Synopsis

(via Amazon)

Review

This is the first book I have read from Charlie Holmberg, and I am definitely a fan. The way she describes not only the whimsical energy of the magic but the psychedelic nature of the main conflict of the story, is very well defined. You can hear and see the paper creatures flying through the air and feel the valves of Thane’s heart constricting around Ceony, nearly suffocating her. It is brilliant.

Now there is some language that is used, particularly by the antagonist, Lira. There is also one gory scene in the second half of the book that does not last long, but it is pretty important and adds more sustenance for character development. There is also a teacher X student romantic interest (nothing weird or inappropriate) as well as a decent age-gap of about 11 years (they are both adults). Something else that bothered me a bit was the fact a 19-year-old female is sent to live with a 30-year-old man alone. Again, nothing happens, and their relationship is purely professional, but that would not fly for me in real life lol

The magic is hands-down my favorite aspect of the story. Basically, each magician, once they graduate from school, is sired to a certain man-made material in which they can learn to control. For example, Ceony and Thane are both attached to paper so they can create animated origami animals that do their bidding. They can also cause the words on pages to become moving pictures similar to holograms. Ceony is upset in getting paired with paper because she thought it was one of the weakest materials to weld, which is understandable. However, as time goes on, she becomes increasingly aware of its true power and versatility. I am excited to explore the uses of other materials within the sequels.

Ceony (I have been pronouncing it like Peony the flower) had her heart set on being a metal magician with the dream of fabricating weapons and ammunition, you know, powerful stuff. She becomes disheartened when she is stuck with paper due to there being very little “folders” in England. She begins with a bad attitude with her mentor Thane, very uninterested in learning the trade. Overtime, she starts seeing not just the beauty of paper magic, but it’s overall use and practicality. She begins to love the art and gets increasingly better at summoning her own whimsical creations of paper. Her character begins focusing less on herself, and more on the needs of Thane who gets in a bit of a pickle when his heart is stolen by Lira, the excisioner (an illegal form of magic that uses blood and other living material). Ceony has to become selfless and resourceful in order to save him.

Thane is the main folder in the story. He comes off a bit eccentric, with his paper chains all over the place and paper skeleton roommate. He seems to enjoy Ceony’s company from the very beginning, even with her unenthusiastic nature. Showing much patience and intelligence, he clearly takes his role as mentor seriously and wants to teach Ceony as much as possible. After his heart gets taken, we learn things about his past and character that honestly felt quite intrusive. It felt similar to reading a stranger’s diary while they are in a coma, the good and the bad. His true history when it comes to Ceony becomes more known as well which further stokes the flames of Love. He is a caring individual that has been shaped by the regret and tragic events of his life.

Lira is the main antagonist and is the least developed I would say. You get a bit of her beginnings, before she turned evil, but you do not get a good understanding as to why she chose to go down that path. This makes sense due to us seeing things mainly from Thane’s perspective from his heart, so of course he would not know. The heart has a way of blinding us after all.

There is a subtle romance plot that develops a bit by the end of the book in a rather unique way. It opens up the possibility of more development in the sequels, so I was not disappointed.

I definitely enjoyed this book and had a fun time reading it! I have high hopes for the remainder of the series for sure.