This was a really interesting middle grade. I enjoyed it and would recommend it to people who enjoy darker stories that border on horror. This would be great for fans of Coraline I think. The magic system was really cool and I wanted to learn more about it. Excellent work!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

Thank you so much NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of Magic Beyond the Mark by Emily Swiers.

I absolutely loved this middle grade book. The whole idea of marks that represent your soul and the FOMO one feels when he/she is the only one without the said mark and to deal with all this at the age of eleven was so well-written.

Being an outcast, whether you have some mysterious skills, or being without any apparent skills and how the society bullies you in either case in eye-opening and sad.

But to find loyal and beautiful friends among all this when your life gets a 360-degrees turn is a blessing in disguise.

I wholeheartedly adore the magical world of Silis Madden and his family. The concept of seeing the unseen and being part of a world you know nothing of and honing the skills you never knew you possess and saving the world along with all of this navigation made for such a beautiful story.

To stand with your friends when the going gets tough and to do everything in order to protect your family and friends even if they are not themselves is the key.

Celia’s friendship with Dori and in turn their friendship with Silis made for such a wonderful trio. It does get too emotional at times and is bound to tear you up. The bravery, courage, and timely thinking on the part of these main characters was so wonderfully tackled.

The way the whole town gets infected gives you the creeps. But all in all, it was a beautiful story and I highly recommend it if you like reading midde-grade fiction with magical realism, fantasy and wholesome friendships.

This really didn't grab me. I loved the concept and thought it was cute and charming, but it wasn't something that drew me in, and I didn't end up finishing it. It's not something I would give to our middle grade readers. It's not bad, it's just not exciting.

The art style of this cover is one of my favourites, so naturally I was drawn in by it. I knew very little about the plot, author or theme beyond the word magic in the title, so I was really intrigued to see what it had in store.

Dori is 11 but unlike everyone she knows, her mark hasn’t revealed itself yet, making her feel very alone. She thinks her mysterious classmate Silis might have an idea because his mark is particularly rare and special. At home, her mum’s new boyfriend is acting strangely and when his mark causes her to start seeing creatures from another world, Dori knows its her duty to learn about what’s really going on in her hometown.

The magic is really beautiful. I had some really pretty, mesmerising images in my mind as each of the characters appeared with their marks. Most of them are nature related, so it wasn’t hard to evoke that delicate ethereal feeling around them but it was definitely my favourite element of the book.

My main gripe with the book was the writing itself. It really needed a good edit because I felt like Swiers had forgotten what she had or hadn’t already written. Jesse never actually says that Blanks (those without marks) die in their twenties. I went back to check and confirmed this. I think he says something like Blanks having shorter lifespans but he never specifically says anything about dying in their twenties.

Similarly in the first scene with the Maddens, Silis’ father Oscar doesn’t introduce himself until the narration has already mentioned his name twice. It means that the first time I read the name Oscar, I didn’t know who he was. Again, this is something a good editor would have picked up immediately.

'If we lived in a world of all blue: everything was blue, the people, the trees, everyone's marks, but your mark is connected to a red world. Why would a red mark need to develop in a world of blue?'

Oscar’s description of why Dori’s mark hadn’t developed also didn’t make sense to me yet I think it was supposed to. I don’t understand the above quote as an explanation for why Dori doesn’t have a mark because they don’t live in a world where everything is the same. If someone does get it, please let me know!

Towards the end of the book, the bond between Dori and Silis has formed and there were some really touching moments between them. I don’t know whether this is the first instalment of a series but I’d love to see more of their friendship.

Magic Beyond The Mark is full of gorgeous, whimsical imagery and despite some darkness lurking in its shadows, it has the potential to be a gentle, cosy fantasy. With some thorough editing and more detailed world building, it could be a really lovely, charming middle-grade book.

While I was intrigued by the premise here, the execution didn't do much for me. I was willing to give it a chance to establish the world of abilities and what it meant to not have one, the idea of being "other" in the middle school years, once we got into alternate dimensions I was losing interest. And the writing was stiff, the characters underdeveloped.

This was a charming little fantasy read aimed at middle grade readers.

The protagonist, Dori, or Dorianne, seemed a very unique character to me; in fact, her name itself struck me as an uncommon one. It seemed that she struggled to embrace her own powers, her own uniqueness, and if we think about it on a deeper level, I think that's quite relatable, to struggle coming to terms with the fact that we may be different from others in some way. Aside from that, this was very light, reading, and I think it will make young readers smile.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a free copy to review.

This was a really phenomenally well done middle grades book. I thought the application of the magic system was really visual and engaging, and the plot was both exciting and relevant for middle grade readers! I have no doubt this will be a success!

This was a cute book! I found it to be a mix of magical realism and sci-fi but for middle grade readers. It reminded me of Orquedia Divina by Zoraida Cordova. 😍

Magical surrealism middle grade complete with a magic cottage; perfect for fans of The Bellwoods Game by Celia Krampien. It touched on surprisingly important topics like belonging, what is means to be different from our peers, and trusting yourself when you don’t feel safe with an adult/parental figure.

The front half felt stronger than the back half. I was initially drawn in from the very beginning by the concept and setup, but the dialogue and plot fell a little flat for me. The characters didn’t read as 10-11 to me, but closer to 13-14, and the pacing felt off.

However, for the target age group, I think the cover and concept alone would still draw readers in.

I received a digital copy of this book to review via NetGalley. I knew I wanted to read more middle grade books this month for Middle Grade March. Searching for something I would enjoy as an adult is always tough because I want something with a good story and lovable characters. Thats definitely something I found with Magic Beyond the Mark. Dori was a relatable character and I loved seeing her friendship with Celia and eventually Silis. I thought it had some tense and dark moments for a middle grade book, which I really enjoyed! This is a story I would have gravitated toward as a kid and can't wait to pass it along to other middle graders in my life. I thought it was a genuinely interesting story, the characters were lovable, and I felt engaged the entire time.

Big thank to Netgalley for providing me an arc copies of this delightful book!!

As you can probably guess from the description, Magic Beyond the Mark is about Dori, our adorable main character who faces an existential crisis because her soul mark won't appear at the age of 11! On top of that, Dori also has to deal with her mom's new boyfriend who just moved in.

Can you imagine that? It'a a very stressful situation for an 11-year-old girl.

Luckily, she's not alone! She befriends a very sweet girl named Celia and a boy with a unique soul mark, Sillis Madden. The three of them then go on a challenging adventure - to save the world and uncover the mystery about Dori's non-existent soul mark.

Overall, this book was a fun read for me! I really liked the magic system, the characters (especially Celia) and their friendship.

The world felt very small at some points, but they are still 11 years old, I don't expect them to be traveling the world, so it didn't matter to me.

This is an e-arc copy from netgalley an honest review.

Younger me would absolutely have loved this one, so I'll recommend it to younger readers who aren't too sensitive/easily scared. There's some tense-ish moments and issues with the mother's boyfriend that are fairly creepy.

The friends dynamic is nice as well, and the premise of soul marks is cool, although I'm glad they don't exist in real life, personally, but I'm also a fairly private person. I guess if you grew up with them they'd just be normal.

That said, it's a nice adventure and I'm going to keep an ear out for more books from this author in the future.

Overall I think this book has a lot of good ideas and a unique story. Best of all I love the descriptions of peoples souls which are visible in a sort of halo around their heads.
It's a good middlegrade book that has s lot of promise. The characters are interesting and fun, especially Celia and Silis's parents.

However there are some drawbacks which lowered my rating.

The transitions to new scenes arent smooth, one moment its night and the next sentence its apparently morning but this isnt done in a very coherent way.

Something that really bothered me was that she keeps seeing her mothers new boyfriend doing massively weird/creepy things but doesnt say anything to anyone?

I like the vibe of it but I didn't fully follow what was happening or the reasoning behind a lot of things. And it felt quite repetitive, a lot of going back and forth to the same places. A lot of things happen off page, either while the main character is unconscious or while Silis spirit walks and it would be nice to get a little insight into these moments instead of being told about them second hand.

“All around her were people with their souls on display”

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Magic Beyond the Mark tells the story of eleven-year-old Dori who is facing a major dilemma - unlike everyone around her, she doesn’t have a soul mark. In a critical society that judges others who are different, Dori befriends Silis, a classmate with a unique soul mark, and together they face a daunting challenge - to save the world around them as it changes to something entirely unknown.

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I really enjoyed this book, it was a thrilling, enriching read. The characters all felt real and believable and I especially liked Celia and her relationship with Dori. I read this in one sitting as I became captivated by the beautiful world Swiers painted. This book it is not like any other book I’ve read before and is the sort of book I would have loved as a child.

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Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

When you're the only girl without the magical soul mark it means it's time for you to go on a quest to find one. Dori Lowry is an eleven year old girl who is the only person without a soul mark. She is determined to find out why she is the only one without it and that means asking for help from the mysterious Silis Madden, a classmate with an extraordinary mark. That's only the beginning of the things that Dori has to do, she also has to deal with her mom's new boyfriend who has just moved in... and he is his own kind of weird. Her mother's boyfriend's mark triggers a strange event and Dori begins to see creatures... yet despite not having a showing mark she has a new ability. Dori will have to learn about the strange creatures that she has just begun to see and find herself learning about the mysterious Madden family. Friendship, adventure, magic and more come together in this really fun middle grade novel. I loved the adventure that I got to go on with Dori and her friendship with Silis was sweet. This was a really unique story and I think that young readers will definitely have fun with it!

*Thanks Netgalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*