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A review by whatbritreads
The Balloon Thief by Aneesa Marufu
4.0
*Thank you to Chicken House for sending me a copy of this book to review!*
I’ve never quite read a fantasy book like this before, it was a standalone done right. I usually finish standalone fantasy books thinking they were rushed or underdeveloped which results in dissatisfaction at the ending, but this was different.
It tackled quite a lot of difficult topics, but handled them with care and appropriately for the target audience. With politics, identity, racism and extremism just to name a few, I think this book did them really well. The characters in here were all so different and despite it being a standalone, you really got to see their development throughout the story.
It was well written and the plot moved forward seamlessly. I ended up being able to finish this book in a single day because of the perfect pacing. The plot was full of twists and tension, I really enjoyed how the story played out. I loved the ending, it really made me smile.
The main thing I disliked about this book was the romance. I almost wish it didn’t exist in this book, I don’t think it needed it. My main peeve about it though was that it felt really underdeveloped and rushed, I didn’t really believe in the connection between the characters at all and it just fell a bit flat.
As magical on the inside as on the outside, definitely one I’ll recommend in the future.
I’ve never quite read a fantasy book like this before, it was a standalone done right. I usually finish standalone fantasy books thinking they were rushed or underdeveloped which results in dissatisfaction at the ending, but this was different.
It tackled quite a lot of difficult topics, but handled them with care and appropriately for the target audience. With politics, identity, racism and extremism just to name a few, I think this book did them really well. The characters in here were all so different and despite it being a standalone, you really got to see their development throughout the story.
It was well written and the plot moved forward seamlessly. I ended up being able to finish this book in a single day because of the perfect pacing. The plot was full of twists and tension, I really enjoyed how the story played out. I loved the ending, it really made me smile.
The main thing I disliked about this book was the romance. I almost wish it didn’t exist in this book, I don’t think it needed it. My main peeve about it though was that it felt really underdeveloped and rushed, I didn’t really believe in the connection between the characters at all and it just fell a bit flat.
As magical on the inside as on the outside, definitely one I’ll recommend in the future.