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Overhyped I think, but a decent story. The prose is of course, beautiful, and the deconstruction of the ‘novel' was interesting. The pacing was strange, the plot a tad unrealistic, and I hated most of the characters other than Lola and the twins. I do love Briony as a character, however. An extra star because the ending was a good piece of writing and perfectly heartbreaking!
Once I'd gotten over the fact that I was never going to understand the political info-dumps that persist throughout this book I had a marvellous time reading it, even if it's not as sensual or action packed as it seems to think it is. The characters are fun - though I'd like to see Cyril show more backbone than a pile of wet lettuce. The setting I loved! I can't wait to explore it and the characters in the next book.
I don't know how the author fit so much into so few pages but the story is thrilling, the setting is rich and gorgeously real, the characters are more alive than in books I've read with 1000 pages. The world building in this is honestly spectacular and I can't wait to devour any other books the author has on offer because the prose is beautiful and hilarious too. Magical!
I adore the characters in Foundryside, but I wish we'd had more relationship dynamic exploration during some breaks in the action (which were needed). First half was a bit of a slog but somewhere in the second half the momentum picked up and I found myself really enjoying it. LOVE Sancia, Clef was a really unique idea. I found it helped to skim the explanations of ‘scriving' as they were long and repetitive, and some of the dialogue is VERY jarring, (I hate ‘scumming' with a passion - it doesn't sound like the f-word it's supposed to replace, it sounds like when someone says “oh fig!” or something instead.)
Love the idea of the setting - would've liked to explore the area a little more and get a feeling for the smells and the sights and the tastes, but the merchant's houses vs the slums was described deliciously. Looking forward to the next book!
Sarah Gailey's ‘Magic For Liars' is one of those books that you feel like you should take your time with, but you positively can't. The pace never lets up for a moment and Gailey's Private Detective Ivy is hired to unveil the grisly secrets and lies swirling around her sister's magic school, an exquisite tension lies between every character interaction, and there is a palpable thrill for the reader as they try to figure out the ‘how' and ‘why' (even if the ‘who' was slightly predictable).
The prose may have been a little jarring for some with contemporary references slotted in here and there, however I found it a refreshing satire of the absolutely done to death trope of ‘magic school' - Gailey's meticulous care in her character development and in small details such as having graffiti in a school, helped keep the fantasy elements of the plot more grounded, which meant that the tone tied neatly into a satisfying dark fantasy/mystery.
Some of the characters and plot threads, I felt, could do with a little more complexity : examples being the ‘teen drama' parts, the love interest and the ending. It ended rather abruptly, giving no time to decompress and see the consequences of the events on the story on the characters.
Overall, I think Magic for Liars is the perfect book to take you on a rollercoaster ride of murder, mystery and magic!
I have been reading this webcomic for years and it is THEE blueprint... I adore this so much I just rushed to get the next instalment
Quick pacing. Poetry. A little bit of witty retorts here and there, enough to know you're in a brand new world. A world described so tenderly and meticulously that it mirrors exactly the two hearts and two personalities of the novel's protagonists - Red and Blue. It isn't a secret to friends of mine how much I love the epistolary format, but in ‘This Is How You Lose The Time War', Amal El Mohtar and Max Gladstone have weaved such a perfect rhythm with them that they feel instantaneously intimate, yet with the undeniable air of mystery and intrigue as the reader learns alongside the characters of Red and Blue more about each of them. The result is something astonishing and brand new and closer to lyrical poetry, I would argue, than the traditional novel. The prose is so beautiful it feels like it should be sung aloud, and the ability to make time travel gripping is no mean feat. Red and Blue are nature and metal, yearning both to clash and to intertwine as the beats of tenderness and danger in these first pages do. An incredible start, and if the rest of the pages are like this I may have found a new favourite novel.
“Courage, she thought, doesn't mean that a person isn't afraid. It means having the strength to rise above the fear so it does not consume you.”
This book starts off quickly, and with a lot of intense violence and disturbing imagery, so for anyone who would like to read this I will start by giving a blanket trigger warning.
A Flight in the Heavens follows a crew who band together under the most unlikely of circumstances to defeat the evil ruler of the land who has possession of his own dark god to do his bidding. Pirates and deities who reside in mysterious temples must be met and allegiances both good and unsavoury must be struck.
Overall, I had a good time reading the novel, even if the middle sections were repetitive and the tone gave me some whiplash. I found myself uncomfortable at some moments with the Armand sections and some of the romantic parts which did not seem to come at the right time for me, but this may just be personal preference. It also did not help that Farrah and Feras – the main romance – had very similar names.
Thank you to Netgalley for supplying me with an ARC . This is an honest review.
⭐️⭐️⭐️
I have been reading this webcomic for years and it is THEE blueprint... I adore this so much I just rushed to get the next instalment
I will start this review by clarifying one thing. If a book is in a series that has not been completed, I will not read it until the series has been completed (and then I will usually binge read the series). Having said this, I have read this book at LEAST twice in the past few months.
I'm not usually a fan of heavy exposition or lore in my novels - my preferred type of book splashes character emotional and development arcs in short sharp prose ( I have a very short attention span). However, I decided to buy this book on a whim, (I think I follow you on twitter?) The delicateness and beauty with which you have managed to intertwine both the gorgeous treat of world building that you have managed to design and the breathtakingly realistic characters you have given us. As someone who is a part of the LGBT+ community and experiences anxiety personally, Ronoah's introspection was eerily like reading my own thoughts on a page. And of course, you don't understand how excited I was to read something so detailed and compelling that for once WASN'T set in ‘Magic Faux-Medieval-Europe' for once.
As a (would-be) writer I am embarrassed to say I have often turned to several highlighted passages of your book in search of expertise on a particular turn of phrase or examples of clarity or unique metaphor and I am glad to say that each time I do this, I pick out some gem that I haven't caught previously.
One risk you took was to base turning points on a more reflective character arc rather than the reactive action to sudden crises that so saturate most books in the market today and for that I say- THANK YOU. Your book is truly a breath of fresh air.
The only negative point I can possibly scrounge up is that I don't currently have enough of the rest of the story in my hands right now so I can only beg you, Ms Tristen, to PLEASE continue in what I can only imagine deserves to be an illustrious career ahead of you. A very well done!