Review Detail

Marguerite Claine’s parents are physicists who have invented the Firebird, a way to allow its users into parallel universes. When Marguerite’s father is murdered by someone her family trusted, one of her parents’ assistants Paul, she doesn’t think twice about chasing his murderer through the dimensions. Armed with her own Firebird and Theo, another one of her parents’ assistants, Marguerite finds herself in worlds vastly different than her own trying to track down Paul. But the closer she gets to catching Paul, the more Marguerite questions his guilt, and her feelings.

Hello cover, you’re so pretty. The cover alone made this book one of my most anticipated fall releases but after reading the synopsis, I was excited about the book for more than just the cover. And it didn’t disappoint.

I really enjoyed the whole concept of the book. The world building was complex while being easy to follow. The science and theories of traveling to alternate universes was present but not overwhelming; I actually found the science quite interesting. The worlds Marguerite visited were so different from ours, a futuristic London, Russia just starting the industrial revolution, a world where people lived in underwater dwellings. The descriptions of them all were amazing.

Marguerite was a character I liked right away. She was different from her family, loving art instead of science, and it was great to see that her parents were supportive. She obviously cared for her family, and she included the many assistants her parents had over the years as part of that family. Her plan definitely wasn’t thought out but I could completely understand her willingness to just throw herself into catching her father’s killer without thinking too much about the consequences. I also found her to be a strong character throughout the book. She had insecurities and flaws but she was also caring and determined and talented and driven. My favourite thing about her though was that she was always questioning things that seemed off, even if other people were telling her to ignore the uneasy feeling.

I loved how complicated everything got and how there was some ethical dilemmas that came into play. When the characters jumped into an alternate universe, they were basically jumping into the bodies of their alternate selves, kind of borrowing the body while they were in that dimension. Decisions they made while inhabiting their alternate selves could affect the other them after they left.

The relationships between the characters were some of my favourite parts. There were so many different interactions. Marguerite and Theo were very flirty and fun, Marguerite and Paul were complicated as she began questioning his guilt, Marguerite and her Russian siblings from one of the alternate universes were cute and I probably could have read a whole book on them alone. Theo and Paul were close, described like brothers more than once in the book, and it made things even more complicated when they both had feelings for Marguerite.

The plot was full of twists, which is something I will always love. Some of them I was able to guess but they were things I had wanted to happen so I was okay with that. It was definitely an emotional ride, tears, smiles, laughs, more tears, a little outrage and denial that the next book is so very far away.

This is definitely a book I will remember. And again, that cover!