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sely83's review
adventurous
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I am partial to historical fiction, especially when it comes of word war 1 and 2. I did appreciate, as an history major, the research done by the author.
The reading is smooth, yet at times, it is hard to keep up with the storyline. Isabelle continuous change of names makes it a bit confusing.
Some readers might appreciate the minimal use of descriptions. There is the use of cities and town names, but there is no description. We never know what Isabella wears. We also dont know what the people feelings and emotions are. The book is good, yet connecting to the characters is hard. I think an addition of descriptions would enhance the story. Description of clothes, weather, cars. Adding some daily life to the story.
The magic isn't overwhelming, which I love. I am an urban fantasy reader, and I dont appreciate too much of it. There i no description of the wolves. Is very cut and dry.A book that I think people who love straight facts would appreciate it.
Overall, it's a good book.
kblincoln's review
4.0
Being introduced to the main character of this book as she uses wits and alchemy to extract herself and her fellow saboteur from a bunch of Nazis brought back that tension-filled excitement of watching Wonder Woman on the big screen.
And like Wonder Woman, Isabella is seeking out terrible chemical weapons that might change the course of WWII.
Only Isabella is an Alchemist who uses symbols to manipulate elements, and also has a father hunted by the Tower that trained her because of his special power to manipulate time. Meanwhile, Isabella has complicated missions in Europe to complete, and a couple of blood/magic sucking wizards on the Nazi side to avoid.
As I said above, this book starts really, really strong. Isabella is a compelling character in the beginning. Around the middle I began to get a bit confused. She has missions with a variety of helpers and I got confused about who was who and had to backtrack a little sometimes. And also I felt like the main thread of the mission to find the magical chemical weapons got a bit sidetracked once revelations about Isabella's father got thrown into the mix.
But I will most likely get the second book in the series hoping that the book' second half vagueness gets fixed in the next installment.
And like Wonder Woman, Isabella is seeking out terrible chemical weapons that might change the course of WWII.
Only Isabella is an Alchemist who uses symbols to manipulate elements, and also has a father hunted by the Tower that trained her because of his special power to manipulate time. Meanwhile, Isabella has complicated missions in Europe to complete, and a couple of blood/magic sucking wizards on the Nazi side to avoid.
As I said above, this book starts really, really strong. Isabella is a compelling character in the beginning. Around the middle I began to get a bit confused. She has missions with a variety of helpers and I got confused about who was who and had to backtrack a little sometimes. And also I felt like the main thread of the mission to find the magical chemical weapons got a bit sidetracked once revelations about Isabella's father got thrown into the mix.
But I will most likely get the second book in the series hoping that the book' second half vagueness gets fixed in the next installment.
krismoon's review
4.0
Escobar juggles a lot of interesting characters and wizards in this book (like wizards who drink other wizards' blood), but I do wish she had chosen a bit more dynamic scenes. It felt like there was a lot of sitting around and drinking wine and I was hoping for more action.
sheeprustler's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
krisrid's review
2.0
I gave this 110 pages to draw me in. It never happened, and I didn't finish it.
I generally do not read books involving Nazis. It never ends well and I have accepted that Nazi bookss are just not for me. This book, however, was about WWII but with wizards and vampires that battled the Nazis, so I thought: "Maybe this time, I'll like the book about Nazis". Yeah, no.
I found the story a bit all over the place and hard to stay in the moment. I also couldn't connect with the characters; they felt one-dimensional to me.
This was just a miss for me. Moving on.
I generally do not read books involving Nazis. It never ends well and I have accepted that Nazi bookss are just not for me. This book, however, was about WWII but with wizards and vampires that battled the Nazis, so I thought: "Maybe this time, I'll like the book about Nazis". Yeah, no.
I found the story a bit all over the place and hard to stay in the moment. I also couldn't connect with the characters; they felt one-dimensional to me.
This was just a miss for me. Moving on.
silelda's review
5.0
This was quite the adventure! I'm not gonna say it was all a fun ride because there was genuine emotional turmoil included, but that just helped to make it such a good book. This world's use and acceptance of the reality of magic was seamless. It never seemed out of place for someone to be able to create symbols and unleash the elements.
Isabella is a strong and intelligent woman, as someone in her line of work should be. Her tools of the trade mix traditional spy gear with magical gear. She has emerald glasses that let her see in the dark. She has red garnet lipstick that, when kissed, allows her influence over the kisser. A wonderful blend of spy and magic gear.
My favorite part of this book is the entire cast and crew of characters. It's so easy to feel for the people she meets behind the lines, the people who have lost everything, the people who are tired of fighting but continue to do so. It is written in such a way that much of the history of World War II is still there, there's just magic involved as well. The people of Britain are still conserving every ounce of food and cooking with even the most disliked ingredients (liver sandwiches, bleh). The people of France are on strict rations with curfews and are killed on the streets if suspected of any Marquisard activities or sympathies. This book almost brought me to tears through its characters.
All of this and I've barely scratched the surface the Grey Tower vs the Black Wolves! The Order versus "vampires" that drink the blood of wizards to gain their energy. Plus, the hunt for Isabella's father who is believed to be a Drifter, a magician who can travel through time. There is just so much going on in this book, but it is so well balanced that it never feels overwhelming. It never feels like the author is skipping over important details.
This was a great read. If you like magic-in-the-real-world, or fictional stories set in World War II, or stories about magical forces at war with each other, I highly recommend this book. I couldn't put it down!
Isabella is a strong and intelligent woman, as someone in her line of work should be. Her tools of the trade mix traditional spy gear with magical gear. She has emerald glasses that let her see in the dark. She has red garnet lipstick that, when kissed, allows her influence over the kisser. A wonderful blend of spy and magic gear.
My favorite part of this book is the entire cast and crew of characters. It's so easy to feel for the people she meets behind the lines, the people who have lost everything, the people who are tired of fighting but continue to do so. It is written in such a way that much of the history of World War II is still there, there's just magic involved as well. The people of Britain are still conserving every ounce of food and cooking with even the most disliked ingredients (liver sandwiches, bleh). The people of France are on strict rations with curfews and are killed on the streets if suspected of any Marquisard activities or sympathies. This book almost brought me to tears through its characters.
All of this and I've barely scratched the surface the Grey Tower vs the Black Wolves! The Order versus "vampires" that drink the blood of wizards to gain their energy. Plus, the hunt for Isabella's father who is believed to be a Drifter, a magician who can travel through time. There is just so much going on in this book, but it is so well balanced that it never feels overwhelming. It never feels like the author is skipping over important details.
This was a great read. If you like magic-in-the-real-world, or fictional stories set in World War II, or stories about magical forces at war with each other, I highly recommend this book. I couldn't put it down!
christine_s's review
4.0
Enjoyed the characters and the setting, nice read and I will probably continue the series. Read for the Read Harder Challenge 2017: 21. Read a book published by a micropress.
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