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booksarebetter's review
5.0
How can I share how much I love this book? This book bit me hard! I got it in the mail and spent the next three hours reading until I finished it, and wished that I could read it again! It’s lovely, and it’s absolutely the book that broke my reluctance in reading. It’s filled to the brim with magic, mystery, and even a missing person!
This book instantly shot to the absolute top favorite list of fantasy novels! I loved every bit of it from beginning to end. Tessa is a cool character, Brian is a fascinating one, and there’s plenty of action, mystery, and family drama to be had within this book to make you wanting more.
I seriously hope there’s going to be a sequel to this book, because it’s built up enough of a backstory to warrant the return of several characters that I want to know more about. This was a book that will be one that I want to buy as it comes out on shelves, and I believe I’ll buy the hardcover, it’s that good! I’m definitely giving it 5/5 stars, and I hope it gets the detention it definitely deserves! I may re-read this for Halloween, because it’s got the perfect atmosphere for such a holiday!
{Review also posted on my blog}
This book instantly shot to the absolute top favorite list of fantasy novels! I loved every bit of it from beginning to end. Tessa is a cool character, Brian is a fascinating one, and there’s plenty of action, mystery, and family drama to be had within this book to make you wanting more.
I seriously hope there’s going to be a sequel to this book, because it’s built up enough of a backstory to warrant the return of several characters that I want to know more about. This was a book that will be one that I want to buy as it comes out on shelves, and I believe I’ll buy the hardcover, it’s that good! I’m definitely giving it 5/5 stars, and I hope it gets the detention it definitely deserves! I may re-read this for Halloween, because it’s got the perfect atmosphere for such a holiday!
{Review also posted on my blog}
timinbc's review
3.0
Third star is for ambition. Otherwise two.
It's carefully plotted, I'll admit. But things develop very unevenly, slow for a while then leaping ahead.
Whenever Carter is on the scene, this instantly becomes a Stephanie Plum novel. And he's so DULL.
ANd I cannot, will not, even with luck magic, accept Tessa guessing a computer password on the first try. Feh. Pfui. Ecch.
First novel, OK. Promising? Yes. Will I read #2? Probably not.
I might look for the next thing after this series.
It's carefully plotted, I'll admit. But things develop very unevenly, slow for a while then leaping ahead.
Whenever Carter is on the scene, this instantly becomes a Stephanie Plum novel. And he's so DULL.
ANd I cannot, will not, even with luck magic, accept Tessa guessing a computer password on the first try. Feh. Pfui. Ecch.
First novel, OK. Promising? Yes. Will I read #2? Probably not.
I might look for the next thing after this series.
readingrobin's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The book had a promising start but from the halfway point on it just started getting messy and meandering. The end sets itself up for a sequel, but it feels disappointing to have no resolution at all for anything that happens. It felt like characters' allegiances were changing at the drop of a hat and it was difficult to keep up with, along with the numerous villains that come and go. All in all, it's a case of trying to cram too much into one book, where plot threads abound but ultimately go on forever so you have to read a potential sequel to have closure on literally everything.
lvh's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lpcoolgirl's review against another edition
5.0
Great book, great plot and I enjoyed what we learned about the magic, though there's so much more to learn! A bit dense, and it took me a while longer to read than I wanted, but I enjoyed reading it!
allthebooksandchocolate's review
3.0
This book started out great! It was interesting the characters were great and I was very intrigued. A the story went on, it got more and more complicated as more characters were added and I found it hard to keep track of what was going on. I still loved Tessa, but I found myself getting frustrated. By the time I got to the end of the book, I was already frustrated and the ending did not help things at all!
This could have been a 5 star read for me if the story had been more streamlined.
This could have been a 5 star read for me if the story had been more streamlined.
misterwisp's review
3.0
The pieces of the whole are good. I wish the whole was more gripping but I still liked it. It's a nice little piece of urban fantasy. I appreciated the main character being a university student struggling to get by in the world. It made it easier to connect with the character, yet at the same time harder because as a reader you are discovering and buying into the supernatural world of this book at the same time she is and that element felt a little roughly done. It's still nice she isn't a magical badass from the get go and has a good backstory.
The concept and character of the phoenix wizard was awesome, and the dwarven dude was great. There are magical relics, a mysterious organization, and a dark lord type figure of impending doom. All can be enjoyable. But the impending doom guy had some frustrating inconsistencies in his doom delivering capabilities in my opinion, and our little band of good guys are not always the sharpest tools in the shed in ways that are very maddening.
So to me the individual elements are done well, but I wish they had meshed better. There are some rough uneven aspects to the book but I still enjoyed reading it. Would recommend depending on how much you like urban fantasy and how demanding of a reader you are.
The concept and character of the phoenix wizard was awesome, and the dwarven dude was great. There are magical relics, a mysterious organization, and a dark lord type figure of impending doom. All can be enjoyable. But the impending doom guy had some frustrating inconsistencies in his doom delivering capabilities in my opinion, and our little band of good guys are not always the sharpest tools in the shed in ways that are very maddening.
So to me the individual elements are done well, but I wish they had meshed better. There are some rough uneven aspects to the book but I still enjoyed reading it. Would recommend depending on how much you like urban fantasy and how demanding of a reader you are.