The Magician's Daughter is my first foray into H.G. Parry's writing, though it's her fourth published novel. It's a standalone historical fantasy set in 1912 that serves as a coming-of-age story for its teenage protagonist Bridget, known as Biddy. Biddy has grown up on the mythic island of Hy-Brasil, off the coast of Ireland (the legend of the island is real, not a fabrication of the author, even though you won't find it on any map). She knows that Rowan, the mage who raised her along with his rabbit familiar Hutchincroft, is not her father. He has never claimed to be. The story that he's told her is that she washed ashore from a shipwreck when she was an infant. She also knows that she's not allowed to leave the island, although Rowan does, voyaging out into the world in the form of a raven late at night without telling her where he goes or what he does there. Biddy, at the approximate age of sixteen, is getting tired of all the secrecy.

Soon though, Rowan's troubles reach a crisis point, and he resorts to enlisting Biddy in a scheme to entrap his enemies, granting her the long-awaited chance to see the real world that she's only read about in books. Biddy is not a magician herself, a trait that we understand is inherent to a lucky few and inaccessible to all others, but she does have a powerful magic spell embedded in her heart, and Rowan is counting on the spell's presence attracting the mages of England's powerful secret council that governs the use and distribution of magic. You see, although the existence of magic is a secret kept from most of society, seventy years prior the natural magic in the world started to dry up, and nobody knows why. The current leader of the council used the crisis to seize power, and Rowan was driven into hiding for his opposition.

What ensues is a book that, though told from the perspective of its teenage protagonist, feels at times like it's actually more about the relationships between Rowan and his erstwhile colleagues, their complicated pasts, and their disagreements on a path forward for the future of magic. Biddy's growing understanding of the world comes hand-in-hand with a new and more mature understanding of the man who raised her. The title The Magician's Daughter is a little bit of a tease. Biddy's origins are a mystery, as is the powerful magic locked in her heart, but is she truly the daughter of a magician? And in what sense? And if it turns out that she is unspecial and unchosen by birth, then does she still have what it takes to change the world?

Parry's writing and worldbuilding aren't dense, and her storytelling is assured and polished. This will be a relatively accessible book for the casual genre reader. I myself read an awful lot of historical (and historical-ish) fantasy. Enough that I know my own personal preference for true alternate histories over stories set in our timeline where magic is kept secret from the general public. In this case, I have a hard time buying the narrative that life became generally more desolate and hopeless for the citizenry worldwide in the years from 1842 to 1912 due to the disappearance of wild magic from the world, after which it suddenly returned an there was hope again. It's a slight affront to the belief that historical events and trends have real, observable sociological causes. Besides, there's a world war looming on the horizon, and in the absence of an obvious planned sequel, I just don't buy it. What I'm saying is that while books like The Magician's Daughter appeal to me immensely, and I found this one's strengths to well outweigh its weaknesses, it wasn't really a standout of the genre to me in any way. Read this one if you liked The Ten Thousand Doors of January. It's a similar breed.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for access to the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Reading The Magician's Daughter for the first time, i felt the same way i did when i read Howl's Moving Castle for the first time.

We follow the indelible Biddy as she travels from her hidden castle on the coast of ireland to the decrepit orphanages of london on a quest to save her family. Along the way she will discover the magic that surrounds her, and that lies within her, and it will put her to the test in many ways she cannot begin to imagine.

A stunning read and a brilliant personal introduction to H.G. Perry's writing. I cannot wait to read more from this author!

3.5 stars rounding up. A well-told story with some fun elements that has almost entirely evaporated from my brain in the three months since I read it. H.G. Parry clearly loves playing in the "magic in the late 18th-to-early-20th-century" space and I'll keep reading anything she writes, because I really like that space too. Definitely check out the book if that's your jam. But it's got me in a trap, because on the one hand I applaud standalone fantasy novels (as this appears to be), which are vanishingly rare, but on the other I felt there was meat left on the bone here in terms of the world Parry has created.

The Magicians Daughter is a Coming of Age Historical Fantasy set in 1912. We start the story on a magical island, Hy-Brasil, which is hidden off of the coast of Ireland. Hy-Brasil is inhabited by Biddy our main character, Rowan who is a magician and his loyal familiar Hutch. The story primarily follows Biddy who is sixteen, almost seventeen, as she leaves the island for the first time to travel to London. While in London Biddy is forced to come to terms with the fact that the world is not what she pictured or even what she read about and as the story unfolds she even begins to question those who are closest to her. Despite a significant age difference between myself and Biddy I really enjoyed Biddy as a main character and enjoyed seeing Biddy learn and grow as the story unfolded. I was very impressed with the world building and felt the historical aspects were well done. While reading I had no trouble visualizing the world and that is a huge compliment to Parry. In my opinion the ending felt a bit rushed but overall I found this read very enjoyable. I could not find anything online about a possible sequel in the works but the ending certainly left the door open for that. This was my first time reading anything by H.G. Parry and overall I am looking forward to reading more from Parry in the future.

It’s a rare book that is able to create a detailed, immersive world that also has richly developed and complicated characters. The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry, I am happy to write, is one of those books.

The novel takes place in a 1912 version of our world and follows Biddy, a 16-or-so-year-old girl who has lived on the magical island off the coast of Ireland called Hy-Brasil her entire life. She was raised by a magician named Rowan and his rabbit familiar, Hutchincroft, and she has met no other person since she washed up on the island’s shores as a baby.

Biddy loves her home but yearns to see the world beyond, a place she knows is full of people and a place that no longer has magic. Even Hy-Brasil, an isle once rife with magical energy is waning—the interdimensional rifts where magic had seeped into the world started closing up 70 years ago, making magic a scarce resource. In 1912, Rowan and the other magicians out there believe all of those rifts are gone, making the remnants of magic that remain something that other mages seek to hoard and have control over. Those other magicians find Rowan, Hutch, and Biddy one day when creatures made up of dead bone and sinew come to the island and attack Biddy. It turns out, Rowan hasn’t been honest with her about the state of the world or about Biddy herself, and the three leave Hy-Brasil for the deary streets of Whitechapel on a mission to protect themselves. That mission soon goes awry, and Biddy finds out there’s even more that she’s been left in the dark about. Her journey goes on from there, where she seeks to save those she loves and possibly even save magic itself.

[rest on Tor.com: https://www.tor.com/2023/03/01/book-review-the-magicians-daughter-by-h-g-parry/]

Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for this ARC in exchange for a review!

I have no large issues with this book, and I believe many others will thoroughly enjoy it, but I think it just wasn't for me or I read it at the wrong time.

This book begins with Biddy, a sixteen year old girl who lives on a magically hidden island off of Great Britain with a mage, Rowan, and his familiar, Hutch. Biddy herself is not a magical being, which frustrates her, and she dreams of leaving the island someday and seeing the world. Rowan often leaves the island, but one night he does not come back. Biddy is determined to help him, and we follow her along that journey.

The initial setting of the island is really enjoyable. It is magical and atmospheric, and I loved being there. Halfway through the book, however, you are brought to the "real world," which does not have the same charm. That is partially the point - Biddy realizes how horribly unjust the world is and wants to do what she can to help others. But I really missed the island once we left it.

Biddy is our main character, and it is fun to see the world for the first time through her eyes. However, I really struggled to understand who Biddy is and what made her her. I also did not understand how she was able to understand social cues when she has spent her entire life with a total of one and a half people (Hutch spends the majority of his time as a rabbit). How does she know when someone is lying? Everyone has their own tells, and a main theme in this book is that she didn't realize how much Rowan was lying to her as she was growing up. She felt to be too good of a narrator for me to truly believe she had grown up the way she had.

The main plot line is overall fairly uninteresting. I didn't understand the villain's motives, and it felt a bit overly simplistic. I didn't find myself very invested and was more interested in how the plot impacted the relationships of the characters.

This all being said, it was not bad. I enjoyed it on a surface level. I would not necessarily recommend it, but I wouldn't tell someone they shouldn't read it if it sounds appealing to them. I think this book just may not have been for me.

It took me a little while to get into this novel, but once I did it had fun, exciting fantasy vibes reminiscent of Harry Potter. I took one star off because I felt the first third of the book moved too slowly and could have been cut down a lot. Once Biddy made it to the council things started getting more action-packed. The B-characters were strong as well: Storm was the villain and Morgaine an ally, yet they both lived in VERY gray areas. I would love to see Storm resurrected as I love me a villain redemption story and it is a possibility in the world Parry built (then again, resurrection is a slippery slope in storytelling. You don't want to Game of Thrones/Supernatural it all to hell).
Biddy was (understandably, as she had been isolated from the world) kind of a blank slate through the novel, and I'd love to see her develop more agency if Parry continues the story. I think there's a lot to be said about gender disparity within the time period of the novel and seeing how Biddy confronts it. Also, this quote from Morgaine blew me away:

"If you’re out in the world for any length of time, there are going to be people who will accuse you of using sex as a weapon just because they’re afraid it would work on them if you did. It is a weapon, if you want to use it . But it isn’t the best or the only one you have, and you shouldn’t ever let them make you feel it is.”

Wow.

Thank you to Parry, the publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Sometimes you read a book expecting you’ll know all the basic story beats, and come out with something that feels so familiar, yet completely new. That’s The Magician’s Daughter in a nutshell.

The Magician’s Daughter starts with a classical coming-of-age fantasy beginning. A young girl, raised isolated from society, with only books and animals to inform her of the outside world. must venture out into the world when her guardian disappears and her life is in danger. That’s the start of Biddy’s story. There’s orphanages, animal familiars, secret magical societies, and it’s all oh so very British, in that quintessential fairy tale way.

Parry’s strength as a writer is really in her ability to develop such naturally human characters. The cast of this story, Biddy, Rowan, Hutch, and Morgaine, are all so well written, with their fears, desires, and personality quirks. Everyone in the cast makes their mistakes and yet their actions always feel natural. There’s never a point where it felt like some decision was forced for the sake of the story, and that’s such a surprisingly rare thing to see.

The story itself is fairly slow paced, but never one to a point where I found myself bored. The center of this story is Biddy’s coming-of-age, a sheltered young girl finding her own hidden strengths as she’s thrust through this world of secret magical societies and magicians out to get her, all while realizing that the idyllic life she once lived has unhappy secrets buried beneath. I adored Biddy’s character, as well as Rowan, her magician father figure because they’re not perfect people. There are mistakes and jealousies buried deep, yet seeing the two resolve their issues like mature people was just so so refreshing.

Overall, I rate this book a 4.5/5. The characters have such depth complexity and charm and the story itself kept me on my toes. A delightfully heartwarming coming-of-age story.

The Magician's Daughter is an adorable historical fantasy that has officially convinced me to read all of H.G. Parry's other books!

The story follows a magician named Rowan, his rabbit familiar Hutchincroft, and their adopted daughter Biddy as they set out on an adventure to restore magic to the world!

When I started reading this and came across references to Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess, I immediately knew that I was going to like this story.

There are so many classics mentioned, and I think it's cool that our MC Biddy reads as much as she does!

Also, I LOVE this little family! Every single interaction between Biddy and Hutchincroft made my heart very happy.

I guess I never really knew how much I needed to read about a rabbit parenting a young girl until I actually read this?

All in all, this is a top-tier feel-good fantasy book, and I highly recommend it!!

A dream of a book with gorgeous prose and turns of phrase that had me stopping to breathe them in. The emotions and characters felt very real, despite the fantastical setting. Magic seeped off the pages! I very much enjoyed it and recommend.

I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to get with this story, but I ended up adoring it. It started off so charming and sweet, then built the stakes throughout, until I was so incredibly nervous for our characters that I was physically upset when I thought one of them was in danger. I also never really knew where the plot was going--in the best of ways--but how everything came together has solidified this as a new favorite standalone fantasy. It feels like a new fairy tale, and I now can't wait to read other things by this author.

This was a pretty entertaining YA. Fantasy historical fiction with magic and whimsy. The book is set in 1912 and focuses on Biddy, who grew up on an island with her guardian, Rowan. He has forbidden her to leave, but she ignores his demands and heads to the mainland anyway. However, a turn of events causes her to have to refocus her plans back on her guardian and where she comes from. This was a heartfelt coming-of age story within a wonderful, whimsical world and I enjoyed being a part of it.

"The Magician's Daughter" was such a pleasure; I got hints of "The Tempest", "The Secret Garden" and Robin Hood from this story made up of: a terrifically rendered main character, a hidden, mythical island, an organization of sorcerers, and a diminishing supply of magic in the world. And while all that plays into the plot, I particularly loved the central relationships in the book amongst Biddy, Rowan and Hutchincroft.

Set in 1912, we meet sixteen-year old Biddy on Hy-Brasil. She lives an idyllic life on the island, which is hidden from the outside world by magic. Biddy's guardian Rowan and his familiar Hutchincroft (a rabbit) have raised and protected her since her infancy. Rowan frequently leaves the island searching for remnants of magic, but has forbidden Biddy from ever leaving the seeming safety of the island.

After an attack that penetrates Rowan's defences on the island and which endangers Rowan's life, he decides it's time to take Biddy to London to draw out the sorcerers who would hurt her so he can deal with them. Biddy is a little overwhelmed by London but also fascinated, and discovers how incredibly lucky she was to grow up on Hy-Brasil with her loving guardians.

Of course the trap Rowan laid fails, and Biddy is captured, drawing her into the dangerous politics and scheming of the sorcerers. Parry's magical world, its practitioners, and their relationships to their familiars was well portrayed, and sets the high stakes of the situation once Rowan is also captured. Not only does Biddy discover a number of shocking things about her past, Rowan, and the machinations within the group of sorcerers, Biddy meets Morgaine, with whom Rowan has been involved in the past.

Morgaine is a sorcerer who's risen far up within the group's leadership, but still deals with the misogyny of the other sorcerers; Morgaine also reveals that she and Rowan have long worked to discover the cause of the vanishing magic. Though initially not willing to trust Morgaine, Biddy must rely on her, especially once Rowan's life is in peril, as Biddy must figure a way though all the dangerous problems she's now entangled in.

Biddy is charming; she's naïve about the world but not lacking in caution. She loves to read, and matures believably with each new experience she has. Though lacking in magic herself, she uses what she's learned from books, her intelligence and her compassion when making decisions. She's a delightful character.

Hutch was fantastic, I appreciated how caring and appealing he was. Who would have thought a rabbit could be so staunch and tough? And acerbically funny.

I appreciated Rowan's behaviour to Biddy: protective, a little offhand at times, indulgent, but always loving. I loved how H.G. Parry gradually revealed much more about his behaviour, and how that complicated how Biddy saw him as she realized that he was partially responsible for some of the problems they were now experiencing.

The writing was lovely; I could feel the peace of Hy-Brasil, the noise of London streets, and feel the emotions amongst the characters, while the author built tension or pulled at my heartstrings. "The Magician's Daughter" was charming.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Redhook Books for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Utterly adored this; I absolutely loved the writing -- I thought the lyricism was absolutely gorgeous. The setting was beautiful too, and really sold it for me.

The Magician's Daughter is a delightful fantasy novel. It has a dreamy, fairy-tale feel that I found hard to put down. Reading this book I often fell victim to the "Just One More Chapter" issue. Yes, I missed my bedtime by several hours. I will definitely hand sell this book and plan to find more books by this author. Highly recommend!!

The Magician's Daughter by H. G. Parry has one of my favorite covers! An epic Irish Fantasy that belongs on every library shelf! I felt so lucky to get a copy for myself! I have shared on my goodreads, bookstagram, and booktok!

This story is told in third person and follows a sixteen-year-old girl, Biddy, who grew up on an isolated magical island filled with magical creatures and her guardian, Rowan, and his rabbit familiar, Hutchincroft, who took on a nanny type role with Biddy. It is a slow moving but compelling coming of age story. Biddy has been sheltered on this island most of her life and as much as she loves it, she longs to stretch her wings and see more of what the world has to offer, but for reasons that she cannot fathom, she’s not allowed to leave.

It was filled with wonderful, multi-faceted characters with secrets as well as villains with questionable agendas and sometimes sympathetic history. I thought the magical world was lovely and immersive. I found Biddy to be courageous, empathetic and curious. I enjoyed watching her adventure out into the world even though she had misgivings about leaving the home that she loved to do so. The relationship bonds between Biddy and Hutch and Rowan and Hutch were both heartwarming and lovely, propelling and supporting Biddy through her travails.

Recommended to fantasy readers who enjoy quiet but compelling coming of age stories.

Thank you to Netgalley and Redhook Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

The Magician’s Daughter by H.G. Parry is a great stand alone historical fantasy. I was really looking forward to this given how much I enjoyed The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep and luckily this historical fantasy novel also delivered. It's a little bit more slower paced than what I usually go for, but I liked getting to know the characters and exploring their world. Plus, I especially enjoyed the cozy atmosphere and setting of Hy-Brasil in comparison to the outside world in terms of magic. Also, I know this is an adult novel, but I'd say that it would almost work a little better reading it as YA instead.

Whimsical and full of heart, The Magician's Daughter evokes similar feelings to a T.J Klune Novel.

Readers follow Biddy, an orphan living on the elusive Island of Hi-Brasil. The island is protected from the outside world by magic with only the rare traveler coming ashore. The island is a home Biddy loves but as she watches her guardian, Rowan, leave each night on secretive missions, her interest is piques as to what lies beyond her beloved him. One day Rowan doesn't return and Biddy must decide if she will leave the protection and magic of Hi-Brasil and face the treacherous world to save him.

Parry has created a world thats just so cozy. It's hard to decide what's more lovable the layers characters or the beautiful atmosphere. Together they create a slow and methodical story that feels like a warm cuppa.

The Magician's Daughter isn't necessarily low stakes fantasy but it is a sweet and comforting offering within the genre. A mood readers literal dream when they need something to decompress.

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A girl is raised on a remote island with a mysterious magician and his rabbit familiar. While her world is infused with magic and beauty, Biddy knows one thing for sure - she can’t leave. But when her magician protector, Rowan, doesn’t return from his nightly wanderings, she is pulled from her idyllic sanctuary and thrust into a conflict with deadly risk. Infused with Irish folklore and whimsical magic, this book dances through its plot… and here it finds its downfall.

Once Biddy’s veil is lifted, we are supposed to follow her into a new world where the magic and her role in it are explained. But it’s just… not. Suddenly we have magical objects, spells, familiars, creatures, shapeshifting, dream walking, and on and on with absolutely no explanation. Magic comes from *somewhere* else, but that isn’t explored either. I know this is a standalone YA historical fantasy and so some surface-level construction is to be expected… but still.

Eventually, I just decided to ride with it and enjoy the adventure. Even though the scope of the story is small, its impact is big. Biddy is likable and readable, and somehow is able to solve alllll of the problems. As long as you can enjoy the tide, I would recommend this for younger readers. It just wasn’t what I wanted it to be.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to receive an eARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.