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corabookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Such an amazing sequel. Finn and Alfie returned, as brilliant and adorable as ever, and in this book we got to see more of Luca, who's hilarious. Maya Motayne did a perfect job painting the main characters as insecure teenagers. Their panicked thoughts and overthinking and assumptions were all so realistic it had me cackling. The conflicts in Oculta were also fantastic. The way it all twisted together was absolutely perfect and even though I predicted a couple of the plot twists, others took me completely by surprise. And the ENDING! Ahh! I'm so excited to start the third book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
kaitlinlovesbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Colonisation
queer_bookwyrm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
5 ⭐: CW: violence, child abuse, domestic abuse, human skin wall?, Suicide, cultural genocide, slavery
Oculta by Maya Motayne is the second book in the Forgery of Magic trilogy. I loved this book just as much as the first one! Finn is still one of my favorite female characters and Luka holds a special place in my heart.
We pick up with Finn as she's traveling and robbing people, while Alfie is trying to put together a peace summit with Englass, the country that formerly colonized and enslaved them. The two end up working together against a common enemy, Los Toros, a terrorist group against the peace summit.
We see Finn dealing with the aftermath of killing Ignacio. Though he is dead, she isn't free of him since she has started hallucinating him, continuing his abuse from the grave. Motayne does and excellent job of depicting how child abuse sticks with you and changes you as a person. I related so much to Finn's struggling since I myself am still figuring out all the ways my abuse affects me. She shows this in the subtle ways we see Finn scared to show how she feels and her reluctance to be vulnerable in front of those she cares about.
We see Alfie scared and resistant to use his magic to travel, because he hears horrible a screams every time he does, and convinces himself that magic itself is rejecting him. He still thinks he's inadequate and doesn't know how to tell Finn how he feels. We also get more Luca in this book and get to see how his new found strength is affecting him.
This world building and magic system is so intricate and wonderful! This is the slowest slow burn I have ever encountered. I love it. Holy twists, Batman! I did not see any of those twists coming! I was floored by that cliffhanger! Imma need the final book asap, so Maya help me out 😂.
Oculta by Maya Motayne is the second book in the Forgery of Magic trilogy. I loved this book just as much as the first one! Finn is still one of my favorite female characters and Luka holds a special place in my heart.
We pick up with Finn as she's traveling and robbing people, while Alfie is trying to put together a peace summit with Englass, the country that formerly colonized and enslaved them. The two end up working together against a common enemy, Los Toros, a terrorist group against the peace summit.
We see Finn dealing with the aftermath of killing Ignacio. Though he is dead, she isn't free of him since she has started hallucinating him, continuing his abuse from the grave. Motayne does and excellent job of depicting how child abuse sticks with you and changes you as a person. I related so much to Finn's struggling since I myself am still figuring out all the ways my abuse affects me. She shows this in the subtle ways we see Finn scared to show how she feels and her reluctance to be vulnerable in front of those she cares about.
We see Alfie scared and resistant to use his magic to travel, because he hears horrible a screams every time he does, and convinces himself that magic itself is rejecting him. He still thinks he's inadequate and doesn't know how to tell Finn how he feels. We also get more Luca in this book and get to see how his new found strength is affecting him.
This world building and magic system is so intricate and wonderful! This is the slowest slow burn I have ever encountered. I love it. Holy twists, Batman! I did not see any of those twists coming! I was floored by that cliffhanger! Imma need the final book asap, so Maya help me out 😂.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Slavery