Magic spells, a resistance against tyrannical oppressors, mythical creatures, love blossoming in the most unexpected places, and the overwhelming feeling of....meh. Yes, this is another girl-starts-revolution story that tries to actually tie into historical events (poorly) and tries to excite readers with love triangles amidst brewing war and chaos...it just doesn't do it very well. Let's see what happened.
Anna Arden comes from wealthy English family in a world where the rich, nobel classes are the only ones allowed to harness magic and become part of the Luminate elite. But Anna is Barren, unable to use magic at all...except it seems to break the spells of others as she demonstrates during her sister's debut into society. Anna is exiled to Hungary, her grandmother's home country, which is in the midst of a brewing revolution. It is here that she is recruited into joining the resistance in the hopes that she will break the Binding, a spell that keeps the poor from inheriting magic, and give magic and freedom to all people.
The biggest problem with this book can be simply explained by the fact that, for long stretches of time, nothing happens. Between Anna's indecisive nature to the resistance's meetings consisting of everyone sitting around and saying, "We should do something!" "Should we do something?" "Let's do something!" "We shouldn't do something." for about two thirds of the book. The rest of the time we have the feeble romance between Anna and her love interest, a Romani named Gábor, which isn't very interesting because...they aren't very interesting. Anna is a very bland character in which much happens to her but she ends up doing very little in response. She knows that she's being watched and people are keeping track of her every move and yet she goes to rebellion meetings and meets with known heretics anyway. Kinda dumb, sweetie. Kinda dumb. And her Romani boyfriend is really intelligent despite having a very poor upbringing and he's cold and aloof but he's really a sweetheart once you get to know him because he's just "guarding his feelings" and blah blah blah. He's the same YA arm candy boyfriend we've seen a thousand times the same way. Oh, and this broad also kisses her cousin. More than once. Let that sink in, why don't ya?
Now, I know I haven't been saying a lot of good things about this book, but there are nuggets of good in here...kind of. Firstly, the idea of breaking the Binding, Anna's very purpose in this resistance, comes with some pretty dire consequences and the book goes into this. I would have been very easy to say, "Bad guys are bad. Good guys are good. Do the thing and everyone will be happy." as most books do. But they make it a pretty difficult choice. Anna could be potentially making a choice that will change the world completely and put a lot of innocent people at risk. Also, giving magic to those it has been kept from for a thousand years comes with problems as well, as these people haven't been educated and don't always know how to control it, which could end in everything from disaster to death. This is a really good idea, making things not so clear cut and giving the protagonist a truly difficult decision...until the story goes "Never mind! It is a simple choice so go do it and everything will work out swell!" This also adds to the books indecisive problems when Anna is constantly bouncing back and forth between, "I should!" "I shouldn't." "I should!" "I shouldn't." every chapter or so. Making Anna Barren is also a good idea that the book kind of ruins. Her struggles and the problems she faces being a powerless person in a world where magic reigns supreme can make for good potential for a character...but then the book points out that "oh, it's not that she isn't special. It's that she's just super-mega-special and others are afraid of her." Good ideas ruined by bad writing. Simple as that.
Finally, I don't know much about Hungary seeing as I've never been there and I don't know much about the culture. That being said I do find it odd that you'd take an actual piece of this country's history, a revolution that actually did happen and was a largely bloodless affair, and make it the centerpiece for your magical rebellion story and make it an all out war. There's creative license and then there's...this. I didn't feel more educated about Hungarian history because of this book or its culture other than the fact that the Romani guys are really hot. I don't see why the author couldn't just make this a brand new world and used the actual historical facts as inspiration for all of this but...what do I know.
Final Verdict
In the end, I didn't really get mad at this book but it was pretty bland. Frustratingly indecisive, pointlessly draw out, and potentially good ideas wasted with poor payoff. If you just like stories with fancy Victorian era clothes and parties and love between classes go right ahead and check it out...but save your cash and check it out at your local library.
Have you read the book? What did you think? Comment below and share your thoughts. Please make sure to Follow Midnight Readings for instant updates. Have a book you'd like me to read or would like to make a recommendation? Contact me on goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/65448711-michelle-beer
Next Time: Lucid dreaming has never seemed so cool!
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