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Tricks of the Trade
***An Action-Packed, Paranormal, Bromantic Comedy -- At your service!***
Richard "Vegas" Beltran is an underachiever. That's bad for any student, but it's especially bad when you go to a magic school. Black magic needs to be taken very seriously, but Vegas has been caught smoking "eye of newt" in the boys' bathroom and all of his bubbling cauldrons contain ice and alcohol...
His foster brother, Seth, is a bit more studious of a student. Aside from the occasional suicide attempt and girl stalking, he’s doing pretty well. Seth is worried about Vegas’ performance at this exclusive dark arts private school. Vegas is, after all, flunking out of his voodoo studies class and most of his spells backfire horrifically. He has to do something to save Vegas from failing, over dosing or getting killed, but he has no idea how to help.
What Seth doesn't understand is that Vegas is in this mixed-up magic school for one reason and one reason only; to find a spell that will bring his girlfriend, Portia, back from the dead! And Vegas isn't going to let anyone stand in his way.
In this "Alice in Wonderland" style fairy tale, we meet Seth and Vegas, two teens struggling to make the grade in this demented dystopian high school. Because there’s very few ways to get an “A” in a black magic school and none of them are good.
Seth and Vegas are going to get to see if they have what it takes to make the grade, or lose their souls trying...
Richard "Vegas" Beltran is an underachiever. That's bad for any student, but it's especially bad when you go to a magic school. Black magic needs to be taken very seriously, but Vegas has been caught smoking "eye of newt" in the boys' bathroom and all of his bubbling cauldrons contain ice and alcohol...
His foster brother, Seth, is a bit more studious of a student. Aside from the occasional suicide attempt and girl stalking, he’s doing pretty well. Seth is worried about Vegas’ performance at this exclusive dark arts private school. Vegas is, after all, flunking out of his voodoo studies class and most of his spells backfire horrifically. He has to do something to save Vegas from failing, over dosing or getting killed, but he has no idea how to help.
What Seth doesn't understand is that Vegas is in this mixed-up magic school for one reason and one reason only; to find a spell that will bring his girlfriend, Portia, back from the dead! And Vegas isn't going to let anyone stand in his way.
In this "Alice in Wonderland" style fairy tale, we meet Seth and Vegas, two teens struggling to make the grade in this demented dystopian high school. Because there’s very few ways to get an “A” in a black magic school and none of them are good.
Seth and Vegas are going to get to see if they have what it takes to make the grade, or lose their souls trying...
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First published January 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 20, 2013
***originally posted on http://www.theyalitchick.blogspot.com
Magic School U.S.A is highly entertaining, highly addictive, and will definitely leave the reader wanting more.
It has been some time since I read a novel that made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. But I highlighted every brilliantly comedic line in this novel, and at least half of the pages have some green sentences. The characters are all well-developed, adding their own unique personalities that adds to the story as a whole.
The humor is definitely one of the best parts of the novel, and will appeal to teenagers and adults alike. Certain parts are very parody, and will do a great job in brightening your mood (which is slightly ironic, giving the nature of some of the characters.)
Fey has a great voice throughout the novel, and uses it well. From the beginning line of "Drop dead, motherfucker!", I was sure that this would be a novel I can enjoy, and I was right. Throughout reading, Magic School U.S.A will have you completely consumed with the characters, plot, and witty dialogue.
I want to thank Fay for reminding me that fart jokes are still hilarious, as well as for writing a truly wonderful comedy. It definitely made my long plane ride more enjoyable, and I think that is something magical.
I will eagerly await book two, hoping to see more of Seth, and am excited for the laughs that are sure to come.
To fans of magic, sorcerers, magicians, those who have a bit of an immature sense of humor, and those who have any sense of humor at all, I would recommend giving Magic School U.S.A a try.
Magic School U.S.A is highly entertaining, highly addictive, and will definitely leave the reader wanting more.
It has been some time since I read a novel that made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. But I highlighted every brilliantly comedic line in this novel, and at least half of the pages have some green sentences. The characters are all well-developed, adding their own unique personalities that adds to the story as a whole.
The humor is definitely one of the best parts of the novel, and will appeal to teenagers and adults alike. Certain parts are very parody, and will do a great job in brightening your mood (which is slightly ironic, giving the nature of some of the characters.)
Fey has a great voice throughout the novel, and uses it well. From the beginning line of "Drop dead, motherfucker!", I was sure that this would be a novel I can enjoy, and I was right. Throughout reading, Magic School U.S.A will have you completely consumed with the characters, plot, and witty dialogue.
I want to thank Fay for reminding me that fart jokes are still hilarious, as well as for writing a truly wonderful comedy. It definitely made my long plane ride more enjoyable, and I think that is something magical.
I will eagerly await book two, hoping to see more of Seth, and am excited for the laughs that are sure to come.
To fans of magic, sorcerers, magicians, those who have a bit of an immature sense of humor, and those who have any sense of humor at all, I would recommend giving Magic School U.S.A a try.
August 25, 2016
Continuing on my , what seems to be a theme this week of books that have made me laugh out loud, here is another that in my opinion will have you smiling and chuckling as you turn the pages; not only is this book extremely entertaining, at the end the reader is definitely left wanting more.
The Author did an outstanding job of developing all of the characters in this book equally. Each is given a distinct and unique personality which really adds, not only to the likability of these characters but to the storyline as a whole. Humour is most definitely one of the keystones of this book, and the comedy in it will appeal to readers in their teen years as well as the ‘adult’ readers out there. For adult readers, if they can get past the ‘requirement’ that they act like an adult at all times, they will find the fart jokes just as funny as they did in their earlier years. If you are an adult reader that refuses to find any humour at all in such things, then I strongly suggest you do not even pick this book up, never mind open the cover.
The Author writes in a style that has the reader totally consumed in this book from the opening line, and continues to keep them hooked to the last page through a combination of characters, plot and very witty dialogue. I look forward to reading future books in this series, and enjoying some more laughs as I follow the exploits that it is sure to contain.
I would recommend this book to lovers of the magic and mystical genre, plus those who see themselves as having sense of humour at all.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/01/16...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
The Author did an outstanding job of developing all of the characters in this book equally. Each is given a distinct and unique personality which really adds, not only to the likability of these characters but to the storyline as a whole. Humour is most definitely one of the keystones of this book, and the comedy in it will appeal to readers in their teen years as well as the ‘adult’ readers out there. For adult readers, if they can get past the ‘requirement’ that they act like an adult at all times, they will find the fart jokes just as funny as they did in their earlier years. If you are an adult reader that refuses to find any humour at all in such things, then I strongly suggest you do not even pick this book up, never mind open the cover.
The Author writes in a style that has the reader totally consumed in this book from the opening line, and continues to keep them hooked to the last page through a combination of characters, plot and very witty dialogue. I look forward to reading future books in this series, and enjoying some more laughs as I follow the exploits that it is sure to contain.
I would recommend this book to lovers of the magic and mystical genre, plus those who see themselves as having sense of humour at all.
Originally reviewed on: http://catesbooknuthut.com/2014/01/16...
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
September 24, 2013
I received this book for an honest review; all of the following are my own views.
I wanted to like this book. The prologue really drew me in and I was eager to find out what awaited Circe and Seth but it wasn't what I expected. When they went to live in a fancy mansion in California, you'd kind of expect the story to get better for them? No. They wind up in a family of spoiled children, seem to retain their fathers influence by swearing and acting brusquely and uncaringly, and end up going to magic school.
I was slightly confused as to how a magic school opened up and suddenly anyone off the street was able to enter without any particular talent; especially teenagers who seem to relish making each other's lives hell or else with psychological problems.
Throughout the book, I found that the setting jumped around a lot and lacked description. This led the storyline to be very jumpy with little explanation of what was surrounding the characters. I also noticed that the writing jumped from present to past tense and vice versa which was slightly confusing in the exposition, though a little less so towards the middle.
The first half of the book seemed aimless and lacking direction, so I was really bored. Usually with books I am able to read them within a day or two; it took me three weeks to finish this one - I haven't taken that long to read a book since Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in year 2. There was no allure to tempt me into settling down and reading it properly. Often I only read a few pages at a time.
Personally, I don't really like characters who seem reliant on drugs to survive and day, so I wasn't really endeared to Vegas/Richie. Seth, with his background, was more intriguing, but I didn't really favour him either.
All in all, I didn't really like this book and wasn't as excited as other people seem to have been.
I wanted to like this book. The prologue really drew me in and I was eager to find out what awaited Circe and Seth but it wasn't what I expected. When they went to live in a fancy mansion in California, you'd kind of expect the story to get better for them? No. They wind up in a family of spoiled children, seem to retain their fathers influence by swearing and acting brusquely and uncaringly, and end up going to magic school.
I was slightly confused as to how a magic school opened up and suddenly anyone off the street was able to enter without any particular talent; especially teenagers who seem to relish making each other's lives hell or else with psychological problems.
Throughout the book, I found that the setting jumped around a lot and lacked description. This led the storyline to be very jumpy with little explanation of what was surrounding the characters. I also noticed that the writing jumped from present to past tense and vice versa which was slightly confusing in the exposition, though a little less so towards the middle.
The first half of the book seemed aimless and lacking direction, so I was really bored. Usually with books I am able to read them within a day or two; it took me three weeks to finish this one - I haven't taken that long to read a book since Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in year 2. There was no allure to tempt me into settling down and reading it properly. Often I only read a few pages at a time.
Personally, I don't really like characters who seem reliant on drugs to survive and day, so I wasn't really endeared to Vegas/Richie. Seth, with his background, was more intriguing, but I didn't really favour him either.
All in all, I didn't really like this book and wasn't as excited as other people seem to have been.
September 12, 2013
Richard Beltran is kind of a stereotype of American teenagers. He's disrespectful and angry. He's flunking out of his high school. He also has a drug problem and doesn't seem to be able to get through a day of his life without being stoned or drunk.
That's an interesting story, but here's where it really gets twisted. The school he's flunking out of is a school for black magic, run by a bunch of demons. One of the demons is dead Nazi soldier that is forced to teach gym forever rather then remain in hell. I can imagine teaching gym class and burning in hell are kind of the same thing. I really got a kick out of that part, lol.
And those drugs that this teen is addicted too? Well let's just say it's not the kind of stuff you can get from your dealer around the corner!
So I read this book cover to cover in about 2 days and had a great time doing it. I laughed, I cried while laughing and then at the end with the rooms I nearly busted my gut. The yellow room was a riot, that's all I'll say!
If you are looking for something sappy and romantic, sorry, but you're not going to find it in this book! This book was more for some laughs and entertainment. I was totally entertained during my commute to work and I love this book for that.
That's an interesting story, but here's where it really gets twisted. The school he's flunking out of is a school for black magic, run by a bunch of demons. One of the demons is dead Nazi soldier that is forced to teach gym forever rather then remain in hell. I can imagine teaching gym class and burning in hell are kind of the same thing. I really got a kick out of that part, lol.
And those drugs that this teen is addicted too? Well let's just say it's not the kind of stuff you can get from your dealer around the corner!
So I read this book cover to cover in about 2 days and had a great time doing it. I laughed, I cried while laughing and then at the end with the rooms I nearly busted my gut. The yellow room was a riot, that's all I'll say!
If you are looking for something sappy and romantic, sorry, but you're not going to find it in this book! This book was more for some laughs and entertainment. I was totally entertained during my commute to work and I love this book for that.
March 16, 2014
Firstly, I was given this book free of charge from the author via Lovers of Paranormal, in exchange for an honest review.
The concept of this book really intrigued me - a school teaching Black Magic to the teenagers of this very dystopian world? It took a while, however, for me to get drawn into the book as a lot of the action is told in flashback and I found it jumped around a little - which took a bit of getting use to -however, that is probably just me :)
One of the major plus factors in the book is the humour. There is a very sharp vein of black humour running right through the book - and especially from one of the main characters, Richie/ Vegas. As previous reviewers have said, if you are an adult reading this you need to forget all the boring adult humour you have come across and go back to the teenage years of fart jokes and ragging eachother mercilessly!
The book does need a serious amount of editing, but the author is more than aware of that, and is in the process of getting this done - so please don't let that put you off!
A good, fun read, with a wicked cliff-hanger ending - what more could you want?!
The concept of this book really intrigued me - a school teaching Black Magic to the teenagers of this very dystopian world? It took a while, however, for me to get drawn into the book as a lot of the action is told in flashback and I found it jumped around a little - which took a bit of getting use to -however, that is probably just me :)
One of the major plus factors in the book is the humour. There is a very sharp vein of black humour running right through the book - and especially from one of the main characters, Richie/ Vegas. As previous reviewers have said, if you are an adult reading this you need to forget all the boring adult humour you have come across and go back to the teenage years of fart jokes and ragging eachother mercilessly!
The book does need a serious amount of editing, but the author is more than aware of that, and is in the process of getting this done - so please don't let that put you off!
A good, fun read, with a wicked cliff-hanger ending - what more could you want?!
March 18, 2014
I received this book in exchange for an honest review (Lovers of Paranormal, LoP).
Not a bad book, it definitely has some laugh out loud moments. The jokes are funny, but if you can't appreciate junior high school boy humor, this may not be the book for you. It's an interesting plot, but the first part of story just seemed to drag on with no direction. Kinda like male drivers in the days before GPS; the character development is well done. Vegas is one of those characters you'll either love or hate (for me, it started with dislike in the beginning, but he grew on me. Like a fungus). And I have to give him points for wanting to bring his girlfriend back from the dead. She must have put it on him well if he's going thru this amount of trouble to have her back. Seth on the other hand, was only mildly interesting. If he had been the star of the book, the story would have definitely dragged on and on.
I'd recommend this book if you're looking for a quick, beach read.
Not a bad book, it definitely has some laugh out loud moments. The jokes are funny, but if you can't appreciate junior high school boy humor, this may not be the book for you. It's an interesting plot, but the first part of story just seemed to drag on with no direction. Kinda like male drivers in the days before GPS; the character development is well done. Vegas is one of those characters you'll either love or hate (for me, it started with dislike in the beginning, but he grew on me. Like a fungus). And I have to give him points for wanting to bring his girlfriend back from the dead. She must have put it on him well if he's going thru this amount of trouble to have her back. Seth on the other hand, was only mildly interesting. If he had been the star of the book, the story would have definitely dragged on and on.
I'd recommend this book if you're looking for a quick, beach read.
September 25, 2013
If you're unsure about buying this book, I GUARANTEE that it's worth buying! I was laughing throughout about 90% of it, and the other 10% is full of mystery, revenge, love, and magic. Even though the plotline is dark and mysterious, most of the book provides funny situations in which the characters either get stuck with dangerous creatures or fight with each other, and the whole thing is just hilarious! If you want a book to make you laugh, this is it. The characters are so different from one another, but all of them when in a jam or otherwise are humourous in some way (: I enjoyed the fact that magic is being introduced to the world, and not like a hidden secret, such as Harry Potter. It's a new concept that I loved, and I couldn't put it down!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, but I will definitely be buying the next book!
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, but I will definitely be buying the next book!
August 30, 2013
I received this copy for an honest review. All of the my views on this book are my own.
I started reading this book and could not put it down. I love anything that has to do with magic, ever since Harry Potter came around .
I would have to have read more detail in the rooms, where they were at , and also where they were going. It did seem to jump too much but loved the hole book once it was all finished. ( more description);)
Now to read part 2 ;)
also another note ( I recieved my book through smashwords) It seems to me that the spaces between the paragraphs was overdone ( all through out the book) It seem to make the book longer in length then what it really is.
I started reading this book and could not put it down. I love anything that has to do with magic, ever since Harry Potter came around .
I would have to have read more detail in the rooms, where they were at , and also where they were going. It did seem to jump too much but loved the hole book once it was all finished. ( more description);)
Now to read part 2 ;)
also another note ( I recieved my book through smashwords) It seems to me that the spaces between the paragraphs was overdone ( all through out the book) It seem to make the book longer in length then what it really is.
June 25, 2013
this book overall was a good one.I found this book hilarious.The book at the starting was a bit clueless but as you start reading it gets intresting .you have little difficulty connecting all the characters as much of the history is not specified.
i loved the ending very much i couldn't stop laughing .but it was a gud , it would have been more fun if there were some details.definately looking forward for the next part.
i loved the ending very much i couldn't stop laughing .but it was a gud , it would have been more fun if there were some details.definately looking forward for the next part.
December 10, 2013
This book was OK. Its just that the whole first half of the book it didn't really seem to be going anywhere. I thought it was going to be exciting and interesting. But it was just kind of boring. I really disliked the characters too. Vegas seemed like a total jerk who is stuck up and arrogant. Seth did seem kind of sweet and I did feel sorry for him at times. I really thought this was going to be better.
July 8, 2011
It was a quick and witty read. I adored Vegas. He is your average bad boy with a "follower" friend. It was told with words befitting for adults that have some kid still in them.My only issue is that it was lacking drama. Overall, it had a nice storyline going for it but it filtered off into something missing. I did like it because of the magic and Vegas but I had no real connection....
September 10, 2013
It was ok, but not like 'yeah i can't wait for the second one'. Th writing syle is not my thing i guess... Also, if English isn't a language you natural speak or read, I wouldn't recommend this one. I'm dutch (sorry for bad english btw :/) and I had it really hard to understand everything.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews