I enjoyed the story

3.5 stars. While I enjoyed this title, I did find myself a little confused at times during portions of dialogue; I found myself rereading snippets of dialogue since I wasn't always sure who had said what. There was also some slightly odd editing that necessitated rereading preceding paragraphs so I could clarify the action. I also felt that the resolution for the baddies was a little too neatly handled. That said, I liked the magic system and its costs, and its implementation (e.g., Laurent's co...

Upon Reread: 4.5I filmed my Wrap Up two days ago (going up today) and in it I said it's still 5 stars, but I really think 4.5 is best because there a some very real complaints, but I still love it so much.I was nervous that I wouldn't love it as much when I reread it but this book is just fantastic. And that ending gets me every time <3--------------------------------------------------------The intricacies of this magic and these characters are phenomenal! This is a world you can get lost in and...

An Unkindness of Magicians is a smart page-turner of an urban fantasy novel, and it works as a standalone! Set in New York City, the magical world is entering a period of upheaval as mage houses battle for political control. Dark secrets come to light and many players have their own agenda. Full of intrigue with a twisty plot and interesting characters, this fast-paced novel completely sucked me in. Underlying themes include racism, oppression, and abuse of power, seamlessly woven into this thri...

↠3.5+ buddy read with HannahI’m not sure how to rate this. On one hand I liked it, but on the other it lacked some important stuff like character depth and graceful storytelling.The writing is one of the things I liked the most, it had that something that works for me, and it would’ve been magnificent if it wasn’t told in a choppy way—we are following the characters only in those moments that seem/are important and it’s not neatly sewn together; it looks more like an extra colorful quilt than

OH. MY. GOODNESS. GRACIOUS.I don't even know where to begin. Okay. Phew.So, this book is perfect. And I don't mean like "this is a modern classic o m g literally Shakespeare reborn" perfect. I mean this book was one hell of a ride perfect. Yeeeeee-ah!!! So. Much. Fun!!! If I had to describe this book in a few words, I would describe it as "Harry Potter for adults". There is a bunch of Houses of magic people who are filthy rich and bored and challenge each other with mortal magic duels. They don'...

“Magic, at its heart, starts with sacrifice. You have to give up something to get something, and because magic is big, with all that it allows you access to, what you give up has to be big. It has to be meaningful.”When I first saw this book in my library, I was ecstatic. Urban fantasy, gorgeous cover and a plot that gave me vibes of the Tri-wizard tournament from Harry Potter on steroids: something I didn’t know I wanted, but now that I had it in my hands I couldn’t wait.Although it wasn’t quit...

Actual Rating: 2.5/5This book was…. not great. The writing was actually very good, but the story suffered from an excessive amount of characters and perspectives. The world building was jumbled and there was way too much going on for the length of the book. The book kept building up to epic battles that got solved in a matter of sentences and major plot points were revealed too early. The pacing was all off and it’s a shame because the writing style and premise had so much promise. To quote anot...

As I was reading this, I was caught by just how bleak and depressing the world of magic is. It carried over to me almost immediately and I wondered if I was falling into a black spell.But no, I think it was mostly just the world of this imagination. When we're talking about the unkindness of magicians, it's a real dog-eat-dog life with some of the evilest requirements to keep the magic flowing I've seen, brought home even more because it's our modern world. The ending wasn't as bleak as most of

(2.5 stars, rounded down because of sheer disappointment on my part.) This is by no means a bad book, but it would have been a better film. Kat Howard writes visually arresting scenes that would lend themselves beautifully to cinema. See the opening scene, for example, in which a beautiful young woman steps out into NYC traffic, levitates all the passing vehicles, and conducts them in the air with precision and grace. Unfortunately, as a book, An Unkindness of Magicians suffers from an overabund...

This is one of those times where buying a book based purely off of the stunning cover and the wonderful-sounding blurb really paid off. I hadn't really heard much about this author, and I didn't get recommended her by anyone else, I just decided that this was a book I needed to pick up based on the cover alone. I am so very, very glad that this does have such a great cover, because it turned out to be a really fantastic book too, and I wouldn't have been drawn to it if it were not for the cover

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/09/26/...A solid 3.5 star read. Kat Howard enchanted me with her debut Roses and Rot last year, so I was excited to check out An Unkindness of Magicians, her sophomore novel about a hidden world of magic and power. In this “Unseen World”, members of elite magical houses come together every few years to duke it out in a tournament called the Turning, with each family represented by their chosen champion. Ostensibly held to place e...

This is a very solid and enjoyable modern magician story. I liked the focus on a single event in the Unseen World - the Turning - where magicians battle each other for supremacy and the right to lead the magical world. I loved Laurent, although he seemed pretty naive at times, particularly as the sole black man and an Outsider to the Unseen World. I enjoyed Howard's writing, although I felt the pacing was a tiny bit off towards the end, where things happened so quickly I almost missed them. That...

Not for me, left me feeling depressed. Too dark, too many characters who feel either miserable, hateful or desperate. Couldn't find one likeable character, couldn't care less if all of them died.

this was FABULOUS. This is basically like the setup for a Hunger Games with magicians, but much for sophisticated. It takes place in the city and we get to see all the dark corners that hide the magic away and how that magic has it's own world and rules. This isn't as action packed as I wish it could have been (my only flaw with it); it could have set it up to have some seriously epic battle scenes, though I can understand how this wouldn't fit the main audience. We get mentions of each persons'...

There is upheaval in the Unseen World, the secret community of magicians in New York, because the latest magical competition to determine the leading magician House has come at a time when magic itself is becoming unreliable. A powerful magician, Sydney, has appeared out of the House of Shadows, only the second person to ever emerge from that place. She's participating in the magic competition, the Turning, and representing an outsider trying to establish his own House. Meanwhile House Prospero

3.5 stars. “Magic, at its heart, starts with sacrifice. You have to give up something to get something, and because magic is big, with all that it allows you access to, what you give up has to be big. It has to be meaningful.” It was a capturing and compelling story and I actually thought it was quite different. Sydney was a great character and such a badass. However, the story felt super disjointed. It jumped from scene to scene, from point to point without explanation or warning or anything o...

↠ 3.5 stars Okay, so first of all I have to admit this one was a total cover buy for me, and I don't regret it, exactly, though it does remind me of the fact that every single time I choose a book solely on cover I end up a smidgen disappointed in some way. This book was good, but it could have been so much better.An Unkindess of Magicians is set in modern-day New York, where magic thrives in the hidden Unseen World populated by magicians who mostly belong to Houses. Sound familiar? It's a bit l...

4,5 stars(but can I give the book +10 stars for the cover alone because it is gorgeous and also it's textured which gives it a 3D effect and I'm madly in love with it)Wonderful plot that was a little bit twisted and little bit dark and writing so beautiful. Sometimes it felt like it was written directly onto my soul. However, as I mentioned in one of my updates (as well as in reviews for other books) I'm not fond of POV changes within a chapter. And this book does lot of it. But that's not the r...

I shamelessly picked up this book for the cover...Come on, if you know me, i'm all about those aesthetic books. By the way, it has raised grooves. Who can say no to raised grooves?! Luckily, this book was actually really, really good! I didn't go into this book with many expectation and I was super surprised by the plot of this story. I absolutely loved the concept of this book, set in the real world where a society of magicians who run their own households live amongst us. Every few decades, th...