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boundtwobooks's review against another edition
3.0
The Final Days of Magic is the third book in J.D. Horn’s series “Witches of New Orleans”. It mixes Western Christian notions of witchcraft with a Voodoo/Creole that feels very specific to New Orleans culture. This is the final novel in the series and it is supposed to tie up the narrative arc. I have been on a witchie book reading spree of late and I wanted to really like this book. I really did. But I just couldn’t get into it.
I finished the novel after really pushing myself through it and I felt more relief it was over than anything else when I got to the last page. For me, it wasn’t that the writing was terrible or that the novel felt sexist or anything of the sort. It simply felt mechanical. It felt like the equivalent of writing by numbers and I could not get invested in the plot or the characters.
The ending of the novel hints at a battle of witches—those for the darkness and sacrificing witches and those against—but even that fell flat. Just as everything starts to heat up and witches are dying and fighting left right and centre the chapter ends and what is the next section of the novel? An epilogue set long after the battle. The let down was real.
This hasn’t been the worst book I’ve read in 2019, but it is also not the best either. Fantasy novels have to have good writing and plot development, otherwise just relying on the characters and the ‘magic’ to take the plot somewhere will just not work.
So, for Horn’s last novel in this series, I have to give it a shrug. What fantasy books are you loving at the moment? As always, share the reading love.
NOTE: This novel was was accessed through Netgalley and 47 NORTH for review purposes.
I finished the novel after really pushing myself through it and I felt more relief it was over than anything else when I got to the last page. For me, it wasn’t that the writing was terrible or that the novel felt sexist or anything of the sort. It simply felt mechanical. It felt like the equivalent of writing by numbers and I could not get invested in the plot or the characters.
The ending of the novel hints at a battle of witches—those for the darkness and sacrificing witches and those against—but even that fell flat. Just as everything starts to heat up and witches are dying and fighting left right and centre the chapter ends and what is the next section of the novel? An epilogue set long after the battle. The let down was real.
This hasn’t been the worst book I’ve read in 2019, but it is also not the best either. Fantasy novels have to have good writing and plot development, otherwise just relying on the characters and the ‘magic’ to take the plot somewhere will just not work.
So, for Horn’s last novel in this series, I have to give it a shrug. What fantasy books are you loving at the moment? As always, share the reading love.
NOTE: This novel was was accessed through Netgalley and 47 NORTH for review purposes.
bookishgurl's review against another edition
4.0
I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Final Days of Magic (Witches of New Orleans #3) by J.D. Horn from NetGalley and 47North in order to read and give an honest review.
The Final Days of Magic (Witches of New Orleans #3) by J.D. Horn is the third and final book in the series from Author J.D. Horn. I have read and reviewed both the first book, The King of Bones and Ashes (Witches of New Orleans #1) and the second The Book of Unwinding (Witches of New Orleans #2). With The Final Days of Magic, although I didn't enjoy this entry as much as the first two, I still found it to be a satisfying, albeit heartbreaking finale to the series.
One thing is consistent throughout the Witches of New Orleans series is J.D. Horn's ability to give us such strong, unique and multifaceted characters which the reader can connect with. I love his ability to depict strong, flawed and resilient characters, especially the way his female characters come across. His plots are imaginative and lean towards the dark end of the spectrum as far as paranormal. In this book, as with the others, there are quite a few characters and I really appreciated the character list included at the beginning for a handy reference, especially since I read quite a bit and the previous book was about a year ago. Another thing I have to commend J.D. Horn for is that he brings New Orleans to life, he delves into the history and mysticism of the city and it becomes a character of its own.
This book felt like it wrapped up most of the loose ends on the most part. We followed Natalie, Alice, Lisette and Angeline all continuing to work through much of what happened in the previous book. This book did do an amazing job tying together magic with mythology and the climax not only unique but very unexpected. My only issues in this book are that the focus is constantly changing and it feels a bit wild and uncontrolled. There also seemed to be a disconnect with Natalie for me this time around...her storyline was a bit "confusing" for a lack of a better word.
All in all a good series, unique in every sense. I recommend the series as a whole, but I recommend definitely reading the first two books before this one, it wouldn't make a great standalone. I recommend this to anyone looking for something that is rife with magic and mayhem!
The Final Days of Magic (Witches of New Orleans #3) by J.D. Horn is the third and final book in the series from Author J.D. Horn. I have read and reviewed both the first book, The King of Bones and Ashes (Witches of New Orleans #1) and the second The Book of Unwinding (Witches of New Orleans #2). With The Final Days of Magic, although I didn't enjoy this entry as much as the first two, I still found it to be a satisfying, albeit heartbreaking finale to the series.
One thing is consistent throughout the Witches of New Orleans series is J.D. Horn's ability to give us such strong, unique and multifaceted characters which the reader can connect with. I love his ability to depict strong, flawed and resilient characters, especially the way his female characters come across. His plots are imaginative and lean towards the dark end of the spectrum as far as paranormal. In this book, as with the others, there are quite a few characters and I really appreciated the character list included at the beginning for a handy reference, especially since I read quite a bit and the previous book was about a year ago. Another thing I have to commend J.D. Horn for is that he brings New Orleans to life, he delves into the history and mysticism of the city and it becomes a character of its own.
This book felt like it wrapped up most of the loose ends on the most part. We followed Natalie, Alice, Lisette and Angeline all continuing to work through much of what happened in the previous book. This book did do an amazing job tying together magic with mythology and the climax not only unique but very unexpected. My only issues in this book are that the focus is constantly changing and it feels a bit wild and uncontrolled. There also seemed to be a disconnect with Natalie for me this time around...her storyline was a bit "confusing" for a lack of a better word.
All in all a good series, unique in every sense. I recommend the series as a whole, but I recommend definitely reading the first two books before this one, it wouldn't make a great standalone. I recommend this to anyone looking for something that is rife with magic and mayhem!
cgonya1's review against another edition
4.0
I was given a free e-copy of this novel by NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
I have not read a novel by J.D. Horn before, but I will add him to my list of authors that I follow.
The Final Days of Magic is the third and final installment in J.D. Horn's Witches of New Orleans series. I strongly encourage anyone who reads this series to start at the beginning. I did not and I was confused and lost at quite a few turns. At one point I decided to stop and read reviews on the first two books.
In the final installment, Alice Marin has been freed back into the modern world, and magic appears to be dying. Follow Alice as she comes to grip with her own family's secrets, and finds love with Nathalie, a psychic with her own troubles. Alice must work with both living and dead allies to put a stop to whatever is using her family to destroy the New Orleans witches, while also confronting her own past.
Without having read the first two novels, I was immediately hooked with how similar the familial interactions were to Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches. I very quickly realized that it had some obvious differences that made the story unique and, in my opinion, far superior plot them. It seems when one delves into the world of supernatural families, there is a certain obligation of political drama that must be attached. J.D. Horn certainly provides that with the Marin family but extends it into the Perrault and the Boudreau families before connecting them all. I found the character list at the beginning of the book to be quite helpful, but I would have appreciated a glossary at the end of the various French-Creole and Voodoo words used.
I will say the ending came surprising quick and felt very anti-climax to me. I was expected a bit more "bang for my buck" given the personalities that were involved. The author's writing made it easy to imagine Evangeline in her club with Sugar the cat, Alice's anger at Nicholas, and Fleur's love for Lucy. I could also imagine the streets in New Orleans and the French Quarter. Having those imaginings is why the ending felt rushed.
Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
I have not read a novel by J.D. Horn before, but I will add him to my list of authors that I follow.
The Final Days of Magic is the third and final installment in J.D. Horn's Witches of New Orleans series. I strongly encourage anyone who reads this series to start at the beginning. I did not and I was confused and lost at quite a few turns. At one point I decided to stop and read reviews on the first two books.
In the final installment, Alice Marin has been freed back into the modern world, and magic appears to be dying. Follow Alice as she comes to grip with her own family's secrets, and finds love with Nathalie, a psychic with her own troubles. Alice must work with both living and dead allies to put a stop to whatever is using her family to destroy the New Orleans witches, while also confronting her own past.
Without having read the first two novels, I was immediately hooked with how similar the familial interactions were to Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches. I very quickly realized that it had some obvious differences that made the story unique and, in my opinion, far superior plot them. It seems when one delves into the world of supernatural families, there is a certain obligation of political drama that must be attached. J.D. Horn certainly provides that with the Marin family but extends it into the Perrault and the Boudreau families before connecting them all. I found the character list at the beginning of the book to be quite helpful, but I would have appreciated a glossary at the end of the various French-Creole and Voodoo words used.
I will say the ending came surprising quick and felt very anti-climax to me. I was expected a bit more "bang for my buck" given the personalities that were involved. The author's writing made it easy to imagine Evangeline in her club with Sugar the cat, Alice's anger at Nicholas, and Fleur's love for Lucy. I could also imagine the streets in New Orleans and the French Quarter. Having those imaginings is why the ending felt rushed.
Overall I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
debyc's review against another edition
4.0
When I received "The Final Days of Magic" as an ARC, I realized pretty quickly that I'd have to read the first two books in the series if I was going to really enjoy the story- Kindle Unlimited has the first two books, and I highly recommend reading them first if you have that subscription :). The first one was a bit difficult to get into, especially because there are so many characters that it takes a bit to understand how everyone is connected to each other. Even with an introduction that lists the characters, you really need to have the backstory to really appreciate this finale.
Of the three books in the trilogy, I feel that "The Final Days of Magic" was the weakest. I still give it a four stars, because I appreciate the way that the author, J.D. Horn ended the series. The ending was purposeful, and the story had solid development as it worked to the climax that has been building since book one, which makes it enjoyable to read. I have never been to New Orleans- but this book really makes me want to see it. The imagery of New Orleans was unique and beautiful- this stands out quite a bit in this third book.
Too many times, I feel like an author doesn't plan the way a book will end or will race to finish it and end up garbling it. In some ways, I feel like Horn did this-- some characters drop off and the descriptions of what was happening in the plot got wordy and difficult to process. At the same time, I could see the progression that Horn made through the three books with character development and plot. There was a lot going on, and it would probably take another read to really understand the way that magic works in this series.
There were a quite a few characters that I didn't like, and honestly ended up skimming through (Sorry twins. Sorry Marcielle). Other characters I didn't like but ended up enjoying (I didn't think I'd like Fleur- how did she become such a different character in the third book?!).
Overall, happy with the trilogy and happy to recommend it to fans who enjoy books about witches.
Thank you Netgalley, JD Horn and 47North for an ARC of this novel! I love the covers to these books! :)
Of the three books in the trilogy, I feel that "The Final Days of Magic" was the weakest. I still give it a four stars, because I appreciate the way that the author, J.D. Horn ended the series. The ending was purposeful, and the story had solid development as it worked to the climax that has been building since book one, which makes it enjoyable to read. I have never been to New Orleans- but this book really makes me want to see it. The imagery of New Orleans was unique and beautiful- this stands out quite a bit in this third book.
Too many times, I feel like an author doesn't plan the way a book will end or will race to finish it and end up garbling it. In some ways, I feel like Horn did this-- some characters drop off and the descriptions of what was happening in the plot got wordy and difficult to process. At the same time, I could see the progression that Horn made through the three books with character development and plot. There was a lot going on, and it would probably take another read to really understand the way that magic works in this series.
There were a quite a few characters that I didn't like, and honestly ended up skimming through (Sorry twins. Sorry Marcielle). Other characters I didn't like but ended up enjoying (I didn't think I'd like Fleur- how did she become such a different character in the third book?!).
Overall, happy with the trilogy and happy to recommend it to fans who enjoy books about witches.
Thank you Netgalley, JD Horn and 47North for an ARC of this novel! I love the covers to these books! :)
sevenacrebooks's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written and full of intrigue and suspense, The Final Days of Magic draws you into a magical world. Absolutely captivating and thrilling, I couldn't wait to see how this amazing book ended.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.
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