This is the kind of book I wish I'd experienced as a Netflix original that gets cancelled after one season, just so I would be spared the sloppy writing and get to enjoy some pretty costumes and Edwardian England settings instead (of which the book provided only a faint echo).

Mediocre writing (how many similes and random italicised words are too many? this book can demonstrate), protagonists with undistinguishable voices in the alternating POV, two-dimensional side characters and cartoonishly evil villain(s), predictable plot. The magic system was the highlight, I liked the idea a lot, but even that felt like it hadn't moved past the concept stage by the end: half of the questions about how it works were explicitly presented through either the 1) non-magical character's inner monologue as a "oh wow I should ask about this later because we're in the middle of something now" list that is never addressed, or 2) the magical character's inner monologue as "oh wow this is ancient magic that hasn't been studied yet and I can't wait to learn more about it" list that is never addressed. Not sure if this was by accident or an intentional cop-out, but I had to laugh.

I don't mind a slow pace if everything else is done right, but that wasn't the case here. I did eventually get invested enough to be able to finish, but I still kept checking how far I'd gotten thinking I'd made progress only to see the bar had only moved up by 2%. Glacial would be an understatement. I ended up skimming through the last few chapters and sighed in relief when it was finally done.