Overview
Joanna Kalotay lives alone in the woods of Vermont, the sole protector of a collection of rare books; books that will allow someone to walk through walls or turn water into wine. Books of magic.
Her estranged older sister Esther moves between countries and jobs, constantly changing, never staying anywhere longer than a year, desperate to avoid the deadly magic that killed her mother. Currently working on a research base in Antarctica, she has found love and perhaps a sort of happiness.
But when she finds spots of blood on the mirrors in the research base, she knows someone is coming for her, and that Joanna and her collection are in danger.
If they are to survive, she and Joanna must unravel the secrets their parents kept hidden from them – secrets that span centuries and continents, and could cost them their lives …
The Review
My SECOND five-star review of the year, and I cannot believe that I’ve given this already. But this book left me breathless.
Despite my best efforts, I can’t find any flaw in this novel and it’s a read that will be with me for a long time. It’s the first magical book that made magic feel real, the story carved out and written with such a normalcy that I believed in it. The story is fast, thick and pacy, hooking you from the beginning to the very end. It flows effortlessly and I read it in a matter of days.
This book is a brilliant unit in and of itself, but there is undoubtedly room for a sequel.
Easily a five-star rating and so far, my number one.
