Select language, opens an overlay

Comment

Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of Vancouver Public Library.
Jan 26, 2017s390325 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is an amazing, fascinating, stay up all night to finish book! I thoroughly enjoyed it and I am eagerly awaiting a sequel! I read a review that compared Nora to an adult Hermione Granger. I think a better comparison is an adult Hermione stuck in a Muggles only world, who falls into Middle Earth and finds one teacher from Hogwarts, then cross that plot with Pride and Prejudice. The premise was enticing from the start- who wouldn't want to leave a hum drum existence and go into a magical world where everything is beautiful and fun and glamorous? Sounds great and it is great, until Nora realizes she's been enchanted by fairies, who are not really nice at all. Once the enchantments wears off, she realizes that she is basically in the Middle Ages (without one ruling religion) when it comes to government, technology, and attitudes towards women. I was impressed by Nora's perseverance to survive and understand this new world, and to learn how to speak and read the language and learn magic. I found myself comparing the way magic is described and controlled in this book and the Harry Potter books. I don't think any Harry Potter books explain why or how magic works. In this book, there are wizards and magicians. Wizards can be just about anyone who can learn a spell, because a demon or ghost is "caught" in the spell and does the magic. This means many wizards have "bought" the soul of a condemned prisoner, etc., so that they can have an effective spell. If that were the case in the world of Harry Potter, there wouldn't be many people left alive! A magician, in the world Nora falls into, is able to do magic because he or she can connect with some important element- fire, water, earth, stone, wood- and convince it to do the magic. I like that explanation of magic a lot better, it seems more friendly and natural. I knew (from the book jacket) that Nora would have to face a choice between staying in this world or returning to her own. *Spoiler alert* It doesn't seem like she is really given a chance to think about whether or not she wants to go back before she does. I also thought that this choice would come a lot sooner in the book and not just before the end. Although there are references to Pride and Prejudice from the start of the book, towards the end it becomes blatantly obvious that she sees herself as Elizabeth Bennet and Arundiel is Mr. Darcy. I'm pretty sure that Mr. Darcy was older than Elizabeth Bennet, but not by hundreds of years, which seems like it could present a real problem. I am still rooting for them to get together because I enjoyed watching Arundiel's character change as he gets used to this young woman from another world who breaks many social norms, speaks her mind, and has the aptitude and desire to become a magician. He bends for her. She seems like she is getting used to a lot of the status quo and is learning a lot, but I don't think she has changed as much as Arundiel does. I like the fact that her youngest sister was able to see her and Arundiel when he performs magic so she is able to see her family on Earth, and therefore is the only person on Earth to believe the "I got trapped in another world" story. (I love the part when Arundiel makes the cat able to talk (or that the sister can understand the cat), but the cat doesn't have anything nice to say). I'm glad Nora has one person who is encouraging her to fight to get back to where she wants to be and the opportunities that she has there. It ends on a hopeful note, but I really was hoping for the "happily ever after" ending... maybe we'll get it whenever the sequel comes out!