La trama está llena de secretos y giros, con los cuales la autora nos mantiene intrigad@s, y hace que llegue un punto en que no podamos parar de leer debido a las revelaciones que se hacen y lo que va aconteciendo. Por otra parte, lo novedoso del sistema de magia también es algo muy atrayente, puesto que vamos a ir descubriendo cómo funciona esta sociedad mágica, los distintos clanes que existen y cómo hacen magia cada uno de ellos. De igual manera, el argumento de la novela se centra tanto en el pasado de Anna, como en su historia familiar, que quizás no es como se la han contado, y en los conflictos de las brujas y las diversas formas de magia. There’s no cliffhanger ending as the crux of this part of the story does get cleared up but I just can’t wait for the unfolding of the drama that forms Anna’s curse and emotional upheaval of that love that is assuredly going to create a hell lot of problems. The first in a new fantasy trilogy, Anna's aunt has always warned her of the dangers of magic and now, aged 16, she is counting down the days to a ceremony that will bind her magic forever. That is, until her eyes are opened to a London she never knew existed one with a shop that sells memories, a secret underground library and nightclubs full of magic.' - Woman Magazine Ever since Anna can remember, her aunt has warned her of the dangers of magic. She has taught her to fear how it twists and knots and turns into something dark and deadly.

I really enjoyed this book! This feels like a blend of Harry Potter, Practical Magic, and Sabrina (the Netflix one). It's got dark academia vibes features a young coven full of outcasts at a school of normies/cowen. This book is pretty dark; there's heavy presence of extreme physical and mental abuse from a parental figure who is practically an anti-witchcraft binder witch, plus there's the whole murder-suicide of parents and the mystery surrounding that.

The plot seemed to move ahead quite slowly and haphazardly. While the ending does redeem the book, the overall story left me feeling like something was missing. Anna is a character that I enjoyed reading. Her characterisation was excellently done. A timid and sheltered girl, abused and fed of beliefs that her existence is not important and turning into someone stronger, resilient and mostly level-headed. I love how Anna brings herself to the world, and I honestly want to hug her for everything that she had to face when she was a child. Please be warned to everyone that the Body harm, abuse and gaslighting is quite extreme in this book, and if you feel that you can't stomach it, I would suggest to put this book on hold. Other than that, I somehow liked that the author portrayed Anna's hardships as it made her a witch that seeks to be helpful to everyone. Bueno... ha sido todo un viaje esta lectura: lo empecé con muchísimas ganas, y aunque sí me estaba interesando, y me enganchaba, también sentía que le estaba costando bastante a la historia arrancar, que la introducción se alargaba más, y más. Es verdad que hay mucho que contar acerca del funcionamiento de la magia, de la vida de Anna, su pasado y su relación con su tía, y el resto de personajes... pero es que no es hasta mucho después, pasada la mitad de la novela, cuando al fin empieza a desvelarse algo de todo el misterio y al fin avanza la trama realmente. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harper Voyager, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, for granting my wish to read this book. Magic exists. Magic exists and it is dangerous. Magic exists and it is never to be spoken of, to be bound tight, to be stifled with the soul, to be extinguished. This is what Anna has been taught. Her whole life has been spent in preparation for the time when she will forever bind close the doors to the magic that she has access to. She fears the potential that is inside of her. But maybe, buried deep, a part of her longs for it too.

I did enjoy this book. The thought that went into the world building, and the manner in which magic worked was well d I don’t know why, but I thought this was adult fantasy when it was overtly YA from the off. That meant some teen drama and behaviour I wasn’t expecting and I don’t know if it was just that change to my expectations that brought this read down a bit. I wasn’t always keen on Anna’s grudging companions through the story although some did grow on me.Only once everything starts being revealed does it make sense but wow. Was not expecting ANY of those reveals. Cari manages to breathe new life into the genre with a unique take on witchcraft that is inspired by both the traditional as well as something entirely new. No hubo grandes giros ni sorprensas en las personalidades de los personajes y eso fue lo que no me terminó de convencer. Todos los personajes caían en estereotipos o si eran algo más complejos como la tía de Anna o Selene, al final eran... lo que parecían ser, no había profundidad mayor en sus construcciones o motivaciones. Y la autora tuvo casi 600 páginas para darnos algo un poco más elaborado. Lo mismo con Effie, me cargó, no la soporté, pero creí que podría haber algo interesante en ella y para el final me tuve que creer una relación de amistad con Anna que nunca pude ver. De hecho, toda la amistad en el libro, exceptuando Attis y Rowan, se veía como esa amistad de adolescencia que se produce por la cercanía y cierta idea de un beneficio mutuo, no por los sentimientos reales entre los involucrados. There is a lot of bullying, body shaming and just basically nasty girls out to cause as much trouble as they can. The journey these girls take as they learn more and more about their powers and go from being nobodies to somebodies is brilliant but there are a lot of bad and wrong decisions made to get there!