Q: Is this whole world called All Souls? Q: Do fantasy stories have many rules?

Before I get into anything, I’m going to do my best not to sound foolish explaining my thoughts.

I fell in love and became obsessed once I read a description of A Discovery of Witches. When I found out it had a sequel about to be released, I went crazy. Historical fiction and witchcraft are two of my favorite genres. Since then, I’ve read and listened to the trilogy countless times. Now, not only do I still enjoy the wonderful story that initially captivated me, but I’ve also started to notice small imperfections. When you revisit something many times, you begin to see things that didn’t fully make sense before.

What I think I’m experiencing is that the author built an incredible world, filled with compelling stories that took me on an adventure. Through the journey, I learned about the characters as they learned about themselves. The beautiful writing and plotting created something truly brilliant for me. Nothing will ever take away the experience I had, or my heartfelt gratitude to the author for imagining such a world.

I was a bit stretched by the fourth book, to be honest. Marcus wasn’t all that interesting to me. But the author is a historian, and you write from your passion, so I went with it. I enjoyed the parts that included the characters I loved, but not so much the other characters who weren’t directly tied to the original trilogy.

I loved learning more about Freya, Fanny, Phoebe’s family, and Jason, but there were so many other characters I didn’t care for. The adventure sometimes felt like other stories wedged into this one, though Phoebe’s story kept me captivated. It was like being invited to a party where you know the first few hours are going to be amazing, and the after-party will be fantastic, but everything in between feels like you’re being held hostage.

There are probably better examples, but this is where my head is at.

Continuing with Diana as the lead character is where I started losing interest. She became like that friend you quietly distance yourself from, or the cousin nobody wants to invite. Emotionally, to me, she feels like a Karen—not because of her behavior, but because the feelings I associate with that kind of person are similar to what I now feel about Diana. She just makes my eyes roll.

It’s like a bad marriage. It starts out passionate, you’re wildly in love, but after the honeymoon phase, you realize you might’ve made a huge mistake in your rush of passion.

That’s how I feel reading these books right now. I really wish the current one hadn’t focused on Diana and her confusing traits. I would have preferred if the twins were older, around 13 or 14, continuing the story with Diana as a major, but supporting, character. Knowing where everything is heading makes the original three books less interesting to me now.

Anyway, I probably broke my rule and am not making much sense, but in the spirit of getting my unfiltered thoughts out there and hoping someone else can help me make sense of them, I submit this to you.