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beckeal's review against another edition
3.0
I’m shocked I didn’t like this more?!! It has great reviews and has been likened to books I love, but it just didn’t do it for me.
The characters are too one-dimensional, the world-building too vague, the tension not tight enough, the mysteries too obvious, the problems too contrived, the solutions too predictable. Really cool ideas just went away, leaving the story to be built on fairly common tropes, and they weren’t executed with enough conviction to make them work.
I dunno. I wouldn’t really say I’m in any sort of mood, but maybe if I’d been in a different one I could have gotten swept up in it a little more and been too charmed for the flaws to bug me.
As it is, I just feel like middle grade can be better written, with more sophistication and polish, than this. It felt like it was driven by the writer’s/editor’s/publisher’s goal (of making people like it) instead of by its own heart and soul.
Oh well. Disappointed.
The characters are too one-dimensional, the world-building too vague, the tension not tight enough, the mysteries too obvious, the problems too contrived, the solutions too predictable. Really cool ideas just went away, leaving the story to be built on fairly common tropes, and they weren’t executed with enough conviction to make them work.
I dunno. I wouldn’t really say I’m in any sort of mood, but maybe if I’d been in a different one I could have gotten swept up in it a little more and been too charmed for the flaws to bug me.
As it is, I just feel like middle grade can be better written, with more sophistication and polish, than this. It felt like it was driven by the writer’s/editor’s/publisher’s goal (of making people like it) instead of by its own heart and soul.
Oh well. Disappointed.
lauracooleyjohnson's review against another edition
5.0
I’ve been in a reading slump lately. Lots of TBR books, and none of them interesting to me. So I decided to resort to a tried and true guilty pleasure: YA fantasy. It’s my chicken soup for the soul. This series has been compared to Harry Potter. I can’t say for sure if I agree after just one book, but it has a similar story arc of “kid with awful childhood suddenly discovered and destined for magical greatness.” And similar in that I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ll keep going with the series for sure!
carebcut's review against another edition
5.0
Such a fun read! Reminds me of a female Harry Potter story! And Fenestra is amazing
claire_reads_a_lot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
purpledragonfly9's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
whoisajax's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-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
FORMAT: Hardcover
WHY: Highly Recommended
THOUGHTS: A magical world with magical characters. ... hard for me not to love ♡
RECOMMENDED: If you lovr Harry Potter, His Dark Materials or any young adult fantasy you will love this
WHY: Highly Recommended
THOUGHTS: A magical world with magical characters. ... hard for me not to love ♡
RECOMMENDED: If you lovr Harry Potter, His Dark Materials or any young adult fantasy you will love this
trin's review against another edition
3.0
A bunch of tired tropes potentially saved by the relentless energy with which they are presented, and by the undercurrent of darkness rippling through this middle grade fantasy. Much of the book feels derivative: the main adult character speaks exactly like The Doctor; the narrative is structured around a set of trials (probably the trope that I would, at this point, most like to never see again); a bunch of children are marked by prophecy/curse based on the date of their birth. However, I definitely see potential in the characters and setting. I think there's a chance that this could turn out to be the first, okay book in a really great series, once the author more firmly finds her own voice and territory to explore. There's humor here, and some excellent imagery, and yes, that delightful darkness. Fingers crossed!