Reviewed by Silvara on
The synopsis was a bit deceptive. I thought we'd get to see or at least hear about, Ryiah and her twin choosing their schools. Or even anything about Ryiah and her powers. But the book starts off with the twins heading to the magic Academy. I also wasn't a fan of how the book dealt with her powers prior to entering the School. It almost felt like important story bits had been cut out of the beginning of the book during an editing phase.
The friendship theme with Darren didn't work for me at first. He had been too much of a bully, along with the rest of his group. It did grow on me however, and by the end of the book I could see exactly why Ryiah wanted him as a friend.
The author did a wonderful job of showing the relationships between all the characters instead of telling about them. We saw every important moment, and that was a big part of why the friendship that Ryiah and Darren eventually worked for me. We got to see him at his worst (and we saw a LOT of that!) but we also got to see the other side of him. The side that made for a good friend.
I loved how Ryiah grew as a character over the course of the book. Alex did as well, but we didn't really see as much of it since the book was focused on Ryiah and then Darren and the classes. I really liked Ella. She was the perfect best friend. Funny as well as loyal, and she had her own strengths and weaknesses that were different from Ryiah's and the other characters. It was also fun to see how Ella and Alex's relationship evolved.
I also liked the twist given to magic in the book. A lot of books have magic being as easy as breathing for the characters. Not so with this book. Magic was one of the hardest things for Ryiah to accomplish. It took a lot of work and effort on her part, and that helped make the book feel more real.
The duels were exciting to read about, and I liked how you could learn things about the other characters based on how they attacked as well as what they said. The classes weren't boring to read about, and everything mentioned in class was useful at some point in the book even when it seemed like it wouldn't be.
We don't really learn much about the world. All the focus of this book is on the school and relationships between the students. Maybe the next book will have a wider view point, it would be nice to see how the world works. And why there is a magic school that is so selective.
I liked the ending, but I also disliked it. I can't really explain why without major spoilers. So all I will say is you will understand once you get there.
This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 27 September, 2015: Finished reading
- 27 September, 2015: Reviewed