Zombie high fantasy
Silvie is a poor foundling who served as a magical sentry - travelling in a wolf‘s mind to fight against the cadaveri - until she total burns out when her wolf dies. No magic, deaf on one ear and with serious vertigo she is called to serve the royal alchemist in the main capital Arteria. There she meets well-to-do, contrary Azura, the magically gifted daughter of the alchemist, and the child-queen Lena. We get to know the intricate setting and the capital. Arteria very much resembles Venice, the lagoon, the canals, the palazzo and certainly the opulent flaunting of wealth.
Borsellino slowly introduces us into the world: where Silvie, Azura, Lena and her guard are on very different sides when it comes to their station in life. I started to wait for the other shoe to drop when we slowly get an idea that all the wealth covers a rot which goes to the core of this world. At last it all erupts …
The world-building is excellent. I esp. liked the idea of the cadaveri / zombies balancing the exploitation of magic. Borsellino outdid herself when describing the effects of Silvie‘s disability and weaving them continuously into the story. There is a very slow burn f/f romance mixed into the story. Although interesting it takes some time for the underlying tension to come forth, but I very much enjoyed the nuanced writing and the great descriptions.

I received an ARC via netgalley. The review is left voluntarily.

with a fantasy containing a bit of some more serious and darker themes, this sapphic witchy romance was easily consumed in one solid sitting and i had the absolute time of my life! i will def be reading more from borsellino in the future 💫

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC.
I was originally skeptical about this book. The start scene to be one of a typical fantasy. BUT OH BOY WAS I WRONG. This book is one of the biggest hidden gems of 2024.

Writing:
Chefs kiss no notes. The starting felt a little sloppy but it picked up after about 25%. I genuinely felt like I was in the book

Plot:
The first 80% the book is about the charecters and establishing their roll in the narrative. There a re alot of coversations and conflicting opinions. The book had a more literary fiction feeling to it.The metaphor of magic and zombies is very relatable in this current this century.

Chrecters:
Each one of the charecters have a different upbringing and motivations making the conversations between them really interesting.

Overall this book is a goldmine of good quotes and relevant topics making this one a must read!

The Hollow Witch follows Silvie, a sentry that uses magic to transport her mind into a wolf to fight off the undead that rise as a cost of magic use in the country. During a response, her wolf is killed while she was inhabiting its' mind almost resulting in her death, but it left her with some disabilities and the inability to use magic. Without her magic she found herself being enlisted as an apprentice in the countries capital for the records keeper where she meets her new bosses daughter, Azura.

I'll admit this book wasn't for me. The characters were fine. I like Silvie, she was well created and intriguing. Azura is trapped in her life, wanting out but not knowing where to go, was a bit too childish for me. I struggled a bit with the progression of their relationship. The world seems fascinating but I wanted more. There were some inconsistencies that kept nagging me as I read and since most of the world building was done through off handed comments and side conversations, it was up to the reader to piece it together. Which is not generally what I enjoy since if you miss something or come to the wrong conclusion, it takes me out of the story and hurts my enjoyment of the story.

All in all, the book wasn't bad but it wasn't for me. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

My pledge to myself for 2025 was to expand my reviewing beyond just theatre, more regularly adding book reviews seeing as I have spent so many years studying books anyway. With that in mind, I have also had to consider increasing the amount of books that I read – typically it takes far longer to read a book than watch a play! So, we’re ten days into the year and I have already read two books, not bad going if I say so myself. My second book of the year was The Hollow Witch by Mary Borsellino, a high fantasy YA novel which takes us on a journey to a place where the cost of magic is a particularly high one.

All magic comes at a price, any good fairytale or OUAT meme will tell you that, but what that price is varies from fantasy novel to fantasy novel. In the fictional kingdom of Arteria, where magic is collected and siphoned off securely, this price is the resurrection of the dead, or zombie-esque creatures known as cadaveri. In this world there are magical foundling armies which protect the people, and the towns and city people who live in fear. One of our protagonists is the former. Silvie is a fiercely independent soldier, suffering from a crippling injury which results in the loss of both physical and magical capabilities. By contrast, Azura is a privileged girl living in the heart of the kingdom, friend of royalty and daughter to the court alchemist. Worlds collide when Silvie becomes the alchemist’s apprentice and the two must learn about different ways of life in order to find a common thread. It is a story which touches upon a range of themes including prejudice, child abuse, and homophobia, seeking to tackle big issues through a fantasy lens, albeit if a little clumsily at times.

The heavy handed discussion of themes follows through into the exposition, with a little too much reliance on telling over showing and a reliance on tropes to indicate the growing romance. Certainly, there were some good moments of description and the world itself was an interesting one, but the fleshing out of the characters fell somewhat short. This felt like a story which could have really captured the imagination, but unfortunately has not quite reached its full potential. If Borsellino had spent a few more words breathing life into these characters and filling in the gaps between the sometimes erratic time jumps, this would have been a compelling story about how mistreatment can make you want to burn the whole world down. There was a poignant story to be told here and a fascinating idea of what magic truly costs and I would have liked to feel more invested in the personal journeys the characters were going on. An interesting story with potential.

It's not your job to be what he, or anyone else, wants you to be. You just have to be. Even if it makes your father disappointed, or uncomfortable, or angry, or sad. No matter how much you love him, you can't betray who you are for his sake, because who you are isn't up to him.' wow

SAPPHIC FANTASY IS MY FAVORITE. i was surprised by how short this one is.

i loved the idea of zombies in a more fantasy setting. i really love the characters! it was written in a descriptive but not TOO descriptive way.

The Hollow Witch by Mary Borsellino is a masterpiece! Pure art in book form. I completely loved the storyline, the characters, the plot... so so good!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an arc of this book

Sylvie was a child soldier who is forced to start her life over when she is taken on as an apprentice to an alchemist. Her new world is so different from what she knew before and she is drawn to the alchemists daughter. The two strike up an unlikely bond and that was what I enjoyed most about the book.

There’s magic and threat and ghouls and some romance thrown into the mix as well. An overall enjoyable read

Silvie is a sentry, who uses her psychic magic to protect her town, until a tragedy cost hrr powers. Azura, daughter of the court alchemist, is less than happy tobhear her father has a new apprentice.
However, Silvie quickly befriends her and Lena, her friend, while court politics swirl around them. As Silvie realizes she might love Azusa, things come to a sudden boil.
Good, if somewhat dark read. Interesting magic system, good world building and a surprise villain.

this kind of book is the hardest to review because it is not bad but it's not good, it's just fine. the only thing that's sticks out to me as a flawed is the plot. could have forgiven it for being so scattered if it was balanced out by stronger character arcs but they too are just fine.

When Magic Fades*, a spellbinding story, is an emotional and adventurous journey through the canal city of Arteria, where danger and beauty coexist. This book is a remarkable exploration of resilience, identity, and the unlikely connections that shape us.

Silvie, a former child soldier, finds herself stripped of the life she once knew—her magic gone and her hearing partially lost. Sent to an unfamiliar city as an alchemist's apprentice, she must rebuild her world from the ground up. Azura, the privileged daughter of the alchemist, lives a life of comfort but is equally constrained by her circumstances. Despite their differences, Silvie and Azura forge a compelling bond that is as unexpected as it is transformative.

The city of Arteria is richly imagined, with its vibrant canals masking a dark secret: the cadaveri, terrifying walking corpses born from the overuse of magic. The looming threat of these creatures heightens the tension, making every choice the characters make feel urgent and profound.

What makes *When Magic Fades* shine is its layered storytelling. Silvie and Azura’s relationship evolves beautifully, filled with vulnerability and strength. Their struggles to define themselves outside of societal expectations are deeply relatable, and their courage in the face of overwhelming odds is inspiring.

The prose is vivid and lyrical, painting a world that feels both fantastical and grounded. The themes of sacrifice, redemption, and the cost of power resonate powerfully, making this book a thought-provoking read as well as an exhilarating adventure.

If you’re a fan of richly built worlds, emotionally complex characters, and high-stakes drama, *When Magic Fades* is a must-read. It’s a story that lingers, leaving you eager for more of Silvie and Azura’s journey.