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pintura's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
strangelet's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-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
Would have like the reader of the audiobook to take a less constantly urgent tone. But it was engaging and I always like queer characters.
ronpayne's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.0
emilyb_chicago's review against another edition
3.0
I have a hard time connecting with the removed tone and the old world, stuffy/formal feeling of the writing. It has the formal spirit of 1900 England. The story is interesting but the world is complex and at times confusing. While the story does wrapup, it’s clearly the first of the series. I will not be picking up the next ones.
There is a detailed bike chase at one point in the novel, taking into account groups of riders and drafting off the lead cyclist.
There is a detailed bike chase at one point in the novel, taking into account groups of riders and drafting off the lead cyclist.
rena219's review against another edition
5.0
wow this was a refreshing read. If you like interesting world building and class dynamics, please read this book.
booklizzie's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
midici's review against another edition
4.0
This novel does not have the best prose I've ever read, and I had some issues with the plot, but I was SO INVESTED in Miles I just about threw the e-reader across the room at one part. He's such a good guy, and he works really hard, and someone needs to give him a break and maybe stop trying to imprison him.
Miles is a war veteran and a doctor. He's also from a prominent family, and he hid his magic and ran away from home and faked his death. At first I thought I understood why - "witches" have magic, and if they're discovered they are sent to asylums, in order to protect everyone from the inevitable damage when the witch goes crazy.
Miles has gone for a significant amount of time hiding his true nature as someone who can heal with magic, only to be discovered by three people in the span of about a day. A patient who was poisoned, one who also has magic, uses his dying breath to try to get Miles to help him. Then a mysterious and beautiful stranger named Tristan, who also has magic, talks Miles into trying to help him solve two mysteries - who poisoned the witch and why magic is disappearing from the world. The third person to discover him already knew he had magic - his sister Grace, who thought he had been killed in the war.
This caught me off guard. Because as it turned out, not all people with magic get thrown into asylums. Witches do, mages don't. Miles isn't a witch - he's a mage. At first I didn't understand the distinction. And then it became clear that there was an entire organization of prominent, wealthy, noble families (unbeknownst to the general population) who use magic on behalf of the crown. So what was the difference between the destined-to-be-insane witches and the noble mages? Their class. Magic is for important, proper families. Poor people can't be mages - they couldn't be equal to their betters. This is a literal class warfare and I knew immediately that they had to be doing something terrible with all the imprisoned witches, which became mystery number three.
Of course, all of this is happening while Miles is trying to figure out why every soldier that returns home from the war seems to be suffering from the same illness. While most doctors seem to think it's PTSD, Miles can see with his gifts that something much more dangerous is happening. But he doesn't know what exactly is the cause, and can't communicate how dangerous he thinks it is without outing himself. So that's mystery number four.
While I wanted to know the answers to these mysteries, what kept me hooked on this book was the relationships, specifically the immediate attraction between Tristan and Miles, and the complicated sibling relationship between Miles and Grace.
Miles doesn't know why he trusts Tristan, but he does. And in return, Tristan trusts Miles with the truth of who and what he is. I loved their interactions, and the inevitable fall into what Miles is sure to be a wonderful/terrible mistake. Miles is so overwhelmed by Tristan and his abilities, but also full of admiration. Tristan is fascinated by Miles, and determined to see him shine, without having to spend his life hidden away, always on the run. It's not a case of will-he-won't-he; they both know they're attracted to each other. But Tristan can see why Miles is reluctant to let himself have this and spends a lot of time wooing him via giving him a safe place to stay feeding him delicious food, and teaching him magic.
The relationship between Grace and Miles, on the other hand, is far more complicated. Mages have the ability to bind other mages to their will. The "secondaries" are essentially walking batteries, to be used however the primary mage wants and are forced to wed in order to secure alliances and bear appropriately powerful children. Since childhood it was impressed on both of them that Miles would be bound to his sister, since her gift as a weather mage is seen as the most important one. Miles and Grace both seem to care for each other, but they don't trust each other. Grace thinks Miles' life as a runaway is appalling - by her standards he's broke, overworked, and in terrible straits. Miles thinks anything is worth freedom.
Grace honestly seems to think binding Miles would be best for both of them. Grace would have the power and prestige to ascend to the highest possible position for a mage. She wants him to be happy, and would not dream of preventing him from using his gifts to heal - unless she needs to use them, of course. She appeals to his sense of duty and guilt. His freedom is dependent on staying hidden, which means he has no say in their society. As her secondary she could show off how wonderful he is when he uses his own skill, and together they could encourage all primary mages to allow their secondaries to properly use their own skills for more than just backup power.
The power struggle between them is so deeply emotional. While the love story is nice it doesn't have the depth of drama that comes from two people who have a complicated backstory and are diametrically opposed in their goals, and tearing themselves to pieces while fighting each other.
Wile I enjoyed slowly discovering this world, I think some of the explanations could have been less complicated. There was more than one term used for same aspect of society - don't ask how long it took me to figure out exactly what they all meant by the Invisibles - and it took time to figure out that when two characters used different terms to talk about the same thing that they hadn't suddenly changed the subject. I also wish they had delved a little more deeply into how all the different types of magic worked.
My main complaint was that all the mysteries AND problem plots were solved in the same chapter, with the same action. It was too neat and pat. I don't mind that most of it all turned out to be related - I assumed that Tristan's end-goal and Miles' murdered patient mystery would turn out to be related. But the fact that Grace would go from one betrayal to another, to be willing to die to keep Miles enslaved only to change her mind last-second just because she's appalled that other people are being enslaved, seems a bit out of character.
The reveal on what was happening to the soldiers was great - but having Miles solve that while simultaneously solving the asylum issue, and the missing magic and souls issue, sort of took the impact away.
I didn't realize until I came on Goodreads that this is supposed to be book one of a series - which means my last complaint on not getting any sense of the dramatic impact Miles' actions has on the whole of society, and the war between Aeland and Laneer, is probably going to be addressed in the future.
Despite mixed feelings I really enjoyed this one a lot. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
Miles is a war veteran and a doctor. He's also from a prominent family, and he hid his magic and ran away from home and faked his death. At first I thought I understood why - "witches" have magic, and if they're discovered they are sent to asylums, in order to protect everyone from the inevitable damage when the witch goes crazy.
Miles has gone for a significant amount of time hiding his true nature as someone who can heal with magic, only to be discovered by three people in the span of about a day. A patient who was poisoned, one who also has magic, uses his dying breath to try to get Miles to help him. Then a mysterious and beautiful stranger named Tristan, who also has magic, talks Miles into trying to help him solve two mysteries - who poisoned the witch and why magic is disappearing from the world. The third person to discover him already knew he had magic - his sister Grace, who thought he had been killed in the war.
This caught me off guard. Because as it turned out, not all people with magic get thrown into asylums. Witches do, mages don't. Miles isn't a witch - he's a mage. At first I didn't understand the distinction. And then it became clear that there was an entire organization of prominent, wealthy, noble families (unbeknownst to the general population) who use magic on behalf of the crown. So what was the difference between the destined-to-be-insane witches and the noble mages? Their class. Magic is for important, proper families. Poor people can't be mages - they couldn't be equal to their betters. This is a literal class warfare and I knew immediately that they had to be doing something terrible with all the imprisoned witches, which became mystery number three.
Of course, all of this is happening while Miles is trying to figure out why every soldier that returns home from the war seems to be suffering from the same illness. While most doctors seem to think it's PTSD, Miles can see with his gifts that something much more dangerous is happening. But he doesn't know what exactly is the cause, and can't communicate how dangerous he thinks it is without outing himself. So that's mystery number four.
While I wanted to know the answers to these mysteries, what kept me hooked on this book was the relationships, specifically the immediate attraction between Tristan and Miles, and the complicated sibling relationship between Miles and Grace.
Miles doesn't know why he trusts Tristan, but he does. And in return, Tristan trusts Miles with the truth of who and what he is. I loved their interactions, and the inevitable fall into what Miles is sure to be a wonderful/terrible mistake. Miles is so overwhelmed by Tristan and his abilities, but also full of admiration. Tristan is fascinated by Miles, and determined to see him shine, without having to spend his life hidden away, always on the run. It's not a case of will-he-won't-he; they both know they're attracted to each other. But Tristan can see why Miles is reluctant to let himself have this and spends a lot of time wooing him via giving him a safe place to stay feeding him delicious food, and teaching him magic.
The relationship between Grace and Miles, on the other hand, is far more complicated. Mages have the ability to bind other mages to their will. The "secondaries" are essentially walking batteries, to be used however the primary mage wants and are forced to wed in order to secure alliances and bear appropriately powerful children. Since childhood it was impressed on both of them that Miles would be bound to his sister, since her gift as a weather mage is seen as the most important one. Miles and Grace both seem to care for each other, but they don't trust each other. Grace thinks Miles' life as a runaway is appalling - by her standards he's broke, overworked, and in terrible straits. Miles thinks anything is worth freedom.
Grace honestly seems to think binding Miles would be best for both of them. Grace would have the power and prestige to ascend to the highest possible position for a mage. She wants him to be happy, and would not dream of preventing him from using his gifts to heal - unless she needs to use them, of course. She appeals to his sense of duty and guilt. His freedom is dependent on staying hidden, which means he has no say in their society. As her secondary she could show off how wonderful he is when he uses his own skill, and together they could encourage all primary mages to allow their secondaries to properly use their own skills for more than just backup power.
The power struggle between them is so deeply emotional. While the love story is nice it doesn't have the depth of drama that comes from two people who have a complicated backstory and are diametrically opposed in their goals, and tearing themselves to pieces while fighting each other.
Wile I enjoyed slowly discovering this world, I think some of the explanations could have been less complicated. There was more than one term used for same aspect of society - don't ask how long it took me to figure out exactly what they all meant by the Invisibles - and it took time to figure out that when two characters used different terms to talk about the same thing that they hadn't suddenly changed the subject. I also wish they had delved a little more deeply into how all the different types of magic worked.
My main complaint was that all the mysteries AND problem plots were solved in the same chapter, with the same action. It was too neat and pat. I don't mind that most of it all turned out to be related - I assumed that Tristan's end-goal and Miles' murdered patient mystery would turn out to be related. But the fact that Grace would go from one betrayal to another, to be willing to die to keep Miles enslaved only to change her mind last-second just because she's appalled that other people are being enslaved, seems a bit out of character.
The reveal on what was happening to the soldiers was great - but having Miles solve that while simultaneously solving the asylum issue, and the missing magic and souls issue, sort of took the impact away.
I didn't realize until I came on Goodreads that this is supposed to be book one of a series - which means my last complaint on not getting any sense of the dramatic impact Miles' actions has on the whole of society, and the war between Aeland and Laneer, is probably going to be addressed in the future.
Despite mixed feelings I really enjoyed this one a lot. I look forward to seeing what happens next.
nataliesong's review
adventurous
hopeful
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? Yes
4.0
bholmes415's review
adventurous
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
There were a lot of things I found intriguing about this book and things I enjoyed - Connection of the main characters, the intersection of medicine and magic, the mystery.
But there were also a lot of things that I didn’t like at all and that annoyed me - Pacing, a disconnect between how much time was spent relaying information that was extremely relevant vs useless, and an issue with dumping the reader into an entirely new world with not enough information to understand this new one.
Torn on whether to continue the series or not, but I do think I’ve heard they get better.
For Miles and Tristan alone I may have to…
But there were also a lot of things that I didn’t like at all and that annoyed me - Pacing, a disconnect between how much time was spent relaying information that was extremely relevant vs useless, and an issue with dumping the reader into an entirely new world with not enough information to understand this new one.
Torn on whether to continue the series or not, but I do think I’ve heard they get better.
For Miles and Tristan alone I may have to…