The Shadowglass: Bone Witch #3 (The Bone Witch, 3)

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Winning shows us that a single person alone does not own a film or book, these things are created to be shared, to be loved by a community, to be built upon and to grow. Upon its release it is no longer just the creator’s work, it belongs to us, for us to interpret and enjoy in our own ways. A dark and gothic tale set during the Victorian times, The Shadow In the Glass is a compelling and engrossing story of a young girl’s struggle to better her life.

The Shadow Glass – Josh Winning The Shadow Glass – Josh Winning

I enjoyed anticipating how Eleanor’s wishes would be granted and seeing how she would react when she was given what she asked for, especially when expectation and reality didn’t line up. apparently one of the wishes she makes sics some detective on her and this guy is chasing the lead around because he thinks she has something to do with the mysterious deaths, but he won't do anything about the rapes... because he has no proof and or grounds to accuse the man? (what about the woman who he raped and is currently down the street in some slum house?) so why doesn't anybody in this town assist the maids? which the leads to... Ultimately though this is a story of the power of fandom. I love, love, love the way Winning portrayed fandom and our obsessions; the way we collect as much merchandise from the movie as we can - figures, games, posters, novelisations. The way we also collect as much information as we can, always trying to delve that bit deeper. How we band together in our nerdom. Movies, books and games can have such a wonderful impact on our lives. The scene with The Dragon Con illustrated this perfectly and was an absolute delight.

I related to Bobson as he navigated his complicated family legacy, while figuring out who he is and what he stands for. I was fangirling alongside Toby as his passion for Iri made him practically glow from within. Occasionally I empathised with Cutter, as his pain distorted something that was once pure. The magic system really was confusing.....like a random woman shows up for wishes and it wasn't really explained? Was she the devil, just some random demon? I DON'T KNOW. It never gets explained and it just ends abruptly. Atmospheric, mysterious, and the stuff of dark magic, the book takes us through a series of events as a result of seven wishes granted to Eleanor. A journey that exposes the worst, the inconsiderate and somewhat ignorant side of human nature, where the personal ambitions, requests and desires are taken in isolation without considering the consequences. At a cost!!!

The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning | Goodreads The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning | Goodreads

Ella is a hardworking servant in Granborough House where she was once a ward of sorts to the Pembroke family after her parents died. Promised to be cared for, Ella grows up alongside the Pembroke's son Charles who she has always had a brotherly love for. But after the kind and loving Mrs. Pembroke dies, Ella is forced to become a lowly maid serving the house and family she was once part of. In her secret missions to the library in Granborough House where Ella finds refuge among the books and stories she loses herself in she encounters a mysterious woman who grants her 7 wishes to do as she pleases. Excited that she can change her life and of those she loves Ella begins wishing for good things to happen, but little does she realize at first that her wishes come with a steep price, a price that usually involves death. The Shadow Glass is a cinematic, tropetatstic master-class in adventure & nostalgia, drawing on enough of the 80s greatest hits to feel immediately familiar whilst still staying fresh and original enough to avoid falling into "tired & clichéd territory". Josh Winning knows (and loves) his 80s movies, and it shows. The story pays tribute to childhood escapism and imagination- a sort of Toy Story for movie lovers - with fun twists on familiar concepts & character names, a couple of nightmarish plays on what it means to be a puppet and an adorkable band of helpful nerds who wouldn't be out of place hanging out with Justin Long's Brandon in Galaxy Quest (not an 80s movie, I know, but another nostalgic love-letter to fandom nonetheless).

eleanor tried to be good, she tried to be kind, but she wanted so many things that she could feel them gnawing at her from the inside.” The Shadow Glass is like the old children’s movies it worships: sometimes dark, but never heartless; gritty yet soulbaring. It embraces its referents as a whole: their beauty with their ugliness, the healing power of nostalgia with its potential to poison the present. But it never goes cynical, never loses faith. It stands proud with a VHS copy of its favorite movie held aloft, daring you to say it’s not the greatest film ever.' The love interest, Charles, was a sweet gentle soul who was so CLUELESS. I just couldn't like him and his pairing with Eleanor didn't make sense to me. My name is Eleanor and I have one final wish. To share the account of my life, because only then will you understand my story, my choices, and my reasoning. Only then should you judge me. I want to thank Edelweiss and Harper Collins for a chance at reading this... depressing? yes, depressing book. I'm going to spoiler cut this because I talk about some triggering stuff right out of the park (tw: rape, abortion/miscarriage, abuse):

The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning | Waterstones The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning | Waterstones

There’s so much to lub about this book. I lub the erplings. I lub kettu. I lub lubs. I even lub Kunin Yillda. Epic, edge-of-your-seat fantasy in its own right, with just enough horror to keep things interesting. The world-building is fantastic, but it's the beautifully drawn characters that I think will capture readers' hearts, as they force us to think about growing up, growing old, and the importance of hanging on to that sense of wonder that the best fantasy (like The Shadow Glass itself) can inspire.' Hello Yellow - 80 Books to Help Children Nurture Good Mental Health and Support With Anxiety and Wellbeing - There’s a stirring sense of adventure, excitement, and terror running throughout…a treat for fans of the movies that inspired it.”– Publishers Weekly

Which then becomes this epic long chore of watching her trying to not wish for things and yet wish for them, but keep telling herself that she'll stop wishing only to break that and do it over, and over again. But every time when she uses a wish, the magic comes from someone dying. So she wishes for some shoes, some bird in the house dies in exchange for that wish. I was granted seven wishes and on completion of the seventh wish that she awarded me, my soul would be hers for all eternity. It is only after the completion of the 2nd wish that I realise my folly, because for one wish to be granted then someone else must die and I find myself tangled in this web of destruction where more wishes are needed to undo part of each "spell" and protect the ones I love. My plan of not using the seventh wish was my greatest error of judgement, as I am reminded.