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laneys_library's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Literally ✨AMAZING✨ Just read it! It’s so good! The secrets and plot twists just keep coming
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Alcohol, Gun violence, Murder, Death, and Genocide
Moderate: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Blood, Suicide, Addiction, Violence, and Cursing
Minor: Grief, Child death, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Stalking, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Fire/Fire injury
sadloife's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
If there was a tag for super slow pace I would have given it to this book. Until the 350 page mark the book was pretty boring and nothing seemed to happen with any of the characters. I also had an extremely hard time warming up to the character of Harte Darrigan (first of all because I find it very hard to imagine a hot person when I read the name “Harte” lmao) because of his lowkey sexist behavior towards the main character (and almost every other woman around him). I also don’t love how the relationship between Esta & Harte isn’t built on consent, I think there was 1 (?) consensual kiss, Esta even points this out. . There are A LOT of POV changes and they happen way too often for my taste (how is there a new chapter every five pages?). There is 1(!) lgbtq+ character in this and the most gay-cliché-trope happens to them ( her love interest gets killed, I mean COME ON ) and Esta is at multiple points described as “not like the other girls” (guys, you don’t understand, she’s not like the other rich ladies, she doesn’t wear makeup!!!). Also, is it just me or is the “Brink” in this book really similar to the “Fold” in the Shadow & Bone series?
However, around the 350 page mark I started to really enjoy this book (for reference it took me like two months to get to the 350 page mark and then I read the rest in one day). Every character seemed to have gained a personality and it was genuinely interesting to see how things turned out. My favourite character was Jianyu, unfortunately he was barely in the story :\
However, around the 350 page mark I started to really enjoy this book (for reference it took me like two months to get to the 350 page mark and then I read the rest in one day). Every character seemed to have gained a personality and it was genuinely interesting to see how things turned out. My favourite character was Jianyu, unfortunately he was barely in the story :\
There are multiple twist-villain reveals in this book and to be honest, I didn’t care for either of them. The first reveal (Nibsy was the villain all along) happened wayyy too early imo, I didn’t even understand it until the characters spelt it out for me lmao (ok, that might not be the book’s fault) and I thought it was weird how Dolph’s internal conflict (whether he should trust Esta or Nibsy) was mostly shown after we know that Nibsy is evil. Because if we hadn’t known about Nibsy’s true nature, we might have assumed that only Esta is the traitor (since her real mission is shown to the reader in the beginning). In my opinion, Nibsy’s villain reveal should have happened when he shoots Dolph, as the betrayal would have hit harder. The second twist-villain reveal (Prof. Lachlan is evil & also Nibsy) felt very predictable to an extent. From the beginning I had a suspicion Prof. Lachlan might be evil, because he keeps Esta locked up and makes her commit crimes without explaining his reasoning properly. And towards the end I noticed, that Lorcan and Lachlan are very similar-sounding names xD.
Unrelated to that, there is a scene in which Harte has to use a bunch of stones in order to open a secret door to The Book™️ and it really reminded me of movies I watched in my childhood so it was a little strange to have a scene like that in a YA novel.
All in all while in the end I did like the characters the first half was a little too boring, and the twists (in the spoiler-section) didn’t do it for me and I don’t think I will be reading part 2.
Ps: Tell me why I thought Dolph was a 60 y/o for most of the book. The whole time he was 26!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
braiths_book_thoughts's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.0
This book is ridiculous.
It has SUCH great promise. The idea is amazing.
But it's poorly executed.
It was 400 pages of planning a heist that involved time travel and saving the future and lamenting about betraying friends to save the future.
I got to page 425 and admitted I was finally finally bored. When I was reading it, my mind would wander and whole pages would pass and I would have to go back to reread.
I didn't care about the characters.
The ending was beyond ridiculous. I was rolling my eyes and when I finished it, I couldn't believe I'd spend the week reading this.
Safe to say, I won't be continuing the series
It has SUCH great promise. The idea is amazing.
But it's poorly executed.
It was 400 pages of planning a heist that involved time travel and saving the future and lamenting about betraying friends to save the future.
I got to page 425 and admitted I was finally finally bored. When I was reading it, my mind would wander and whole pages would pass and I would have to go back to reread.
I didn't care about the characters.
The ending was beyond ridiculous. I was rolling my eyes and when I finished it, I couldn't believe I'd spend the week reading this.
Safe to say, I won't be continuing the series
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
leahlovesloslibros's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Esta is being raised in present-day New York, where magic is almost completely extinct. She is part of a small group of individuals who still have and use their magic - The Mageus. They are hunted by The Order, who prefer to use their own form of man-made "magic" in an attempt to eliminate them. The man who raised her has taught her everything she needs to know to steal magic artifacts from various times in the past so they can bring them all together and save The Mageus before they are wiped out forever. When she travels to 1902 to steal the last but most important of the artifacts - The Ars Arcana - chaos ensues. Now Esta has to get The Book and return to present-day New York without unraveling the past and changing the future.
When I started reading this book and realized that part of it was going to take place in the past, I was worried that it was going to be more historical fiction than fantasy, and that I wouldn't like it. Thankfully I kept reading, because I was SO wrong. We start with different points-of-view in different timelines, but as Esta makes her time travel to 1902 the timelines converge and we are just left with multiple POV.
I loved the adventure that Esta went on in 1902 New York. There was enough mystery and action without too much down time in between, and enough detail to provide backstories for the characters a little bit at a time. The multiple POV allowed for the reader to understand the story from different perspectives (obviously) without being jumbled as it switched between characters. The magic system was intricate but not confusing, which, honestly, is kind of refreshing in a YA fantasy book.
When I got close to the end of the book, I did figure out one of the biggest twists, which gave me a great sense of accomplishment. I plan to read the 2nd and 3rd books in the trilogy, and will likely look into some of Maxwell's other works as well.
When I started reading this book and realized that part of it was going to take place in the past, I was worried that it was going to be more historical fiction than fantasy, and that I wouldn't like it. Thankfully I kept reading, because I was SO wrong. We start with different points-of-view in different timelines, but as Esta makes her time travel to 1902 the timelines converge and we are just left with multiple POV.
I loved the adventure that Esta went on in 1902 New York. There was enough mystery and action without too much down time in between, and enough detail to provide backstories for the characters a little bit at a time. The multiple POV allowed for the reader to understand the story from different perspectives (obviously) without being jumbled as it switched between characters. The magic system was intricate but not confusing, which, honestly, is kind of refreshing in a YA fantasy book.
When I got close to the end of the book, I did figure out one of the biggest twists, which gave me a great sense of accomplishment. I plan to read the 2nd and 3rd books in the trilogy, and will likely look into some of Maxwell's other works as well.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Death
Minor: Sexual assault and Racial slurs
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