I have no idea how to rate this book.

Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It just didn't click with me.

Technically, it's a postapo novel, but it reads more like a fantasy. An adventure story. The plot is decent, suspenseful, with little twists at the right places. It's technically a middle-grade but you notice this only when stumbling upon certain tropes I could do without (eg. villain's monologue at the end).

Worldbuilding is the best thing about the novel. It's an interesting world to look at; the landscape itself as well as its inhabitants, human and non-human alike. Stroud is that type of author who shows, doesn't tell (and that is what I like about him!) so you don't get to see the full picture. There is still a lot to explore and it's the main reason why I am looking forward to reading the next installment in the series.

The only problem I have is that I'm a character-driven reader. I need to care to be fully invested in a book. And this time I simply wasn't, none of the characters I felt attached to. Scarlett was too superhero-y for my liking and I missed Stroud's humor a lot. Lockwood & Co and Bartimaeus Sequence strike a perfect balance between thrilling plot and domesticity with loads of funny banter, this time only the plot drives the story forward. The good thing is that there seems to be a found family trope in the play (and I mean it quite literally), so I have high hopes for the next book *crosses fingers*