Review: The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman

The Cost of All Things by Maggie Lehrman

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal

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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind meets We Were Liars in this thought-provoking and brilliantly written debut that is part love story, part mystery, part high-stakes drama.

What would you pay to cure your heartbreak? Banish your sadness? Transform your looks? The right spell can fix anything…. When Ari's boyfriend Win dies, she gets a spell to erase all memory of him. But spells come at a cost, and this one sets off a chain of events that reveal the hidden—and sometimes dangerous—connections between Ari, her friends, and the boyfriend she can no longer remember.

Told from four different points of view, this original and affecting novel weaves past and present in a suspenseful narrative that unveils the truth behind a terrible tragedy.

  The Cost of All Things was confusing. By YA standards, this was a long book. And I somehow managed to still feel confused about everything happening in this book. It's written in alternative points of view, and I struggled at first with keeping everyone straight. I think that led to my inability to ever break the cycle of disorientation with this book.

  Character driven novels are usually a big hit with me. But I really struggled with the characters in this book. There are just terrible people. Brilliantly written, but so terrible! And the readily availability of life and mind altering spells only complicated my feelings toward the characters. I could understand the desperation behind the choices made to seek out spells, but I couldn't get past the disregard of the consequences for themselves and others.

  Speaking of the spells, I loved that aspect of this novel. I've never read anything like this book before. It was very interesting to learn about hekamists, the creators of the spells. I wish that I could have learned more about their culture and world.

  The Cost of All Things explores a lot of themes. The main lesson it left me with was to examine the true cost of your actions and what you seek out. Easier isn't always the better choice. This novel is one that will strike a cord with readers because of it's depth and honesty.

**I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review with no compensation.