- I love the lyrical prose laced with metaphors that Moïra Fowley-Doyle delivers. She pulls me into her stories, and it all feels very surreal. She always manages to surprise me. Her stories offer rich characters, vivid scenery, and surprise twists. I confess, I did figure it out about midway, but her execution is flawless.
- I was delighted to discover an LGBTQ thread in this tale.It was beautifully done, giving readers an f/f relationship. Forget stereotypes and cliches, Fowley-Doyle's rendition was beautiful, genuine and realistic.
- The plot shares quite the list of characters and their stories all revolve around a spellbook. Contained within this book is a spell that allows you to find something lost. None realize that for this spell to work it requires a sacrifice. The story shares three POV's, and each has a group/cast of friends. Creating s story broken into several parts, and eventually, the three stories intertwine. The story begins with Laurel, Ash, and Holly. We do not spend a lot of time with them, but their story is relevant because it sets the story in motion. Laurel told their story. The second group consists of Oliva who narrates and her best friend, Rose. The girls begin to lose things. Little things at first like hair pins, jewelry but soon Rose is missing something bigger and refuses to talk about it. The third group is made up of Ivy, Hazel, and her twin brother, Rowan. They are squatters living in an abandoned building. Wait until you meet Hazel. She narrates their story, and I found her to be memorable. We soon learn they have lost something too. In the meantime, mysterious pages to a diary penned by Laurel appear around town. Fowley-Doyle weaves her magic pulling these characters together delivering a twisted tale about things lost and things recovered.
- The characters are rich and complex. Some we get personal with, and others are mysterious leaving us to learn as the story unfolds. The author gives us diversity with a large cast of female characters and thankfully leaves cliched stereotypes behind. Rose is a character of color, Olive is hearing-impaired, Hazel is gay, and Olive and Rose are bisexual. Each character has a unique personality. I think the author chose well when selecting the voice for each group.
- If you love magical realism, Fowley-Doyle is a must read author regardless of your age.
- This is the type of story that you question as it unfolds. You wonder how all of these plots and characters will come together. Only when the author wraps up the tale, do you sit back and reflect. It is then you come to realize how brilliant the telling was. Her books stick with you, and I often find myself thinking about it, the character and mysterious spellbook.
- This story does offer romantic threads, but the "lost and found" theme is central. These side stories simply added depth and realism.
- We have three talented narrators Elizabeth Sastre, Marisa Calin, and Saskia Maarleveld. Each brilliantly captured their POV's personality and worked well together from their tone to pacing. With three pov's and an extensive cast of characters, I think the three separate narrators enhanced this already brilliant story.
“What will you let go of? What can you not afford to lose?”
Decaffeinated Aspects:
- First, I loved this book so don't misunderstand me. My only complaint was keeping track of all the characters. The use of three narrators was a brilliant move on the publishers part because it helped with knowing whose voice we were hearing. I imagine that reading this might be confusing. Don't be discouraged, keep a notebook handy and jot down characters in each group. It will be worth it. Does that make sense?
- As I said the story felt off at times, maybe it was the pacing, but it all comes together brilliantly, and on reflection, I would not change a thing.
- I was left with a few questions, but I am not overly concerned as it fit the vibe of the book.
Audio provided by the publisher.
This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer