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Schooled in Magic #7
Trial By Fire
After a brief visit to the Blighted Lands, in hopes of recovering something useful from Shadye’s Dark Fortress, Emily returns to Whitehall for her fourth year, bracing herself for the exams that will determine her future. But as she resumes her education, she discovers that the shadows of the past are hanging over the school. A teacher wants to break her, some of her friends are acting oddly and, worst of all, a boy intends to court her.
But as she struggles to come to terms with her own past, she discovers a plot to kill her and a deadly threat that may destroy the entire school...and a fight she cannot win, but dares not lose.
But as she struggles to come to terms with her own past, she discovers a plot to kill her and a deadly threat that may destroy the entire school...and a fight she cannot win, but dares not lose.
364 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 13, 2015
309 people are currently reading
405 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
February 15, 2016
As i've read my way through this series I have been more and more frustrated, not just with the protagonist, but with everyone surrounding her. She is constantly put into shitty positions by those surrounding her and then blamed for her choices. This installment just seems to top everything that has happened previously.
July 21, 2015
Mr. Nuttall has done it again. He has written another great book in the Schooled In Magic series. Unsurprisingly the book picks up more or less from where the last one left off. Emily is back in school which is my favourite setting for this series. She is however also making a trip to Shadey’s old fortress to recover what is now considered her belongings. A trip which will have dire consequences for Emily as well as Whitehall. To complicate matters an old “acquaintance”, Master Grey, is charged by the Grandmaster to teach Emily the art of combat. Apart from Emily being quite unhappy about this, Master Grey has an agenda of his own.
As usual this is a well written book which is an enjoyment to read. Emily’s schooling is intermixed with her emotional development, not unsurprisingly the latter being of the rather romantic kind, as well as the progression of a mystery of strange behaviours among a large number of the students and, finally, Master Gray’s secret conspiracy.
The book ends in not one but two climaxes one of them, unfortunately, having somewhat of a tragic outcome. Also not unsurprisingly, by the end of the book Emily has added to her reputation of being someone who’s path should not be crossed in the wrong way.
I finished this book much too quickly. I definitely hope the author can keep the series going. The title of the next book is a wee bit scary since it seems to hint that it is not my kind of story but that will certainly not deter me from picking it up as soon as it comes out. After all, Mr. Nuttall have never truly disappointed me with any of his books.
As usual this is a well written book which is an enjoyment to read. Emily’s schooling is intermixed with her emotional development, not unsurprisingly the latter being of the rather romantic kind, as well as the progression of a mystery of strange behaviours among a large number of the students and, finally, Master Gray’s secret conspiracy.
The book ends in not one but two climaxes one of them, unfortunately, having somewhat of a tragic outcome. Also not unsurprisingly, by the end of the book Emily has added to her reputation of being someone who’s path should not be crossed in the wrong way.
I finished this book much too quickly. I definitely hope the author can keep the series going. The title of the next book is a wee bit scary since it seems to hint that it is not my kind of story but that will certainly not deter me from picking it up as soon as it comes out. After all, Mr. Nuttall have never truly disappointed me with any of his books.
May 17, 2017
Great characters.
I enjoyed 1-6 on Audible. It wasn't until the end of 6 that I realized no more were available...
Travis Gilbert's exceptional narrations allow another level of enjoyment to an excellent series.
I enjoyed 1-6 on Audible. It wasn't until the end of 6 that I realized no more were available...
Travis Gilbert's exceptional narrations allow another level of enjoyment to an excellent series.
October 25, 2020
I've been enjoying the first books but there are some things that are starting to annoy me as the story goes on.
First, there's been character progression for basically every character except for the protagonist. Alassa stopped being an entitled brat, Imaiqah and Frieda got more confident, for example. But as the story goes on Emily becomes more and more immature, and more of a egocentrical emo brat. For example when she's with friends she acts like "Oh this is so annoying! being with friends! I would rather be sleeping or reading a book!", but then when she's alone she's like "Ohh! Everyone hates me! Why does everyone hates me?? The world is so unfair!". Then she has never been interested in Combat Magic, the only reason she's there is because she was put there by the grandmaster, nothing else, and so far all she has been interested in is reading books, learning new spells, and experimenting, but now suddenly it turns out that she wants to become a Mediator and fight random evil sorcerers and necromances? Because she has to be a hero? She's the only one who has the knowledge of how to kill the necromancers (because nobody else can be trusted with the knowledge but her, of course) but she doesn't care about probably killing herself trying to kill a random evil sorcerer without ever telling anyone how to kill the necromancers?
Then there's the thing with being the baroness of Cockatrice, she wants to keep being the baroness to help the people but then she has never acted like she cares or is actually interested in working as the baroness. She only keeps her egocentrical emo brat act of "Ohhhh Why did the king make me the baroness??? I have to wooork! I'm so busyyy! this is so unfaaiir! I want to read boooks!!" But when asked to just give up the barony then she acts like "nonononono, I can't do that, if I let somebody else be the baron they will only ruin everything, I'm the best for the job!" (Even though so far she hasn't done much anyway).
Second, the author keeps explaining things over and over again, or keeps mentioning the same things over and over again as Emily's thoughts. Sometimes this happens in the middle of actual conversations and then suddenly the conversation is interrupted with 1-3 pages of random rambling inside of Emily's head, and then the conversation resumes and I have to go back because I don't even remember what they were talking about anymore. It got to a point where I already know what the author is going to explain so I just skip whole paragraphs when I notice he's starting to explain something that he already explained.
Third, and this is the most annoying one for me. This is something that some authors like doing and I still have no idea why. It is when they force characters to act like idiots or do random stupid things for the sake of plot, it's like they want the plot to be some way and the only way they find to get to that point is to make the characters do stupid things. And I understand that this is a Young Adult book, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to act like an brainless idiot, including the adults. Specially when they do that just to make Emily look more clever than everyone else.
In Schooled in Magic, they let all the brats to bully themselves even if some are weaker than others. And even if they can easily kill each other by mistake just as Emily almost kills Alassa. It's like giving each student a gun and telling them "here, take it, you are allowed to shot anyone you want, just make sure not to kill them. Oh and make sure not to move the gun too much, sometimes it shoots by itself, so maybe don't point it at people heads?" But hey, we needed it for the plot.
In Lessons in Etiquette apparently the king forgot to hire security for his castle, given how easy it was for the nobles to take over the castle. And then at the end, Emily and Alassa decide to enter the Hall by themselves, leaving the Princes outside, because why not? what could go wrong? Then somehow the evil aunt gets past them, enters the hall and puts a knife in Alassa's throat without anyone noticing. But hey, we needed it for the plot.
In Study in Slaughter apparently everyone forgot that there was a mimic on the loose. And of course in the end Emily was the one who found it and found out how to kill it, because everyone else are a bunch of medieval idiots and she's so clever. But hey, we needed it for the plot.
In Work Experience, Emily has been trained to run through forests as part of her Combat Magic training, but then suddenly she hits her head with a tree branch, falls on her back and a deathly snake just appears on top of her, apparently it flied there, or just teleported. But hey, she needed an OP familiar. Then while looking for the old necromancer hag, Lady Barb falls into a mundane pit trap and is kidnaped by her. She's a Combat Sorceress trained to avoid all kind of traps, hexes, curses, spells, subtle magic and what not, but apparently they never taught her that pit traps existed. But hey, we needed for Emily to go and rescue her, plot you know?
In The School of Hard Knocks, apparently it never occurred to The Administrator, a very calculating and very knowledable man (in any kind of magic), that to use the MageMaster key and take over the school he needed to actually magically own it. (Even though sorcerers leave curses in each and every one of their objects, for people who wants to use them without their permission) But hey, we needed the suspense, we needed to think that everything was lost, and of course, the plot.
In Love's Labor's Won, Both families have a terrible feud between them, they are always at each other throats and still nobody knows what they are fighting for (because hey, we need the mystery, we can't reveal everything right now, we have to wait a few books to know something so apparently irrelevant). Everyone knew that it was a stupid idea to invite both families to the Faire but Emily, everyone knew that Emily invited both families and still nobody decided to tell her until the last moment when it was too late (because hey, we needed both families to be there fighting every time, that's the whole point of the book). Mark and Mellissa were always disappearing, and nobody found suspicious that they were disappearing always at the same time. And nobody decided to go and find them, despite both of their families being very controlling. And then, they go and hide inside Emily's library, with easily breakable and obvious wards, but nobody found them, only Emily (of course). In the end, apparently all they had to do to find them was to ask a maid, because apparently all maids knew where they where. And then when all hell breaks loose, turns out that Emily found out how to make the battery work, just in that moment.
But the top of needless stupidity comes in Trial By Fire,
I get it that people can make mistakes, but when they make random blatant mistakes just for the sake of plot it fells forced and stupid. And it's worse when the people making the mistakes are the most knowledgable and powerful people in the book.
First, there's been character progression for basically every character except for the protagonist. Alassa stopped being an entitled brat, Imaiqah and Frieda got more confident, for example. But as the story goes on Emily becomes more and more immature, and more of a egocentrical emo brat. For example when she's with friends she acts like "Oh this is so annoying! being with friends! I would rather be sleeping or reading a book!", but then when she's alone she's like "Ohh! Everyone hates me! Why does everyone hates me?? The world is so unfair!". Then she has never been interested in Combat Magic, the only reason she's there is because she was put there by the grandmaster, nothing else, and so far all she has been interested in is reading books, learning new spells, and experimenting, but now suddenly it turns out that she wants to become a Mediator and fight random evil sorcerers and necromances? Because she has to be a hero? She's the only one who has the knowledge of how to kill the necromancers (because nobody else can be trusted with the knowledge but her, of course) but she doesn't care about probably killing herself trying to kill a random evil sorcerer without ever telling anyone how to kill the necromancers?
Then there's the thing with being the baroness of Cockatrice, she wants to keep being the baroness to help the people but then she has never acted like she cares or is actually interested in working as the baroness. She only keeps her egocentrical emo brat act of "Ohhhh Why did the king make me the baroness??? I have to wooork! I'm so busyyy! this is so unfaaiir! I want to read boooks!!" But when asked to just give up the barony then she acts like "nonononono, I can't do that, if I let somebody else be the baron they will only ruin everything, I'm the best for the job!" (Even though so far she hasn't done much anyway).
Second, the author keeps explaining things over and over again, or keeps mentioning the same things over and over again as Emily's thoughts. Sometimes this happens in the middle of actual conversations and then suddenly the conversation is interrupted with 1-3 pages of random rambling inside of Emily's head, and then the conversation resumes and I have to go back because I don't even remember what they were talking about anymore. It got to a point where I already know what the author is going to explain so I just skip whole paragraphs when I notice he's starting to explain something that he already explained.
Third, and this is the most annoying one for me. This is something that some authors like doing and I still have no idea why. It is when they force characters to act like idiots or do random stupid things for the sake of plot, it's like they want the plot to be some way and the only way they find to get to that point is to make the characters do stupid things. And I understand that this is a Young Adult book, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to act like an brainless idiot, including the adults. Specially when they do that just to make Emily look more clever than everyone else.
In Schooled in Magic, they let all the brats to bully themselves even if some are weaker than others. And even if they can easily kill each other by mistake just as Emily almost kills Alassa. It's like giving each student a gun and telling them "here, take it, you are allowed to shot anyone you want, just make sure not to kill them. Oh and make sure not to move the gun too much, sometimes it shoots by itself, so maybe don't point it at people heads?" But hey, we needed it for the plot.
In Lessons in Etiquette apparently the king forgot to hire security for his castle, given how easy it was for the nobles to take over the castle. And then at the end, Emily and Alassa decide to enter the Hall by themselves, leaving the Princes outside, because why not? what could go wrong? Then somehow the evil aunt gets past them, enters the hall and puts a knife in Alassa's throat without anyone noticing. But hey, we needed it for the plot.
In Study in Slaughter apparently everyone forgot that there was a mimic on the loose. And of course in the end Emily was the one who found it and found out how to kill it, because everyone else are a bunch of medieval idiots and she's so clever. But hey, we needed it for the plot.
In Work Experience, Emily has been trained to run through forests as part of her Combat Magic training, but then suddenly she hits her head with a tree branch, falls on her back and a deathly snake just appears on top of her, apparently it flied there, or just teleported. But hey, she needed an OP familiar. Then while looking for the old necromancer hag, Lady Barb falls into a mundane pit trap and is kidnaped by her. She's a Combat Sorceress trained to avoid all kind of traps, hexes, curses, spells, subtle magic and what not, but apparently they never taught her that pit traps existed. But hey, we needed for Emily to go and rescue her, plot you know?
In The School of Hard Knocks, apparently it never occurred to The Administrator, a very calculating and very knowledable man (in any kind of magic), that to use the MageMaster key and take over the school he needed to actually magically own it. (Even though sorcerers leave curses in each and every one of their objects, for people who wants to use them without their permission) But hey, we needed the suspense, we needed to think that everything was lost, and of course, the plot.
In Love's Labor's Won, Both families have a terrible feud between them, they are always at each other throats and still nobody knows what they are fighting for (because hey, we need the mystery, we can't reveal everything right now, we have to wait a few books to know something so apparently irrelevant). Everyone knew that it was a stupid idea to invite both families to the Faire but Emily, everyone knew that Emily invited both families and still nobody decided to tell her until the last moment when it was too late (because hey, we needed both families to be there fighting every time, that's the whole point of the book). Mark and Mellissa were always disappearing, and nobody found suspicious that they were disappearing always at the same time. And nobody decided to go and find them, despite both of their families being very controlling. And then, they go and hide inside Emily's library, with easily breakable and obvious wards, but nobody found them, only Emily (of course). In the end, apparently all they had to do to find them was to ask a maid, because apparently all maids knew where they where. And then when all hell breaks loose, turns out that Emily found out how to make the battery work, just in that moment.
But the top of needless stupidity comes in Trial By Fire,
I get it that people can make mistakes, but when they make random blatant mistakes just for the sake of plot it fells forced and stupid. And it's worse when the people making the mistakes are the most knowledgable and powerful people in the book.
February 13, 2017
Featuring a more mature and able Emily, August 3, 2016
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Trial By Fire (Schooled in Magic Book 7) (Kindle Edition)
Someone other than Emily makes a grave mistake which endangers Whitehaven. At least having someone else make the mistake is a change. An enemy reaches out to destroy Emily but she proves to be more powerful and able than anyone suspected. The series seems to be back on track with Emily gaining some maturity.
Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Trial By Fire (Schooled in Magic Book 7) (Kindle Edition)
Someone other than Emily makes a grave mistake which endangers Whitehaven. At least having someone else make the mistake is a change. An enemy reaches out to destroy Emily but she proves to be more powerful and able than anyone suspected. The series seems to be back on track with Emily gaining some maturity.
October 10, 2017
Lady Emily must die.
So say her enemies, whose number grows year by year. And change continues to come to the Allied Lands. The genie [concepts/ideas that Emily has brought from Earth] has truly left the bottle, for better or worse.
Year Four sees Lady Emily working on her first joint project. The purpose of the project is the close teamwork necessary for the two students to successfully complete their project.
Emily has had trouble all her life making new friends and has never had her grade depend on such a joint endeavor before. And her teammate is both a stranger [at first] and a boy.
Then accidents begin to plague most of the First and Second Year students. Minor injuries but did they ALL really walk into a wall?
Just to top it off, Emily and Aloha have both completed the only two years of Martial Magic offered at Whitehall. So, a private tutor is retained just to put the two of them through their paces so they do not lose what they learned earlier.
Except it is Master Grey, who hated Emily on sight the first time she met him.
This series continues to be a great comfort to me. During trying times, I can always count on the Schooled in Magic series to provide excellent entertainment to take me away from the troubles of the day!
So say her enemies, whose number grows year by year. And change continues to come to the Allied Lands. The genie [concepts/ideas that Emily has brought from Earth] has truly left the bottle, for better or worse.
Year Four sees Lady Emily working on her first joint project. The purpose of the project is the close teamwork necessary for the two students to successfully complete their project.
Emily has had trouble all her life making new friends and has never had her grade depend on such a joint endeavor before. And her teammate is both a stranger [at first] and a boy.
Then accidents begin to plague most of the First and Second Year students. Minor injuries but did they ALL really walk into a wall?
Just to top it off, Emily and Aloha have both completed the only two years of Martial Magic offered at Whitehall. So, a private tutor is retained just to put the two of them through their paces so they do not lose what they learned earlier.
Except it is Master Grey, who hated Emily on sight the first time she met him.
This series continues to be a great comfort to me. During trying times, I can always count on the Schooled in Magic series to provide excellent entertainment to take me away from the troubles of the day!
July 1, 2018
This one has clear inter-mingling of sub-plots that I can actually appreciate. But there are still things that I wince at:
- the overly used word: sardonic.
- the overly used 'MC is ignorant of the outcomes of her actions' excuse that began in Book 1. It's getting really annoying - I'd prefer to read about other conflict-triggers.
And what is the . I find it to be a plot hole and . I just can't buy the ending with any sincerity.
Regardless, I can't deny that the pacing and overall story telling is a vast improvement from the first few books - I shouldn't have to wait 2-3 books to get that a story is good but people who have already moved on to the 14th are very adamant that this series is good. My verdict - it's just 'okay'. Okay enough that I'll pick up the next one because it is an easy read if you want to listen to something while you do some mindless chore.
- the overly used word: sardonic.
- the overly used 'MC is ignorant of the outcomes of her actions' excuse that began in Book 1. It's getting really annoying - I'd prefer to read about other conflict-triggers.
And what is the . I find it to be a plot hole and . I just can't buy the ending with any sincerity.
Regardless, I can't deny that the pacing and overall story telling is a vast improvement from the first few books - I shouldn't have to wait 2-3 books to get that a story is good but people who have already moved on to the 14th are very adamant that this series is good. My verdict - it's just 'okay'. Okay enough that I'll pick up the next one because it is an easy read if you want to listen to something while you do some mindless chore.
June 9, 2021
Is this the book where he finally starts to develop and maybe even mature Emily?
We shall see if this continues.
For the first time Emily's general weakness shows signs of being addressed and that maybe the character will be allowed to grow and heal.
The mary sue is a bit strong on this one with a couple contrived plot points designed for only the purpose of making her life harder but still overcome.
This was not the best book in the series but it's getting a good grade because maybe it's the start of Emily being a full character rather than just a plot device in her own story. I'd really like to see her flourish.
More of the same as the previous books. If you've come this far, keep going.
We shall see if this continues.
For the first time Emily's general weakness shows signs of being addressed and that maybe the character will be allowed to grow and heal.
The mary sue is a bit strong on this one with a couple contrived plot points designed for only the purpose of making her life harder but still overcome.
This was not the best book in the series but it's getting a good grade because maybe it's the start of Emily being a full character rather than just a plot device in her own story. I'd really like to see her flourish.
More of the same as the previous books. If you've come this far, keep going.
August 11, 2025
I have increasing issues with the inconsistencies the author has done in this book. The story is good, the twist also good, and the main characters are processing in life ( although the main chracter is kind of lacking in this area - maybe her lack of progress is to make a point of how hard it is for emotoinally scared people to progress)...all that is good.
However I have nic picky issues-
In book one it is empathized the importance of using the whole title of one's position and told not to use Sir, but now that is like the only formal address she gives. Plus she talks about how they have different sware/curse words in the magical world, but in this and the previous book earth sware words keep coming up. It feels like an over sight and lack of imagination. It bothers me when authors mess up like that.
Frankly I think I will cut ties with this series now and not read any more of this story if Emily.
However I have nic picky issues-
In book one it is empathized the importance of using the whole title of one's position and told not to use Sir, but now that is like the only formal address she gives. Plus she talks about how they have different sware/curse words in the magical world, but in this and the previous book earth sware words keep coming up. It feels like an over sight and lack of imagination. It bothers me when authors mess up like that.
Frankly I think I will cut ties with this series now and not read any more of this story if Emily.
February 17, 2020
I really love Christopher Nuttall's books, both this series and the 'Zero Enigma' series, but I had to cut a couple of stars from the rating because 1) Nothing really happens for the first ¾ of this book, everything worth reading is at the end and 2) This Caleb relationship seems unreal, Caleb is almost an NPC and
Still, apart from my negativity, the series is still looking real good - onward.
Still, apart from my negativity, the series is still looking real good - onward.
July 25, 2017
Another fast and entertaining read, I liked the ending, even if some of the science based concept used would (I'm fairly sure) have been known there already, and shouldn't have come as a surprise ()
September 19, 2017
I love Fantasy/SciFi books. This is book 7 of a series of 12. Christopher Nuttall has made the whole series exciting. Each book is fast paced, the characters intermingle well. The main character is able to meet each difficult challenge with success. Friends and enemies come and go smoothly through the series. I am half way through book 12 and am anxious to get to the finally. Will Emily's(main character) magic be strong enough to save her and her friends or will the necromancer overpower her and take her life?
July 12, 2024
While the series began a bit weakly, it has grown into itself. The protagonist has become a sympathetic, three-dimensional character and the plot is compelling. There are good choices and consequences, though it must be said that the instigation of the duel is a bit of a stretch.
Recommended.
Recommended.
July 16, 2017
The Schooled in Magic series is one of my secret/guilty delights - it's so far removed from my normal tastes in fiction but I just adore the characters in this series. Trial by Fire is probably the best in the series so far, I'm sure the next 7 will be great
October 17, 2017
Very addictive series...I found this installment compelling, just as compelling as the prior stories of Emily. The author is quite adept at plotting, his characters are robust, and the magic world is highly detailed, more so than any other fantasy series I have encountered. Very, very readable.
November 30, 2018
Woah
I loved the twist this book took. I love to make predictions of what will happen, and I didn’t catch one until it was nearly too late to predict (rare for me, I usually have an accurate prediction by the 3rd chapter).
I can’t wait to read the next book!
I loved the twist this book took. I love to make predictions of what will happen, and I didn’t catch one until it was nearly too late to predict (rare for me, I usually have an accurate prediction by the 3rd chapter).
I can’t wait to read the next book!
May 11, 2017
loved it!
June 12, 2017
Another Winner
Really like the series. Can't wait for the next one. Have read several of Chris's books and haven't been disappointed yet.
Really like the series. Can't wait for the next one. Have read several of Chris's books and haven't been disappointed yet.
February 12, 2018
What a good book
Spoiler alert! The Grand Master dies how sad I really liked that character, Master Grey dies we that bugger needed to die really good book.
Spoiler alert! The Grand Master dies how sad I really liked that character, Master Grey dies we that bugger needed to die really good book.
March 16, 2019
Great book
I just could not wait to finish the book to find out what happened with Emily. It's sad at the end but I can't wait for the next book
I just could not wait to finish the book to find out what happened with Emily. It's sad at the end but I can't wait for the next book
August 14, 2018
Best one yet! :)
December 10, 2018
Great
Another great addition to the series, but also one of the sadder additions as well. All-around a great read though, excited to get to book 8.
Another great addition to the series, but also one of the sadder additions as well. All-around a great read though, excited to get to book 8.
March 6, 2019
Serious issues and peril mar yet another school term in thought-provoking ways.
June 13, 2020
Emily visits the place where it all started.
Another fantastic book in the series
Another fantastic book in the series
November 4, 2020
Excellent book
Great reading this, you could see how Emily is evolving and growing up to be a sorcerer to be reckoned with
Great reading this, you could see how Emily is evolving and growing up to be a sorcerer to be reckoned with
January 13, 2024
Fantastic!!!
I love every christopher nutthall writes!! It's always enthralling and a great escape. Emily is one of the best leads in a story I've ever read... I hope it never ends
I love every christopher nutthall writes!! It's always enthralling and a great escape. Emily is one of the best leads in a story I've ever read... I hope it never ends
August 18, 2024
If you’ve made it this far in the series you’ll like this book too. The ending will have you on the edge of your seat
September 14, 2015
As you may know, I was having a school camp (then I had to go vote) last week. And tomorrow, I'll be on my way back to Singapore and Malaysia for a research trip. It's a good thing I have books to read in during camp and in-between flights. One of the books that I've read recently would be Trial By Fire.
Now, I should make it clear that I'm coming into this series as a first timer. There's probably a ton of background stuff that I don't know . That being said, I managed to follow along with the story pretty well, and I didn't feel like I was being thrown into a very unfamiliar world.
Trial by Fire follows Emily as she returns to Whitehall for her fourth year of magic studies. This is the year where she has to seriously consider her career paths, and things that happened in the previous books are making it difficult for her to make a simple decision. Add a teacher who hates her to that, and students acting weirder than normal, and it's so obvious that Emily's fourth year isn't going to go smoothly.
One thing I thought was interesting was Emily's contributions to Whitehall and the world it's in. It's not really dwelt upon, probably because all this is from the later books, but it seems like Emily has been trying to import ideas and machines from earth to this one. I found the way writing, printing presses, and so on affected the world interesting.
Character-wise, I liked Emily and friends. I thought that Emily, Caleb, Frieda and Alassa were the most developed compared to the other characters, but I think it's because they have more show time. I quite liked their interactions, and how their respective stations (and origins) in life affected how they behave.
As for the big obstacle in the book that's happens, well, no spoilers but I was quite surprised. The first half of the book is very much school-related, and then bam, there are two problems that Emily has to face at one go. I did like the fact that Emily doesn't solve everything on her own, one problem basically requires someone else to step in, but the solution for another problem did feel a little pat. [SPOILER ALERT - Skip to next paragraph if you don't want to see it] Emily basically has to enter a duel to the death, and the way she wins is by a forbidden spell. It was a bit of a let-down, since all the pages before was emphasised how she didn't have the skill and experience, but then suddenly, she had this magic "win everything" card.
All in all, this was an enjoyable book. Even though I didn't start from the first book, I connected quickly with the characters and was engaged in their stories.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.
P.s. I just saw the author bio, and saw that he got married in Malaysia. How cool is that? I wonder if he's been to Singapore...
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
Now, I should make it clear that I'm coming into this series as a first timer. There's probably a ton of background stuff that I don't know . That being said, I managed to follow along with the story pretty well, and I didn't feel like I was being thrown into a very unfamiliar world.
Trial by Fire follows Emily as she returns to Whitehall for her fourth year of magic studies. This is the year where she has to seriously consider her career paths, and things that happened in the previous books are making it difficult for her to make a simple decision. Add a teacher who hates her to that, and students acting weirder than normal, and it's so obvious that Emily's fourth year isn't going to go smoothly.
One thing I thought was interesting was Emily's contributions to Whitehall and the world it's in. It's not really dwelt upon, probably because all this is from the later books, but it seems like Emily has been trying to import ideas and machines from earth to this one. I found the way writing, printing presses, and so on affected the world interesting.
Character-wise, I liked Emily and friends. I thought that Emily, Caleb, Frieda and Alassa were the most developed compared to the other characters, but I think it's because they have more show time. I quite liked their interactions, and how their respective stations (and origins) in life affected how they behave.
As for the big obstacle in the book that's happens, well, no spoilers but I was quite surprised. The first half of the book is very much school-related, and then bam, there are two problems that Emily has to face at one go. I did like the fact that Emily doesn't solve everything on her own, one problem basically requires someone else to step in, but the solution for another problem did feel a little pat. [SPOILER ALERT - Skip to next paragraph if you don't want to see it] Emily basically has to enter a duel to the death, and the way she wins is by a forbidden spell. It was a bit of a let-down, since all the pages before was emphasised how she didn't have the skill and experience, but then suddenly, she had this magic "win everything" card.
All in all, this was an enjoyable book. Even though I didn't start from the first book, I connected quickly with the characters and was engaged in their stories.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review.
P.s. I just saw the author bio, and saw that he got married in Malaysia. How cool is that? I wonder if he's been to Singapore...
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
January 4, 2016
a far stronger, deeply satisfying book
At last Emily is being allowed to grow up. It's nothing like easy, and there's a lot of pain here, but I also feel a strong sense of satisfaction that Emily is coming into her own power and responsibility. She is no longer the only one paying for all--many people suffer in this book and almost everyone has something to learn or grow beyond, but it feels more real and fair that way. By the end of the story, some of Emily's strongest supports are lost, but she has finally realized that all the running and hiding she was doing had bought her nothing but insecurity and more fear. Lady Barb is no longer blaming and scolding Emily for what she doesn't know, but is admitting that their relationship actually is something close to mother-daughter. Lady Barb is also now acting the parent by insisting that Emily acknowledge and address her own weaknesses, and respecting her for doing so. I was also glad to discover that there's much more of a plot to this book that can't be reduced to 'oh there's a big problem and Emily needs to fix it because it's all her fault.' Master Grey does try to blame Emily for everything, but even Emily can tell he's wrong, and for the first time, she doesn't let guilt and self-doubt dictate her reactions. She plans, makes hard choices and takes responsibility. It's very satisfying.
At last Emily is being allowed to grow up. It's nothing like easy, and there's a lot of pain here, but I also feel a strong sense of satisfaction that Emily is coming into her own power and responsibility. She is no longer the only one paying for all--many people suffer in this book and almost everyone has something to learn or grow beyond, but it feels more real and fair that way. By the end of the story, some of Emily's strongest supports are lost, but she has finally realized that all the running and hiding she was doing had bought her nothing but insecurity and more fear. Lady Barb is no longer blaming and scolding Emily for what she doesn't know, but is admitting that their relationship actually is something close to mother-daughter. Lady Barb is also now acting the parent by insisting that Emily acknowledge and address her own weaknesses, and respecting her for doing so. I was also glad to discover that there's much more of a plot to this book that can't be reduced to 'oh there's a big problem and Emily needs to fix it because it's all her fault.' Master Grey does try to blame Emily for everything, but even Emily can tell he's wrong, and for the first time, she doesn't let guilt and self-doubt dictate her reactions. She plans, makes hard choices and takes responsibility. It's very satisfying.
July 20, 2015
A welcome return to form following the somewhat disappointing previous book, and really a fine continuation of an excellent series. Less contrived and choppy than Book 6, and far more compelling, consistent, and convincing. I especially enjoyed the exploration and development of the main character in this case, and the way the story delved into her relationships and her place in the world. Not as subtle and crafted as J.K. Rowling's work (what is?), but nevertheless engaging, sympathetic, and believable. Granted, the climax and final resolution did feel a bit abrupt, as compared to the rest of the book, but the conclusion was both satisfying in itself and tantalizing toward the next installment (evidently entitled, "Wedding Hells," and mercifully expected yet in 2015). The proof is in the pudding, and Christopher Nuttall has me hooked on this series. Not "children's" literature, I should mention, but adults both young and older should, I think, be able to appreciate the books.
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