3.5 rating, up to 4 for great magical world.

I liked this book, I didn't know what to expect when I first started reading and the summary sounded more scary than I thought, which is great, because I don't do scary. This book kind of reminds me of Harry Potter, but in a different way. It's mythical in nature but doesn't have to do with magic, that you would think of.

I enjoyed the main character Holly and the school tutor Ovissa. We have Holly starting in her first year at school and learning about the magical world she lives in. Holly has seen some things as a child that most people would just brush off that they must have seen wrong and it's sweet in the way she takes all the mythical stuff in. We see Ovissa's POV, one of the tutors and see how an experienced person navigates the world of Obscura. The author has painted a good picture of this new world hidden from the regular world and I want to learn more about it, especially through both Holly and Ovissa eyes.

The book, especially in the beginning can be a bit wordy at times, as I feel the author could explain or describe things too much. Early on in the book, there is a chapter of a girl who heard a noise and is standing at her doorknob afraid to open the door. It took about 3 pages of the girl thinking of why she shouldn't open the door, things that could happen to her, or what could be on the other side of the door. It was things like that, where I feel like half that thought process could be cut or shorten down and have the same feelings, of fear the girl has, still come through to the readers.

Sometimes the same phrases that were said in a sentence or paragraph earlier were said again, as if the author didn't trust the reader would remember. Or maybe another reason, but it just came off as a redundancy.

I started bookmarking them in about chapter 6, because I was noticing it a bit more. Some examples.
"...walked to her bedroom, very slowly and quietly. Extremely slowly and quietly. The slowest and quietest that she had ever moved in her entire life."
"Again, they were not the brightest of creatures in the hidden world." We were told about a page before they were one of the less intelligence creatures. I don't think in the same chapter we needed to be told again.
"She was still sitting opposite the weirdest geography teacher, probably the weirdest person, she had ever met."

Great story and characters and most of the book is good but there's stuff that need to be edited down. Sometimes less is more and I'm not talking about the description of the world of Obscura. The author does a great job of describing the world and of the few rules and laws that Holly has learned.

The first chunk of the book, builds towards the rest of the book in other non-essential characters POV but it is building towards the end. It might feel confusing or like it takes a bit to get to the main story or Holly parts.

I won the book in a giveaway for a honest review.

I was happy with the book and will keep and eye out for book 2. ( )