I have mixed feelings about this book. I did ultimately gave it 4* but it took me a lot of thinking and wondering if this book actually deserved 4*. The reason why I’m so conflicted is partly because of the first half of the book and partly because of the world building.
First of all, the world building was incredibly confusing. And I don’t think the writing style helped because there is this huge magic system in play but the way how the author went about in describing it was convoluted and very confusing. There were also words in there that, maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t even know what it was. It was as if the author used some obscure SAT words that people only knew while studying but after taking the test, they discarded it because no one used it in conversations. And if you’re struggling to understand the magic system in a book where knowing how the magic worked is key then you’re pretty much screwed.
And that leads me to my second issue. Because of the confusion of the world building and the magic system, the first half of the book was just hard to grasp and understand. There was also this weird sense of fast pace probably because heists were happening left and right and as the reader, I was constantly on edge hoping that nothing terrible will happen to the characters. So with all of these elements combined, the first half of the book was just a mess.
HOWEVER, I had pleaded help on social media and was told to stick it through because the second half will redeem itself. And redeem itself it did because I became incredibly invested in the story and the characters. I was also intrigued by the characters right from the beginning and loved the diverse cast but due to my earlier confusion, I couldn’t pay as much attention to them as I would have liked. But now that I was finally understanding how things worked, I found myself rooting for each of the characters and I honestly loved every single one of them. They were all so incredibly endearing in their own ways.
And that ending! I’m so psyched now to see what will happen in the second book because this book did a fantastic job with leading up to the sequel. The tension and the cliffhanger…damn, I really want to read that ASAP.
Overall, if you’re okay with being somewhat confused in the first half of the book then I definitely recommend this one. If you love reading about Paris in the 1800s with a heist then also definitely check this one out.
First of all, the world building was incredibly confusing. And I don’t think the writing style helped because there is this huge magic system in play but the way how the author went about in describing it was convoluted and very confusing. There were also words in there that, maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t even know what it was. It was as if the author used some obscure SAT words that people only knew while studying but after taking the test, they discarded it because no one used it in conversations. And if you’re struggling to understand the magic system in a book where knowing how the magic worked is key then you’re pretty much screwed.
And that leads me to my second issue. Because of the confusion of the world building and the magic system, the first half of the book was just hard to grasp and understand. There was also this weird sense of fast pace probably because heists were happening left and right and as the reader, I was constantly on edge hoping that nothing terrible will happen to the characters. So with all of these elements combined, the first half of the book was just a mess.
HOWEVER, I had pleaded help on social media and was told to stick it through because the second half will redeem itself. And redeem itself it did because I became incredibly invested in the story and the characters. I was also intrigued by the characters right from the beginning and loved the diverse cast but due to my earlier confusion, I couldn’t pay as much attention to them as I would have liked. But now that I was finally understanding how things worked, I found myself rooting for each of the characters and I honestly loved every single one of them. They were all so incredibly endearing in their own ways.
And that ending! I’m so psyched now to see what will happen in the second book because this book did a fantastic job with leading up to the sequel. The tension and the cliffhanger…damn, I really want to read that ASAP.
Overall, if you’re okay with being somewhat confused in the first half of the book then I definitely recommend this one. If you love reading about Paris in the 1800s with a heist then also definitely check this one out.