Alwyn Hamilton’s fantasy novel The Notorious Virtues was an intriguing read with magical trials, a murder to solve and a 1920s vibe. In this world, wealth, power and especially virtues are paramount. The story follows four perspectives; Nora, Lotte, August and Theo.
I found Nora’s pov to be the most compelling. Nora is the heir to the Holtzfall family, but after the death of her mother, she must compete for the heirship along with her cousins (including Lotte, the cousin no one knew about) and prove her worth while trying to unravel the mystery of her mother’s murder.
There are two romantic side plots that add depth without overshadowing the main storyline. With all of this tension, mystery, magic and competition, The Notorious Virtues was unputdownable! I can’t wait to see where the story goes in the aftermath of that ending.

The Notorious Virtues delivers a glittering world of magic, ambition, and intrigue. While the pacing is uneven and some characters could be more developed, the rich world-building and drama make for an enjoyable read. Not Hamilton’s strongest, but still a fun escape for fantasy lovers.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC! This book was FANTASTIC! This story was filled with so many twists and turns and I loved every second of it. The multiple points of view really added to the experience and I fell in love with the characters. I also thought the origin story of Honor weaved throughout the novel was a really interesting choice. Nora's character growth was perfect! The epilogue got me very excited and I am really looking forward to the next installment and to see where things go from here in the world post-Holtzfall!

This book was almost perfect - until the ending. Combining The Hunger Games mentality with a noir mystery is a new idea which I happily received but did not solve. I loved the characters and thought the world building was amazing.

It was an enjoyable read but not that quick. Although I do think it was too much of a slow burn - the last trial came with nowhere near enough left in the book.

Having multiple points of view is always difficult to write. Sometimes it is also hard to read. I can happily say that is not the case here. Each character comes through with a clear voice, Nora taking full center stage.

I did appreciate that although the romance(s) are apparent that isn’t a chief motivation for any of the characters. All too often romance becomes too heavy of a subplot in what should be an action-driven novel. I also like having the characters’ motivations being moral out of necessity. It allows the writer to show all sides of a given issue - how they do react, how they want to react and the middle ground.

Honora Holtzfall isn’t a character I’ll be forgetting anytime soon. I hope it gets optioned for either a film or a series. Looking forward to the next book, as I see this is a planned trilogy. Hopefully we will read about Victor’s death. I do hope for the record it doesn’t get swallowed by the Sunrise Reaping hype. This book should, and does, stand on its own.

4.5 stars

The Notorious Virtues is an intricate fantasy story set in a 1920s-inspired world with a fairy tale spin. There's magic and mystery and, yes, even murder. It's hard to put into worlds just how vast this world that Alwyn has created really is. There are so many layers to the characters and the plot, the world-building and magic, and even the fairy tale-inspired elements.

I was immediately drawn into this story, and even though it felt like a long story (there's just so much happening in every single chapter and there are four POV characters), I had to keep reading to find out who would qualify for the Veritaz Trial and who killed Verity Holtzfall.

And boy, was it worth every single page. That ending... whew! It was a LOT and I am so excited to read the sequel. (Hopefully, it won't take nearly as long for book two to come out as book one, right?)

I really love how all the different elements tie together. I love how brutal and conniving some of the characters are. I love that it loosely connects to Rebel of the Sands. I love that there's so much Alwyn has to work with for the rest of the series. And I love that cover! It's gorgeous.

This book combines so many things I adore, and I'm really looking forward to (1) reading this book again and (2) whatever sequels Alwyn Hamilton has for us next!

Mixing fairy-tale and folklore with a more modern fantasy twist, The Notorious Virtues is a fun read of family politics and duplicity. Magic, civil unrest and the opportunity to grasp the 'throne', with cousins pitted against each other to prove their worth.

Nora and Lotte are strong female leads, dealing with maternal loss and alienation in isolation until they learn to trust each other. All that they have ever known is thrown into question as their world gradually dissembled revealing long hidden secrets.

With a sprinkling of romance thrown in for good measure, this is a captivating YA read.

The general gilded age fairy tale atmosphere/vibe of this book was really fun, and I liked Nora best out of all the POVs and her arc, and there were also some pretty great twists at the end that I did not see coming. But, overall, there was both too much and not enough going on in this book. It was hard to keep track of all the characters and too many of them to be very well developed. There was this complex family and history going on that I never fully understood, but also not enough explanation of the magic for me to really get it, and the trials ended up being a real disappointment that was barely shown on the page. Basically, I never really felt pulled into the story and had to force/skim my way through it, and I'm not really interested in the next one, despite the cliffhanger ending.

Oh my goodness this book is just perfection! Probably my favorite teen novel of the year so far. The characters are dynamic, the story is engaging, readers are drawn in from page one, and all the family dynamics are just messed up enough, you must know what is going to happen next. I love all four characters highlighted. The voices for each are unique and just jump off the page. I also enjoyed the fantasy mixed with the family turmoil. The magic added to the story and made sense with the fairy tale that allows the Holtzfall family to be in power. I noticed that people have been waiting for this book for a long time. In my opinion the wait is worth it, and I hope that readers loved this just as much as I did. I know that this will be a book I’ll highly recommend.
Thank you to Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers Group and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

This was a good one.

A town with a 20’s feel, where magic is real.

Only a Holtzfall can have or perform magic which has made them powerful and rich.

So, a murder of the next Holtzfall heir results in a competition between cousins to take over as top dog in their family.

There are multiple POVs but my favorites were Nora whose mother was murdered and she’s set on solving it (she will by the end of the book).

My other favorite was Lotte, the illegitimate child that no one knew existed but has as much right to win as any of the others. It was fun to learn about the family with her.

The trials were awesome, but I wish there had been more-or extended scenes of those-because they were a lot of fun.

One of my favorite books I’ve read this year so far and now I have to wait for Book Two lol.

Thank you Netgalley and Penguin/Viking Books for a free copy of this lovely book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I ate this up! I've said it before and I'll say it again, throw a magical competition in a book and I will be hooked. When Nora Holtzfall's mother is found dead suddenly Nora's guaranteed life as the heiress to her country is up in the air. For centuries her family has tested its children to find the most virtuous to lead the people. Nora's mother won her Veritaz trials and as her only child Nora was the heir apparent. Now Nora must compete in her own Veritaz trials against her cousins to secure her place as heiress once again. However, her cousin's have been jealously watching her all their lives and they won't give up their own shot to one day rule, especially not with their magic on the line. While Nora should be focusing on her trials she can't stop herself from sneaking out into the night with a new journalist friend desperate to understand what led to her mothers death.

I really liked the cheeky naming conventions for Nora's family. Nora's full name is Honora, her family boasts names like Modesty, Constance, Clemency, Grace, Prosper, ect. I love that they took the test of virtues and said okay well now all the kids must have virtuous names as well. I also enjoyed the trials themselves. Each trial is testing one specific virtue and there is a trial equal to the amount of contestants where at the conclusion the winner earns a ring that grants them passage into the woods. The woods are a realm where tricky fae-like creatures roam and dangers are abound.

There's a moment where it's mentioned the woods have been closed off for many years due to humans trying to go in and gain more magic like the Holtzfall family has. This is where I admit I got a bit lost with the world building. We have several facts; Nora is mixed race, her father we are told came from the desert and his mother was a desert princess. The city which borders the woods is divided into several rings with the first ring being made up of the elite 1 percent but the first ring also seems to be the outer ring since we're told Nora's grandmother's house borders the woods. We get the point of view from a character outside the city, Lotte, who makes no real mention of the wood or it affecting her life before she is drawn into the Holtzfall games. We are also told at one point the characters can't leave and so a revolution is brewing with people unhappy with the Holtzfall's claim on owning all of the land with no opportunity for the regular citizens to get out from under their thumb. My absolute biggest problem was I just could not wrap my head around what this world was supposed to look like, I desperately needed a map. (A bookstore had an early copy out and I went to look to see if one had been added and sadly I must report there is no map at all.) It also makes no sense how Nora's father can be foreign. If the current citizens can't leave how is it that people can still come in? My other gripe is smaller and it's that I wish we had gone into more detail with how charms i.e. the magic works in this world. There seems to be professionals who make charms and anyone can use them if they can afford to purchase them. However, a regular citizen has a low level of magic energy within themselves so their charms quickly expire. The Holtzfall's have much more magic and so can get more use out of charms. There's moments thought that I swear it was said that Nora's family who lost their magic in previous trials were still able to use charms, so I feel I must have misunderstood something.

Complaints aside, this is such a fun fantasy with some roaring twenties vibes mixed in with a murder mystery amid a treacherous competition.

This was fantastic. I really enjoyed the world and the characters, and I thought that the author's ability to weave in the different mysteries and intrigue was really well done. The different POVs helped keep the pacing pushing forward and they were fun to read. Everything was just action-filled, twisty and turny, and really compelling. I cannot wait for the next book because I have so many questions still! Really awesome, and I also am excited to get our physical copies in at my branch!

This was the first book I have read by this author, and I am in love. The world building was top-notch with a lot of characters that were well-written and well-developed. I really liked that there were multiple points of view. The book kept me guessing due to all the mysteries and secrets and I couldn't put it down. I cannot recommend this book enough! There was a lot of action with some romance, magic, fairy tales and twists and turns. I have so many questions and need to know what happens next. I hope the next book will be here sooner rather than later!

Magic, glamour and a country bumpkin cousin? Sign me up. Set in a world where a family has a stranglehold on the. Said of the world, but with maybe a bit too much infighting. We follow Nora who is the heiress to be and how she navigates that position even as close family members die. And then we have Lotte who doesn’t really know who she is, but she is powerful and needs to step up. But there are other things happening in the world that just might cause issue for Nora and Lotte. The only thing I’d say negative about this book is the lack of closure for this part of the story. Sure, there is an ending, but I’d prefer a bit more closure.

4.5 Rounded up. I'm taking away a half star because CLIFFHANGER AAAAH. Otherwise I really really liked this. I'll be doing a more in depth review on my channel shortly. But the essentials are good worldbuilding, good character growth, nice not over-the-top romance that fits well. Good mystery and several good plot twists and others that were spotted early but were well woven into the story. I just hope I don't have to wait for the sequel for as long as we waited for this one to come out.

This thrilling ride follows Nora, a girl destined for power but feeling like an outsider in her family. After her mother’s mysterious death disrupts their magical empire, Nora is thrown into the Veritaz, a brutal competition for family fortune and magic. Complications arise with Lotte, an unexpected cousin and illegitimate daughter, enters the mix. As secrets unfold and alliances shift, Nora confronts dark family truths and seeks her place, guided by a reporter who despises her. This gripping tale of survival, betrayal, and power is filled with cutthroat family drama and class divides.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton is a third person multi-POV YA fantasy. The Holtzfall family has magic, money, and power. In order to select a new heiress, the eligible daughters will face a series of trials based on five virtues. Nora was once the heir apparent until it was taken from her and she’s going to do what she can to get it back. But Lotte, her cousin who has been hidden away for years, is going to fight for her place in the family.

There are two romance subplots going on, but I wouldn’t call this a Romantasy (romantic fantasy or fantasy romance). The romances don’t really drive the plot forward and the plot wouldn’t change if they were to go away as the actual plot is Nora and Lotte and their three cousins competing for the heirship. Nora’s love interest is August, a journalist, which makes their relationship something of a forbidden romance as the Holtzfall family doesn’t have relationships with journalists as a pretty ironclad rule. Lotte’s romance is with Theo, a knight who is destined to protect the Holtzfall family, and also Nora’s childhood friend. This is another forbidden romance because the Holtzfall family has a strict rule that intimacy between the family and their knights cannot exist.

Grimm’s fairy tales show up as a loose reference. Chapters delivering worldbuilding through the Tale of the Woodcutter read as a twist on the fairy tale The Honest Woodcutter collected by the Brothers Grimm with a bit of the trials found in other German fairy tales. Grims, humans wearing wolf masks who want to bring down the Holtzfall family, crop up as an underground rebel group gaining speed. There isn’t a Red Riding Hood or obvious princess allusions, but they might show up in the next book. I wouldn’t call this a retelling, but more inspired by Germanic fairy tales.
Nora and Lotte have two very distinct voices. Nora is more affected and influenced by the life of opulence she has led until she’s pushed too far and her anger comes through. She suppresses her feelings quite a bit as her family is that stereotypical rich family that cares far too much about appearances and far too little about the well-being of their children. Lotte is a bit lost until she learns who she really is and then she becomes very determined but still struggling with her new life. The only thing she really wants is to belong, so her heart isn’t totally in the trials, but she’ll do what it takes to learn who she can be and who her father was.

Content warning for mentions of child death and revenge porn

I would recommend this to fans of fans of YA fantasy who want more of a romance subplot rather than a Romantasy and readers of fantasy who love trials and tournaments

Trials! Power! The drama! I definitely would recommend if you love messy family drama and political intrigue. I wish the trials were more of the main plot as it felt like a subplot.

The best way i can compare this to something is a kind of fantasy "Knives Out".

Theres a rich family and a competition, although the book spends shockingly little time on the trials (not a complaint! Just surprising!) there's a murdered mother and a surprise heiress and a healthy dollop of class consciousness.

This book had a very interesting premise and a great setting. I loved Alwyn Hamilton's Rebel of the Sands series so I was really excited for another fantasy. I definitely loved all the fairytale elements and the relationships that grew, specifically the connection between Nora and Lotte and Nora's romance with August. I'm fascinated by the story and will definitely be reading the next book when it comes out. Unfortunately it just didn't grip me like Rebel of the Sands did, I don't know, maybe it was because it felt so tense all the time, I just couldn't relax into it.

It was a long wait for this one but I'm so glad Alwyn Hamilton is publishing again. While I struggled with the characters at first, they became a lot more engaging as you got through the book. I was surprised by how few of the pages were devoted to the trails. That seemed like it was going to be the main plot, but it ended up being on par with the mystery element. The classism was challenging to read about, with things the way they are in the US right now, but it addresses them well. Highly recommend to anyone who likes unique magic systems and family drama. Lots of Knives Out vibes.