This book was really lovely. I always enjoyed the queer aspects of the Great Gatsby, and having this retelling that really plays into those is wonderful. Excited to see what Akiva Hersh writes next.

Thank you NetGalley and Akiva Hersh for allowing me to read The Magus and The Fool early!

This is Akiva Hersh's sophomore novel and while I hadn't had the pleasure of reading his debut, I really enjoyed this The Great Gatsby retelling: great prose, fantastic characters and captivating plot. I especially found myself enthralled by Fallon and Jacobi and their love for the same man.

While I did think the writing style was enjoyable, very easy to read but with beautiful prose still, I didn't connect with the characters at all. I like character driven books so one of the most important things for me is that I like the characters and am invested in them, which wasn't the case here. As a retelling of The Great Gatsby it didn't add or change much of the story, and that's another reason for the rating. I will say I appreciated how much queer rep this had! Still would recommend if retellings (with lots of drama and conflict) are your thing.

I'm not the biggest fan of The Great Gatsby but this was an entertaining book nonetheless, I liked the writing although I found it a bit clunky at times. Also, I haven't read that many retellings but I feel like they should differ just a bit more from the original text than this book, obviously the plot should be the same but I would have enjoyed an even deeper analysis of queer and race issues, however the existing discussions were enough to satisfy me, they just didn't blow my mind. Fun read!

I really, really wanted to like this book.

This was basically a modern-day Great Gatsby retelling, and you can tell. The plot of the book was basically just the plot of The Great Gatsby, and you could tell it was modernized not by the technology, but through the tasteless use of pop culture references. Pop culture references in fiction usually feel forced to me, and this was no exception. "Bye, Felicia?" Really? I cringed so hard.

This novel was rich with description. So rich, in fact, that sometimes it tended to distract from the actual story. And sometimes didn't make much sense. Like the phrase "looking as if the left side of her face had had an accident with her right." What does that even mean? That gives me no mental images and is more distracting than it is helpful.

This felt more like the author had taken The Great Gatsby and changed words to modernize the story, regardless of whether or not it made sense. It was difficult for me to enjoy because of that factor. I understand it is a retelling, but retellings should be more than just copy-paste-and-change-a-few-words. The characters and their sexualities were different, but the plot was pretty much the same and that's where it fell flat for me. Especially since a lot of the aspects of The Great Gatsby that were kept in the writing of The Magus and the Fool wouldn't work today. It gave the whole novel a feeling of displacement that I couldn't shake no matter what I did. Maybe this is my sign to just stop giving retellings so many chances.

This is a The Great Gatsby retelling which follows the plot of the book almost exactly with very little to no deviations.
I loved the queer characters, especially Carry and Levi and the writing style a lot. It kept me hooked even though I could already predict the plot since I've read The Great Gatsby.
I would've enjoyed it more if the retelling was ay least a bit subtle and didn't rely so heavily on The Great Gatsby.
It is still an enjoyable read and the lush prose, the characters, especially the nuances put into everyone, makes it a good read.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me an ARC in exchange for a review.

A beautiful queer retelling of The Great Gatsby. The prose is lush and dreamy, making the book an enjoyable read. All of the characters aside from "Nick" and "Gatsby" are gender swapped and many are queer. Aside from this the story follows the plot of the original novel with very little deviation. Overall a really well written story but I'm not sure it stands alone enough as a retelling.

Read this because the plot sounded interesting and the cover is gorgeous, and I'm glad I took a chance with this! I did have a little trouble connecting with the characters, but the writing was amazing and kept me hooked the entire time. Thoroughly enjoyed the last hundred or so pages. All in all a great read!

Dramaaaaaa. Listen, this type of book isn't usually my cup of tea but it kept me hooked. I enjoyed that relationships were pushed to their limits and strained. Definitely do not pick this one up if you just want a bit of fluff and romance

Gatsby-esque and gorgeous. Hersh's prose is simply astounding. It is similar to that of the masters of the 19th century. This book followed the Gatsby script well, adding it's own flairs and dramatics where necessary. An absolutely stunning masterpiece on what it is to be LGBT.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this arc!

As far as some of the reviews go, they were right. This book was so easy to get through and I found myself enjoying every part of it. As a queer retelling of The Great Gatsby, this had great rep and the story was enjoyable to follow. It masterfully explores gender, as the characters are nothing but conventional. Overall I had fun reading this book and am looking forward to whatever the author will put out soon!

The Great Gatsby is one of my favorite books of all time and when I heard that this was a Great Gatsby retelling that was trans-positive and had LGBTQ+ representation, I was immediately intrigued. Carry is an incredibly fascinating character, reminiscent of the fascinating way that Nick Carroway was in The Great Gatsby. I read this book in two sittings and while I would recommend this to other Great Gatsby fans, it just was not for me. I didn't find Donovan, Fallon, and Jacobi to be all that interesting the way I thought I would and I just had trouble focusing and keeping myself engaged, despite the fascination that I took to it. The cover is stunning and the premise, in this era of retellings, will draw a lot of eyes and find its niche, garnering the attention and admiration it deserves. Just perhaps not from me.

Thank you to Akiva Hersh and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy!

I came across this book, and was initially drawn by both the intriguing cover art and description. I can now say that I feel fortunate to have found this novel.

Carry is a fascinating narrator, and it was interesting to see the world and characters through his eyes. The other characters are all very fleshed out as well, and draw attention from their first introduction.

I got invested in the plot very early on, and read everything it one sitting. This was a very captivating novel, and a great experience overall!