Reviews tagging 'Eating disorder'

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

27 reviews

yavin_iv's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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sebrittainclark's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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multiplyoctopi's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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stormwise's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book had lots of things I loved - complicated sibling relationships, casually queer characters and fascinating worldbuilding. I love the idea of a magic school where the teachers use whiteboards, there's graffiti on the lockers and teenagers are obsessed with their phones!
The main character, Ivy Gamble (PI), doesn't have magic, but she does know how to lie. As the POV character, the reader can see every choice she grapples with as she carefully manipulates the other characters, who all have their own agendas and give the impression of each thinking they are in a different kind of story. In her own way, Ivy reminded me of a stage magician using sleight of hand and misdirection to keep everything in the air - but of course, it doesn't take much before it all comes crashing down. 
 Halfway through this novel, I thought I would give it a 5 star rating, but the ending felt a bit too abrupt and there were a few characters whose plotlines I would have liked to have seen wrapped up. I can forgive that last complaint somewhat as the story is told through first person narrative but then again, it's established early on that Ivy is narrating from after the events of the book...yeah. Despite these minor grievances, I really enjoyed this book! I found the scenes between Ivy and her twin sister particularly powerful - Gailey does an incredible job depicting their fraught relationship. 

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alexiswiththefreckles's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A look at what teenage drama may look like with a few doses of magic. Fun read (if you don’t mind murder) and a type of mystery novel I can get behind. Ivy was simultaneously likeable and unlikeable at the same time, which is my personal ideal.  CERTAINLY no perfect characters here. 

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scaluba's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

i just really liked how it was magic-based, but it wasn't really shoved in your face. it was a good, quick YA murder mystery and I'm not mad about it. also, yes, i did read this book because someone recommended it on tiktok

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azyef's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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