Ratings75
Average rating4
For generations, the Kalotay family has guarded a collection of rare and dangerous books. Books that let a person walk through walls, or borrow someone else's face; books of magic. Now, Joanna Kalotay lives alone in the woods of Vermont, their library's sole protector, while her estranged older half-sister, Esther moves between countries and jobs, constantly changing, never staying anywhere for longer than a year, desperate to avoid the dangerous magic that killed her own mother. She is currently working as an electrician on a research base in Antarctica where she has found love. Maybe, finally, she feels free. But when someone on-base begins using magic, Esther realizes that she can't outrun her family's legacy. The long-separated sisters must work together to unravel the secrets their parents kept hidden, secrets that span centuries and continents, and even other libraries...
Reviews with the most likes.
It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel. I was captivated by worldbuilding and characters. I especially loved how what seemed like several separate stories all came together at the end in surprising ways.
Yet another interesting “magic” fantasy story. There seems to be a soaring popularity for these kind of books. Whatever the trope, I sure loved this book. There is indeed a lot of magic, but then there are the human connections too. The birth mother who was never much of a mother, the step mother who was much more of a mother. The strange relationship between the estranged sisters, and the fun, bantering relationship between the employer(?) and the employee. Definitely an interesting book; it is popular for a reason.
Very good! I never expect much from my Book of The Months, but this exceeded expectations. Suspenseful, but also fuzzy sweet. I should call my sister.
4.25 rounded up. There was only ONE thing I wasn't a huge fan of and that is a completely personal preference. I found this book to be wildly captivating with an unravelling mystery that was fun to follow. I was surprised that I had a really damn good time with this!