*This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Born with multiple magical abilities, Sophie knows she is destined to do great things. But when she meets Oliver, an Imitatore who has the gift to use her powers and amplify them, her destiny rushes headlong at her, upending her life and leaving her with few she can trust and the future of the world at stake.

This book encapsulates every trope of YA fiction: Very tell, don't show, simple sentences, and a wayward protagonist. By 'wayward' I mean the plot seems to blow her along; not leaving her to make many decisions. I do appreciate the diverse cast; a dark-skinned main character and non gendered costar. There's some cool world building but this is absolutely geared for someone younger than myself. I still had fun reading it, though. 3 out of 5.

So where do I start with this one? Unfortunately this book made me do something I haven't done in YEARS; I put this book down halfway through. I actually DNF'd a book. I genuinely cannot remember the last time I did that :(

Let me say up front that this doesn't mean that there was nothing good about the book or that this review will simply be ripping it apart. Everyone likes different things and just because I didn't like it doesn't mean that you or others will feel the same. Reading, much like music, is such a subjective thing, and while there is technically good and bad ways to write, that doesn't mean that everyone will enjoy it.

In Sophie's world, those born with one power are superior, those born with none are inferior, and she is the one destined to save them all. Sophie's ability to have multiple powers makes her an anomaly, at the age of 23 she has six powers and has yet to master each one. At the order of her father, the Governor, those powers are kept secret in order to protect her from those who may want to exploit them. So when she meets Oliver, the Imitatore who possesses the gift of using her powers, her once peaceful world is shattered. Suddenly, Sophie is forced to face who she is, who she is destined to be, and learn who she is no longer able to trust. Oliver and Sophie are targets for The Society, a group of supernatural beings bent on destroying her world by eradicating humans and crowning a new queen. She must stop the evil group before they kill the Imitatore and force her to be the Queen of their new world.

So we follow Sophie through the journey of finding out her powers, her destiny and her counterpart Imitatore all mixed in with the normal growing up that's happening

The Positives:

- The diversity. After I stopped reading, I went back through to have a look for notes for the review and one thing struck me that I hadn't noticed while I was actually reading. The diversity of the characters including a young coloured/black (apologies if that's been expressed wrong!) girl as our lead character with her counterpart being male and female and neither at the same time. In today's climate that in itself deserves applauding.

- The plot. The plot itself intrigued me and really felt like it could go somewhere. It was essentially a good Vs evil, unexpected hero story in a fantasy world with supernatural elements. It ticks a lot of boxes for me and has potential.

The Negatives:

- The writing. This is the main reason I put the book down. I did not like it and felt it was lacking. It was very much, X moved here, X moved there, Y said this, Y thought that. There was no richness and descriptiveness. I didn't get a feeling of understanding the characters and what was going on. The writing was very detached and matter of fact and I felt like that hurt the plot and my investment in the book. I couldn't have closed my eyes and built up a picture of the scene in my head.

- How the story was told. This goes back to the writing again but I felt like this needed separating out. Over the years I've read a lot of different styles and POVs and this one is definitely one of the most bizarre for me. It felt like it was written as a factual telling, almost like it was written to be read out loud and not to be read just by a person. It wasn't first person, it wasn't 3rd person, it didn't feel like there was any POV really in it. I would love to see what this author could do with a historical re-telling or even a non-fiction book.

- The plot. I know, I know, I've done it again... I'm putting something in as a positive and a negative :D Although the premise of the plot ticked a lot of boxes for me, I couldn't actually follow it when I was reading. I was constantly having to go back a few pages or a chapter because I had no idea where we were, how we got there or even why we were there. Going back to both points above about the writing style, I feel like this caused confusion with the plot and ultimately put me off.

Overall I'd give this 2* because there were elements I enjoyed but the writing style meant I just couldn't carry on. I spent longer going back and trying to work out where we were and what was happening than actually enjoying the book. It made it a hard read for me unfortunately.

DNF-I think the diversity in this book is amazing. There’s rarely any diversity in books. Unfortunately, I can’t really connect with any of the characters. I wish more was explained about the world Sophie lives in. At the moment, I cannot follow along with what’s happening. I will try again on a later date maybe after it officially comes out? I will definitely try to read this again because I really like the summary and I want to know what happens. Until then that’s all I have.

In Sophie's world, those born with one power are superior, those born with none are inferior, and she is the one destined to save them all. Sophie's ability to have multiple powers makes her an anomaly, at the age of 23 she has six powers and has yet to master each one. At the order of her father, the Governor, those powers are kept secret in order to protect her from those who may want to exploit them. So when she meets Oliver, the Imitatore who possesses the gift of using her powers, her once peaceful world is shattered.

Suddenly, Sophie is forced to face who she is, who she is destined to be, and learn who she is no longer able to trust. Oliver and Sophie are targets for The Society, a group of supernatural beings bent on destroying her world by eradicating humans and crowning a new queen. She must stop the evil group before they kill the Imitatore and force her to be the Queen of their new world.-Goodreads

This book had a lot of good things in it and it is definitely worth the read. Firstly, I was drawn to this book due to a African American woman having powers and goes through the process of trying to master them. You don't really see it often and I was pleased with it.

But despite this, I had some issues with the book. Sophie . . . for a lack of better term is rude and you really don't connect with her. What I mean is I can't say I know her. I know what she has done and what she is capable of but who she is . . . isn't really defined and there is nothing there that makes me like her.

The book fell short in talking about her past. Yes, she is born different but it would have been a great foundation to know how she started to be in the position that she is in. The author takes too long to talk about the past and as opposed to things leading up to this new information it is just thrown in an argument or fight.

Not a lot of stuff happens and there is a lot of back forth of practicing and then going to her room. This slowed the book down a lot. But what really bothered me was there was a lot of lazy writing. Her father who was supposed to be a strong man cried more times than the word strong was used. The surprises, although surprises, were thrown in as if they were a second thought and in all my reading years, I have never seen an enemy cave and let things go, as fast as the one in this book.

I wish there was more care in the setting and I wish that some of the surrounding characters were not clingy and had a backbone of their own. Sophie needed support and it wasn't there. 

I know that I have listed some strong issues with this read but the potential here is amazing. The author tells about the magic is a great foundation. The diversity within the characters are good and the ending was a good send off to a book two was written well. 

I liked the book but it isn't as strong as it could have been. Also 20 points for not adding a love triangle 

2.5 Pickles