Lush and Unique, A Story About Accepting Yourself With A Magical Take
“Love isn’t simple. But it can be brilliant.”
The Brilliant Death takes place in the beautiful countryside of Italy, where Vinalia is controlled by five powerful families. The families are mostly at peace with each other, until someone sends a letter to all of the heads of the families that kills them. All but Teodora’s father who is gravely injured, but still alive. In her hunt to track down an antidote she must conquer court politics, master her magic, transform herself into a boy, and not get distracted by her gender-fluid magic teacher.
The Brilliant Death has lush and transformative writing, along with action, and powerful themes. Feminism, learning to accept yourself, and the truer meaning of love are just some themes that are tackled.
The characters are not all well-thought out, but the main characters are done perfectly. I especially loved Cielo’s backstory, and the way he/she spoke. I also loved how Cielo was never specifically given a gender. When he was a boy, Teo used male pronouns and when she was a girl, Teo used female pronouns.
The magic was strangely beautiful and at times seemed to become its own character. In a way, that’s what made the magic in this fantasy novel so different from other novels. The magic even spoke at times, but never in a way that seemed awkward, or childish, or just weird. Somehow the magic only got a voice when the time was completely right.
Overall, the story is unique and enchanting and I would recommend to anyone looking for something different.
The Brilliant Death takes place in the beautiful countryside of Italy, where Vinalia is controlled by five powerful families. The families are mostly at peace with each other, until someone sends a letter to all of the heads of the families that kills them. All but Teodora’s father who is gravely injured, but still alive. In her hunt to track down an antidote she must conquer court politics, master her magic, transform herself into a boy, and not get distracted by her gender-fluid magic teacher.
The Brilliant Death has lush and transformative writing, along with action, and powerful themes. Feminism, learning to accept yourself, and the truer meaning of love are just some themes that are tackled.
The characters are not all well-thought out, but the main characters are done perfectly. I especially loved Cielo’s backstory, and the way he/she spoke. I also loved how Cielo was never specifically given a gender. When he was a boy, Teo used male pronouns and when she was a girl, Teo used female pronouns.
The magic was strangely beautiful and at times seemed to become its own character. In a way, that’s what made the magic in this fantasy novel so different from other novels. The magic even spoke at times, but never in a way that seemed awkward, or childish, or just weird. Somehow the magic only got a voice when the time was completely right.
Overall, the story is unique and enchanting and I would recommend to anyone looking for something different.