I’m giving this 3 stars. Full disclosure I haven’t read this book as the file is wrong and this is impossible to read. The file which I tried on both the NetGalley shelf app and kindle app is full of missing letters and random symbols. On some pages full sentences are almost missing. I did contact NetGalley support but as of now the file hasn’t been changed. If the file gets fixed I will read this and review it properly because from what I could read of the first chapter it seems really good and I’m really excited to read a correct file.

I have mixed feelings about this book. While there were aspects I enjoyed, it was at times a bit of a slog. The premise intrigued me, but the plot didn’t quite have the strength to keep things moving, with much of the narrative weighed down by lengthy inner monologues from the characters.

The sibling trio is complex, albeit a bit pretentious—which, to be fair, is clear from the book’s description. They certainly live up to the "asshole" label, though it’s clear that beneath the resentment, jealousy, and major Daddy issues, there is genuine love… buried very deep.

One standout for me was Gillian’s character arc. Her storyline, and the way it concluded, was by far my favorite part of the book.

Overall, while it didn’t quite reach the level of my favorite Blake novel, it still deserves a solid 3.5 stars.

I would struggle to be able to review this book due to issues with the file/download. The issues stopped the flow of the book. The issues are:
- Missing words in the middle of sentences
- Stop/start sentences on different lines

I’m not sure if it was a file/download issue, but there were lots of gaps and stops/starts, which ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version, as the description of the book appeals to me. I would be more than happy to re-read the book with a better file or as a physical book, as the book topic and genre are of interest to me. If you would like me to re-review, please feel free to contact me at thesecretbookreview@gmail.com or via social media: The_secret_bookreview (Instagram) or Secret_bookblog (Twitter). Thank you.

I've always had a complicated relationship with Olivie Blake's writing style. I adored it in Alone With You In the Ether, but the other novels didn't quite hit the mark for me.

This started off fantastically. Succession-esque story with the billionaire father dying and messed-up children - with the addition of magical powers? Sign me UP.
Unfortunately it didn't quite work for me and I found it quite repetitive. The novel felt like it was longer than needed and the dialogue didn't flow well for me. I did find myself looking forward to Eilidh's chapters because she was by far my favourite.

Olivie Blake can write complicated, beautiful, unlikeable but loveable characters in all-encompassing, messy relationships like no one else.

Meredith Wren, the eldest and striving for perfection, is CEO of her own magitech company, Birdsong. She is a woman in power, arrogant, ambitious, and one-minded.
Arthur Wren is the second-youngest congressman in history, able to love anyone and desperate to be loved. He is currently married and in a three-way relationship with a heiress and race car driver.
Eilidh Wren is the youngest, favoured by their father and working for his company Wrenfare following an injury which killed her dream, her sense of self - at one point primed to be the world’s most recognizable ballerina.
Following their father’s death, which of the Wrens now deserved the Wrenfare throne?

Blake’s writing is something to be devoured delicately. Addictive, toxic, beautiful. It reveals something about the world, humanity, ourselves.
This also brought in some concepts that were explored in her short story collection Januaries.

<b>Like before Babel had fallen, some prior versions of themselves were laid in the same brick, sharing the same mortar, such that they’d always been able to speak the same language no matter what forms they took.
</b>
This is contemporary except for the fact that there seems to be some sort of weird trends around the siblings. Meredith seems very persuasive. Arthur appears to be in a situationship between himself and every electrical current. Eilidh keeps bringing about mini apocalypses.

So, completely normal for a completely normal family.
They all have a complicated relationship with their father, with each other, with how they try and cope with growing older and being saddled with so many expectations. Of inheriting a legacy, being a prodigy, doing something do worth with their lives.

<b>Ballet was both delicacy and contortion. Like girlhood, ballet was art meant for consumption; it was virtuous because it was beautiful pain.
</b>
Finally, Olivie Blake’s writing style.
It is just so unique. We have an unreliable narrator, an unreliable and unconventional writing style, different formats, and a whole lot of ways of showing love.

No doubt about it.
Olivie Blake is GIFTED AND TALENTED.

Physical arc gifted by Book Break Pan MacMillan.
My neighbours definitely heard me squeal when I opened my post.