I truly enjoyed reading “Tell Me How It Ends” but, sadly, I ended up not loving it as much as I thought I would.
In the end, I give it a 3.75★ rating.
This book was made available to me, as an (electronic) Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for an honest review of it. This had no influence on the final review.
I would, nonetheless, like to thank the author, Quinton Li, for providing me with an ARC of their book.
This book delivers exactly what it promises: a cozy coming-of-age fantasy. It has an all-queer cast, amazing rep all-around, and a found family that makes you want to be included in the group.
“Tell Me How It Ends” tells the story of Iris Galacia. Iris is young, sheltered, and curious. A tarot reader, a fortune-teller, a lonely, autistic girl that can see into the future by cards and intuition alone. But Iris is stuck. Under her mother’s thumb, she can only work and work and work, never allowed to leave. Never allowed to stray, to have her own ideas, never allowed to live.
Iris feels caged, rooted in place, forced to face her mother’s disappointment every single day. She wishes she was better, more like her siblings, more useful to the family. To the business. So, when Marin Boudreau appears in front of her with a proposition and a heavy pouch of gold, she decides to take a step into the unknown, to prove herself useful, to make her mother proud.
Through foreign lands and the deep sea, Iris leaves her house for the first time. Sees the world - with all its colors and smells and noises - for the first time. This book makes you feel like you’re there, next to Iris, holding her hand, experiencing the newness of the outside world.
It’s soft and heartfelt. The friendship she strikes with Marin is chaotic but perfect for them, and so, so sweet.
To me, “Tell Me How It Ends” is, at its core, an exploration of family.
Firstly, we have an insight into her blood-related family. The trauma, the abuse, the lack of confidence, of self-love, created from years and years of not-good-enough being screamed at us. We see her relationship with her many siblings, how it evolves and changes and dims with time. With their mother’s influence. The relationship Iris has with her mother is brutal. Abusive, manipulative, greedy. It perfectly exemplifies how it is to live, as a disabled person, with people that expect you to function like them. To always do more. Be more. To be “normal”.
Then, we have her found family. The friends she makes along the way.
I’d especially like to shout out Marin Boudreau. Marin, who is chaos personified, always running around and thinking about a thousand things at the same time. Marin, who immediately accepts Iris as a fixture in their life, and continuously makes an effort to make her comfortable. To make her feel seen, to make sure she knows she’s welcome.
I did have some issues with this book:
The pace felt off, the beginning was too drawn out, and the ending too fast, with no space for development. I wish we could have had a bit more character and relationship growth. There’s a point, after the mid-point, where the story feels extremely rushed. The drama, the twists, the resolution. The new character introductions. I truly feel like, if given the space to breathe a bit, this book could have been a perfect 5-star read for me.
There’s also a big dissonance between the bulk of the book, which at times feels more like middle-grade than young adult - not because of the writing style, but because the stakes are so low -, and the parts where Iris’ relationship with her mother is explored. It’s all so light and fast-paced and comfortable, and suddenly we’re drowning in Iris’ trauma. The abuse is dealt with amazingly well and will resonate with everyone that has ever been on the receiving end of it. What threw me out of the story was the sudden change of pacing and mood, with barely any transition.
And finally, there are so many made-up words. And that’s to be expected, since “Tell Me How It Ends” navigates the realm of high fantasy. I’m well aware of that! It’s just not explained. Sometimes you can get there through context, but sometimes you’re just left confused. I particularly struggled with understanding what senti and caemi meant, which are necessary to understand the main drama points of the story. It was especially hard because it’s not capitalized or italicized.
All in all, “Tell Me How It Ends” is warm, fast-paced, and a light read. Perfect if you loved Legends & Lattes and have been looking for another feel-good, low-stakes fantasy to fill the void felt behind. It wasn’t perfect, at least not for me, but I’m sure there’ll be a lot of people falling in love with it, and its characters.
You should read "Tell Me How It Ends" if you like: adventures with low-ish stakes, energy- and spirit-based magic systems, the exploration of systemic racism through a fantasy-world lense, coming-of-age stories, boat trips, characters growing into themselves and realizing how powerful they actually are, political intrigue, great neurodivergent rep, all-queer cast, the best ADHD-riddled aroace enby to ever exist (all love to Marin for being The Best), an autistic main character discovering the world and learning how to navigate it, awkward crushes on the hot, badass woman that they need to rescue.
Once again I need to thank Quinn and Quinton Li Editorial for providing me with a copy of this book, and for such a delightful, pleasant, cozy reading experience.
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You can find Quinton Li on Twitter and their professional blog.
"Tell Me How It Ends" is out in the world! You can purchase the book on Amazon, and add it to your shelves on Goodreads and Storygraph.
Aside from being an amazing writer and person, Quinn is also a great book editor! So, if you are a writer yourself, check out their work!
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