I’m torn on this one. A lot to like, but a lot that put me off.  Spoiler free summary: I think this book, and the author, is way overhyped. There are some great ideas here but the execution falls flat and devolves into tropes.

The first part of the book of them as kids was not encouraging. A lot of YA tropes here: most distractingly, literally everyone except the main characters is an awful person: a combination of stupid, cowardly, and vicious. Kids are always getting framed for stuff and adults don’t believe them because they’re kids. Parents don’t let clearly precocious kids do the things that interest them, which makes no sense.

Way too much is going on: the far future stuff plus

the Unraveling plus Laurence’s machine plus magic

plus the central story of Patricia and Laurence made everything else feel discarded, especially the minor characters. CJA basically comes out and admits

even though Patricia’s parents had horrifying dramatic deaths,

she’s just going to shove that to the side and never talk about it for the rest of the book. The ending is tone deaf and out of character

considering that literally everyone that Patricia has had a personal bond with besides Laurence has died an excruciating death. These are people who were her close friends and family, for years and years.

Also we have no idea what is happening with the

assassin: where he comes from, whether his visions were accurate, why he is introduced as an assassin but seems like a rogue witch, why is he even in the story except as another adult bogeyman etc.

It was fast paced, which made it an enjoyable read. There’s a lot of honesty to be found in Laurence and Patricia: this is where all the character development is.

How Laurence views Serafina, his chip on his shoulder from his upbringing, Patricia’s chip on her shoulder from messing up in Siberia, etc. Their sex scene wasn’t gratuitous and made sense.

The fusions of magic and science are interesting, and I like how things connect in the end,

re The Tree and Peregrine.

I like the explorations of themes that did actually happen:

what is deemed ethical by the scientists vs the witches, whether Peregrine is benevolent or not, etc.