I unfortuneately DNF'd this book at 27%. I'm not the biggest fan of books with magicians for some reason and I was hoping this would be different. I liked the writing and the setting but the magic part just always made me not want to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for giving me access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed listening to this book. The author set up an interesting world filled with magicians, twists, and turns. Hutchinson did an awesome job with worldbuilding for this fantastical rivalry between the Enchantress and Laszlo. The star-crossed romance was *chef's kiss*.

This was a DNF for me. I think it was the formatting and will update my review if I read the hard copy.

This was a very cute novel and I am happy I had the chance to read it. The author was not afraid to explore issues that have a darker and deeper core, things such as racism and abuse. I really enjoyed the development of the character and the setting! It was a wonderful read

Before We Disappear was so cute, I thoroughly enjoyed this whole book! The relationships in here range from infuriating to adorable and I loved the one between Jack and Wilhelm so so much. There are a lot of deeper issues in this book like racism, sexism and abuse. I love how everything came together in the end and even wanted more of their stories.

Before We Disappear by Shaun David Hutchinson

This novel was not what I anticipated and it took me by surprise.

CW: Abuse, abandonment, sexism, racism

TO THE REVIEW

I really loved the premise of this book. The 1900s background and the magician angle. The intrigue and sneakiness. All of that kept me going and drew me into the story. Additionally, Jack and Wil paired extremely well and I was rooting for them almost immediately

That being said, the treatment of Wil’s character made me disconnect a lot with the story. I was shocked with his continued physical and emotional abuse, which upset me while reading. Usually when going into YA I don’t anticipate the extremes that were shown in this book. It blindsided me a bit.

The villains - are UNBEARABLE. Sometimes an author will let you find some sort of relatability with a villain to make a story more complex. Not the case here (or maybe I missed it). Both Teddy and the Enchantress are terrible and you will not like them. Well, or if you do, let me know so we can talk about it. Hahaha

The world environment was also an interesting take. We have M/M and F/F relationships but we have sexism…. We have a magical world set in the past but a lot of current day political influence in the writing. (Which I’m not against, it does take away from the Emerson into the novel though) #HeavyHanded

Overall, the world is wonderful, the magic is beautiful, and the side characters are carrying the story. I enjoyed it once adapting but this is NOT a light read. This is a heavy read that I fought to get through at parts.

Overall rating: 3.5
Plot: 4
Character Development: 3
Dialogue: 4
Writing: 3

I enjoyed this book. I really liked the setting and the characters, their stories were lovely to read. However, I did feel like the story toed the line between modern and historical, as there was a historical landscape but modern dialogue and ideals. I kind of wish this was explored a bit more throughout the book.

Synthesized narrator = blech but that aside, I enjoyed my first novel by Shaun David Hutchinson in a novel that is not usually his wheelhouse, I think. This is a straight-up fantasy! I liked the time period and the characters a lot, the World's Fair, so exciting!! I didn't like the magicians and how they treated their underlings, their "children." One was kidnapped as a child! Ahhh! But Jack and Wilhelm were a great team. I don't really like the cover art though, it seems, I don't know, childish. I don't like the artwork, the faces are too pointy.

Rep: gay MC, queer MC, lesbian SCs, Black SC, none-heteronormative world

TW: abuse of a minor, gaslighting, racism

First up: I have to be honest, I wasn’t able to listen to that robots voice. I think it’s a great thing that computers who can read out loud to you exist, especially for people who are not able to read themselves. But I think also these people deserve a better option that that emotionless voice who didn’t even pronounce words right and emphasised the complete wrong parts of a sentence.
I had to DNF and waited until the real audiobook was out to listen to that one instead. And I can tell you my rating would have been a lot different if I didn’t to that.

So I listened to the audio version for this and I loved the narrators! I love that it’s narrated by two different voices because there are two POVs in this.
The story takes place in 1909 Seattle, America.
One of the protagonists is Wilhelm, who is living and forcibly working (and stealing) for a man named Teddy. Wilhelm has a special ability, which leaves him chained up by Tedy, who abused and uses him for his own purposes since he was a little child.
The other one is Jack, who is travelling and working for a female magician, the Enchantress since his parents died when he was only a child.
This story is not a cute fluffy romance, for most parts it’s a story about abuse, physical and emotional.
Both of the boys „caretakers“ use them for their own interests and and only care about their own agendas. They are both very selfish, while gaslighting the boys the whole time.
It was beautiful to read about both of them finding each other and realising what it really means to love and care for someone. I just wanted to rescue them and give them a better life.
To be honest none of the events or major plot twists of the story was any surprise to me. It was all pretty obvious what was going to happen, so that was my main critique point.
All in all it was a really beautiful story though and the location for it, the magic shows and time, were so cool to read about.
What I loved most about this was how queer the story was. It takes place in 1909, Jack is gay, Wilhelm is also queer and two of their friends are lesbians. Everybody know about this and nobody cared. I love reading books about none-heteronormative worlds, especially when it’s historical fiction.
There were queer people in every time and age, and I would have wished for them to have been able to live as freely as everyone else.
What this book does show though was the very real racism that happened at that time (and also still now). I think it was good that the author didn’t gloss this over.

I first received the audiobook through Netgalley and had a hard time getting into it because of the way it was recorded. So waited for the release date and ordered it through the library. The audiobook was fantastic as I followed along the lives of Jack and Wilhelm. I have read mostly everything from Shaun David Hutchinson and this was definitely different.
I went in with an open mind reading this book. I enjoyed it was different.

So...BEFORE WE DISAPPEAR is not a bad story. The overall plot is interesting and original enough to capture my attention and to ultimately convince me to finish it. However, the actual writing style itself is very boring, making me lose interest or an idea of where in the story I am. Furthermore, the attempted humanization of villains such as Teddy, combined with the harsh vilification later portrayed, made for a very confusing time. I would not recommend this story to any reader at my library.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review. I got the audio but with a synthetic voice, so not sure how the actual narrator does, but it has to be loads better than the awkwardness of the synthetic voice.
***
Before We Disappear is a historical fantasy novel set in the Alaska–Yukon–Pacific Exposition in Seattle.
Jack Nevin is a skilled thief and magician’s assistant, traveling the world with the successful Enchantress, Evangeline, who he has helped elevate the skills of by stealing the blueprints of other successful magicians to incorporate into their own show. When a mishap sends them running from Paris to Seattle Jack spots Wilhelm, another magicians apprentice. Something seems different about him though, and the magic shows he’s apart of. When Jack investigates further for Evangeline he discovers that Wilhelm can actually do real magic and he’s being kept by the cruel Laszlo, Teddy Barnes, and forced to help commit great thefts. The two form an almost instant connection and Jack becomes set on freeing Wilhelm from his captor.
***
Content warning: abuse both physical and emotional, abandonment, violence, racism and misogyny
The backdrop the story was set in felt almost like a character itself, it was really interesting and fun to imagine this world, especially with so many events having been cancelled because of covid still. Jack was a sweet boy who thought he was tougher than he actually was, he was actually a soft boy who just wanted to save the other completely soft boy he was besotted with.
The rivalry between Laszlo and Enchantress feels a little more overstated in the summary than it felt in the story, at least until closer to the end.
My favorite parts of the story was the sweet romance blossoming between Jack and Wilhelm, and the secondary romance between Jessamine and Ruth in the background. Also, just to pretend that a romance like that would have been okay back in the early 1900s.
Things I didn’t like so much, it got a bit repetitive. I got it, Jack wants to tell people and ask for help but has to be careful because he can’t reveal Wilhelm’s secret because it’s not his to divulge. I got it the first time and second time and third time and, well, you can see. Despite some of the repetitive nature of the story though I enjoyed the book, it definitely took me away. Interesting story with some great characters.
Also, if SDH ever does a short story that focuses on Jessamine and Ruth I’d 100% read it in a heartbeat. The story could have done a little more with them I think, even if it wasn’t necessarily their story.

I really enjoyed this one!

Great characters, story, setting, and world.

I highly recommend this to fans of Caraval!

Jack and Wilhelm’s story hardly moves beyond the surface, with predictable plot and less than scintillating dialogue. There’s hardly an indication of the time and place where the story is taking place, which is the year 1909 at a World’s Fair. What should be one of the fastest and most interesting times to be alive in history is glossed over in favor of a lukewarm relationship between Jack and Wilhelm. Their relationship had none of the fire I wanted, none of the passion or even slow burn. It was a forgone conclusion that they would end up together from the start. They didn’t even face any of the period typical homophobia or hatred, which just further solidified the question in my mind of: why was this set in the 1920s? If I didn’t know the time period, would I even be able to tell from what clues there were in the story?

The summary showed such potential but couldn’t deliver. The promised stage magic was glossed over, too, not giving me any of the wonder I associate with such performances. The adults were petty and childish, spoiled little brats, with the teenagers showing real maturity. Wilhelm felt too naive and stupid, too innocent compared to Jack’s worldliness, and the ‘twists’ too obvious to have been so easily missed. I felt led around from point to point, shown and not told what was happening. The first person narrative really limited my ability to enjoy the fair and its splendor.

With stage magic being both narrator’s primary job, I expected more difficult puzzles and fun illusions but each illusion was more disappointing than the last, the buildup leading to nothing worth writing home about. I wanted more pizzazz, more showmanship. More strange costumes and flair. I wanted more visuals, more color. It just felt so flat for me. I would have loved more explanation for Wil’s magic, and if other people possessed powers as well. Without this information, the magic was just a convenient plot point. Which, of course, it’s a novel. Every detail is chosen for a reason. But why did Wil have magic? Why this particular skill? This one skill that is particularly good for an illusionist? And why did it take so long for Teddy to consider using such a skill for stage magic? I don’t like the coincidences and random happenstance that just so happen to lead to Wil and Jack meeting and falling in love. It just feels so manufactured and forced. And, yes, again, this is a novel. These worlds are literally created by the author and nothing is real. But I want to at least be able to imagine it as if it were; to fall into the story, my mind open to this new world. I never felt like that reading this book.

The ending was too idealistic, and this is acknowledged in the author’s note at the end: in no way could a gay couple lived openly during this era. So then why set it in that era and just ignore the setting entirely in favor of a happy ending?

The narrative felt flimsy from the start and didn’t hold up through the end. I didn’t care for the main characters, moreso identifying with Lucia than with either Jack or Wil, or even Jessamy or Ruth. Despite the fact that this book is over 500 pages, there wasn’t much time devoted to side narratives, instead focusing on the instalove that was Jack and Wil’s relationship. I’m mostly disappointed because I love some of Hutchinson’s other work, namely We Are The Ants, and the cover and summary of Before We Disappear sounded so good, I immediately requested access to an ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book, and to Edelweiss as well!

I really did enjoy this book. Shaun is a great writer. He is so inventive and he tells an amazing story. The synthesized voice though, was bad for this book. There are two main characters and I can only assume the real audio book will have alternating reader or at least one reader who makes it sound as though the book is read by two different people. This was hard to follow. Both boys are assistants in the same place doing the same thing. Sure one of them is really magic, but still, the personal stories are similar enough that I would get lost trying to remember who’s story it was if I paused in the middle of a chapter.

I had so much fun reading this (actually listening to it as I had a mocked up audio galley). I love magic and was immediately taken in by that and then the cast of characters were just amazing. This book is both heartwarming and heartbreaking (TW/CW: mental/emotional/physical abuse). It's funny and sweet. I loved the ending. This is a historical fantasy where queer love is accepted and I think that's beautiful.

Disclaimer: I received the early audiobook from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Before We Disappear

Author: Shaun David Hutchinson

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 2/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, fantasy

Publication Date: September 28, 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, DNFed

Explanation of CWs: can’t recommend, DNFed

Publisher: HarperTeen

Pages: 512

Synopsis: Jack Nevin’s clever trickery and moral flexibility have served him well his entire life—making him the perfect assistant to the Enchantress, one of the most well-known stage magicians in early-twentieth-century Europe. Without Jack’s steady supply of stolen tricks and copycat sleight-of-hand illusions, the Enchantress’s fame would have burned out long ago—not that she would ever admit it.

But when they’re forced to flee the continent for America, the Enchantress finds a new audience in Seattle at the 1909 Alaska–Yukon–Pacific World’s Fair Exposition. She and Jack are set to make a fortune until a new magician arrives on the scene. Performing tricks that defy the imagination, Laszlo’s act threatens to overshadow the Enchantress and co-opt her audience. Jack has no choice but to hunt for the secrets behind Laszlo’s otherworldly illusions—but what he uncovers isn’t at all what he expected.

What makes Laszlo’s tricks possible is, unbelievably, a boy that can seemingly perform real magic. Wilhelm’s abilities defy all the laws of physics. His talents are no clever sleights-of-hand. But even though Laszlo and Wilhelm’s act threatens to destroy the life Jack and the Enchantress have built, Jack and Wilhelm have near-instant connection. As the rivalry between the Enchantress and Laszlo grows increasingly dangerous and dire, Jack finds he has to choose between the woman who gave him a life and the boy who is offering him love. It's a new star-crossed romance about the magic of first love from acclaimed author Shaun David Hutchinson.

Review: DNFed at 10%. I have tried to get through this book for months and it’s just not working for me. I’m sure the story is interesting but it’s just not sticking with me.

Verdict: I’m sure it’s good, but not for me.

3.25 stars

This was my first book by Shaun David Hutchinson but I enjoyed it! While I was approved for the audiobook and it was a monotone voice, it was still a good read. My only complaints were that it was too insta-love for me and the length. The first half was super good and I was really into the story but then it started to drag. Jack and Wilhelm were adorable and I did enjoy how they trusted each other. The side characters were my favorite part of the whole story though.

A magical story with a beautiful set of characters. The story is intriguing and I just kept on listening for hours. There is always something unexpected. This book is full of magic, friendship, mystery, hope and love.

The Review

This was such a magical read (pun intended)! The author does an incredible job of crafting an alternate history setting with a magical realism story element while still incorporating the hardships and struggles of not only that era but the struggles of the youth in the LGBTQ community. The theme of family and finding one’s place in the world was felt in every chapter of this book, and really captured the heart of the narrative.

The characters were so engaging to read. The alternating perspective of protagonists Jack and Willhelm were so interesting to see unfold, as they came from very different paths in life by the time they found one another, and yet found a sense of belonging and home within one another’s lives. The background of magic, both real and more illusion-based, was fascinating to see unfold, especially considering the era of the narrative.

The Verdict

A brilliant, heartfelt, and engaging YA Magical and LGBTQ Historical Fiction, author Shaun David Hutchinson’s “Before We Disappear” is a must-read (and listen) book of 2021. The perfect book to grab as we head into the fall season, the balance of history, magic, and LGBTQ-forward romance was amazing to see in this novel, and I look forward to reading more of this amazing author’s work.