By Charlie N. Holmberg
Genre YA Fantasy
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Synopsis
Ceony Twill has just graduated Magic school. She hopes to apprentice with any kind of magic but Paper but Paper is just what she's going to get. But the Paper Magician Thane surprises her with his kindness and maybe working with paper isn't so bad. When Thane's heart is taken by his ex, an evil magician practicing the forbidden magic of flesh Ceony will have to put what little knowledge she has of paper to use and save her Thane.
First Sentence
For the past five years, Ceony had wanted to be a Smelter.
A local author and book club book made this one an inevitable read for me. I'd seen it around and had been curious but my book club made me pick it up sooner than I had intended.
I actually ended up liking this one. Which is no surprise since the majority of my book club didn't like it. (I'm always of the opposite opinion) I thought Thane was instantly likable and could see what Ceony liked about him. I also like how she went into his heart and got to learn so much about him. Ceony bugged me a bit at first because of her somewhat snooty manner but she started to grow on me. And she was definitely braver than I am.
It was a quick and fun adventure and I'm interested enough to read the rest of the series.
My book club's major problem with this one was there wasn't enough meat to it. It is short at just over 200 pages and I completely agree with them that there should have been a bit more to it. One book club member pointed out that the second act was missing and it was voted the best analogy of the night. The second act is indeed missing. We go from introductions straight to the final show down.
I, however, was more forgiving. This is the authors's first book and I thought for a debut book it was fine. It could have been better with a bit more story but I liked it.
Should you read it
I wouldn't shove this one at you as the best book ever written but I'd give it a thumbs up if you asked.
I thought Jenni was the only one that really liked this one. Let me know if the rest of the series gets better.
ReplyDeleteI didn't adore it but I didn't hate it either. I'll let you know how the others go.
DeleteThe fact that you liked it makes me think I should give it a try. And I kind of don't mind that it's a little short, though I might change my mind when I'm looking for the rest of "the second act" as I'm reading it. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, the missing second act messed it up for a lot of people.
DeleteI have been curious about this one for a while. Maybe one day I will give it a try.
ReplyDeleteYeah, no need to rush but it is kinda cute.
DeleteI'm glad you enjoyed this one! :D It makes me feel good to know I wasn't the only one, lol.
ReplyDeleteHa ha! Me too.
DeleteYeah, this one was pretty meh for me, too. I'm glad you liked it, though!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it needed a bit more story but for whatever reason I didn't hate it.
DeleteGlad you liked this one! Interesting that there was no second act- maybe as a debut author they'll get around to the second act in the next one they write. :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think the author will get better with each book.
DeleteI think this author's husband is a distant relative of mine. I have an ancestor with that last name and he moved from Sweden to Utah during the 19th century. Weird, eh?
ReplyDeleteWeird. Sounds very likely.
DeleteI read this awhile ago (pretty sure I got it free or super cheap from Amazon), and I liked it. But I do remember it being a little flimsy with plot and action, but I liked it. Still haven't read the other books in the series though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know it was lacking in plot but I liked it.
DeleteSounds intriguing, but going straight from introductions to the final showdown would bug me too. Maybe I'll wait until the series in complete, then binge read them all. Thanks for the heads up, as I haven't heard of this one and paper magic does sound interesting!
ReplyDeleteYour book club sounds like a good group.
ReplyDelete