A review by artemine
Shoestring Theory by Mariana Costa

adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
thank you to netgalley and angry robots for the ARC!

truly delightful. at times very funny, at times quite moving, and always very sweet, i'm surprised by how much i was taken by these characters. it's definitely a book for those with roots in fanfiction (/positive), the worldbuilding and general plot will likely be lacking for anyone who doesn't value character over everything when reading. luckily for me characters are all i care about, and the protagonist of shoestring theory truly captured my heart. really loved the descriptions of rooms/outfits and hints at a greater world behind the characters', and especially appreciated the resolution of the story. i had no trouble with the magic system being freestyled a bit because i found the concept really lovely. honestly it was such a great time it truly truly warmed my heart

my only gripe is that there is WAY too much italics being used and it disrupts the reading at times (seriously the italics need to be cut down by at least half I BEG YOU EVEN IF I SEE THE FANFICTION VISION AND LOVE IT MYSELF. IT'S TOO MUCH). i also think the stakes/themes are too high/serious at times for this to be marketed at cozy fantasy but i'm not a cozy fantasy fan so what do i know. 

highly rec for anyone wanting a short, sweet, gay time and a colorful story to get sucked into!