The Fascinators Review

E-ARC, 304 Pages
YA/ Fantasy/ LGBT
By: Andrew Eliopulos
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

If you believe it, you can achieve it,” Denver said, ridiculously. “That’s like the number-one rule of magic.”

🌟 Every year there is a YA LGBT book that many readers anticipate and this year it is going to be this one! I was excited when I was approved for an E-ARC of this in exchange of an honest review. I had high expectations for this one (I mean look at the fascinating cover!!!) because it is pitched as The Raven Boys meets Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and I think that is not very accurate. I know some readers will be disappointed or will have lukewarm feelings for this book and this review is for you!

🌟 Let me start with the writing which was good. I did not think it was lyrical or very special but it flowed easily. I am not going to talk much about the writing because there is not much to say! Let’s jump to the important parts.

🌟 The characters were not very memorable, I am pretty sure I will have forgotten them by the time the book is released. The characters in my opinion also did not bring anything new to the YA world. I believe that they were characters I already read before with the same cliches and tropes that are always used and that was my first disappointment.

“Sometimes, Sam, we fight with people because we care about them too much to give up on them.”

🌟 The world-building was also vague in my opinion, there was some magic but I can’t understand what are the limitations and rules. The system was not explained very well, comparing it to the HP series (Just because it is the most known wizard series) I knew it had more potential but it never reached it! That was my second disappointment.

🌟 The third disappointment was the plot because it was slow at first and very rushed at the end. When I had few pages left, I started questioning if it was a series and if I missed this info by mistake. But I did not miss anything, it is a standalone and it is rushed! What really happened is that I read the ending and flipped the page to see the next page only to realize the story has ended. We have the same tropes in every LGBT book which are daddy issues, fights and misunderstandings (And the characters insist on not talking to solve the most basic of stuff) and other tropes. I guess it reads more like a contemporary with fantasy elements or maybe I am just saying that because I am used to more complicated and well-established magic systems and complicated fantasy books!

‘You don’t judge your friends by what they do one time’? I guess that only applies to boys you think are cute.”

🌟 Summary: I had high hopes for this book and they were unfortunately not met. The writing is good but the characters, plot, and world-building were all average. I guess it will still be a successful book and I will be happy if it is!