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A review by kasiej
The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic by Emily Croy Barker
3.0
I was actually quite excited when I received this big ole book in the mail. The synopsis sounds magical and romantic right? Oh if only that was so.
At least the cover is pretty? ¯\(°_°)/¯
Nope, didn't happen. There was no weighing her life. With a little push from her counterpart she just went. The bad guys got away, the love between the 2 main characters took 3 steps back, and the that's all folks.
The worst part about all of this is that the rest of the book was actually good! The world building was beautiful and incredibly detailed. There is even a map on Emily Croy Baker's website. Characters were developed to just the right level of unique. Even the conflict was fully thought out. However, what does all of that matter if the story can't bring everything together?
Truthfully the plot confused me quite often. Each individual aspect in The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic was well done, but in the end that doesn't mean all that much. Kind of like, having a basket full of high end ingredients only to make gruel with them.
I'm not sure you can consider this a Romance novel either. What romance? The failed attempt with Raclin or the make believe one with Aruendiel? It wasn't until well over half way through that I even realized who the leading man was.
To sum it up, I was a little disappointed. The first half of the book I could barely get my head wrapped around. The second half seemed to revolve around the fragile relationship between two people who clearly didn't understand each other, only to end without conclusion. I honestly don't feel like either character changed at all. If anything, it reminds me a little of Alice in Wonderland because the entire content felt like it might as well of been a dream. If it was, maybe I'd be a little less peeved about it. This makes it really hard for me to rate between a 2 and 3 star, depending on if the story continues or really ends the way it did.
Maybe I'll get lucky and the author will decide to write a sequel. An interview online hints towards it, so I'll go with 3 stars and cross my fingers that one day I will get to finish the story of Nora and Aruendiel.
Interview hosted by: Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
At least the cover is pretty? ¯\(°_°)/¯
Spoiler
I'm just going to start off with my biggest issue, there was no closure (or cliffhanger in my opinion). This is a huge problem to me and if I knew before reading, I wouldn't have touched it. Let's use the synopsis for example:"When a passage home finally opens, Nora must weigh her "real life" against the dangerous power of love and magic."
- Emily Croy Baker
Nope, didn't happen. There was no weighing her life. With a little push from her counterpart she just went. The bad guys got away, the love between the 2 main characters took 3 steps back, and the that's all folks.
The worst part about all of this is that the rest of the book was actually good! The world building was beautiful and incredibly detailed. There is even a map on Emily Croy Baker's website. Characters were developed to just the right level of unique. Even the conflict was fully thought out. However, what does all of that matter if the story can't bring everything together?
Truthfully the plot confused me quite often. Each individual aspect in The Thinking Woman's Guide to Real Magic was well done, but in the end that doesn't mean all that much. Kind of like, having a basket full of high end ingredients only to make gruel with them.
I'm not sure you can consider this a Romance novel either. What romance? The failed attempt with Raclin or the make believe one with Aruendiel? It wasn't until well over half way through that I even realized who the leading man was.
To sum it up, I was a little disappointed. The first half of the book I could barely get my head wrapped around. The second half seemed to revolve around the fragile relationship between two people who clearly didn't understand each other, only to end without conclusion. I honestly don't feel like either character changed at all. If anything, it reminds me a little of Alice in Wonderland because the entire content felt like it might as well of been a dream. If it was, maybe I'd be a little less peeved about it. This makes it really hard for me to rate between a 2 and 3 star, depending on if the story continues or really ends the way it did.
Maybe I'll get lucky and the author will decide to write a sequel. An interview online hints towards it, so I'll go with 3 stars and cross my fingers that one day I will get to finish the story of Nora and Aruendiel.
Interview hosted by: Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoard
I’m pretty sure that Nora will find her way back to Aruendiel’s world. The two of them really need to talk and to be straight with each other, don’t you agree? And of course she has a lot more to learn about magic—and how to use it properly.
- Emily Croy Baker