This was a really nice first installment to the series. It moved fast enough and kept you interested throughout. I look forward to reading the rest!

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher.

I tried this book several times but I just didn't get into it like I thought I would. I will rate this book a 3 star out of 5 because the writing was alright and the cover is beautiful.

This title turned out to be one I didn't love even though I wanted it. The plot was fuzzy, the characters lacked depth, and I couldn't quite figure out how everything was connected in the end. I really liked the idea of the magic system but it all fell short for me.

I wish I could give this a higher rating but lack of plot, plot holes etc it didn't make sense sometimes this one has me scratching my head

As always Curiosity Quills delivers another outstanding adventure into the realms of fantasy, This time it is into the land of the Sirens. With a great list of supporting characters, Maggie Trent is someone who you learn to root for and her trials throughout the book keep you wanting to find out what is happening. A great book for those who love to read fantasy and the myths around the Sirens of the deep.

I think this is the start of a great series! It is very reminiscent of Dr. Who, which i can appreciate.

A super fun magical realism story that I would definitely suggest to anyone who likes magic and bad-ass heroines! The Girl Without Magic was fast-paced, adventure packed, and had me absolutely hooked on the enchanting world building! Definitely interested in continuing the series!

I recommend this to anyone who loves MAGIC! I love magic and so this was a great book. I’m also really into fantasy so the concepts and characters really added something extra to the story.

I am obsessed with Magic so the title and description grabbed my attention. This book was interesting. I loved the magical aspect of it. The concept was also brilliant but in the execution of the concept, something was lacking.

The beginning of the story was great. I also loved many of the characters. The idea that this beautiful realm also has this dark side showed that no matter how perfect, there is no true utopia. I loved Bertrand from the first moment we meet him. I think the thing that was lacking was the ‘brilliant’ factor. The plot and concept were great but slightly predictable. I loved this as an adventure story. I did not like a certain romantic relationship that develops because it added very little to the plot and to the characters it involved (no spoilers don’t worry). I got stuck at the end of the novel. Like I said the beginning was intriguing and captivating but the part of the story that involved Manila was vanilla (sorry for the bad pun). It should have been the climax but I actually enjoyed the first half of the story much more. Like I said the characters were great. I especially love the characters in the Siren’s Realm. This was a great story but I think it was lacking some gusto.

I can’t wait to read the next books in the Chronicles of Maggie Trent because I think Megan O’Russell has a great idea and the next book will be more intense now that there has been the initial introduction to the world and characters.

I feel like I just read the beginnings of three different novels and the end of one; and yet somehow they were all in the same book. Without a doubt The Girl Without Magic suffers from a lack of focus, plot, characterization and direction.

No Logical Tie-ins
Our story starts out with our leading gal waking up from the midst of a battle in a 'dark place' that eventually becomes what's known as 'Siren's Realm'. We go from there to her existing in 'Siren's Realm' before she ends up in another place (I'm not saying anything more here as it might be considered a spioler).
But here's the thing, right from the beginning, she doesn't seem concerned about if she actually 'died' in battle or wonder about getting back to Earth. She does't seem bothered by hew new existence in Siren's Realm and then when she leaves there to our third location she doesn't seem too caught up in how to return to Siren's Realm. It's baffling that a teenage girl would care so little about where she lives, resources, etc. To the point where for me this ruined the entire book.
Irregardless of the other issues (listed below) this was the crux of the problem for me.
I just don't believe that a teenage girl would care so little what happened to her friends, family, etc. on Earth, would accept her 'death' so easily, and not be concerned about getting back to stability. Sure it's implied in a couple spots that she's thought about it but zero emphasize or energy goes into these issues that I believe should be the dominant thing on her mind.

And the Hits Keep Coming
I could probably write an essay, as long as this book is, about all of the plot holes (or lack of plot at all!), dull characterizations, insta-love (oh yeah it's bad), and general flaws in this book. Megan O'Russell seems to address things that are burning questions (for me at least) to readers with offhand comments or not until 50 pages after.
A good example; our gal and her travelling companion fall (literally) into this new 'third' place and are captured by the locals whom they seem to be able to speak with no problem. No thought or concern about language barriers at all. About 6 chapters later our main gal mentions it to her (insta-love interest) and it's decided that it must be the 'magic' allowing it. This is easily the lamest and laziest reason that could possibly be given. O'Russell might as well written 'because the author decided she didn't want to deal with it'. Disservice to the reader and turns me right off.

Overall or The Irony
It's ironic that the dialogue and descriptiveness of the story was not terrible. This is the only reason I didn't DNF this (and that I wanted to finish a book!). It wasn't the quality of writing but the content of it that was frustrating (if that makes sense). I would compare it to Twilight in that it's an interesting enough idea and the writing is 'good enough' to read; but that the execution of the story, characters, plot, etc. was so awful that it ruins anything redeeming about the writing style.
And to think this is a series (and one that I could go on for eternity the way it's set-up as 'adventures' in new lands). Ugh.
I would suggest avoiding this book/series, and maybe even this author entirely. (Unless of course you think that Stephanie Meyer is the best writer of all time, then you might like this...)
I'm probably being far too generous to give it even 2 stars to be honest.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

This was a book I thoroughly enjoyed. The adventures begins immediately and never seems to stop, I almost feel bad for Maggie. She is a wonderfully written strong character that handles every new circumstance thrown at her and there are several. This book wraps up well but you'll be eager to read the next book.

I received an ebook version from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I did not enjoy this book. I couldn't even bring myself to finish it, which is a very rare occurrence for me. It felt unoriginal, and not much about it appealed to me. I found the pacing to be sluggish and the plot to be very simplistic. I definitely would not recommend it.

I loved this book! A fantasy adventure with well written characters and story. I can’t wait to follow Bertrand and Maggie on more adventures! Maggie is the fierce and dedicated companion to the wise and a little crazy Bertrand who pulls her into adventures in other worlds. I was enraptured in the book from start to finish. It sounds like this book series is going to be Maggie and Bertrand finding new worlds and falling into adventures. I loved Maggie's personality. I can't wait to go on another adventure with them!

I got this arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

I was surprised how much I liked this book. It was as a quick read. The characters and story were interesting and not boring at all.
I hoped to see the main characters in romantic situation, what didn’t happen unfortunately , but maybe in next books....

Fantastic read, I couldn't put it down. Fast paced, full of adventure, great world building. Well written, great plot and characters. Maggie Trent is fighting and next thing she knows she is in another realm, the Sirens Realm. She meets a nice man Bertrand Wayland and he tells her of the rules in the realm. I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from Netgalley.

This felt more like the 3rd of 4th book in the series rather than the first.

The Girl With No Magic was a quick read. I have no problem with short books, or long books for that matter. A story should be however long it needs to be, as long as it’s told well. That being said, I think TGWNM was too short. It really affected the pace of the book.

We meet Maggie, and we don’t know where she is. She doesn’t either. It’s a very intriguing beginning. You can’t wait to find out more about it. Once she discovers where she is, and finds out a little about it, she’s kind of pumped to be there. Then there’s talk of a storm, and she’s suddenly terrified. Kind of strange, right?

Maybe she has an irrational fear of storms? I don’t think so. I do think there was a genuine reason for her to be afraid, but as the reader I wasn’t let in on that info. Before you can fully figure out this fear and the storm, there are people attacking her and her friends.

It’d be a bit like Harry Potter getting his letter from Hogwarts and when you turn the page he’s climbing on the train. There’s a lot of good stuff in-between, we just need to author to show it to us.

The title also threw me off a bit. It’s about a girl who has magic. The entire time. There’s never a time when she doesn’t have magic.

What I did like about TGWNM was Bertrand Wayland. He’s a fascinating character. He’s been everywhere, through many different worlds/universes/realities/etc. It actually reminded me of a Doctor Who story. For me, that’s not a bad thing at all. I LOVE Doctor Who. Even the book’s title is reminiscent of ‘The Girl Who Waited’ and ‘The Girl Who Died/Lived.’

Also under ‘likes’, it was just a fun read.

Even though I had a few issues with this book overall, I enjoyed reading it and I’m really looking forward to seeing what comes next. I think with a few improvements in pacing, this could end up being a very solid series.

I honestly wish I could buy a physical copy not only for the book, but for the cover. I could stare at this cover for days and still be in love. And the story is even better. I sat for a very long time after I read this book because I was so in love. I really hope this series continues and I get to read more.

Maggie is a 17-year-old girl that finds herself in an impossible situation in the Realm of the Siren! The Stricken search for magic wielders and the Siren hunts down the unworthy who do not possess magic! In a realm that is not her own and where she is not readily accepted, Maggie must find a way to survive and to stay off the radar of those who would hunt her down!
I wanted to love this book! But I found that it was not the great read that it was hyped to be. The romance aspect is almost nonexistent until the last half of the book and then it is forced into the storyline as if the author suddenly remembered that most readers seek this aspect in a book, so she had to add in something. The pacing was also spotty, and I lost interest multiple times and forced myself to finish.
The book starts out in the most unusual way and I understand that the author is trying to do something different, however, it was confusing and not to my taste. Then there is Maggie (sigh). She is whiny and pulls the poor, poor pitiful me card more than I can stand. She does ease up towards the end but by then I pretty much wrote her character off as immature and did not care for the turnaround.
The concept was new, and I hope that the series does continue with better character growth. The setting was beautifully crafted, and I loved Bertrand! His character was the best part of the storyline.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read this book! It may not have been for me, but teens/younger readers will certainly appreciate it more than I did!

This is interesting story about magic and that you are using it as a currency. But what can you do,when you are being hunted for that magic. Because people only want more and will do anything to get it.

I like this book and can’t wait to read more about Maggie.

I was given this book in exchange of an honest review.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.. The scenes that were described in this book were wonderful. The amount of detail the author gives helps one to paint a picture as the story progresses. The main character, Maggie, is swept away from everything she knows and loves. At first, she believes she is dead but is informed that this is not the case. She is just very far away from home. Like another dimension far. As Maggie navigates her new world, she makes a few friends and a self-professed enemy along the way. It is this self-professed enemy that teaches Maggie the most valuable lesson to her survival. She experiences adventure, love, anger, pain, and heartbreak while trying to figure out what to do next. I really enjoyed this book. It is a YA book but that doesn't take away any of the fun. I did not like Maggie's character at the start of the book. I felt she was a little too whiny and especially after reading her backstory, I felt she was way too whiny. By the middle of the book, she had matured and by the end she was just heroic. If you are finding the main character annoying, keep reading, she does grow up a little as it goes.