Reviews

The Magician's Daughter by H.G. Parry

mk64's review

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense

4.0

a_rutter's review against another edition

5.0

If you're looking for a cozy-fantasy book that answers the question, "Why do things feel so BROKEN and GRIMY and SAD these days?" I'd say that TMD is a good choice. Oh, also "these days" refers to the early 1900's.

Biddy grew up on a magical island and was raised by a mage (Rowan) & his familiar. She's 16, so naturally, she is chafing at her boundaries (the island, the rules) until she gets the opportunity to go "undercover" in London to try to help solve the mystery of where all the magic is going. Oh, yeah, the answer to the question above is that magic is drying up (magic makes wonderful things more possible/probable; is a little bit of a joie de vivre-maker). I appreciated her character -- her desire to be secretly magical or powerful, her desire to be the one to save magic, her love for her found family, and her magical island.

I enjoyed this book & my time spent in Biddy's world, and while I love the stand-alone nature of it, I would be very interested in reading a companion novel from the POV of Morgaine.

ameliez's review against another edition

inspiring tense

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture

thecatandmereadingpeacefully's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

ailaghast's review

adventurous hopeful lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Interesting premise and concepts that are unfortunately bogged down by an over-explanative narrative voice that insists on telling rather than showing, and brings down moments that could be emotional by telling the reader things they already know instead of letting them make connections themselves. Characters felt knee-deep for the most part. We have an interesting magical world under the Surface of our own that hints at a much bigger setting, yet we only ever meet at most 4 mages. Could certainly be 100 pages shorter with no loss of story. Really wanted to like this, but felt the story was unfortunately let down by the writing.

melismichelle's review

hopeful relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

dels_bookmarks's review against another edition

4.0

The Magician’s Daughter
H. G. Parry

I really enjoyed this fantasy, set off the Irish coast on a mythical, hidden island in a world where magic has been fading for decades.

It starts slow and the magical island life fits the ”cozy fantasy” labels I’ve seen

alyxbeau's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

This book seemed to me, to take some inspiration from the studio ghibli films Howls Moving Castle and Spirited Away. I don't recall enough about the Diana Wynne Jones original book of Howls moving castle to know if the author may have taken more inspiration from the book than the movie, but it was clear they cared for the stories either way. They were pleasant subtle nods! I really do think this would be wonderful if adapted by that studio into an animated film, and it would enhance rather than take away from it. 
It was a pleasant book to listen to! I think it could have been more memorable, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. It was also well written and easy to follow along to ehike working my day job at the same time. 

zenalth's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

 

A wonderful coming-of-age story with lovingly crafted characters who are deeply flawed in tenderly human ways.

Parry does it again. Though this book is significantly more fast-paced and only marginally less British, I enjoyed it just as much as The Shadow Histories. I loved Parry's take on the world; it was just bleak enough to be touched by reality, but not quite so beaten down as to have forgotten the taste of magic. I also liked how magic was a natural force for good. It was refreshing, and lent the story a sense of childlike wonder. After all, who among us doesn't dream of small, hidden miracles coming to find us when we need it most?

Biddy was a wonderful protagonist who really came into her own. She drives the plot forward without ever feeling overshadowed and her relationships with not only Rowan and Hutchincroft, but also with herself and her own ordinariness in a world of wonder, was incredibly endearing. Rowan and Hutchincroft were fantastic supporting characters and their bond with each other was a spectacle to behold.

All in all, this book felt very Howl's Moving Castle with the hidden island of secrets, a powerful and mercurial mage who can turn into a raven, and a friendly being of pure magic. But it manages to call upon its predecessor in a good way that honours the original's sense of wonder whilst also transcending it to be something wholly itself. A 4.75 stars if I'm being impartial, but a true 5 stars in my heart where my very own Hutchincroft lies folded. 

fishkind's review

3.75

A solid book that is well written and enjoyable—but I’m not sure how memorable it is, especially compared to Parry’s other works. Still, I very much enjoyed it!