I give up. I tried I really did. DNF'd at 51%..I just can not make myself continue. I always feel bad when I don't finish a book but this one just has not captured my interest in the least. The premise is good. The story however, just bobbles along and I'm soooooo pooped from reading it that I want to smash small china doll heads into the wall.I don't care for the main characters..don't care for the story..just don't care..STOP judging me!The only part I liked was the paper folding. I receive...

“A heart that’s known love is stronger than one that hasn’t, did you know that?” Mood: currently punching myself in the face for forgetting just how good The Paper Magician actually is. Also, I didn't remember the second part of this book to be so dark and creepy. Damn, I loved every second of it. And, if possible, I love Ceony and Thane (and Jonto and Parsley) and the writing and the setting and the whole magic system even more, now. Can't wait to finally start book 2!__on the tune of ba

Have you ever had someone try to tell you a story. Because they are excited you get excited and can't wait to hear it! But they are speaking so fast that they are leaving out important details which makes it impossible to follow the story. So you politely nod your head and pretend to listen even though you are zoning out and thinking of other things... Did I bring in all the groceries? What was the name of my high school math teacher? At the same time your friend really wants to emphasize her st...

“One more,” she promised herself. “One more until the end. And even if there’s no door to freedom, at least you know you tried. One more, Ceony.” This was a good book. At the beginning, I was getting solid heavy magical Daddy Long Legs feels...which descended solidly into Dickensian feels, more specifically, A Christmas Carol. Then it became nigh unbearable, because constant flashbacks are not for me, no, sir. Excellent premise. A heroine that I liked. It was just a shame that this turned out

I really enjoyed this book. The magical system in the book and series, is very unique as magicians bond to certain man-made materials like paper, glass, steel, etc... and once bonded they can use them. For example the main protagonist, Ceony can make a paper bird and it will then "come to life" and she can use it to scout for danger or find a person.The setting is England around Victorian times, but doesn't have that "woman can't do [fill in the blank]" vibe. Ceony is very likable and the story

How many others had she judged and set aside like that, thinking them no more than a one-sided piece of paper?In The Paper Magician, Ceony, a new graduate of Tagis Praff School for the Magically Inclined she has been forced to study a part of magic no one else will - paper. Upset about not being able to choose to go into the medium of her choice, she is surprised to discover Mg. Thane is nothing like she expected. When he is attacked by a Excisioner, a magician using flesh as a medium, who then

5 "exactly what I needed right now" stars.The Paper Magician turned out to be a quick and delightful read. Set in 1901 London, it gave me a distinct magic-y feeling I love so much. The atmosphere reminded me of Howl's Moving Castle somehow.It can easily be read as a standalone - the ending is well-rounded in a way that allows but does not require a sequel. Even though the MCs are 19 and 30 years old, the book itself and the world depicted in it are a little naive, as if the book is meant for you...

I'm pretty picky about my historical fiction. I want it to be, well, historical. If it's set in the early 1900's, I don't want the characters to use modern slang, like something being "shot to hell." I want them to talk and relate to each other as people of the period did. Granted, it does make it tricky for the authors sometimes - to make characters that fit in with historical social conventions but that are still appealing to contemporary audiences. If all you do is take characters who talk an...

A note before I start the review. If the author ever happens to read this, or anyone considering writing a book based in a different time or place--just saying it is set in England at the turn of the 20th Century doesn't make it so. It is very hard to get into it when everything sounds like modern day language and dialogue. It sounds exactly how people speak today. Even when the story told me the year and the place, I had a hard time feeling it. Read D. H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers. That's how

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || PinterestSo this week I decided to read a whole bunch of books I've been anticipating for a while because I am really bad at reading the books I already own. One of these is THE PAPER MAGICIAN, which has been on my Kindle for several years. The mixed reviews kind of put me off. People were saying it didn't make good use of its world-building and, I guess, had an unnecessary romance (one of my peeves). But I was still really curious about the idea

Full Review Liked the beginning and the end, but the middle was sloooow What I liked - I liked the unique concept of the story. Before reading, I thought ‘The Paper Magician’ was some sort of metaphor but it’s actually about a magician that can manipulate paper. It may seem boring (and the MC thought that at first) but the manipulations were actually quite interesting. There are also other magical affinities such as fire, glass and metal. There is also the dark affinity which is the manipulatio

The paper magic was really fun, but literally half the book is spent in someone's memories, which started to drag, and didn't seem to serve much of a purpose besides fostering a one-sided infatuation that I didn't care for much. Then there's the blood magician threat, which an entire force of magicians and police have been fighting - but (view spoiler)[Ceony doesn't even get questioned seriously about what happened and how she succeeded against a blood magician who had ripped her master's heart

Mostly, this was just badly paced. I liked the beginning of this SO MUCH. The slow unfolding of the world, Ceony learning about paper, the dynamic between the characters.But then the plotty stuff happened! And, first of all, I think it happened too quickly. I wasn't invested enough in the world and characters yet. And I didn't think Ceony knew enough yet.And then the plotty stuff dragged ON AND ON. I was so frustrated with it, but had read enough that I didn't want to DNF it.And I was all ready

3 Stars:Overview: I finished this book 17 days ago and I’m just now actually writing this review…Oh well, better late than never right?Charlie Holmberg's book The Paper Magician takes place in a fictionalized Victorian era where magicians are bound to one element—meaning they can only preform magic using that component. The story begins with the reluctant Ceony beginning her apprenticeship in the arts of paper magic, under the care of one Emery Thane. Pros: I love, love, love this idea. Everyth

DNF 51%Another book that was just not for me. I honestly try not to make a habit of binning books, however life is too short for bad books and I can only put up with so much. I feel like my lack of enjoyment of this book was my penance for picking a book based on its cover ( which is awesome btw).I loved the concept but the execution just didn't work for me. The main character was alright but nothing special. I had no real investment to anyone or anything in this story. Hardly anything happened