Read in one day. I love the premise: magic as a toxic spill. The double timeline works well with Astrid's mixed up sense of time and foreseeing, though I care very little about Will. A compelling story with at least two twists I didn't see coming. I shall add Blue Magic to my TBR list.

(solid 3.5)This is a hard book to review, mostly because I'm so conflicted. Do I like the book? I like parts of it. Very much! And then there are aspects of the book I'm just very . . . confused on, so much so that it brings my rating (and enjoyment of the novel) from 5 to 3.5.Book content warnings:transphobia (??)When it comes to fantasy apocalyptic novels, Indigo Springs is the most original book I've ever read, by far. It begins with our protag, Astrid, already in police custody and being que...

That magic has unexpected, even perilous, consequences is not a new theme. It far predates my first encounter with it, which was Edward Eager's charming 1954 children's book Half Magic. In Indigo Springs, however, Dellamonica brings this theme to vivid--cobalt blue, in fact--contemporary life.Unfolded in a narrative structure that at first seems fractured but reveals itself to be beautifully knitted together, Indigo Springs is the story of what happens when Astrid Lethewood and two friends disco...

Indigo Springs by A. M. DellamonicaThis is a tale of a small town populated by small town people who stumble upon magic and the consequences there of. I grew up in a small town so there was some familiarity with Indigo Springs. The characters were equally familiar. My biggest problem with the book was that none of the characters were endearing. I didn’t find one single character that I truly liked. The shallowness and banality of the characters was probably intended as I suspect they were not me...

This is one amazing read ! I had trouble at first between the narrative structure, the story is happening at three different moments in times simultaneously, the different points of view, all these characters... it was confusing. Especially since Astrid didn't seem to be quite all there in the, hum, present. Sometimes names change. Sometimes Astrid is talking about the present time in the past, and sometimes she is talking about the past like it was happening right now. But once I got into it (t...

Couldn't get into the book.It opens with a government agent type going to a prison cell containing two apparently dangerous women. One of the women (Astrid) seems to time slip, going verbally from past to present to future to back again, which makes it difficult to figure out what's happening. It seems like there's been a sort of magic apocalypse and at least one of these women either was partially responsible or knows a magical terrorist (Sahara), and agent-guy's job is to get information about...

A.M. Dellamonica’s Indigo Springs: The Bisexual Magic Novel You’ve Been Waiting ForYou don’t hear much about Toronto-based author A.M. Dellamonica’s novel Indigo Springs, which is surprising because it is just a gem of a book. It has so many of the literary things that I am constantly looking for, and I have no idea why I didn’t find it sooner. Amazing, unique world building? Dynamic bisexual main characters whose sexuality is named and not a big deal? Complex and interesting narrative structure...

Dellamonica seems like she had the best of intentions for her first novel, but she didn't do herself any favors by using a confusing, flashback-heavy narrative style and a half-baked hodgepodge mythology. My biggest complaint, however, is that all the characters seemed incredibly flat. Astrid, the witch-heroine of the novel, exists only to be good, meek and misunderstood. Will, the tale's receptacle, doesn't serve a purpose at all. Sahara, the supposedly alluring-but-troubled charmer at the root...

This unique contemporary fantasy is probably going to be one of my top reads for the year.[return][return]When Astrid inherited her father's run-down old house, she expects a life of small-town drudgery. With her step-brother and her old friend Sahara as housemates, she's simply eager to have everyone she loves together in the same house. Then she finds her father had a secret: the house hides a well of pure, blue magic. Her father had a knack for enchanting everyday objects with this magic, and...

This book deserves more stars than I can give it. There's nothing wrong with it, but most of it was just not a good fit for me. Still, I enjoyed it enough to finish it and will at least read the sample of the sequel, and given how much this book was Not For Me, that says something.This is a story about some people who find out magic is way more than they can handle, basically. I liked the book's truly unusual and excellent magic; it makes intuitive sense and it's both wondrous and terrifying, ex...

I really struggled to get through this. Multiple times I found myself wanting to just put it down and not pick it back up again. However, I try to never quit on a book. The main female characters were soooo annoying and frustrating. Sahara's selfishness was just overwhelming and Astrid's unyielding devotion to her despite being treated like crap just kinda pissed me off. Anyhow, I liked the magic storyline and the rest of the characters.

The first few chapters of Indigo Springs by A. M. Dellamonica was a little confusing but by the third chapter I was totally hooked. After Astrid's father dies, he leaves her a house that is full of enchanted objects. Astrid begins to uncover the mysteries behind her father as well as unlock memories that have been buried for years. With the help of her brother by marriage, Jacks, and her friend, Sahara, the three embark to uncover the mystery behind the dangerous,blue, magical substance called v...

In many ways this book is good. The plot is interesting - a young lady (Astrid) inherits her fathers house and finds magical artifacts in it that she and her friends use. The story telling style is interesting - told from the present in which the actions of the the young lady and her friends have had dire consequences on the world and she is being interviewed by a hostage negotiator to try to understand what happened. Because of this the story jumps around in time which I didn't mind at all. The...

In Indigo Springs, a small town in Oregon, a magical apocalypse is brewing, and three young people are right smack-dab in the middle of it. Astrid, the book’s protagonist, has inherited a lovely old blue house from her ne’er-do-well father. She doesn’t even have all the moving boxes unpacked when her manipulative friend Sierra, fleeing a broken relationship, shows on her doorstep, cat in hand (because hey, nothing says “hey, let’s catch up on old times!” like “hey, let me move in rent free!”) As...

Reread attempt in 2019, and this book was way too weird for me. Too bad I didn't read the sequel when I was into it, huh? It's super strange how time changes you as a reader.What follows is my original four star review. I've dropped my rating to reflect that I couldn't get through it now. Originally posted here.I came to this book with absolutely no expectations. Prior to reading it, I knew nothing about the book or its author. The only reason I ever picked it up was because I won a copy of the

It's the well-crafted, nuanced characters that really make Indigo Springs work. Astrid is an introverted twenty-something in a small Oregon town, desperately in love with her best friend Sahara, a flighty force of nature who has just reappeared in Astrid's life after a bad breakup on the other side of the country. Jackson is an Earthy, grounded hippie who has nursed a crush on Astrid for years, but knows that her affections lay elsewhere. When the three of them discover magically enchanted objec...

Indigo Springs tells the story of Astrid, a seemingly ordinary woman, who, after the death of her father, buys and moves into his old house with her step brother and best friend. Her first few days there, she discovers items that possess incredible abilities: a kaleidescope that can see through walls, a knife that can turn anything to dust, lipstick that makes any who wear it instantly more beautiful. It isn't long however that Astrid, Jacks and Sahara discover that these relics come at a terrib...

I loved Indigo Springs for its compelling and messy and original magic, for that magic's apocalyptic consequences, for its characters, and for taking treating straight and gay relationships in more or less the same way, without fuss though not without awareness of the different social contexts of each.

I liked a lot about this book, like the chantments and the whole backstory for magic. I like how Albert's chantments were symbolic (view spoiler)[(a watch that makes sure you're at the right place at the right time, a lipstick that makes the most of your looks, a knife that destroys) (hide spoiler)] and one of the ways the narrative shows how far Astrid has progressed beyond her father's skills is when her chantments become completely divorced from the meaning of the object their linked to (view...

(originally reviewed on starmetal oak book blog) The story is told in a unique way. Astrid is talking to some kind of hostage/police interviewer while she is being detained for suspicion of commiting crimes. The interviewer, Will, tries to find infomation about an enemy, Sahara, who is currently reaking havok with a cult following. He wants info on Sahara, who is close to Astrid, but what he (and we) get is the story of Indigo Springs and what we know as the reemurgence of magic into the world.