Member Review

Anabelle Gage lives in a world where magic makes the lives of the few who possess it in great quantities a lot easier. She dreams of attending the prestigious Paragon Academy mostly because it would give her a chance to abandon the rotting male body she currently finds herself in. When her latest failure to get in leads her to attempt a robbery to get a better body, she's quickly caught by none other than the headmaster of Paragon and basically blackmailed into being his mercenary and pulling off the heists and murders he can't be seen participating in. Ana is about to discover that a lot of what she thought was true in her world might be as real as her illusion magic, with the fate of more than just her finding a new body in the balance.

3.5 stars for this one because it has great moments, but it also never really kept my attention like I would have expected from how much I liked elements of it.
Lord gets very creative when it comes to using predictable tropes, so even when you know where it's heading, you're enjoying the way things are developing. I also really liked Anabelle as a guide through the story, along with the other characters who play big roles in her and their world's stories. I really enjoyed how it gives the reader a chance to explore other aspects of the society they live in that play a big role, but there's no reasonable way for Ana to interact with them. Also, there's some great foreshadowing leading to the big reveal towards the end that I only realized was there after the fact, and I always love it when writers manage that.
However, I didn't feel the need to know what happened next in the story. There were points where the emotions pull you in, but then things start to feel like Lord is trying a little too hard to make sure that you're connecting with the story and it had the opposite effect with me.
Overall, I found it shows the author's potential and presents some fascinating points, but it just didn't completely hit the mark with me.

Happy thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, and Henry Holt and Co. for the read!