Ob ich Band 3 lesen werde, weiß ich noch nicht, nicht weil mir Band 2 nicht gefallen hat, sondern weil ich keine Lust auf den angedeuten Kampf in Band 3 habe. Decided to read this one because I wanted something to pull me in and the first book had no problem doing that. Despite this one mostly focusing on the Children of Brigid slowly taking over the town, I found it was not as tough a read as I was expecting. Yes there are scenes of homophobia, gender policing, and slut shaming, but there is also a big problem the characters are trying to solve while they try to avoid the "scary" cultists. There are scenes where they have to interact with the cultists, but the reader is not subjected to unnecessary awful descriptions just for the sake of it. Trigger warnings (TW) & content warnings (CW): Bullying, hate crime, homophobia, suicide, self harm

caroline o'donoghue's all our hidden gifts series has swiftly become one of my favorite young adult fantasy series. there is so much this series is doing well, from the diversity and queerness of the characters, the fascinating magic system, and the nuanced explorations of society, feminism, religion, and power, all threaded together with beautiful prose and lovely illustrations. This second instalment seemed to have a slower pace to it than the first and focused more on the friendships, love lives, fallings out, etc than the first. It also felt a little more sinister. A brilliant follow-up to the first book and it was enjoyable following the friends on their new journeys, especially the self-discoveries they all had.There's wholesome and broken friendships, morally grey and questionable, yet also loveable and messy characters, and there's magic manifesting in so many forms. It takes place in Ireland which is a bonus, too, of course. This spellbinding sequel to All Our Hidden Gifts is a riveting return to the lives of Maeve, Roe, Fiona, and Lily as they navigate their relationships as well as their newfound powers. A group of Irish teens contend with their newly acquired magical powers while also navigating shifting relationships in this follow-up to All Our Hidden Gifts (2021). The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.

With the same deft narrative style that made the previous book shine, O’Donoghue now offers an introspective take on what privileges and responsibilities come with magic, and a more nuanced exploration of the ways in which the characters are bound, involuntarily and by choice, to one another. . . . Fans of paranormal reads will be on the edge of their seats. I will admit to being a little sceptical about whether All Our Hidden Gifts really needed a sequel but The Gifts That Bind Us definitely sold me on it. There weren’t that many loose ends from the first book, I thought, but I really liked how this one took those and ran with them. The Gifts That Bind Us" is beautifully written, characters aren't walking stereotypes and important feminist topics (criticising institutionalised queerphobia and slutshaming for example) are discussed frequently. There's a character with a hearing aid and there are several trans and non-binary characters as well. I suppose I'll always remember this as the summer that Roe learned to drive and I learned to read minds I play the notes, push the keys, roll my finers, the same tune repeating again and again. In this house that is mine, as long as I'm alive to keep it I wasn't expecting so much and I am definitely here for it. I loved seeing the transitions from enemies to working together, seeing Maeve and Roe's relationship develop (the good AND the bad) and learning more about how the magic works here. There were new characters introduced in this book that constantly kept me wondering who I could trust who I couldn't and then when I believed I had it all figured it out, BOOM! All of those thoughts are down the toilet.I loved the first book in the series, but I LOVED "The Gifts That Bind Us". This book definitely doesn't fall into the "second book = total disappointment" category at all. Magic-sensitive Maeve and her friends face off against an insidious threat to their school and their city in this spellbinding sequel to All Our Hidden Gifts. Fiona is struggling, everyone has these high expectations of her and it's too much when she still has trauma to process. She's started self harming and why does it matter? She can heal herself with her new gift. She's not "one of those girls with a problem". Nearing the end maybe she realises she does have a problem, when her powers are fading she still self harms even though she can't heal. It's become a routine of hers. I hope she can find the help she needs in the next book. Where the first book centers around Maeve learning her way around tarot cards and her sensitivity (moreso a contemporary coming of age than fantasy), the second book fully embraces the extents of the group's magic. Synopsis: Maeve and her friends explore and develop their individual gifts. As word gets out about their magical abilities strange things start happening in town and the group become extremely vulnerable in the place they call home. Who can they trust? What is changing with their abilities?

The focus of this book really was the friendship between Maeve, Fiona, and Lily (less so Roe, who spent a lot of the book at university and/or forgetting). That friendship was often thorny, namely between Maeve and Lily, but I loved the directions it took and the understandings that the characters came to with one another. That was another refreshing aspect of the book. Now I liked Maeve don't get me wrong, she's kinda relatable but I was just so much more interested in everyone else. Lily was actually my favourite character, she was relearning to be human and her emotions weren't quite the same as they once were, she doesn't understand that there are things she shouldn't do. She electrocuted a magpie and didn't understand why it was wrong. She was unafraid of others because why should she, if she can just electrocute anyone she wants. She had the Children of Brigid shaking. I did enjoy them having a sort of morally grey/gray friend in their group but it was also nice her warming up to Maeve and expressing more human emotions. The brilliant second installment in the Hidden Gifts series, with further titles to come. About This Edition ISBN: all our hidden gifts was one of my favorite young adult novels of last year and i somehow managed to love the gifts that bind us even more. it's a masterclass in sequel writing that suffered none of the failings i was worried it might. it took everything i loved from the first book and made it deeper, richer, and even more compelling than it already was. to say i'm excited for the third book is a massive understatement. A book filled with hope and again the overarching message of self acceptance & the freedom to be yourself, while immersing you in a world full of witchcraft and spells.This smart, poignant drama is spot-on in its portrayal of a realistically pivotal time in these deeply likable characters’ lives as it winds its way slowly into the mystery around what supernatural forces are at play below the surface. . . . Another gripping, magic-filled installment in this rich contemporary fantasy. In a time of typewriters and steam engines, Iris Winnow awaits word from her older brother, who has enlisted on the side of Enva the Skyward goddess. Alcohol abuse led to her mother’s losing her job, and Iris has dropped out of school and found work utilizing her writing skills at the Oath Gazette. Hiding the stress of her home issues behind a brave face, Iris competes for valuable assignments that may one day earn her the coveted columnist position. Her rival for the job is handsome and wealthy Roman Kitt, whose prose entrances her so much she avoids reading his articles. At home, she writes cathartic letters to her brother, never posting them but instead placing them in her wardrobe, where they vanish overnight. One day Iris receives a reply, which, along with other events, pushes her to make dramatic life decisions. Magic plays a quiet role in this story, and readers may for a time forget there is anything supernatural going on. This is more of a wartime tale of broken families, inspired youths, and higher powers using people as pawns. It flirts with clichéd tropes but also takes some startling turns. Main characters are assumed White; same-sex marriages and gender equality at the warfront appear to be the norm in this world. I've always had a love for books surrounding tarot cards and witches, so I was compelled enough to buy the second book (which had just come out as well, thank you for your spectacular timing past me). This series is what I wished the Raven Cycle to be. We see Roe discovering their sexuality and gender identity in such a kind and educational way, Maeve struggle with self esteem/identify and anxiety regarding the future, as well as important discussions regarding mental health and support through Fiona’s storyline. THE MAGIC IS HYPED UP JUST TO THEN…DISAPPEAR – When I finished the first novel, I was really excited to know that going into the rest of the series, we would start seeing some bigger magical moments. Maeve could read minds, Roe had telekinesis, Lily had electricity, and Fiona had healing powers. It was super cool! And it was fun to explore that in the beginning of the second novel. But then, it all just disappears. We’re given some explanation about the well being drained, but for me, the magic had been a sign that bigger more fantastical elements of the storyline would develop. Instead, it all just disappeared, which continued the slow underwhelming tone of the book. Magic gained, magic gone.

In general, I think it was a more introspective book than the first, less about doing something and more about the feelings that everything in book one had dredged up. Yes, they still had to fight bad guys, but that felt less of a focus for the most part. And that was great, to me. Books that look at consequences of saving x, y and z are the most interesting of books, and that was the case here. Review: Another fast paced, plot filled book that I’ll be recommending until the end of time. The Gifts That Binds Us enriches the story of the first book and provides a much deeper exploration of the friendship group and the struggles they individually face. Maeve; her nonbinary first love, Roe, who uses both he/his and they/them pronouns; and their friends, Fiona and Lily, have spent the summer honing their paranormal talents on the grounds of St. Bernadette’s, the private all-girls school where Maeve, Fiona, and Lily are soon returning for their final year. Maeve feels anxious both about Roe’s departure for college and his impending European band tour as well as about Fiona and Lily’s deepening friendship and plans to leave their small city of Kilbeg. She’s further plagued by encounters and strange dreams involving Aaron, the creepy, hateful leader of conservative Christian youth group the Children of Brigid. This smart, poignant drama is spot-on in its portrayal of a realistically pivotal time in these deeply likable characters’ lives as it winds its way slowly into the mystery around what supernatural forces are at play below the surface. The lengthy building of tension eventually gives way to unexpected twists, and the novel’s resolution is satisfying while also clearly laying the groundwork for a sequel. Main characters are White; the previous entry established that Fiona is Filipina and White, and there is realistic diversity in race and sexuality among supporting characters. I appreciated that the author went with a 3 book series, I can't imagine squishing all of this content into a duology. The end of this book got me really excited for book 3 so the setup was certainly there. There are certainly enough reveals in this second book that I don't feel it was too stretched out. I'd wholeheartedly recommend this series to anyone who loves reading about stories that aren't centered around the US, witchy stories, stories that deal with so many important issues that we need to talk about more. It's educative and so very entertaining!Wow, I really enjoyed this book, like I ended up really getting into it, even more than the first book. This is one of my favourite series because it combines my love for urban fantasy (especially witchy novels), intersectional feminism and queer characters. Don't worry, this is a spoiler free review. The LGBTQIA representation, discussion and relationships was second to none. Caroline O’Donoghue deeply intertwined these aspects into the plot, character development and overall discussion, which is so refreshing and missing from some many books. Not just your typical ‘omg she's gay?!?!’ *eye roll*.