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Friday, February 5, 2010

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
Release Date: December 22, 2009
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Age Group: Young Adult
Overall: 5

Nimira is a trouser girl, which is basically a girl who sings and dances for pennies in front of drunk, unruly men. Nimira is beautiful, exotic, and in her country she would be revered for her profession, but not here. Here she is treated like someone lowly, someone not worth the time of the wealthy.

Nimira has always dreamed of walking away from this life, of becoming more than a trouser girl. And when Hollin Parry walked into her life, everything changes. Hollin hires Nimira to sing with a piano playing automaton (thank god for the game Syberia, or I wouldn’t have known what an automaton even was!), an automaton that is rumored to be haunted and has already scared off more than a few other girls in the past.

There’s something about the mysterious automaton that draws Nimira in, and with good reason. In reality, the automaton contains the spirit of the long lost fairy prince, Erris, and that’s not the only secret that Nimira stumbles upon.

Hollin lives in a world of secrets. Scary secrets. Secrets that have been long hidden, there’s the rumors of ghosts, demons, witches, and a group of sorcerers that torture fairies for sport and are on the cusp of starting a fairy war. This wasn’t exactly the world Nimira imagined when she left with Hollin.

I must start by saying that I absolutely adore the characters! Nimira brings this perfect mixture of strength, knowledge, and innocence. Hollin almost constantly toes the line between a villain and a hero, but he’s still a totally fascinating character; flawed, yet noble. Erris is charming and sincere; he’s strong, even without a “voice.” Then there’s the little used Linza, she’s that raw youth, the purity of being naïve, but still knowing.

What makes Magic Under Glass so encapsulating isn’t only the characters, it’s also the world that Jaclyn Dolamore has created around these characters. It’s beautiful, magical, mysterious, and dangerous all rolled into one. All you need is romance and you’ve got a fabulous story that will keep you occupied for hours, and Jaclyn Dolamore totally delivers.

Nimira’s voice is strong and her situation made her compelling, it was easy to care for her. All I wanted was for her to find the safety and security that she desired. The relationship between her and Erris was this beautiful, Romeo & Juliet-esque romance. It’s the kind of story that a hopeless romantic (such as myself) will adore. And there’s even beauty in the relationship that Nimira and Hollin have, even in all its complexity.

It almost felt as if Magic Under Glass was too short, at least for me. I wanted more time with Nimira, Hollin, and Erris, I wanted more time in their world. The ending seemed like it was abrupt and came out of nowhere. But there was also the impression that it was setting up a sequel. I hope there will be a sequel, and if there is, I will be first in line to read it. This is definitely a story I need to know what happens and I must know where Nimira and Erris’ journey takes them next.

Plot: 4
Writing: 4
Characters: 5
Ending: 3
*Cover: 5
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I received this book as part of Around the World Tours.

*This rating is based purely on the image itself. I know all about the controversy with the cover of Magic Under Glass, and while I do not think what Bloomsbury did (again) was right, I do like the image. I think it's a very beautiful image. And this rating also applies to the new cover, which I think is absolutely GORGEOUS!

2 comments:

  1. Finally! A review! All I've seen so far is "scandal" over the cover.
    This sounds really cool! Great review! Wish I could think of more to say, but all I think is, "I wanna read this!"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Great review! Hehe, I love the word "encapsulating." I really liked the premise too, though, eh, the characters somehow didn't connect to me that much. I can't wait for the sequel though and to see the new cover! :)

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for reading! Comments are always appreciated!