The Gifts That Bind Us (All Our Hidden Gifts)

Product Information

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. 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.

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. 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. 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. This book in the series is very "dark forest" where our characters are not okay after the events from the first book and are trying to piece themselves together. Note that there is mention and descriptions of self harm.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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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.

Caroline O'Donoghue, Helen Crawford-White Press Reviews

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. 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.

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:The book was certainly enjoyable and I loved watching the teenagers practice using their new skills, although many a time they went too far such as Fiona purposely cutting herself so she could heal herself again.