Tag: witch

Review: Modern Divination by Isabel Agajanian

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Alexis holds a copy of Modern Divination.

Alexis:

⁣Modern Divination is a new adult contemporary fantasy that partially takes place at Cambridge University. It follows two main characters: Aurelia Schwartz, a witch from the US, and Theodore Ingram, her fellow student and rival. When another witch is murdered, Aurelia is pulled into the murder mystery and finds herself teaming up with Teddy.

Things I Liked: 

  • This book is very atmospheric, which is a trait I always love!
  • I also loved the witchy aesthetic. Aurelia, as a green witch, cultivates plants, and I enjoyed when she worked her magic.
  • Tea vibes! Since it’s set in England, there’s plenty brewing of tea and talk about tea. 
  • Teddy has strong Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle vibes.
  • I really enjoyed the style of dialogue and the deep conversations between Aurelia and Teddy.
  • In the same vein, I enjoyed the overall writing style. 
  • There’s also Jewish, bisexual, and nonbinary representation. 

Things I Didn’t Like As Much:

  • ⁣The plot itself is very minimal. I love a good murder mystery and was expecting it to take up more of the story. However, this is a very character-driven and introspective story, and the plot is left on the very back burner. I also found the actual plot itself to be lackluster, and the villain to be flat and uninteresting, unfortunately.
  •  Sections of the story are confusing. I felt like I needed to reread explanations because I was constantly double-guessing what I knew and didn’t know. Some of the transitions between chapters were also a little unclear, and I had to reread them for clarity’s sake.
  • Lastly, the magic system could have been explored more. There were some revelations at the end of the book that fell flat for me because I didn’t feel like I knew the magic system well enough. 

Overall, I did really enjoy the focus on the characters. Both Aurelia and Teddy are well-rounded and have plenty of flaws, and Aurelia’s friendship with her flatmate/best friend, Ryan, is written well. However, I wish the story was clearer and had a bit of a stronger plot.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐/5⁣

Review: Into the Heartless Wood by Joanna Ruth Meyer

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A pink gloved hand holds up the bright green cover of Into the Heartless Wood in front of a snowy backyard and fenceline.

Alexis:

I finished my first book of the year on the first snow day!

Into the Heartless Wood follows Owen, a 17-year-old burgeoning astronomer who lives with his father and baby sister. They live by the edge of the woods, where a witch and her tree siren daughters, who lure humans to their deaths, live…and where Owen lost his own mother. 

But when the witch’s youngest siren daughter, who calls herself Seren, finds herself saving Owen’s life instead of ending it, their lives become intertwined. 

Everyone knows I’m a sucker for a book that focuses on creepy woods. And this book had all of the elements I was looking for: atmospheric vibes, lyrical writing, and dual POVs.

The story is both beautiful and brutal. Happy and sorrowful. The ending was tragic, yet I loved it! It’s slow-paced, and the writing is dreamy and full of beautiful forest imagery. Seren’s POV is written in verse, and I thought it worked really well for her character.

My only main critique is that I wish Owen and Seren had a bit more chemistry on the page. It’s also worth noting that even though I tend to gravitate towards slower-paced novels, the main plot didn’t appear until halfway through.

Despite this, I really enjoyed this one, and it was the perfect read for a snow day paired with a mug of hot chocolate.

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5