A Far Wilder Magic

"Margaret knows the truth. Alchemy is neither progress nor salvation. It's the stench of sulfur she can't scrub out of her hair. It's packed suitcases and locked doors. It's blood and ink on the floorboards." This book is captivating with a great YA romance, but I strongly disliked the ending. Seventeen-year-old Margaret blames alchemy for everything that has gone wrong in her life. After her brother died, her happy family was ripped to pieces as her father left and her mother, Evelyn, lost herself in pursuit of an alchemical way to bring him back. Every time Evelyn leaves for a trip, she promises, "When I get what I need for my research, we'll be a family again." Now Margaret lives mostly alone, taking care of her mother's big estate along with her horse Shimmer and her hound Trouble, avoiding the village where half of them will insult her because of her mixed race heritage from her father. But then Wes arrives, seeking an internship with Evelyn, as he's been fired by nearly every other alchemist around due to his trouble with reading. Wes desperately wants to rise above his impoverished background and make a difference and sees alchemy as his only possible path to success. Margaret tries to send him packing, as Evelyn is absent on yet another trip, but his charm keeps tugging at her heartstrings. Then the mysterious hala, an immortal, magical fox that can only be killed through alchemical means, is spotted in their town, bringing the annual hunt to their doorstep. Margaret and Wes decide to enter the hunt together. Margaret hopes that giving her mother the magical hala will bring her back for good, while Wes wants the monetary prize for his family. They find themselves drawn to each other, but Margaret struggles to trust that anyone will love her and stay. The positive aspects of this book: The relationship between Margaret and Wes was beautiful. Wes begins to see Margaret's charms above Annette's, the more conventionally attractive girl from the village who keeps flirting with him. I enjoyed seeing Margaret learning to trust and rise above her troubled background. The magical system was well-developed, and the book tackled some tough issues with prejudice, as both Margaret and Wes face discrimination, hatred and even bodily harm because of their backgrounds. The negative aspects of this book: *Spoiler Alert* (scroll down to see spoiler) Both Margaret and Wes come from backgrounds that teach them not to harm the hala. Margaret's Yu'adir father told her that the hala was sacred and a carrier of divine knowledge. Wes's minority religion considers killing the hala a mortal sin. Beyond that, both hear the hala calling to them. On the day of the hunt, however, when they corner the hala, someone comes to kill them, and the hala saves them. Then Margaret stabs it anyway, and Wes...

Everything about this story is just beautiful, from the cover to cover, it is beautiful. I am probably never going to recover from this one. I was deeply invested into the characters and couldn’t wait to see their relationship grow, it was definitely worth waiting for.

*Actual rating of 4.5 stars A Far Wilder Magic is a cozy, atmospheric book with a delicious slow burn romance in which opposites attract. Set in what I think is a 1920s inspired world that is very close to our own world, magic (alchemy) is real and so are mythical creatures called demiurges. For centuries, demiurges were hunted as a means to gain glory and there is only one left in the entire world--the hala, a white fox that creates chaos when it appears. Margaret Welty (Maggie) and Wes Winters join the hunt for the hala together. This book keeps being described in reviews (and even in its official summary) as “atmospheric” and there is definitely a good reason why. Saft creates such rich scenes by using color, scent, and other tactile descriptions that really put you within the book. She masterfully manipulates the words on the page to bring the setting and individual moments to life. A few choice words and you either feel on edge with suspense in fog-coated woods, or immediately cozy in the golden glow of a fire. Another thing this author does really, really well is her characters and their relationships with each other. Maggie is a tough heroine who is interested only in surviving. She’s described at one point as “the kind of girl who would sooner kill a man than admire one.” Meanwhile, Wes thrives on attention, can talk his way out of any situation, and is a charmer through and through. He and Maggie are total opposites, which only makes the chemistry between them so much stronger. My favorite relationship in the book--other than Maggie and Wes’s relationship, of course--is that between Wes and his mother and sisters. He has two older sisters and two younger sisters and despite not having a lot of time on the page, they all four have very distinct personalities. Wes interacts differently with each of them, and you can even see how his relationships with them have shaped him. They banter with each other, support each other, and argue with each other in a way that tells me the author must have at least one sibling. I adored how Wes’s sisters each played a part in the story, and in his overall development. It’s not a spoiler, but to me one of the most touching scenes in the book takes place between Wes and his oldest sister, Mad. Saft does an excellent job at showing the characters’ motivations and the reasons why they act the way they do in a particular situation. Sometimes in books with multiple points of view there is a struggle to discern two characters, but that doesn’t happen at all in this book. Maggie and Wes are two very distinct characters and there is never any confusion over whose point of view the chapter is in. Another excellent part of this book is the representation. It explores racism and xenophobia pretty deeply, along with other issues that are relevant in the real world today. It al...