Reviews with content warning for Torture - The Magician's Daughter

I really enjoyed this. I checked at one point if it was YA or not, in some ways it reads young because not only is the main character Biddy only about 16 years old, she grew up in an unconventional way and is an interesting mix of intelligent and naive. The adult characters are seen through her perspective, but as an adult reader I had the experience of understanding them more quickly than Biddy did. I thought the writing was fantastic, both in terms of the prose and in terms of the plotting. I would be wishing for something to go a certain way, and then when it didn't I would realize that what had happened was inevitable based on the prior setup in the story. It was narratively satisfying. The audiobook was very pleasant to listen to and really suited the tone of the story, with subtle distinctions and accents to make it clear who was speaking. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in a coming-of-age historical fantasy.

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emma_sky's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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

5.0

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tlskayte's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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

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mmarquis1158's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

4.75

This book had great world building and I loved the overall aesthetic. I also found the characters very likeable and loved that nobody was written as a flawless hero. Fun listen!

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autumnalis's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

I received this ARC from Orbit/Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

You ever read a book in which you acknowledge that it has flaws, but completely forgive them because it feels like it was written just for you?

For fans of Howl’s Moving Castle, with a Howl-esque MC as a found father and a lovely found family.

I absolutely fell in love with the depth of the characters, the magical setting of Hy-Brasil, and I deeply empathized with Biddy’s complicated love and longing for magic.

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ameliez's review against another edition

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inspiring tense

4.75

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