Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

An Unkindness of Magicians - Kat Howard

March 8, 2021.
Requested by Angela Jr.

Yes! been in my tbr! looking forward to join

sounds good

Just finished chapter 3. I'm generally still confused as to who all the characters are and how they relate to each other. I like how this is all slowly revealed - makes it feel a bit like a mystery.

This looks to be a short book... but a second book is coming?...

I started this morning and agree there’s a large cast being slowly revealed... I like most of them... I actually got lost for a second, (view spoiler)[and thought Ian Merlin and Gray Prospero were the same character, since they’re both connected to House Prospero and both linked to the competition... woulda sucked since Merlin seemed interesting, only to turn into the serial murdered the Muggle is after (in my confusion) (hide spoiler)]... no idea what all is going to happen... about 15% in, so far...

Around 70% now, and finally sorted all the characters in my head at some point...

This world is pretty dark and messed up... at the same time, I have very little idea what these magicians actually do practically with their magic, outside of competition spectacles...

I’m also worried this is gonna be a cliffhanger book... seems this is a duology, and the author is 9 months late on releasing the conclusion...

I was quick to judge, last comment... things really started to come together right after my last comment, and I thought it all resolved really well... suitably standalone with room for a sequel...

I'm in the middle of chapter 10, a little under 50%

(view spoiler)[Sydney just absorbed the forest magic. That was a wild scene...
What Grey is doing to those girls... I understand why Miranda cast him out of the family, even though it must have been hard to banish her own son.
I'm curious to see where this little romance between Sydney and Ian Merlin is going to end up. I have a feeling they might have to compete in a challenge at some point.

I can keep most of the characters straight by now, but sometimes i still end up confused for a second lol. All the political implications are also slowly coming together in my head. (hide spoiler)]

It's a very interesting book... and I like the unexpected directions it jumps in...

I feel like alot happened in relatively few pages...

Finished today. I enjoyed the story thoroughly, though I did have a few problems with it.

(view spoiler)[the conclusion was satisfying enough, but how we got there felt a bit rushed. Starting with Sydney destroying Shadows, everything happened incredibly fast.
Grey felt a little like a copy and paste villain. He was just evil and nothing else. So was Miles Merlin... Yes, he was losing his magic and that was his motivation, but beyond that there weren't any nuances to his character.
Grey's death happened so quickly and there was no fallout from it. We neither got to see Laurent mourning his best friend, nor the Unseen World reacting to the revelation of Grey's murders. The same thing happened with the unseating of Miles as head of House Merlin.
I'm curious enough about whether Sydney will get her magic back somehow, to want to read the second book in the series when it comes out! (hide spoiler)]

Yea... I think I touched on that earlier... everything happens so fast...

Completely agree with everything you said...

Oh and re your question about everyday magic use:

I think they use it basically for everything? Like in that scene where Lara forgets to turn on the stove and then tries to boil the egg with magic. She drops a candle and halts it in midair, so she can pick it up etc. It's a very soft magic system and from where I'm standing, it looks pretty limitless, which I'm not always a fan of. (view spoiler)[Since the political intrigue and power struggle were the real focus and not the actual spellcasting, I didn't mind so much in this particular book. (hide spoiler)]

By the way, I would love to live in a house like the Prospero House lol.