This book's voice outshone its plot. It is for that reason that this review has four stars, instead of three. (Edit: After some thought, I bumped it to three). Because different parts of the novel were drastically different in regards to quality, I'll split my thoughts up in a similar way.
Part I: 5/5
The protagonists' humor, fears, and relationships shone brightly. I was instantly pulled in, and it did an excellent job dealing with themes of chronic illness and the way they intersect with young adulthood. I was actually moved to weeping at one point.
Part II: 3/5
This was disappointing. After such a strong opening, the shift from the her old life to her new world was lackluster. The pieces of narrative from Jason kept things moving, but I was honestly very discouraged by Aza's sudden shallowness. The love triangle was introduced at this point in the story, and it did not fit with the plot, character dynamics, or prior depth shown in Aza /at all/. It was discouraging, and it felt a little insulting to read.
Part III/The Very End: I'm conflicted
I'm conflicted, because the story did pick back up somewhat at this point, but it was cluttered. Because the reader isn't sure about what they're rooting for in Aza's adventure plot, they simply latch on to hopes of a reunion with Jason. End result? Jason overshadow's Aza's newfound powers and environment. The elements of fantasy in this story felt like extra baggage next to Aza and Jason's relationship.
Overall, I think the book would've functioned much better without the "twist" from Aza's mother, or the love triangle. Let one thing be the primary story goal.
All that being said, I'll be watching this author. The voice is fresh and so entertaining.
Orion just icks me out too much. Also life is short, and I have too much on my tbr.
I'm going to need to come back to this because this book is so much more than I can put into words at 12:47 am.
This series continues to get better and better with every installment. A kindness, significance, and heart that you don’t see often, wrapped in an extremely fun and entertaining package.
I thought I was signing up for grumpy stick-in-the-mud older brother falling for the whimsical lead who’s intent on his irresponsible younger brother.
That plot fractures pretty quickly, and the characters were extremely different than what I’d hoped, given the back cover summary. 🤷🏻 MMC tries to freak her out by bringing up innuendos during their first meeting, because she’s clearly trying to spurn his interest. He’s constantly like, “I used to be so good at this; I used to be a RAKE.” Like that’s a good thing. He’s judgmental towards his younger brother while trying to exemplify the same behaviors to impress a girl he’s just met.
I also wish the spy content had involved more actual spying.
Let me preface this with two things:
1.) I am a giant fan of Charlie N. Holmberg. She is excellent with fun, witty tone, and her world-building is captivating.
2.) I'm also one of the maybe two people obsessed with this series enough to write stupid fanfiction about it. I was very excited to read this book and to embark on a new story in the same story world.
The Good:
1.) Alvie is a doll. I loved her habit of wearing pants, I loved her dedication to her craft, and I adored her scrappy nature. I also enjoyed how awkward she was at times--although, this did occasionally make me cringe when it was due to her insecurity.
2.) The book provided more insight into the series' story world, and I really enjoyed seeing some smaller side characters from the original trilogy from a new angle.
3.) I was a bit worried that this book have a similar romantic plot to the last one--that Alvie would fall for her tutor. That wasn't the case, and I think that was a smart writing choice.
4.) I enjoyed the expansion outside of the UK. It made the story world seem bigger.
5.) I super appreciated the glimpses we get of Ceony and Emery. I knew coming into this book that it would be about a new protagonist. I wasn't expecting any appearances from them, and I was pleasantly surprised when they popped up.
The things I was less excited about:
1.) This first one is rather minor, but Alvie's self esteem is disappointing. She doesn't need to be "IN YOUR FACE; I KNOW I'M GORGEOUS" about it, but reading her internal dialogue that frequently berated her own appearance (additionally, this internal dialogue was never fully addressed. It just kind of fades into the background when she's given affection from her boyfriend) was a little discouraging.
2.) The other characters, in comparison to Alvie...fell kind of flat? Mg. Praff has almost no tension in his life. He's motivated to provide the next big invention, but there's no driving motivation behind that quest, other than for the sake of discovery. He's super wealthy and has what appears to be an unshakeable marriage. I'm all for examples of strong marriages, but he had very little that made him three-dimensional. He's just always happy, always ready to support his apprentice, always calm and collected. There is no tension in any of his relationships or his development, and all potential tension is quickly diffused. Next, we have Bennet. Bennet was so perfect that I was certain he was a double-agent and was aiding the villain somehow. His role in the story is the cute, respectful boyfriend. He doesn't provide anything else. There are hints of tension, when his tutor is holding him back, but it never really builds into any real conflict. (Again--I know this sounds super harsh, I'm sorry. I really really do LOVE this writer.) His sister, Ethel, is super sweet. I enjoyed her friendship with Alvie. I've done little research on the psychological aftermath of losing a hand, and I assume Charlie did, so I won't speak to that. If someone else who knows better has opinions to chime in there, I'll defer to them. The villain has some believable motivation, but the conflict's build is quite slow, and a lot of it happens off-screen. Which brings me to my next point...
3.) The conflict arc in this book is confusing. Its start was promising with the train station and the wrong stop, but the build to the actual conflict takes most of the novel. The majority of the novel is the main character learning Polymaking (there seems to be far less to do with this form of magic, which is explained through it's newness to the magic world, but it doesn't make for page-turning reading), describing the rooms that she's in, worrying about how her face looks, and daydreaming about Bennet. Small events like one, quick break in and a robbery (neither of which result in prolonged danger, tension, or real hurt) do punctuate the novel. Unfortunately, we spend too much time in the dark about the danger around them to really feel as captivated as we might have with some of Charlie's other books.
4.)Alvie's insecurity about her un-dateability, which is relatable on some levels, ends up overtaking too much of the novel, and it makes the rest of Alvie's character--the brilliant, mathematician with the gift for tinkering, machinery, and a drive for invention--seem less textured. Alvie's math and machinery skills are never truly tested, either. In the showdown, her ultimate test is physical (getting away from kidnappers) and magical (she uses some Polymaking magic). The showdown was exciting, but if I'm honest, from the writer that brought us the heart-pounding excisioners and the lacerate spell that stunned me speechless...I was expecting a bit...more?
Overall, this is an okay read. It's a solid three stars. I enjoyed it, but if someone were to pick this up before the previous three, they may not be invested enough in the story world to finish it.
And again, on one final note: I want to repeat that I really enjoy this author's work. I recommend them to a lot of my friends.
This book gives the tale of a bookstore owner who falls for the mysterious man who calls her store once a week.
This was truthfully a one-star read for me, but I appreciated the development and care given to the depiction of chronic physical and mental illnesses.
Unfortunately, Fox’s behavior was often toxic, creepy, and incredibly violating (secretly watching the heroine in her room from the woods with binoculars???) and the boundaries of consent were not treated with respect in this book.
I also hated how the protagonist describes herself as “big,” and the book makes a big deal about her round shape and body positivity, yet the cover shows a completely average, small to mid-sized woman. Absolutely not a fan of that design choice.
In short: This one wasn’t for me. :(
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.
Genuinely good advice and reminders. I wasn’t expecting much from this, but as someone who writes pretty regularly, the bite-sized strategies in here are motivating and grounded.
I opened this book and felt understood. It confronts so many of the challenges of being a woman in the “geek” subcultures, and it does so with wittiness, poise, and flair. While the characters fall prey at some points to high school level drama, it’s because they’re /in high school/, and that makes them more real in some ways.
