The Magician's Daughter

Holy crap that was excellent!
Technically a coming of age story, with--for once--a healthy parent/child relationship with communication.
Half fairy tale, and half urban fantasy (1970s?), in a world where the magic is slowly dwindling, and priorly used to have an effect on coincidence. I love how they tie it into older, Victorian, novels and fairy tales where good coincidences do happen...but you don't see that as much in current writings because it just doesn't happen.

Highly recommended.

This book grabbed me by the figurative lapels and made me read late into the night. It's about magic and family and not being the chosen one but the one who got caught up by chance or luck and then thrust into the middle. It's about that line we cross when something happens and we aren't children anymore. It's also about rabbits and trees and cruelty in the reach for power.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this as an ebook through Netgalley to review.

Thoughts: This was an amazing book, I have been absolutely spoiled rotten this week with amazing books. I loved these characters, this unique world and the problem the characters are trying to solve. This was beautifully written and completely engaging. I enjoyed every second of this book.

This book follows the story of Biddy, she washed up on the magical island of Hy-Brasil when she was a baby and has since been raised by the magician Rowan. When Rowan fails to return to the island at his normal time, Biddy is incredibly worried. Then when he does finally return, he is forced to let Biddy in on some dark secrets about their show more enemies outside the island. In order to set the essence of magic right, Biddy will have to do the very thing she has yearned for and the very thing she fears, leave her precious home of Hy-Brasil.

This was an amazing magical read full of beautiful descriptions and sincere, touching characters. I absolutely loved Biddy and Rowan and Rowan's familiar; they are kind and sincere to each other. All of the characters in this book, even the enemies, have a lot of depth to them and are intriguing to read about. They are all so well done.

I also loved the world here; it's a world where magic has dwindled and a world where people are starting to suffer from magic's absence. Biddy's mysterious past seems to be the only thing that might be a key to bringing magic back. There is a hint of adventure to the story as Biddy is forced to face the outside world. This story is amazing, hopeful, and a bit sad all at once. As magical as Hy-Brasil is, after everything that happens here nothing ends up the same. Everyone and everything changes and that is both good and sad.

My Summary (5/5): Overall, this was such a beautiful story full of magic, adventure, change, and love that I was sad for it to end. I am greatly looking forward to future books by Parry; I hope they are all as beautiful, amazing, and magical as this one. I also plan on going back to check out Parry's Shadow Histories series. I would strongly recommend this book. It was a magical read that was completely engrossing. show less

First off, the narration is on point! Very well done. The story itself is also fascinating and incredibly original - I was immediately drawn in. However, it did seem a bit drawn out to me and I think this has to do with listening to it on audio; if I were reading, I sincerely believe I wouldn’t feel this way, because I would have been able to finish it sooner.

Biddy grew up on a hidden and enchanted island, the ward of the magician Rowan. As she grows up in this idyllic setting she realizes a few things: she is incredibly sheltered and wants more, and Rowan is hiding things from her. Despite Rowan leaving the island on a regular basis, seeking out what little magic there is left in the world, Biddy has never stepped foot off of show more Hy-Brasil. Until one night, Rowan doesn’t return and Biddy visits him in a nightmare, where she realizes that not only is Rowan in danger, but Biddy is the only one who can save him. And thus, the adventure of Biddy’s lifetime begins: with terrifying mages, people from Rowan’s past and danger at each and every turn. show less

Biddy lives on the magical island of Hy-Brasil, where she has been raised by Rowan, a mage who tells her she came to him as the only survivor of a shipwreck, and his rabbit familiar. But now, sixteen years old and longing to experience the outside world, she is coming to realize that there are things that Rowan hasn't told her, and that all of them are in danger.

There's some very familiar fantasy tropes here -- I am beginning to wonder if I maybe haven't seen "magic is disappearing from the world!" one too many times -- but what the novel does with them is good, and its take on the things that magic can do in the world is both interesting and very, well, magical. The plot is decent, and Biddy is a great character, clever and brave, but show more also completely believable as a teenage girl who doesn't feel herself to be anything extraordinary. Her relationship with Rowan, too, is complicated and interesting, being far from perfect, but strong and loving and rather moving, nonetheless. There are also some undercurrents of social commentary that aren't preachily belabored, but are well-taken.

Basically, it's just a good, solid, well-done fantasy novel. show less

Biddy has grown up on the magical, disappearing island of Hy-Brasil with her guardian, a mage named Rowan, and his familiar Hutchincroft. However, magic is fading from the world, and Rowan, who has been pursuing a Robin Hood-like existence of stealing bits of magic from the remaining powerful magicians and giving it to the common people, is now in grave danger. Biddy has always wanted to venture out into the "real world," but she knows nothing of its dangers -- and she's soon to learn that maybe Rowan hasn't told her everything she needs to know...

I very much enjoyed this coming-of-age fantasy, with its strong characters and well-developed magic system. Would it be possible for me to go live on Hy-Brasil now, do you think? I would adore show more it. Recommended. show less

The Magician’s Daughter - H.G.Parry
Audio performance by Rose McPhilemy
4 stars

I looked for more books by this author after reading and loving The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep. This book is a (very) young adult book and a coming of age story. (I might even call this a middle grade book.) I’m not usually a fan of either, but this is a good book for the intended audience. There are some surprises among the expected tropes.

The daughter is not actually a magician herself. She has no magic. I totally expected that she would suddenly come into a powerful ability that would allow her to save the day. No magical abilities ever, although she does heroically save the day.. I loved the Magician’s familiar, the rabbit, Hutchincroft. He show more added warmth and humor. I enjoyed the magical island and its ties to Irish folklore. The storyline was fairly predictable which made me impatient with Biddy’s self doubt and fears of abandonment. (This is not the fault of the author. I’m just very far from being a young adult audience.)

The book is set in the late 19th or very early 20th century. Themes of class warfare and rising feminism are touched on. In my opinion the social themes of the book are extraneous to the magical adventure. They might as well not be there. But, again, the book is intended for a young audience. So what do I know? show less