A review by briarrose1021
The Magic Shop by Justin Swapp
5.0
Wow! This was a great book! Marcus and Ellie are twins who live with their grandparents. Told their parents were killed, the only other family they know is an aunt and uncle, whom they visit in the state sanitarium once a month, though Marcus really dislikes the visits. Their home is attached to the family store, where they sell magic items, though business has been really slow lately and the family struggles financially. One day, Marcus discovers a secret room with all sorts of items. While Marcus and Ellie are watching the shop, a gentleman comes in and asks for the back room. Thinking he means the secret room, Marcus and Ellie take him into it, then sell the gentleman a skull. What Marcus and Ellie did not realize is that that one simple act will catapult them into the middle of a family feud and lead them to discover that magic is real.
This was such a good book. I loved the drip, drip of the worldbuilding and the cryptic answers that Winston, Marcus' and Ellie's grandfather would give to questions they would ask, if he answered them at all. The amount of information that was hidden from Marcus and Ellie, for their protection, sure, but still hidden, ended up causing so many problems for the family. Normally, I get very frustrated with plots driven by information that has been withheld from the protagonist. In this case, though, the reasons that are eventually revealed for why Winston and Charlotte withheld the information from Marcus and Ellie make sense, and though much could have been avoided if they had told the children more earlier, I can also understand why they didn't.
As for how the story ended. Wow. Just wow. I did not see that coming. What I thought would happen ended up not happening and what did happen was just ... mean. It was mean of the author to do that to me. Thankfully, book 2 is already out, so I will be able to find out what happened.
For this book, I listened to the audiobook. The narrator, Steve Barnes, did a good job. I didn't really like his voice, but that is just my personal preference on my part; his performance was good, and my dislike of his voice isn't strong enough to prevent me from listening to book 2.
This was such a good book. I loved the drip, drip of the worldbuilding and the cryptic answers that Winston, Marcus' and Ellie's grandfather would give to questions they would ask, if he answered them at all. The amount of information that was hidden from Marcus and Ellie, for their protection, sure, but still hidden, ended up causing so many problems for the family. Normally, I get very frustrated with plots driven by information that has been withheld from the protagonist. In this case, though, the reasons that are eventually revealed for why Winston and Charlotte withheld the information from Marcus and Ellie make sense, and though much could have been avoided if they had told the children more earlier, I can also understand why they didn't.
As for how the story ended. Wow. Just wow. I did not see that coming. What I thought would happen ended up not happening and what did happen was just ... mean. It was mean of the author to do that to me. Thankfully, book 2 is already out, so I will be able to find out what happened.
For this book, I listened to the audiobook. The narrator, Steve Barnes, did a good job. I didn't really like his voice, but that is just my personal preference on my part; his performance was good, and my dislike of his voice isn't strong enough to prevent me from listening to book 2.