Spellbook of the Lost and Found – Moïra Fowley-Doyle

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: August 8th, 2017
Publisher: Kathy Dawson Books
Point of View: 1st Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Magica Realism, LGBT

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BLURB:

One stormy summer night, Olive and her best friend, Rose, begin to lose things. It starts with simple items like hair clips and jewellery, but soon it’s clear that Rose has lost something bigger; something she won’t talk about.

Then Olive meets three wild, mysterious strangers: Ivy, Hazel and Rowan. Like Rose, they’re mourning losses – and holding tight to secrets.

When they discover the ancient spellbook, full of hand-inked charms to conjure back lost things, they realise it might be their chance to set everything right. Unless it’s leading them towards secrets that were never meant to be found . . .

I find it crazy that a book with curious magic could not at least be a little spellbinding.

But it definitely isn’t. I read sixty boring, but charmingly-written pages of absolutely nothing at all before I decided not to take it anymore.

I get so giddy when I pick a book with witches up. I always think it’s going to transport me into another world. Witches have been my favourite creatures for such a long time.

It’s no wonder Magnus Bane is one of the best characters I’ve ever read about. What he does has no limit, and it goes the same for witches in general.

But these characters are not witches… that I know of. Not the best one to review this book, I admit, as I haven’t finished it, but granted, I don’t believe it’s worth you time and money.

I think it would have worked better as a contemporary story without the magical realism. Magical realism is a tricky theme to develop and the author has not done it well. The spell book feels so random, like it doesn’t fully belong into the story.

It also would have worked better with less of a large amount of characters. The alternation is supposed to give new perspectives to the readers, but instead, it just basically repeats the previous scene with new content added. Very repetitive.

So if you want beautiful magical realism, read ‘‘Hour of the Bees,’’ ‘‘The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender,’’ and/or ‘‘Still Life with Tornado.’’ Any of these books are five times more enjoyable than this particular unspectacular one.

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