evelynyle_88's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent, Homophobia, and Vomit
ree_the_owlgirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Self harm, Child abuse, Confinement, Torture, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexism, Grief, and Racism
lilly_anne's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Blood, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Death of parent, Sexism, and Cursing
Minor: Stalking and Vomit
freddybingsu's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Stalking, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Child abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Gun violence
gemstonejasper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Was this book well written? No. Did it have good worldbuilding? No. Did I feel like I was in the early 1900s? No. Was it 100 pages too long? Yes. Could I predict the entire plot? Yes. But could I put it down? No.
I read this in three days (and it's around 500 pages). That's saying something because I have dyslexia and am a really slow reader. The story follows the love story of Jack and Wilhelm, the assistants to two rival magicians performing at the same fair in 1909. I personally think that's all you should go in knowing.
If I were a critic and rating this book solely on technical aspects, I would give it a 2.5-3 star rating. The writing is nothing special. It seemed like the characters repeated the same thing too many times. Therefore it could have probably been 100 pages shorter. I got immensely frustrated with every major character. It didn't even come close to making me feel like it took place in 1909 Seattle. I could predict the entire plot from a mile away (except for how exactly they defeated the villian).
That being said, I'm not a critic. I'm a general reader who picked up this book to be entertained. So I chose to rate it based on my enjoyment level. 4.5 stars. I can't pinpoint exactly why, but I really did enjoy this book and would read it again. I literally couldn't rip myself away. Maybe it was the two adorable queer romances. Maybe it was the magical feel of the world. Maybe I was genuinely terrified of the villian. Maybe I even grew attached to the two main characters and wanted to see them succeed.
There is one reason I'm not giving this a 5 star and that is because of a conscious choice the author made. The story takes place in 1909, meaning no person of color would have been treated as mildly as Ruth was treated by the white characters. There is also no way that the two queer couples (one of which is interracial) could have been out in the open without severe consequences. The author's note at the back of the book explains his reasoning behind this. He wanted to write a happy queer story. While I respect the decision he made, I also would not have chosen that direction myself. Because of this, I had a hard time immersing myself in the story. I had to take half a star for that decision.
Graphic: Racism, Torture, Violence, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Murder, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Medical content, Homophobia, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Sexism
monniebiloney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved the setting alot, and William and Jack were cute together. I loved how even though the "romance" was the main motivator for the main characters actions (it's because Jack liked William that he decided that he had to help William away from his' abusive "family", and it's because William was in love with Jack that he was willing to brave against his abusive "Father" ).
The best part of this book was definitely the climax,
Spoiler
the fact the MC told his "mother" about what happened and they all worked together to con Teddy so that Teddy would get arrested was great! I thought it was hilarious when the mom diches out with the gold. It's a slight plot hole that she decided to not tell Jack and just ditch out on him [it felt like that was done just so that Jack could be free, rather then something she would do]Moderate: Trafficking, Torture, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Sexism, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, and Gaslighting
Minor: Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Murder, Vomit, Self harm, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Stalking, Lesbophobia, and Racism
johnnyharker's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Stalking
Minor: Death of parent
archcon's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Murder, Kidnapping, Bullying, Abandonment, Death, Sexism, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and Lesbophobia
orchidd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Racism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Gaslighting, Stalking, Misogyny, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Murder
doylee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
I needed someone cute & queer & I got exactly that! Love that for myself. I love these fantastical historical fiction stories that allow the past to be a little better than it actually was. I was invested in this story fairly quickly & I was able to get to know & love (or hate) all the characters pretty quickly too which I love.
Sometimes I was confused a bit by the writing. And I almost never notice writing faults. Some scenes were very rushed & not descriptive enough for my taste & then sometimes the descriptions just didn’t really make sense in my mind.
Apart from that, this is a fun story that I really enjoyed after being in such a reading slump for all of February. It was quite sad at times but the overall emotion is pretty happy & I loved that.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Racism and Kidnapping
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Death of parent