An Unkindness of Magicians (1) (Unseen World, The) Paperback – Unabridged, June 5, 2018

Received in exchange for a honest review.I was enchanted and snared by the tendrils of this great dark twist on the world of magic.The writing was incredible and the story had a lot going on. It is told in the view of Sydney as she enters the world of magic away from the House of Shadows with her own intent. What does Sydney show us? So much. She shows us the good and bad of magic. The consequences of magic and gets others like Laurent to see who pays the price for those above using magic.The story has a horrible serial killer killing for the need for more magic. A woman intent on gaining more power only to have her world tumble and she becomes humbled. Two honorable young men one out to prove himself and the other out to show up his father and a young woman who makes a great sacrifice for magic in and of itself.We are embarking on the great tournament called the Turning. Here the houses duke it out to become head of magic. This gives the house basically control of everything including the House of Shadows. A dark and not so nice place where sacrificial lambs are so others may not pay the price for the magic they use. It is a well of magic. Only there is more to meet the eye. Magic has been polluted by greed. Greed that now has magic becoming out of control. We see this in the turning at some of the challenges and only Sydney can truly fix this.While this is being discovered we learn about Laurent and how he wants his own house. He is the one Sydney chooses to represent and they do develop a friendship. He shows Sydney not all those with magic are greedy but honorable and will do what is right. He is her friend and this is something she takes seriously. Even if her motives aren’t quite the same as hers. She does respect him and see that once he learns the truth of magic he wants to right the wrongs he has done. He is quite loyal to his greedy friend who has many wondering about him.The other man who gives us smiles is Ian. He is one that Sydney doesn’t want to like but does. She notices he is different. He doesn’t use the well of magic because he knows and cares. He also believes in her and they have a dalliance going on.The characters are polarizing. Either you like or don’t like. And this is based on their actions. Grey for example you begin liking but once his actions are seen you sneer. At times you do feel bad for him but as you see his character you do hope that he gets his just desserts. Ian you respect and like especially with how he is willing to give up for his sister’s safety and his friendship with Sydney. Laurent you can’t help but like. He isn’t greedy or wanting. He wishes to have a house so anyone can have a place to belong that other Houses reject. Sydney is a strong character as well that you truly respect.With each page the story gets more twisted, darker and enthralling. You see great character development and a story that is character driven. There are several plots that intertwine and keep you guessing but also in the moment. As you get further in the Turning and the danger ratchets up so does the mystery of what is going on with magic, the House of Shadows and it’s reasons and hopefully downfall and all that the characters are having happen in their world and how it changes. The writing is elegant and ensnares you from the beginning. A wonderful dark and intriguing twist on the world of magic that has you from beginning to end.

The book had really wonderful ways to describe how people used their magic. I wish it had more ways to explain why being the head of the magical houses was so important because I saw no real benefit to it. The villains were also very easily dealt with in this book and I think maybe as a screen play would have been more effective for the stuff written in here. But It was enjoyable and I managed to finish it.

5 Stars due to the author's obvious hard work and creativity. Self publishing cannot be easy. Writer was completely capable of delivering a strong story, some decent characters, eloquent use of the English language but not overdone (as it is YA genre). My 2 problems standing out with this novel are, 1. It comes off as punishing and abusive toward men as a collective. 2. The insults that characters hurled toward one another derived from hatred or rage during more intense scenes were lacking in overall quality. That being said, in regards to the latter (being my personal opinion) when insults were delivered during a more subtle scene they were witty & intelligent, they had equal parts charm and danger and were beyond wonderful. Kat Howard did a wonderful job bringing this story to the readers and I will keep an eye out for her future works. Also: I purchased a 2nd copy because I believe my niece will absolutely love this book.

I am 18 pages into this book and while what is happening is interesting enough, the fact that Howard writes in sentence fragments is driving me absolutely crazy. There is no need to break up every descriptive paragraph into 1 simple sentence and 2-5 incomplete fragments.Take this example:"Dim lights flickered on the walls. Fireflies underwater, luminescence below glass. The only sound the muted echo of her footsteps."First sentence, okay. Second "sentence"... where the hell is the subject? Third "sentence"... why is there no verb? All three of these "sentences" could have been combined into one grammatically correct sentence with ease.The thing is, the descriptions are decadent and beautiful; they're transportive. But the method of delivery tears me right out of the story.**************Okay, so I'm about 40 pages from the end of this book now, and I don't think my star rating is going to change at all. I wanted to like this main character. I really did. But I never really got the opportunity to root for her, to fear for her, to feel sorry for her. She's all bravado and snarky comments and "I'm fine.", always playing Susie Badass with zero drawbacks, zero pitfalls, zero moments of panic or weakness. (I know that the magic she does takes a toll on her physically, but even this doesn't really garner any sympathy from me.)MINOR SPOILERS: Specifically, when she faces a certain villain in the book (and the scene after which I am writing this review), the whole encounter takes exactly 35 lines of text. That's roughly a page and a half in the book I own. In this battle, the bad guy, who truly we are meant to loathe and despise (and Howard does accomplish this; he's despicable), doesn't get one word in edgewise while Sydney rakes him over the coals. He has no chance to cast a spell, and the moment he tries, at the very beginning of the encounter, it's quite literally flicked away "with the casualness of shooing a fly". There is no epic battle scene. There's no harrowing moments of "oh my god will she really die here?!?!?!" There's nothing but vigilante justice against his crimes.And sure, I was glad he was dead... but the end result felt cheap and shallow and unsatisfying. He was squashed like an actual bug, without being able to even grunt his fury. After chapters and chapters of build up and people worrying for Sydney's safety and this bad guy doing terrible things... we get 35 lines where he does nothing but get torn to shreds.And it's not JUST this battle that left me wanting. All of the battles in the Turning felt underwhelming and rushed. I can understand why they're not a big deal in the beginning, before they turn mortal, but even after they do I never once worried for her--or even for the people she fought, 80% of whom we never knew and who were written as weaklings or arrogant twits who "deserved" the loss.MINOR SPOILER: She's pitted against her lover at one point, and we're supposed to be torn up about it. Supposed to be going "Oh no! Oh my god! Not this!" but not only does Sydney have ZERO emotional chemistry with this guy, she clearly has no qualms about slaughtering him. She even mocks his hesitancy to fight her.I won't tell you how that scene ends, but you can bet it's another 35 lines of disappointment. And the fallout you might expect after? Nonexistent. Broham doesn't seem to care too much that the chick he's banging and might actually have feelings for would have slaughtered him like a pig.So yeah. Hard to care very much about ANY of these characters. In fact, the ONLY emotional bond I felt with anything in the book was with a freaking sentient house. NOT KIDDING.Now that I've said all that, I'm not saying this book is BAD. It's not. The writing, if you can get around the bizarre style choice, is good. The machinations that go on between the people in the book are an intricate spiderweb of political intrigue.That said. I've had better. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I've bought and gifted this book 5 times now.I just bought my 6th one. This one is for keeps.Kat Howard tweeted my back letting me know she is working on a sequel. You can Google this for more info.I love this book. One of my fav's :)

I'm a fantasy and sci-fi reader - It's been an awful long time since I had this much fun reading a story. Maybe not the most profound or literary work - but after an exhausting week and a brutally trying weekend to come, this hit the spot. Thank you!

A whole different New York with a hidden, twisted dark society. The magic system is novel, I loved the kick-ass MC, the political intrigue and the action. Great read, would recommend.

Lovely book, I can’t wait to read the next one! A good twist on a magic book. Loved it so much

I really enjoyed this one. Came as a recommendation from one of my clients... great for young women.