jansonjan's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I enjoyed this book overall. I enjoyed the re-telling aspect of it and appreciate the choice of The Tempest as the source material. I think it was a decent re-telling. The story takes place over the course of a single day, which I didn’t realize at first but ended up liking more than I expected.
My biggest gripe is that I found I didn’t really like any of the characters, at all. Their flaws were their entire personalities. The book would tease some sort of meaningful development or something interesting to happen between them, only to fall flat. Barely any side characters interacted meaningfully with one another if it did not involve the wet paper bag that was the MC, Mae. I feel that many of them had so much more potential than what we saw.
However, Considering that Mae is an unreliable narrator, it makes sense that others would be boring or their flaws highlighted. I found Mae to be just so bland. She lacked any depth to her person and I got the sense that she talked a lot about wanting to be a certain way, but made no meaningful moves towards that goal. I wasn’t really interested in her or her quest to find self confidence and magic. Her refusal to be truthful with herself was annoying by the end of the book. I was constantly confused and again kind of annoyed by the clunky love triangle that meandered and felt pointless given the ending.
The world building could have been fleshed out, I think the story would have benefitted from a bit more detail put into the locations and buildings on the island. The magic system was compelling and I would have loved to learn more about it. I’d love to have had some background story about the magicians, their schooling and the origins and types of spirits. This was all glossed over.
I am a sucker for anything art deco inspired and loved the aristocratic elements. Despite the above, I actually really liked this book and its premise, I just wish I liked the characters more.
My biggest gripe is that I found I didn’t really like any of the characters, at all. Their flaws were their entire personalities. The book would tease some sort of meaningful development or something interesting to happen between them, only to fall flat. Barely any side characters interacted meaningfully with one another if it did not involve the wet paper bag that was the MC, Mae. I feel that many of them had so much more potential than what we saw.
However, Considering that Mae is an unreliable narrator, it makes sense that others would be boring or their flaws highlighted. I found Mae to be just so bland. She lacked any depth to her person and I got the sense that she talked a lot about wanting to be a certain way, but made no meaningful moves towards that goal. I wasn’t really interested in her or her quest to find self confidence and magic. Her refusal to be truthful with herself was annoying by the end of the book. I was constantly confused and again kind of annoyed by the clunky love triangle that meandered and felt pointless given the ending.
The world building could have been fleshed out, I think the story would have benefitted from a bit more detail put into the locations and buildings on the island. The magic system was compelling and I would have loved to learn more about it. I’d love to have had some background story about the magicians, their schooling and the origins and types of spirits. This was all glossed over.
I am a sucker for anything art deco inspired and loved the aristocratic elements. Despite the above, I actually really liked this book and its premise, I just wish I liked the characters more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Slavery, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Bullying, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
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