if it weren’t for the major plot holes.

Spoilers below, in case you aren’t me reading this in the future.

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There are just some things that don’t make sense.

The House of Shadows
- Sydney explains that she fought her way out of the house through trials, but if you were there for sacrifice and most likely to die, why would the house let you come out of it? Why can they fight out of shadows in the first place? Why does shadows teach them to use their magic when the whole purpose is to give it away? How can they use their own magic in general in the house when it is supposed to be taken away from them? The house was very sad and was interesting to learn about, but should have been explained more.

Miranda
- Miranda said she killed her husband for sacrificing
their daughter. Why would she kill him 12 years later? If Sydney and Grey are actually twins, and Grey got hurt from the attack at 12, this truly makes no sense.

- Miranda loses her magic at a point. We knew that she was attacked, but we never fully know or understand how one can lose their magic. How can a large attack cause her to lose her magic, when someone who is dueling doesn’t?

The use of magic
- Merlin is losing his magic, but doesn’t he use the house of shadows’ magic anyway? Why does his personal magic matter if he’s using shadows’ magic? It would make sense if he was losing his ability to use magic, but they always say it as he’s losing “his” magic in his body.

Random
- Where is Sydney getting money to survive after getting out of shadows?

- Why are we making Grace RUN THE UNSEEN WORLD when all the girl needs right now is a break? I felt so bad for her.

These questions did take me out of the story, but I fell back in each time. The story was interwoven between each character, leading to learning information, understanding the turning, and watching motives of other characters change. I know many don’t like multiple plot points to follow but I LOVED all the characters. I felt like this story would be very one-sided if only using one main POV. The writing was very entertaining and overall I had a very fun time with this book.

trin's review against another edition

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2.0

Very flat and tell-y. A lot of "this happened and then this happened" -- even up to and including the climax, in which the villain's defeat is relayed with about as much passion as a local council recap. There might be some interesting world-building ideas in here, but the style prevented me from every being able to sink in and feel the world.