Book Synopsis:
For Marit Olsen, magic is all about strategy: it flows freely through her blood, but every use leaves behind a deadly, ice-like build-up within her veins called the Firn. Marit knows how dangerous it is to let too much Firn build up—after all, it killed her sister—and she has vowed never to use her thread magic. But when Eve, a fellow orphan whom Marit views like a little sister, is adopted by the wealthy Helene Vestergaard, Marit will do anything to stay by Eve’s side. She decides to risk the Firn and uses magic to secure a job as a seamstress in the Vestergaard household.
But Marit has a second, hidden agenda: her father died while working in the Vestergaards’ jewel mines—and it might not have been an accident. The closer Marit gets to the truth about the Vestergaard family, the more she realizes she and everyone she’s come to love are in danger. When she finds herself in the middle of a treacherous deception that goes all the way up to the king of Denmark, magic may be the only thing that can save her—if it doesn’t kill her first.
My Review:
5/5 stars. I loved this book so much! The concept really intrigued me, but then the book went beyond what the premise described and had so many amazing themes and was filled with beautiful writing. The characters and setting were vivid, too. And the ending - words can’t even express how much I loved everything about the ending of this book.
From the premise alone - a magic that physically affects the user and the fact that it's a historical fiction - this book sounded somewhat similar to Enchantee, another historical fantasy I've read and loved. Because of that, I already had high hopes going in. This book far exceeded my expectations, though, and touched on so many themes that were never mentioned in the description.
This book had beautiful prose and was very poetic at times. I loved how things were described. I also loved all the sewing/fabric/needle metaphors which fit with the fact that the main character has seamstress magic. It was clever and creative.
Another theme that was brought up was with taking risks. The main character didn't want to use her magic very often because Firn would build up, and she didn't want it to kill her. On the other hand, though, she thought about how a lot of things people do come with a risk, so is the efficiency from the magic worth it. That didn't really come up again after, but it was a small thing I liked.
I loved all the character dynamics and relationships. All the servants had a fun dynamic, the romance was cute, and I loved Marit's relationship with Eve. The characters were so lovable and easy to imagine. They were easy to care about and root for. They were well-rounded with flaws and unique personalities. Even the side characters who were barely fleshed-out were enjoyable.
The only real complaint I have with this book - and it's not even really a complaint - is that the timeline was a little confusing and didn't seem to make sense. It took me a long time to figure out Marit's age, and I still don't know if my guess is correct. The year her father was born was stated, but based on that, the year the story takes place, and how much older Marit's sister is than her, it doesn't seem to fully line up. This could be my fault and I'm just not understanding it, but it was a little unclear. I like to have a sense of how old the main character is right away and I didn't get that with this book.
Finally, the ending was amazing. I was already loving the book and planning to give it five stars, but the last few chapters really solidified that for me. I don't even know what specifically it is about the ending that I love so much, but I just do. The message of evil being turned on its head and using the villain's methods for good is one thing that was powerful to me.
One of the last few chapters had a fake-out death with the main character, but I would honestly not have been upset if she had ended up dying. I'd be happy with either outcome. It's great that she gets to live, but her death would've been a fitting ending, too. She sacrificed herself so she would have died a hero.
Content:
Language: Barely any. The only words used are d-mn and h-ll, and only once or twice
Sexual Content: Kissing and thinking about someone's touch and presence
Violence: People die and get killed. Most of the violence is at the end during the big fight. Blood and injuries are described a bit.
Drugs/alcohol: The main characters drug another character just enough to put him to sleep. Otherwise, nothing.
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