By The Orchid and the Owl: Mariah Montoya
I really enjoyed this book. By the Orchid and the Owl is an
academic fantasy where young adults are sent to an institute and gifted some
kind of magic which they must learn to wield. The main character Rayna meets an
older student, Coen Steeler and she uncovers some dark and dangerous secrets.
I really enjoyed the setting, it sounded interesting but
leaves an air of mystery and the unknown beyond the limits of the protections
around the setting. I find the magic system very interesting and it’s well
explained without too much info-dumping.
The world-building is great, and so are the characters. They
are all very fleshed out and well developed. Rayna is great, Coen is attractive
but a little frustrating at times. The other characters are also great and
while there are the typical academia archetypes, they’re written so well that
they don’t feel too much like cliché tropes.
One thing that I felt a little weird about was the switch in
Quinn. An old friend of Rayna’s for so long but she suddenly turned on her with
little explanation? I feel like there could have been a little bit more
foreshadowing that the friendship wasn’t entirely what Rayna thought it was. That
Quinn would suddenly walk away from both her closest friend and boyfriend, it
was a bit odd.
That said, I love the little mouse friend and her
relationship with Jagaros. There were a couple of points where the book lost me
in the plot but on the whole I think the storyline is solid and I am intrigued
to read the next book in the series and follow Rayna’s story. I give this book
5 stars because I had a great time with it.
Emi the Cat Lady 💜
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