"Material made by man, your creator summons you. Link to me as I link to you through my years until the day I die and become earth."

Polymer chemistry involves the synthesis, characterization, and the study of the properties of large molecules consisting of units of repeating chains, such as hydrocarbons. The polymerization of these large molecules are then used to synthesize plastics, rubbers, and so many of the materials we use in everyday life. Although Holmberg did not write a book solely to quench my ever aching heart for a story focusing on the life of an aspiring young adult chemist, I did thoroughly enjoy this addition to her Paper Magician series.

Our female protagonist Alvie Brechenmacher is an aspiring Polymaker, or a magician that focuses her craft on plastics and their properties. Alvie, like The Plastic Magician's Ceony, is extremely intelligent and courageous throughout the book. She is undoubtedly passionate in regards to her chosen skills in plastic, and I embraced returning to a world I adored.

The only things keeping this addition from a 5-star rating like the rest of the series was the slow pacing and predictable ending, particularly as Alvie had the answer to the plot's conflict in the beginning. There are instances in which a slower plot is necessary to build a world properly and sanely or to develop the plot thoroughly and without holes; however, when it gets so slow that I need to take a break, that means...move it along!

In conclusion, I am grateful for the opportunity to dive deeper into this magical world. Although this book is sorted into "Young Adult," I would also consider it to be "New Adult" since Alvie is a twenty-year-old woman, but Holmberg's writing style, easy-to-read plot, and relatable characters make this story a good addition to any reader's bookshelf. This magical adventure is surely a slam dunk that will forever keep me wondering what could happen next.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Love,
newbookcats

The Plastic Magician was a cute read, and not just because of the romantic aspects. Alvie was introduced as a little bit awkward and nerdy, and while this didn't exactly change by the end of the book, she definitely grew as a person and became more confident, thanks a lot to the experiences she goes through.

Her growth arc was fascinating to see unfold, as she seemed led by her curiousity and love of knowledge more than anything else. It was a unique and fresh perspective. Each experience she was thrown into, Alvie was ready to do what she needed to do to see it through.

Her romance with Bennet was just as awkward and cute as the rest of the story, and helped with showing another side of Alvie, who could otherwise have appeared too aloof or one-dimensional in her view points and how she saw the world. Bennet helped to mellow her out and show some more of her vulnerability.

The appearance of characters from earlier books in the series was great too - warm, fuzzy feelings reading about them again. :)

Charlie N Holmberg is on my list of "must read authors". Her books are always clever, enjoyable, and so her. I enjoyed this story and Alvie immensely. I would recommend reading the Paper Magician so you get the best feel of the world.

I love this series as it shows more personality towards the characters. Many other books have constant fighting and it’s becomes too repetitive but this series it builds up as you keep reading chapters so it doesn’t get dull as constant fighting ruins the story of their backgrounds.

I was a big fan of the original trilogy and thought it wrapped up quite nicely so call me skeptical when I heard she was releasing a fourth book in this series. My biggest complaint with this book is it feels like an add-on, resembling an obvious add-on to a house you might visit. But that's about all I can complain about.

Holmberg takes the world she built in the original trilogy and expands it by adding a new medium: plastic. While I don't think she got as creative with plastic and the potential spells it could have as she did with the other materials, I did find the story refreshing. The protagonist is likable, the love interest is believable, and the bad guy has a clear motive. My wish is that she continues on with this story and makes it into a series as well. I feel like The Paper Magician really got deeper with the additional books and I think these characters could as well.

I like Holmberg as an author. She crafts great stories and I'll continue to read anything she puts out.

Definitely set for a younger audience than the others in the Magician series, but somehow more enjoyable. The pace is fast, the heroine relatable, and the hero doesn’t outshine his counterpart. Will read again.

This was a fun, quick read. However, I don't think this is my cup of tea. I love the plot, the setting and the characters. I find the scene quite fascinating. But, I don't feel like romance is suitable for this book. I mean, the plot will be more attractive without it. Maybe it was just me because I don't find both characters had any chemistry for them to actually fall in love. Overall, a pretty average read.

I had really enjoyed the Paper Magician series, so I was pretty excited to see there was a spin off. I liked Alvie well enough. She’s super smart and passionate and I enjoyed reading her dedication to her magic. Ethel and Bennet were fantastic and supportive secondary characters and I could have read a million more scenes with them. Oh and the brief scene of Ceony and Emery was just perfection. Plot wise it was just okay. I didn’t get caught up in this branch of magic. And while the idea of getting a discovery stolen made for a good {but quite mild} villain, there wasn’t a sense of urgency. The build up was slow and the confrontation was fairly lackluster. Overall, it was a quick read and an interesting start to a spin off. I did like it, yet I’m not sure I will be reading any of the others.

Unfortunately this one did not hold my interest and didn't seem like the book for me. It's not bad, but just not for me!

I started reading this one but didn't hold my interest. I read the first three but I was also losing my interest in those three when I read the thirds book. I though the concept was good but I wish I could have connected with the characters more. I enjoyed her other book Followed by Frost more.

Polymaking, the magic that deals with plastic, is still a relatively new field in The Plastic Magician. Alvie arrives for her apprenticeship and with the help of some convenient meetings, she soon has impressed her teacher and is working on a spectacular groundbreaking technology.

It has been a while since I read the original trilogy, but this books has new characters so that didn’t cause any problems. Alvie however, was once again the super smart main character who seemed to be the only one who could do things – even though officially she hadn’t graduated yet.

The villain – if you would call it that – might not be as big as expected, but I thought it fitted the tale rather well. Another quick read without too much thinking.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I was unable to read this. due to it being archived before I got around to it. I love Charlie's writing style a ton. And will be looking into getting this from my library eventually.

A brilliant read! I really can't wait to dive into the rest of this series! I love the world and everything about it, including the characters that flesh it out.

Back to the world of the Paper Magician!
I loved being immersed in this world again. Charlie Holmberg's world-building skills are incredible! I enjoyed the story and cameos from Paper Magician characters. This book could be read on its own and enjoyed, but reading the Paper Magician first is beneficial to fully understanding the world and cameos (Plus it's an awesome series)! I would rate this sweet and clean and G or PG for thematic violence.

I really liked this book. Charlie Holmberg really stayed true to the series. I actually really liked Alvie, more than the previous heroine which took me by surprise. The supporting characters were also pretty amazing, which I love when I reading a book as I feel some Authors spend too much time on Main Characters and not giving the supporting cast any depth. Truly loved it.

After reading all of her paper magician novels, this one just feels like a bit of a slog through a similar road in the same old country.

If you enjoyed the other books in the Paper Magician series, do yourself a favor and check out this spin-off as well. Alvie is a worthwhile successor to Ceony (who herself has a delightful cameo in this book, alongside Emery), and Bennet is just too sweet. A light-hearted story about the magic of science and discovery.

I had the same issue with this book as I did with the first three in the Paper Magician series: the overwhelming wasted potential. It is such a shame because I wanted so much to like this book. The author is creative - the ideas, the world, the magic, it all has so much potential but seems to be wasted away. The protagonist is lacking something I can't quite define. I just wish more time was spent on the amazing world and this awesome creative idea of magic being tied to one sort of element. I think I just expected more plot wise. Still, the world is so creative that I'll probably continue to read anything Holmberg writes with the hope of her exploring more of the parts that are of interest to me. Maybe one day.

An enjoyable story with the same charm as the original series. However, I did enjoy the original series more. But it was fun to revisit this world and this will be a great read for fans of this author and this world.

I tried to read this several times. This book just isn't for me. It did not hook me at the very beginning, so I couldn't continue reading it. I kept forgetting that I had even began. Sorry for the trouble.