Name: The Magician’s Daughter
Rating: 3.1 (5 reviews)

H.G. Parry

The Magician’s Daughter

I just couldn’t get through the 3rd person narration. It could be a lovely story but I felt like I was having a stroke trying to figure out who was talking and what was internal dialogue. 3rd person is just such an unnatural way to think- at least for me. 

Daisy Gosnell

DNF

I just couldn’t get through the 3rd person narration. It could be a lovely story but I felt like I was having a stroke trying to figure out who was talking and what was internal dialogue. 3rd person is just such an unnatural way to think- at least for me. 

H. G. Parry

'A book to be absolutely devoured' Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong Off the coast of Ireland sits a legendary island hidden by magic. A place of ruins and ancient trees, sea-salt air and fairy lore, Hy-Brasil is the only home Biddy has ever known. Washed up on its shore as a baby, Biddy lives a quiet life with her guardian, the mercurial magician Rowan. A life she finds increasingly stifling. One night, Rowan fails to return from his mysterious travels. To find him, Biddy must venture into the outside world for the first time. But Rowan has powerful enemies-forces who have hoarded the world's magic and have set their sights on the magician's many secrets. Biddy may be the key to stopping them. Yet the closer she gets to answers, the more she questions everything she's ever believed about Rowan, her past, and the nature of magic itself. A WORLD OF WONDER AND MIRACLES UNFURLS IN THIS TIMELESS COMING-OF-AGE FANTASY 'That most rare and precious thing: a brand-new classic, both wholly original and wonderfully nostalgic. It's an absolute treasure' Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January 'Draws you in and make you believe that magic does exist. I absolutely adored it!' Andrea Stewart, author of The Bone Shard Daughter 'An enchantment of a novel. A coming-of-age story teeming with magic, with characters striving to change an unjust world . . . this is a book to be savoured' E. J. Beaton, author of The Councillor

The Magician's Daughter

            The Aardvark Book Club is a new addition to my monthly reading lists.  I had never heard of this group before, then all of a sudden they are all over my Instagram feed.  It seems like all of my book people are in love with this new book subscription service, even bailing on The Book of the Month Club in favor of this new group.  I’m always on board to try new books, so I decided to give their books a shot.  Like the Book of the Month Club, every month they curate five new releases to showcase, and thankfully, they’re all available at my local library.  March of 2023 was the first month I have them added to my TBR lists, so the jury’s still out on whether or not they’re any good, but if I had to base it on just the two I’ve read so far, I’d say they’re on the right track.

            I’m not much of a fantasy fan.  I usually avoid high fantasies (JRR Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, etc.), but I have been known to enjoy a fantasy based on myth or folklore, and almost always enjoy urban fantasies (Harry Potter, etc).  This one is an urban fantasy of sorts, based in the early 1900s, and it also contains elements of folklore, so I didn’t immediately hate it.  I do admit I struggled to engage with the story for most of the first half, but eventually I was fully invested and wanted to abandon my responsibilities to find out how it ended.  This one throws in some elements of ancient Gaelic folklore that I recognized, which did help to draw me into the story.  I enjoyed the relationship between magician and “daughter,” and I absolutely loved the rabbit.  That might have been my favorite character. 

            There are definitely themes of misogyny that helped to make the storyline interesting.  Apparently, even in a world of magic, women are still oppressed.  I rooted for Biddy finding magic throughout the entire book, and I cheered when Biddy and Morgaine became the heroines.  There were a few pieces of the story I wanted more of, but I can’t divulge them here without giving away massive aspects of the story, so for now I’ll keep them to myself.  I am hoping this gets a sequel, because I’d love to see how Biddy and Morgaine progress in their new roles! 

Kristen Claiborn

            The Aardvark Book Club is a new addition to my monthly reading lists.  I had never heard of this group before, then all of a sudden they are all over my Instagram feed.  It seems like all of my book people are in love with this new book subscription service, even bailing on The Book of the Month Club in favor of this new group.  I’m always on board to try new books, so I decided to give their books a shot.  Like the Book of the Month Club, every month they curate five new releases to showcase, and thankfully, they’re all available at my local library.  March of 2023 was the first month I have them added to my TBR lists, so the jury’s still out on whether or not they’re any good, but if I had to base it on just the two I’ve read so far, I’d say they’re on the right track.

            I’m not much of a fantasy fan.  I usually avoid high fantasies (JRR Tolkien, George R.R. Martin, etc.), but I have been known to enjoy a fantasy based on myth or folklore, and almost always enjoy urban fantasies (Harry Potter, etc).  This one is an urban fantasy of sorts, based in the early 1900s, and it also contains elements of folklore, so I didn’t immediately hate it.  I do admit I struggled to engage with the story for most of the first half, but eventually I was fully invested and wanted to abandon my responsibilities to find out how it ended.  This one throws in some elements of ancient Gaelic folklore that I recognized, which did help to draw me into the story.  I enjoyed the relationship between magician and “daughter,” and I absolutely loved the rabbit.  That might have been my favorite character. 

            There are definitely themes of misogyny that helped to make the storyline interesting.  Apparently, even in a world of magic, women are still oppressed.  I rooted for Biddy finding magic throughout the entire book, and I cheered when Biddy and Morgaine became the heroines.  There were a few pieces of the story I wanted more of, but I can’t divulge them here without giving away massive aspects of the story, so for now I’ll keep them to myself.  I am hoping this gets a sequel, because I’d love to see how Biddy and Morgaine progress in their new roles! 

I've read one other book by Parry that I didn't enjoy, but I wanted to give this one a go anyways. It was fine. My main issue was the same as I had previously where I thought the premise was great, but the execution was lacking. The setting and magic were interesting, and I liked the characters, but I was so bored. The pacing was too slow, and there were parts, especially in the middle, that dragged on. The writing also skewed more on the YA side, but that didn't bother me as much. I think Parry nailed the atmosphere here, but the plot needed a bit of polish.

The Magician’s Daughter

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