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k_winchester's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
It was aight...
Things I liked:
-Gemma was so snarky. She was consistently pretty mean in the early part of the book, which was interesting to me as she felt like an atypical 'heroine'. As well, the group of friends she ultimately gathered was rather atypical to me, too, which I really liked - and she didn't even like any of them for a while, which was amusing.
-There was something about Gemma that even though she was pretty unlikable for a while, I was drawn in by her nonetheless. It was satisfying to her change enough to be more vulnerable and strong instead of just stubborn, and retaining her snark.
-I liked that I could not tell where the story was going and a few of those bombshells in the ending threw me for a loop.
-There was a lot of seriously gorgeous writing.
-the scene where the girls are all utterly crushed by the weight of thier position/status in the world (before taking magic into thier own hands) was SO good - honestly probably the one time in the book that really hit my emotions. Just sooo good. 👌
Things I didn't like so much:
-her thing with Kartik. I really, really wanted to be into it - and it initially felt like he was going to be a big character, but lowkey he ended up so periphery that he felt borderline pointless. It felt like the only times he really interacted with her was to refuse to answer any questions/clarify literally anything about him, his role, etc. and I feel like I know about as much if him at the end of the entire book as I did in the beginning. They had some good tension moments, but thier interactions felt so few and far between that thier interactions in the last 1/4 of the story or so felt very out of place.
-Probably a me thing, but it felt like the majority of this is Gemma having no idea what was happening AND purposefully ignoring it, to the degree that it felt like the whole story was really waiting to get to like the 80% mark before Stuff really started Happening in any meaningful way. I really didn't feel very invested or even super interested until around the 3/4 mark (curious enough to read on, but not Into It, and I wanted to feel Into it).
-just other little things here or there either feel unfinished/unresolved (which, i do realize this is the first in a series so that's probably on purpose to some extent but it's not very satisfying) or underdone or kinda pointless in the end.
- the treatment of Ann overall. It worked for snarky/mean Gemma to be so in the beginning, but it felt like later it changed from outright mean to no comment at all, rather than Gemma realizing/appreciating good qualities in Ann (outside of the realms with magic changing/"helping" Ann). And Pip, it felt like she really only called out her good qualities after she was 'dead' (maybe one other time). It just didn't sit right that these girls became so close, supposedly, and yet... As much as I did overall enjoy Gemma, this aspect felt very lacking to me, especially as she changed over the course of the story.
Tl;dr - Honestly overall, it really was alright enough, so it's a solid 3.25 for me. I did enjoy Gemma, and it was a cool story, but it ultimately wasn't enough of my cup of tea/I don't feel invested enough to feel compelled to read more in the series.
Things I liked:
-Gemma was so snarky. She was consistently pretty mean in the early part of the book, which was interesting to me as she felt like an atypical 'heroine'. As well, the group of friends she ultimately gathered was rather atypical to me, too, which I really liked - and she didn't even like any of them for a while, which was amusing.
-There was something about Gemma that even though she was pretty unlikable for a while, I was drawn in by her nonetheless. It was satisfying to her change enough to be more vulnerable and strong instead of just stubborn, and retaining her snark.
-I liked that I could not tell where the story was going and a few of those bombshells in the ending threw me for a loop.
-There was a lot of seriously gorgeous writing.
-the scene where the girls are all utterly crushed by the weight of thier position/status in the world (before taking magic into thier own hands) was SO good - honestly probably the one time in the book that really hit my emotions. Just sooo good. 👌
Things I didn't like so much:
-her thing with Kartik. I really, really wanted to be into it - and it initially felt like he was going to be a big character, but lowkey he ended up so periphery that he felt borderline pointless. It felt like the only times he really interacted with her was to refuse to answer any questions/clarify literally anything about him, his role, etc. and I feel like I know about as much if him at the end of the entire book as I did in the beginning. They had some good tension moments, but thier interactions felt so few and far between that thier interactions in the last 1/4 of the story or so felt very out of place.
-Probably a me thing, but it felt like the majority of this is Gemma having no idea what was happening AND purposefully ignoring it, to the degree that it felt like the whole story was really waiting to get to like the 80% mark before Stuff really started Happening in any meaningful way. I really didn't feel very invested or even super interested until around the 3/4 mark (curious enough to read on, but not Into It, and I wanted to feel Into it).
-just other little things here or there either feel unfinished/unresolved (which, i do realize this is the first in a series so that's probably on purpose to some extent but it's not very satisfying) or underdone or kinda pointless in the end.
- the treatment of Ann overall. It worked for snarky/mean Gemma to be so in the beginning, but it felt like later it changed from outright mean to no comment at all, rather than Gemma realizing/appreciating good qualities in Ann (outside of the realms with magic changing/"helping" Ann). And Pip, it felt like she really only called out her good qualities after she was 'dead' (maybe one other time). It just didn't sit right that these girls became so close, supposedly, and yet... As much as I did overall enjoy Gemma, this aspect felt very lacking to me, especially as she changed over the course of the story.
Tl;dr - Honestly overall, it really was alright enough, so it's a solid 3.25 for me. I did enjoy Gemma, and it was a cool story, but it ultimately wasn't enough of my cup of tea/I don't feel invested enough to feel compelled to read more in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Death of parent
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Racism, Self harm, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
shartcuterie90210's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
haley49's review against another edition
4.0
This was so gothic and fun. It reminds me a little of the Lady Grace mysteries. The main girls are all very flawed but in a coming of age way that was well done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Lesbophobia
itsreirei's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book feels like The Craft set in the Victorian era. I see why some may dislike it but I personally quite enjoyed reading it. Curious to see where the story goes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Drug abuse, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
bzliz's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Although this is categorized as YA, I don’t think I could have endured or enjoyed it as a young adult. I picked it up because I remember the cover from when I was younger but I don’t recall ever reading it. Even after finishing, I can’t be sure if I read it and forgot or if the cover is just burned in my brain for some reason.
Gemma Doyle leads a group of sheltered girls into a world of magic that she herself doesn’t understand and has only just begun to experience. The group discovers the past tragedy of a group before them called the Order whose desire for power had deadly consequences and tread the fine line of falling into that same tragedy.
Portions drag on a little and to enjoy this you need to endure the historical trappings of misogyny and racism, plus the performative propriety and customs of the time. The magic system explored is less of a system encountered in many fantasy novels and is more like a nebulous innate ability that no one can explain and at times it left me outright confused.
Gemma Doyle leads a group of sheltered girls into a world of magic that she herself doesn’t understand and has only just begun to experience. The group discovers the past tragedy of a group before them called the Order whose desire for power had deadly consequences and tread the fine line of falling into that same tragedy.
Portions drag on a little and to enjoy this you need to endure the historical trappings of misogyny and racism, plus the performative propriety and customs of the time. The magic system explored is less of a system encountered in many fantasy novels and is more like a nebulous innate ability that no one can explain and at times it left me outright confused.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism, Self harm, Sexism, and Vomit
ricksilva's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Sixteen-year-old Gemma Doyle witnesses the terrifying murder of her mother in colonial India, seemingly by supernatural forces. Back England and enrolled in a girls boarding school, Gemma discovers a diary of a former student who sought the secrets of an ancient Order of sorceresses, and the power of a dream-dimension called the Realms.
In spite of warnings to stay clear of these secrets, Gemma and three friends begin to explore their own magical potential, eventually finding their own way into the Realms in the hope of changing the fate that awaits them all back at their dreary school.
This story careens headlong toward tragedy with little effort on the part of any of the main characters to stop it, in spite every possible warning.
The characters are definitely not always likeable, but they all do grow beyond their original simple impressions, and the character development helps keep things interesting and keeps the reader engaged even as terrible and obvious mistakes are made again and again.
In spite of warnings to stay clear of these secrets, Gemma and three friends begin to explore their own magical potential, eventually finding their own way into the Realms in the hope of changing the fate that awaits them all back at their dreary school.
This story careens headlong toward tragedy with little effort on the part of any of the main characters to stop it, in spite every possible warning.
The characters are definitely not always likeable, but they all do grow beyond their original simple impressions, and the character development helps keep things interesting and keeps the reader engaged even as terrible and obvious mistakes are made again and again.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Self harm and Sexism
haleymaxinee's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Self harm, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Racism, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Classism
godessoftrees's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Classism
Minor: Self harm
zombiezami's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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 first read this book when I was a teenager, and I rated it 5 stars at that time. I value the book for what it gave to me at the time, feeling seen for having experiences like wondering who I truly am and wondering who would ever understand me. Plus, there's fulfillment of the teenage girl urge to have a magical world where you're all powerful for good measure. This book is, in a lot of ways, an aged up spiritual successor to The Secret Garden.
Reading this as an adult, there are parts that I'm not so enamored with, hence the lower rating. The friendship between the main characters strikes me as much more toxic than it did when I was a teenager, especially since Pippa and Felicity never apologize for tormenting Ann. I also find it hard to root for Kartik to be with Gemma, since Gemma keeps implying threats that she will get him arrested, which, at that time period, would basically be a death threat. That being said, I still really like Ms. Moore as a character.
I look forward to my re-read of the rest of the series.
Reading this as an adult, there are parts that I'm not so enamored with, hence the lower rating. The friendship between the main characters strikes me as much more toxic than it did when I was a teenager, especially since Pippa and Felicity never apologize for tormenting Ann. I also find it hard to root for Kartik to be with Gemma, since Gemma keeps implying threats that she will get him arrested, which, at that time period, would basically be a death threat. That being said, I still really like Ms. Moore as a character.
I look forward to my re-read of the rest of the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Racism, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Neglect, Antiziganism, Seizurescelery's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism