A review by leonidskies
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I really, really wanted to be obsessed with this book! The concept was so exciting, the world and magic incredibly strong, and everything about it was wonderful... but I found that the characters being overwhelmingly real historical figures was off-putting. It held me back from getting really into the characters, and unfortunately made it glaringly obvious when a character was invented on top of the historical figures to make it so the entire cast wasn't men. It felt like the author was primarily interested in a couple of the historical figures and significantly less so with the others, and that harmed the balance. That said, it was a wildly entertaining read and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel!