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Dark Lessons #2
Mary Quirk and the Twilight of Paso Cerrado
Of all the students at Umbrum Hall, Mary’s one of the rarer types of magic user—a Gatemaker. She’s able to jump from one place to the next and sometimes to carry others with her. That’s instinctive. Now she’s learning to do the heavy lifting, making gates that other people can walk through by themselves. Gates between places, and gates between realms.
That’s a skill that will take years to master, but she may be running out of time.
Because Umbrum Hall is more than just a school; it’s a sliver of reality that connects the elvish realm to the human world. Some people think the connections between those worlds are dangerous... and Mary’s about to learn what they’re willing to do to make their point.
That’s a skill that will take years to master, but she may be running out of time.
Because Umbrum Hall is more than just a school; it’s a sliver of reality that connects the elvish realm to the human world. Some people think the connections between those worlds are dangerous... and Mary’s about to learn what they’re willing to do to make their point.
247 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 15, 2021
1 person want to read
About the author
Anna St. Vincent
7 books9 followersAnna St. Vincent has a mysterious past she doesn't reveal online. Let's just say there was a hometown, a high school, and a college, all somewhere in Oklahoma or Texas. Mary Quirk and the Secret of Umbrum Hall is her first YA novel.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 2, 2021
I loved the first book in the series and was keeping this as a treat to savour after I'd fulfilled some other reviewing obligations. Unfortunately, I was slightly disappointed, mostly because of the pacing and a couple of plot-driving coincidences.
It's not until the 81% mark that anything really dramatic happens, which for me is much too late. I know that Mary Quirk is a low-drama teenager, and that's great, but that doesn't mean that her books should be low-drama. The first 81% is taken up with a slow-burn mystery investigation which entirely consists of talking to people and getting small pieces of the puzzle; school mundanities; commendable (but not, in themselves, exciting) efforts to unify the class and bring in a new member, who's annoying but, thanks to Mary's accepting approach, not the cause of all that much conflict; slight progress on the slow-burn romance; and (especially early on) recaps of things that, in Book 1, gave us a fresh sensawunda, but now are just recaps.
By a startlingly obvious coincidence in which the hand of the author is starkly visible, Mary works out the mystery at exactly the point (81% through the book) that makes for the most drama. Any earlier, and the crisis wouldn't be as bad; any later, and the resolution of the crisis wouldn't be as good. But there is no internal reason for her to finally put all the clues together right at the moment that it will create that outcome. It's just "luck".
Then, later, she wakes up and joins the others at exactly the time that will enable her to participate in another dramatic moment - again, by complete coincidence.
So, for me, this failed to live up to the promise of the first book. I remain a fan, though, and hope that the third book will return to a more even dramatic pacing and make less obvious use of coincidence to serve the plot.
Disclaimer: I know the author slightly (under another name) on the Codex writers' forum. I purchased the book, though, and am reviewing it on my own initiative.
It's not until the 81% mark that anything really dramatic happens, which for me is much too late. I know that Mary Quirk is a low-drama teenager, and that's great, but that doesn't mean that her books should be low-drama. The first 81% is taken up with a slow-burn mystery investigation which entirely consists of talking to people and getting small pieces of the puzzle; school mundanities; commendable (but not, in themselves, exciting) efforts to unify the class and bring in a new member, who's annoying but, thanks to Mary's accepting approach, not the cause of all that much conflict; slight progress on the slow-burn romance; and (especially early on) recaps of things that, in Book 1, gave us a fresh sensawunda, but now are just recaps.
By a startlingly obvious coincidence in which the hand of the author is starkly visible, Mary works out the mystery at exactly the point (81% through the book) that makes for the most drama. Any earlier, and the crisis wouldn't be as bad; any later, and the resolution of the crisis wouldn't be as good. But there is no internal reason for her to finally put all the clues together right at the moment that it will create that outcome. It's just "luck".
Then, later, she wakes up and joins the others at exactly the time that will enable her to participate in another dramatic moment - again, by complete coincidence.
So, for me, this failed to live up to the promise of the first book. I remain a fan, though, and hope that the third book will return to a more even dramatic pacing and make less obvious use of coincidence to serve the plot.
Disclaimer: I know the author slightly (under another name) on the Codex writers' forum. I purchased the book, though, and am reviewing it on my own initiative.
October 30, 2021
Promising, but…
I really liked the first installment of this series. It’s original and interesting with good world-building and characters.
This one had so much repetitive stuff—things that were not huge things but just kept getting mentioned—it was annoying.
And suddenly there’s this big (also repeated) abstinence thing. There’s just no need for it.
I would definitely check out the first one. This one was okay but you have to put up with some repetitive points that feel written like you’re just a super unobservant reader.
I really liked the first installment of this series. It’s original and interesting with good world-building and characters.
This one had so much repetitive stuff—things that were not huge things but just kept getting mentioned—it was annoying.
And suddenly there’s this big (also repeated) abstinence thing. There’s just no need for it.
I would definitely check out the first one. This one was okay but you have to put up with some repetitive points that feel written like you’re just a super unobservant reader.
April 19, 2021
Great series
I enjoyed this book, although not as much as the first. Good characters and interesting plot. An interesting YA book without the annoying love triangle.
I enjoyed this book, although not as much as the first. Good characters and interesting plot. An interesting YA book without the annoying love triangle.
October 18, 2022
I enjoyed this book as much as the first one. It’s the middle book in the series, or at least the second book, so there is a lot of relationship building and learning more detail about how the world works. I particularly enjoyed seeing Mary get to know her classmates in a way that she couldn’t in the previous year. Being book two, there’s no big resolution, and the plot wasn’t quite as self contained as the first book, but that just leaves me wanting more!
September 3, 2022
Great entry in a fun series. Love seeing Mary start figuring some things out.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews