trigger warning
<spoiler> antisemitism, genocide, torture, trauma, grief, being kidnapped, being drugged </spoiler>

Yani discovers that the story his grandma told on her deathbed about an uncle falling in love with a vampire is true as he is kidnapped by vampire hunters - who think his resemblance to his uncle has to mean he's a vampire.

Okay, yes, normally I would go on but imagine the scene: <spoiler> a guy, shackled and disoriented, being blinded by the light as the electrical roof is opened and sunlight floods in and - <i>nothing</i> happens. He is released after he shouts he has to go to the bathroom. I wonder what Pratchett would have made of this scene, had he written it. </spoiler>

So we have contemporary Boston but there's vampires and possibly other creatures. My tags tell you you can expect werewolves. Really, this is this whole paranormal romance thing, but the protagonist is both jewish and gay. Jewish culture plays a big role, being a student, being gay.

Sex is there but offscreen enough to not make me uncomfortable.
If I get the chance to, I'll read on, simple as that.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

This book was SO much more than I had expected! I was lucky and got to read an ARC in exchange for this honest review. Fictional writing is often filled with historical references and cultures. Rarely does the writing include modern Jewish families though. This book not only has a family with it's own stories going back to the Nazi takeover, but it includes my favorite mythic creatures! I can't wait to give this book to my Uncle! I also greatly look forward to book 2!
Comment

This was an okay book for me. i loved some aspects of the book but a lot of it also kept me bored.

With the things i liked, i loved the references of Jewish history and the part about the holocoast, while brief, was an intriguing aspect to learn about. Ill be honest i had no expectations nor any info about the book before i went in, so the urban fantasy aspect was a delightful surprise. In regards to characters, i adored Yakov and Martin and i wished we got more from them!!

in terms of the actual plot, there really wasnt much tension for me to be invested in following the characters nor were the characters well developed. Yani as a character stayed flat in terms of growth so i wasnt that invested in him as a character either. i also wished we got more about the politics within the supernatural factions because it was hinted at, just not explored as much as id have hoped.

note: I received an arc from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley

While reading this book, I realized that I have conflicting opinions about it, and now that I have finished it I can confirm this feeling. It's not that I didn't like it ... but I didn't exactly love it either.

Let's start from the plot: the protagonist, Yani, is a Jewish boy who on his great-grandmother's deathbed learns about the woman's story: she tells her family how she and her children fled from the Nazis during World War II thanks to the help of a vampire, who gave them refuge and helped them escape to America when the conflict was over. The story, from the beginning, appears quite original. It mixes heartbreaking real historical facts seen from the perspective of a Jewish family in Poland, with supernatural elements that, contrary to what one might imagine, are not at odds with the highly sensitive context.

"Chana took her own bath. She emerged, feeling human again."

This type of quote, however short and simple, strongly describes the horrors of war and has a great impact on the reader.

"All too often in fantasy and literature, Hebrew and the Jewish Star were used in evil spells to summon the devil or to hurt people. Whether it was ignorance or anti-Semitism on the part of the author and artist was irrelevant because either way it was wrong and hurtful."

I was very interested in all the references to Jewish culture and traditions, and Yani's personal point of view regarding political and cultural factors got me thinking several times during the reading. Also, I found the family ties portrayed in the book very tender, with the beautiful and warm atmosphere of unity that reigns in Yani's large family, which made their scenes special and fascinating.

Continuing with the aspects that I liked, I appreciated the time jump in the first part of the book, where Grandma Chana shares her personal story to her family. However, I admit that I would also have preferred to have Yakov's point of view to better understand how the bond between him and Martin developed; it would have made the birth of their relationship more complex. Being everything from Chana's point of view, the relationship appears rather impersonal: it is not known how Yakov met Martin, and all in all it seems a very lucky love at first sight.

Let us now turn to the rest of the novel. Again, it's not that it's bad, it's that I would have appreciated it more if there had been a deeper insight into the characters (at least of Yani and Martin, which is the two points of view of the story - the random changes in the pov; it would have been better to divide the chapters in a more proportionate way and dedicate one each, perhaps expanding the amount of events and descriptions for each scene from their pov). Instead, from chapter two everything becomes too hasty, the events are told very quickly, without great attention to the more emotional and psychological aspects. Even Yani's acceptance of the many supernatural beings around him is all too quiet. It certainly helped that he had been aware of vampires since he was 13, thanks to Chana's telling, but in general I was expecting a more skeptical - or at least less impassive - reaction. The only doubt he has, at a certain point of the story, is that since he is a simple human, he does not feel that he belongs to the group of supernatural beings in which he found himself, but even here the doubts are eliminated all too quickly. [SPOILER] When he discovers that he has eyes-that-see, and therefore is more "special" than all simple human beings ... It's a rather trivial cliché and honestly poorly managed. [END OF SPOILER]

All in all, I think the biggest problem with this book is the rather simple and poor writing style, which makes everything too hasty and minimalist. Descriptions are lacking, introspection is lacking, true feelings and sensations are lacking. I probably would have loved this book if I had been younger, but right now I expect more from storytelling. It's a shame, because the plot elements really have the potential to build a great story. The mystery of the ifrit and the appearance of Cain are quite interesting and kept me in suspense, curious to know what would happen, which still makes me want to read the sequel to find out how the story will proceed.


(I received a free copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NineStar Press and Mell Eight!)

I really enjoyed this read and hope there will be more to come from Yani, Aaron, Brandon & Luke in their new position with the coalition! I loved the beginning which explained the history of the family & explained how it all came about to involve Uncle Yakov & Martin. I’ll be keeping an eye out for more!

Yani is an American Jew descended from Polish Holocaust survivors. On her deathbed, Yani’s beloved great grandmother Chana shares a fantastical tale of how she and her brother Yakov and their four children escaped the Nazi death camps with the aid of a vampire, Martin. Yakov was enamored of the vamp and remained in Poland after the liberation, while Chana relocated to Boston with her three remaining sons, and Yakov’s infant son. They lived a good life in the US, but no one believes Chana’s story except Yani who is sure that he meets both Martin and Yakov at Chana’s funeral.

Fast forward many years and Yani is a college junior. He’s a devout Jew and plagued by his mom’s and auntie’s interest in his love life–hoping he’ll find a nice Jewish man to settle with. He’s never forgotten about his Uncle Yakov, since is seems he’s the only other gay member of their family, if he’s still alive that is. Yani’s most recent boyfriend was Luke who was not only not Jewish, he was a cheater. So, Yani’s a little reticent to meet another blind date arranged by the same friend who introduced him to Luke. Aaron is superficially Jewish, but there seems to be a spark. Unfortunately, all of this is ruined when Aaron’s father, who happens to be a mage and vampire hunter, kidnaps Yani and attempts to murder him. Because he greatly resembles an old photo of…Uncle Yakov that resides in the Hunter’s files.

This is obviously going to hamper a second date with Aaron.

It’s a heck of a caper, this story, which veers in directions I could not have anticipated. A LOT of folks that surround Yani happen to be paranormals. Not that he could have predicted this. Reaching out for help brings Uncle Martin and Uncle Yakov back to the States, to link up with the Northeast Supernatural Coalition. They want to ensure that Yani won’t be harmed, and he’s so overwhelmed with all the big reveals of his pals that he’s a little down for not being special like them. Aaron turns out to be a decent guy, and the connection grows as they face peril together.

As a first book in a series, I have to say I’m really intrigued about where it’s going. We’ve met incubi, vampires, werewolves, mages, trolls, demons and other paranormals in this book. Yani himself isn’t a paranormal, but he has Sight which affords him some advantages his cadre of companions do not have. And, he’s a fighter, deep down, so he does save his own life, plus those of his friends, in the course of this story. The immediate danger has been managed by the end, though there is a bigger threat awaiting Yani, Aaron, Luke, and Brandon–Yani’s roommate with supernatural abilities. Yani and Aaron are definitely connected, too, but it’s new and the sexytimes are still in the offing. I liked how that developed tentatively, as they are both in the midst of some pretty difficult stuff, so they recognize that romance will wait.

Triggers for brutal Holocaust memories and discussion, however mixed they are with the paranormal experience. My hubs’ German Jewish grandparents were work camp survivors and the story Chana spun of her family’s decimation was quite aligned to those of his family. It was just as gutting in fiction as it was hearing it first-hand. Yani’s modern experience as a Jew in a Christian country likewise mirrored some of my husband’s, so I was really connected to this book and character from the start. I want to thank the author for reflecting these experiences and sensibilities in a realistic and compassionate way. I eagerly await the next book!

On her deathbed, Yani’s great-grandmother reveals she has one last story from her past to tell: that of his great-uncle Yakov, who helped her survive the Nazis. It’s a story of vampires and werewolves he can scarcely believe—and in the wake of his great-grandmother’s death, Yani discovers the story is far from over.

This is the first book in hopefully a long series. Great characters an intriguing concept. Can’t wait for the next book.

LGBTQ+ Romance? Vampires and Werewolves? Jewish culture? Yes, yes, yes!
I started this book with much anticipation but unfortunately I had to DNF after 20%.
Sadly, I didn't flow with the book's pace. It started slow but the "prologue", taking place in Nazi Germany, was thrilling and heart-wrenching. But then, back in the presence, the story slowed down, just to sky rock again after several pages about Yani's everyday life. Plus, his character didn't intrigue me much. Quite the contrary to Yakov's story, and that's the reason why I'm sure I'm going to give the book another chance in the future but right now, even after 2 weeks I couldn't motivate myself to pick it up again.

while the main character, yani, is a lovable person and his connection to his jewish culture is touching, these were the only parts of this book that i can speak about positively.

the treatment of rachel, a young girl in yani’s school, in this book as a shallow, air-headed girl that slept her way through school is degrading. her motivations, her actions, her speech - it’s all a sexual game. there’s no REAL depth to rachel as a character, nor are there any other significant female characters in yani’s life that are playing any active roles. the fact that rachel turned out to be not even human, and a servant at that, made her treatment as a literary character and as a woman worse.

additionally, i’ve decided to abstain from rating this book since i myself am not jewish. the book seems to contain several positive affirmations of the israeli state as well. as per netgalley's request, i gave it two stars on the app, but i will not be rating it on goodreads.

finally, i’m grateful to netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 27%. It started out boring, got interesting, and then got boring again and I can't make myself slog through it.

This was definitely an interesting book. I don't see it sticking in my mind, but it was a very unique read.

I will admit that part of my surprise was because I didn't read the description for this. Based off the cover, I expected a Snow White retelling, not an urban fantasy with vampires and werewolves.

My main problem with this was that I never really connected with the plot or the characters. I was mildly interested, but never dying to know what came next. Part of this may be because I wanted more about Yakov and Martin, and less about Yani and Aaron. The beginning, which focused on the Holocaust was super interesting to me, but it was over fairly quickly.

I really loved how this book did address the Holocaust and Jewish history. I'm not well versed in either, so it was a super fun way to learn about each event.

Although this wasn't the right book for me, I can definitely see other people enjoying it!

Thanks to Mell Eight and Netgalley for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review

Full Review Here: http://www.millennialbeautysisters.com/magnified-by-mell-eight-review/

Overall opinions of Magnified by Mell Eight:
I am a sucker for books that feature stories within stories within stories. Nested stories are nothing new, they've been around for as long as we've had stories to tell. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern is an amazing example that comes to mind quickly because I read it last year and it's gorgeous.

I think another thing that drew me to this story was the inherent tale of loss. We know going in that there's going to be death and I'm not necessarily drawn to that but it's relatable and you need that kernel of connection when dealing with sci-fi and fantasy...at least I do!

The characters were my favorite part of this book. They were rich and flawed and relatable and they are what kept me reading when I wasn't super into the world from time to time.

Overall this was a solid 3-3.5 star read. The plot and world could have been a bit stronger for me but the characters carried it and the shift in stories about 40% in kind of drew me back in enough to make it more enjoyable.

The book did have a few moments where it felt like one story just abruptly ends and another begins, it was odd but it tied in enough that I felt like I could keep reading. Worth noting in case that kind of thing throws you when reading!

This book was pretty good. Very well written. It was an interesting dive into mixing Jewish culture and the supernatural. The love story was sweet, which one doesn't see much these days. Aaron and Yani were cute together and it was a mature relationship that I really appreciated. It dealt with the Holocaust as well and mixed that with the supernatural. Overall, different than other vampire books I have read and definitely in a good way.

A copy of this book was provided to me by netgalley.com for the purpose of this review. #netgalley #magnified

This sounded like this had an interesting plot. The idea may have been good but the execution was flawed

The book was really 2 separate novellas very loosely tied together. For the most part it was a slow read and seemed meant for a YA audience.

I liked that the main character, Yani, is Jewish and the book is sprinkled with cultural references. Yet those references were sprinkled by a heavy hand and began to seem overdone.

I received a free ARC from Netgalley. I'm leaving my honest review.