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Fledgling Magic #1
A Meddle of Wizards
Welcome to Tandara, where gods are fickle, nightmares are real, and trolls make excellent bakers . . .
Raine Stewart is convinced she’ll die young and alone in Alabama, the victim of a chronic, mysterious illness. Until a man in a shabby cloak steps out of her mirror and demands her help to defeat a bloodthirsty wizard.
Raine shrugs it off as a hallucination—just one more insult from her failing body—and orders her intruder to take a hike. But the handsome figment of her imagination won’t take no for an answer, and kidnaps her anyway, launching her into a world of utmost danger—and urgent purpose.
Ruled by unpredictable gods and unstable nations, Tandara is a land of shapeshifters and weather-workers, queens and legends. Ravenous monsters and greedy bounty hunters patrol unforgiving mountains. Riverboats pulled by sea-cattle trade down broad waterways. And creatures of nightmare stalk Raine herself, vicious in the pursuit of her blood.
But Raine isn’t helpless or alone. She’s part of a band as resourceful as it is odd: a mage-shy warrior, a tattered wizard, a tenderhearted giant, and a prickly troll sorceress. Her new friends swear she has powers of her own. If she can stay under their protection, she might just live long enough to find out . . .
Raine Stewart is convinced she’ll die young and alone in Alabama, the victim of a chronic, mysterious illness. Until a man in a shabby cloak steps out of her mirror and demands her help to defeat a bloodthirsty wizard.
Raine shrugs it off as a hallucination—just one more insult from her failing body—and orders her intruder to take a hike. But the handsome figment of her imagination won’t take no for an answer, and kidnaps her anyway, launching her into a world of utmost danger—and urgent purpose.
Ruled by unpredictable gods and unstable nations, Tandara is a land of shapeshifters and weather-workers, queens and legends. Ravenous monsters and greedy bounty hunters patrol unforgiving mountains. Riverboats pulled by sea-cattle trade down broad waterways. And creatures of nightmare stalk Raine herself, vicious in the pursuit of her blood.
But Raine isn’t helpless or alone. She’s part of a band as resourceful as it is odd: a mage-shy warrior, a tattered wizard, a tenderhearted giant, and a prickly troll sorceress. Her new friends swear she has powers of her own. If she can stay under their protection, she might just live long enough to find out . . .
344 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 9, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
December 31, 2017
A Meddle of Wizards by Alexandra Rushe is the beginning of a new fantasy series, Fledgling Magic. The story is mostly told by the main character Raine’s point of view but there are a few instances that it moves over to others in the story.
Raine is living on our world as we know it alone and fighting constant illness when she thinks she is beginning to hallucinate. Instead of hallucinations though a man pops out through her mirror and brings her into a totally new world full of wizards, trolls, giants and many other things.
Raine finds out that she is actually from this world but was hidden away in Alabama to keep her safe from an evil dark wizard. She teams up with the group that has brought her into her world to set out to defeat the wizard and finds new dangers around every corner as they travel across this new world from land to land.
This story is one that for the most part I enjoyed and found was quite a nice start to this new series. I did have a couple of complaints with this first book though when all was said and done. First I found that I didn’t really like the times the story would switch over to other characters instead of just sticking with Raine’s group and building the tale from there. There are a lot of new characters and elements in this fantasy as it is to learn about so these odd chapters just didn’t flow well to me.
I would also say that this one seemed to occasionally get a bit on the slow side to me. For the most part of the book it moved from one scene to the next at a decent pace but then occasionally I’d wonder why it wasn’t moving on or focusing on certain things which also goes back to what I mentioned with the flow of the story by switching POVs too. In the end though I'd rate this one 3.5 stars and I’d be interested in seeing what the author does with the next book as this one held a lot of good things and the story felt as if it were just starting.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
Raine is living on our world as we know it alone and fighting constant illness when she thinks she is beginning to hallucinate. Instead of hallucinations though a man pops out through her mirror and brings her into a totally new world full of wizards, trolls, giants and many other things.
Raine finds out that she is actually from this world but was hidden away in Alabama to keep her safe from an evil dark wizard. She teams up with the group that has brought her into her world to set out to defeat the wizard and finds new dangers around every corner as they travel across this new world from land to land.
This story is one that for the most part I enjoyed and found was quite a nice start to this new series. I did have a couple of complaints with this first book though when all was said and done. First I found that I didn’t really like the times the story would switch over to other characters instead of just sticking with Raine’s group and building the tale from there. There are a lot of new characters and elements in this fantasy as it is to learn about so these odd chapters just didn’t flow well to me.
I would also say that this one seemed to occasionally get a bit on the slow side to me. For the most part of the book it moved from one scene to the next at a decent pace but then occasionally I’d wonder why it wasn’t moving on or focusing on certain things which also goes back to what I mentioned with the flow of the story by switching POVs too. In the end though I'd rate this one 3.5 stars and I’d be interested in seeing what the author does with the next book as this one held a lot of good things and the story felt as if it were just starting.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.wordpress....
November 14, 2017
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for my honest review.
I requested Meddle of Wizards because it's a trope I like. Girl from Earth who suddenly is told she has powers and must save another world? SURE! Then I read the book, and this went beyond the trope.
First off, there is something fun about the fact that she's basically useless as far as fighting and such. She can do random acts of magic, but most of the time, since she's untrained, she sucks and causes more harm than good. There was no sudden awareness or greatness. She's powerful and sucks at controlling it. It kept the character real and relatable.
Another great, which is the MOST IMPORTANT THING to a great book, is realistic secondary and third characters. The secondaries felt real, full of goodness and also imperfections, even some darkness. The characters that were important but barely touched on even felt fully developed. It made a fantasy world feel real.
Lastly, the story didn't slow down. It just kept going, never slowing down. It didn't have abrupt stops that made you feel uncomfortable or long, slow, same thing treks. The traveling never felt like each night the same with slightly different details. The action never felt repetitive. The interactions felt fresh each time. I honestly did not want to set it down.
My only wish is the introduction of the characters. It felt like too much at once. I kept referring back in the first few chapters as to who's who. There's not many to keep track of, but the introduction just was harder for me to grasp who each person is.
That said, it was a minor issue, and since through over 95 percent, I wasn't lost and instead of devouring the book, I'm going with a happy 5 stars with this!
I requested Meddle of Wizards because it's a trope I like. Girl from Earth who suddenly is told she has powers and must save another world? SURE! Then I read the book, and this went beyond the trope.
First off, there is something fun about the fact that she's basically useless as far as fighting and such. She can do random acts of magic, but most of the time, since she's untrained, she sucks and causes more harm than good. There was no sudden awareness or greatness. She's powerful and sucks at controlling it. It kept the character real and relatable.
Another great, which is the MOST IMPORTANT THING to a great book, is realistic secondary and third characters. The secondaries felt real, full of goodness and also imperfections, even some darkness. The characters that were important but barely touched on even felt fully developed. It made a fantasy world feel real.
Lastly, the story didn't slow down. It just kept going, never slowing down. It didn't have abrupt stops that made you feel uncomfortable or long, slow, same thing treks. The traveling never felt like each night the same with slightly different details. The action never felt repetitive. The interactions felt fresh each time. I honestly did not want to set it down.
My only wish is the introduction of the characters. It felt like too much at once. I kept referring back in the first few chapters as to who's who. There's not many to keep track of, but the introduction just was harder for me to grasp who each person is.
That said, it was a minor issue, and since through over 95 percent, I wasn't lost and instead of devouring the book, I'm going with a happy 5 stars with this!
January 7, 2018
Let me see where to start , I loved the story, loved most of the characters, it was a great story, kinda stalled in a place or two but nothing that required me to scan any pages.
So, now that I got the fact out of the way that I really did enjoy the story, let us look at things I was not fond of :
The heroine: She was all over the place, sometimes she was really heroic, other times she was borderline TSTL and her mental jumps at times left me with in serious WTF moments. This is explained a bit in the story by reminding readers that she has pretty much been a shut-in all her life so her social skills kinda suck so we can give her a pass. It still broke my flow of the story at times with her thoughts or actions.
That is about it, pretty much loved all the rest although I was left wanting more in this story that had the slightest Tolkien tinge to the story when I reached the end and realized this was going to be a trilogy at the least unless I missed something but I look forward to the next story and hope she masters a few of her "gifts" by then since the "Fledgling Magic" part of this seemed to move rather slowly except at rare times of great stress.
Bottom Line: A great story for a book 1 and it did not leave me with a cliff hanger like many such books do, other than the seemingly mental lapses of the heroine it was all enjoyable. 4 Stars and I feel by the end of this story I will be giving it 5 Stars in the future installments.
So, now that I got the fact out of the way that I really did enjoy the story, let us look at things I was not fond of :
The heroine: She was all over the place, sometimes she was really heroic, other times she was borderline TSTL and her mental jumps at times left me with in serious WTF moments. This is explained a bit in the story by reminding readers that she has pretty much been a shut-in all her life so her social skills kinda suck so we can give her a pass. It still broke my flow of the story at times with her thoughts or actions.
That is about it, pretty much loved all the rest although I was left wanting more in this story that had the slightest Tolkien tinge to the story when I reached the end and realized this was going to be a trilogy at the least unless I missed something but I look forward to the next story and hope she masters a few of her "gifts" by then since the "Fledgling Magic" part of this seemed to move rather slowly except at rare times of great stress.
Bottom Line: A great story for a book 1 and it did not leave me with a cliff hanger like many such books do, other than the seemingly mental lapses of the heroine it was all enjoyable. 4 Stars and I feel by the end of this story I will be giving it 5 Stars in the future installments.
March 30, 2019
Thank you to the Goddess of books that I only paid $2.99 for this book. (Of course, NOW it's only 99 cents!) I think that this is the last time I believe any of the reviewers (or at least most of them) that have gotten free books in trade for an honest review. The sad part is, is that I also get free books for review.*sigh*
So I believed the reviews and synopsis that this book was wonderful, intriguing, had great characters and a terrific plot line- and it did IF you are 14 and can't see beyond the holes in the plotting. If you can love a whining, annoying heroine that has no common sense and acts like a spoiled 13 years old (she was supposed to be an adult, was she not?) then this book is for you. If you love the hugely and obviously bad guy vs the sweet demure good girl AND love a book with virtually no end -just a set up for the next book. If you love more questions than there are answers and annoyingly grumpy and arrogant male main characters, (and what looks to be love interests) then you will adore this book.
Also please see my notes for yet another issue I had with this book -it may be that I am just misunderstanding something!
This was a puerile attempt at an "epic fantasy" as one reviewer called it, a "classic fantasy" as another did. I think the plot was trite and overdone. Too common of a storyline and had no surprises.
I might have liked this book more if Raine our main character weren't in it. I loved all of the secondary and tertiary characters and on this alone, I might be tempted to read the second book---keyword 'might'.
So I believed the reviews and synopsis that this book was wonderful, intriguing, had great characters and a terrific plot line- and it did IF you are 14 and can't see beyond the holes in the plotting. If you can love a whining, annoying heroine that has no common sense and acts like a spoiled 13 years old (she was supposed to be an adult, was she not?) then this book is for you. If you love the hugely and obviously bad guy vs the sweet demure good girl AND love a book with virtually no end -just a set up for the next book. If you love more questions than there are answers and annoyingly grumpy and arrogant male main characters, (and what looks to be love interests) then you will adore this book.
Also please see my notes for yet another issue I had with this book -it may be that I am just misunderstanding something!
This was a puerile attempt at an "epic fantasy" as one reviewer called it, a "classic fantasy" as another did. I think the plot was trite and overdone. Too common of a storyline and had no surprises.
I might have liked this book more if Raine our main character weren't in it. I loved all of the secondary and tertiary characters and on this alone, I might be tempted to read the second book---keyword 'might'.
December 4, 2017
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book.**
This book had it all!
Raine knows she isn't like everyone else. She's been sick with an unidentified illness for her entire life and now she can see the ghost of her dead aunt. Yeah, you can say that she isn't your average girl next door. But when a strange man shows up, claiming she is from another world, Raine just can't believe it's real. She's a lost twin and a wizard? No way.
And then Raine has no choice but to accept her fate when she's unexpectedly thrust into another world and right into the middle of their chaos. A magical stone is missing, she has power she can't control or wield, oh and there is a troll with an attitude who keeps ordering her around. Not to mention, beasts keep trying to kill her and a giant is her ride across the countryside. If she can keep her sanity, she might be able to survive Tandara and learn the truth about herself and her family.
I can't lie. I really only became interested in this book because it has trolls. Seriously. It seems that fantasy books with wizards have become so common that I actually have found myself avoiding them. That's strange considering I love books with magic. This particular book caught my attention with the description because it has a fantasy creature I scarcely get to read about that those are trolls. Highly misunderstood creatures, I dare say.
In the story being woven here, we actually have dozens of species of mystical creatures and many different types of evil beasts. And those are just the animals. As for the people, there are different races of humans and wizards, some who use magic and some who hate it. This does graze the high fantasy genre with all of the worlds and creatures. And while it's easy to get confused by all of this, I still found myself able to keep up without getting bored by the dry details, which I usually do when reading high fantasy.
And I've seen another reviewer mention the story was ruined by romance. I'm not sure we were reading the same book, considering I didn't get enough romance in this one. I wanted to see Raine connect with one of the several male characters and the author kept it pretty platonic. So if too much romance bothers you, I see no reason why this story would. I do hope the romance angle picks up in future installments though. I already have my favorite.
Raine is a character I found easy to like. She didn't immediately accept the odd things that happened, something that annoys me in other books. I hate it when the main character is thrust into a new realm and just says 'oh, okay', going on as if it's nothing. And this does happen. I point it out every time I see it, but it's still rare to find a story where the character questions her sanity for longer than five seconds. Raine already sees ghosts before being sucked into Tandara and she still isn't quick to accept it as real. I appreciate that.
As for the plot, it's busy. There is downtime, here and there, but the story never really slows and it definitely doesn't ever become predictable. In fact, the entire last couple of chapters shocked the heck out of me. The twists and turns were always a surprise. I can honestly say that I finished the book, sat back, and just took a deep breath. It was that much of a wild ride. I had to decompress afterward. I consider that to be a great book!
In closing...
When is the next book coming? I'm not sure I can wait another year for it. May have to re-read this in the meantime. Five fantasy suns!
Full review on blog: https://uptildawnbookblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/review-meddle-of-wizards-by-alexandra.html
January 16, 2018
Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy.
While enjoyable and fun, A MEDDLE OF WIZARDS had its issues. At times it felt derivative and overly complicated, like the author was trying a little too hard to make it Serious Fantasy. Still, I liked reading it, and I am curious about the next book in the series.
What I think was done best in A MEDDLE OF WIZARDS were the characters. Raine, Gertie, Bree and Mauric were all interesting, with complex backstories and layers to their personalities. For being pulled into a situation/world she didn't know existed, Raine does an excellent job of coping and I liked her for her fearlessness, while also remaining realistic - she missed warm baths and modern conveniences like I think anybody would!
There were scenes that felt a lot like other fantasy books, however - like when Raine was shopping for her wizard's stone, it felt like I was reading the wand scene from Harry Potter. And there were times when the world building felt like there were plot points being thrown in to make things a bit more complicated. The names were slightly ridiculous and I expected the whole thing to be slightly more light-hearted and humorous than it was. Not that it wasn't funny at times, but it just wasn't what I was expecting.
Overall, A MEDDLE OF WIZARDS is a fairly good opening salvo for the Fledgling Magic series, and I know that I'll be picking up the next volume when it comes out.
Sexual content: N/A
While enjoyable and fun, A MEDDLE OF WIZARDS had its issues. At times it felt derivative and overly complicated, like the author was trying a little too hard to make it Serious Fantasy. Still, I liked reading it, and I am curious about the next book in the series.
What I think was done best in A MEDDLE OF WIZARDS were the characters. Raine, Gertie, Bree and Mauric were all interesting, with complex backstories and layers to their personalities. For being pulled into a situation/world she didn't know existed, Raine does an excellent job of coping and I liked her for her fearlessness, while also remaining realistic - she missed warm baths and modern conveniences like I think anybody would!
There were scenes that felt a lot like other fantasy books, however - like when Raine was shopping for her wizard's stone, it felt like I was reading the wand scene from Harry Potter. And there were times when the world building felt like there were plot points being thrown in to make things a bit more complicated. The names were slightly ridiculous and I expected the whole thing to be slightly more light-hearted and humorous than it was. Not that it wasn't funny at times, but it just wasn't what I was expecting.
Overall, A MEDDLE OF WIZARDS is a fairly good opening salvo for the Fledgling Magic series, and I know that I'll be picking up the next volume when it comes out.
Sexual content: N/A
November 13, 2017
https://koeur.wordpress.com/2017/11/1...
Publisher: Kensington
Publishing Date: January 2018
ISBN: 9781635730104
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2.4/5
Publishers Description: Ruled by unpredictable gods and unstable nations, Tandara is a land of shapeshifters and weather-workers, queens and legends. Ravenous monsters and greedy bounty hunters patrol unforgiving mountains. Riverboats pulled by sea-cattle trade down broad waterways. And creatures of nightmare stalk Raine herself, vicious in the pursuit of her blood.
Review: Wow what a crap cover. Editor out snorting coke that day?
Raine, once transported to an alternate universe finds herself in the company of 2 wizards, a warrior and a giant named Tiny. The movement is constant and within each passage the characters continue to develop along with the movement. Coupled to this movement is a world revealed to be at once complex as it is interesting. The magic is not over-the-top and the characters have to work at it to be successful
“So why you no give 5 stars!!?”. The bad guys were a bit patterned without seemingly a lot of effort put in to make them unique. Casual cruelty in the guise of a black wizard does not a scary character make. The story just crosses over the “Fairy Tail” line, imbuing it with a corny kind of character and scene delivery. And then we have fooking Raine, whom goes from a great character diminished by illness to super speshul wizardy gurl. She’s hotter than a popcorn fart while getting lost in Raven’s (lol) tawny eyes. Fug. Ruined within a few chapters by romance. The final nail in this coffin was the stoopid hatchling snake that talks in Raine’s head like a baby Smeagol.
The vote is still out on this one. I liked the world building as it is very expansive when coupled to good movement. The characters were a kind of let down as they dissolved what could have been a wonderful story line.
Publisher: Kensington
Publishing Date: January 2018
ISBN: 9781635730104
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 2.4/5
Publishers Description: Ruled by unpredictable gods and unstable nations, Tandara is a land of shapeshifters and weather-workers, queens and legends. Ravenous monsters and greedy bounty hunters patrol unforgiving mountains. Riverboats pulled by sea-cattle trade down broad waterways. And creatures of nightmare stalk Raine herself, vicious in the pursuit of her blood.
Review: Wow what a crap cover. Editor out snorting coke that day?
Raine, once transported to an alternate universe finds herself in the company of 2 wizards, a warrior and a giant named Tiny. The movement is constant and within each passage the characters continue to develop along with the movement. Coupled to this movement is a world revealed to be at once complex as it is interesting. The magic is not over-the-top and the characters have to work at it to be successful
“So why you no give 5 stars!!?”. The bad guys were a bit patterned without seemingly a lot of effort put in to make them unique. Casual cruelty in the guise of a black wizard does not a scary character make. The story just crosses over the “Fairy Tail” line, imbuing it with a corny kind of character and scene delivery. And then we have fooking Raine, whom goes from a great character diminished by illness to super speshul wizardy gurl. She’s hotter than a popcorn fart while getting lost in Raven’s (lol) tawny eyes. Fug. Ruined within a few chapters by romance. The final nail in this coffin was the stoopid hatchling snake that talks in Raine’s head like a baby Smeagol.
The vote is still out on this one. I liked the world building as it is very expansive when coupled to good movement. The characters were a kind of let down as they dissolved what could have been a wonderful story line.
September 2, 2019
A naive and somewhat silly story, with a protagonist that comes across as being very simplistic and on occasion, infantile (you told a story by a campfire and did not tell me that you were the person in the story! That’s it, I’m sulking for days!) There are some odd developments on the plot and the ‘origin story’ gets a little muddled. All that said, there is a almost the gem of a good story here, so I’m going to give the next book a go.
January 15, 2018
DNF@70%
This was so disappointing. I found it a struggle from the off but was determined to give it a good go, and normally once I’m past halfway on a book sheer stubbornness gets me to the end. Not this time. I feel like I fell into a time warp, because everything about this book was so dated.
I’m not a huge fan of portal fantasy in the first place, but the description sounded quirky and cute, and I’ll put up with a lot for fun characters.
I didn’t get them. What I got was a rather dim heroine who starts off the book nearly dying and turns into a super beautiful, unbelievably powerful… something (I didn’t get that far). I found her pretty boring and sadly none of the other characters did much for me. The men (good and bad) are all handsome and no woman’s description is complete without adding in the size of her boobs.
And nothing happens. Nothing. The main bunch wander aimlessly around pretending to be going somewhere while the story takes frequent pointless side journeys to visit irrelevant characters so that we can gawp at another part of the world. It is a nice world, don’t get me wrong, the author has clearly put a lot of work into it. It’s got some beautiful detail, interesting architecture and lovely scenery, and the Gods seem very interesting, but a pretty world does not a great story make. I need more. Like decent characters, a plot and some action that moves said plot on beyond And the bad guys are bad. Like, really bad. They sacrifice people and everything!
So, finally, after the aimless plot took another swerve towards the devilishly handsome, woman-charming, super gorgeous, talented pirate/captain/prince/whatever-the-hell-he-was being rude about his aunt again and clearly about to meet up with Raine and likely become the main romantic lead, or worse part of a love-triangle, I finally gave in.
Thanks, but no thanks.
(ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.)
This was so disappointing. I found it a struggle from the off but was determined to give it a good go, and normally once I’m past halfway on a book sheer stubbornness gets me to the end. Not this time. I feel like I fell into a time warp, because everything about this book was so dated.
I’m not a huge fan of portal fantasy in the first place, but the description sounded quirky and cute, and I’ll put up with a lot for fun characters.
I didn’t get them. What I got was a rather dim heroine who starts off the book nearly dying and turns into a super beautiful, unbelievably powerful… something (I didn’t get that far). I found her pretty boring and sadly none of the other characters did much for me. The men (good and bad) are all handsome and no woman’s description is complete without adding in the size of her boobs.
And nothing happens. Nothing. The main bunch wander aimlessly around pretending to be going somewhere while the story takes frequent pointless side journeys to visit irrelevant characters so that we can gawp at another part of the world. It is a nice world, don’t get me wrong, the author has clearly put a lot of work into it. It’s got some beautiful detail, interesting architecture and lovely scenery, and the Gods seem very interesting, but a pretty world does not a great story make. I need more. Like decent characters, a plot and some action that moves said plot on beyond And the bad guys are bad. Like, really bad. They sacrifice people and everything!
So, finally, after the aimless plot took another swerve towards the devilishly handsome, woman-charming, super gorgeous, talented pirate/captain/prince/whatever-the-hell-he-was being rude about his aunt again and clearly about to meet up with Raine and likely become the main romantic lead, or worse part of a love-triangle, I finally gave in.
Thanks, but no thanks.
(ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley.)
January 8, 2018
This is a strong beginning to a new epic fantasy series. There might be some romance in the future (I have my eye on one dark, mysterious character), but this is not fantasy romance by any stretch. It introduces us to a fascinating new world with big stakes and big characters who are deeply and wonderfully drawn. I'm looking forward to book two, and give this one five big gators!
See the full review at https://wp.me/p4cLbD-2Fj on or after January 9.
See the full review at https://wp.me/p4cLbD-2Fj on or after January 9.
December 25, 2017
I received this book through Net Galley for an honest review.
This was a solid start/first book in this series. I read the description but it wasn't really what I was expecting when I started reading it. It had almost a young adult feel to it, though the characters are all older (the h is 25 I believe, and the other characters, well lets just say none of them are young). It had vibes of LoTR and even Harry Potter at times, but with lighter moments with humor thrown in. Its a great book for all ages, IMO. I really liked all the characters and the world building, and I am looking forward to the future books.
This was a solid start/first book in this series. I read the description but it wasn't really what I was expecting when I started reading it. It had almost a young adult feel to it, though the characters are all older (the h is 25 I believe, and the other characters, well lets just say none of them are young). It had vibes of LoTR and even Harry Potter at times, but with lighter moments with humor thrown in. Its a great book for all ages, IMO. I really liked all the characters and the world building, and I am looking forward to the future books.
October 31, 2017
This book had me mesmerized from the start. While this is a fantasy book the characters are believable and you find yourself cheering not only the main character on, but others as well.The well-written, fast-paced plot moves from one dilemma to another it's an exhilarating adventure that is great for all ages. I can't wait for the next one in the series.This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan
November 27, 2017
I enjoyed A Meddle of Wizards so much, I don’t know how I’ll be able to wait until the next adventure. Raine Stewart has been suffering from a mysterious illness all of her life. When she is accosted by a wizard who steps out of her mirror and then kidnaps her to a whole new world, Raine learns what it’s like to be healthy, that trolls, wizards, giants and magic exist and oh yes, she’s a fledgling wizard to boot. There are many dangerous creatures in Tandara, and an evil wizard keeps sending really nasty ones after Raine in an effort to kill her. But she’s made some pretty powerful friends who are looking out for her and the ghost of her aunt Mimsie has tagged along as well - she keeps popping up with cryptic warnings as she enjoys her new life as a spirit on Tandara. This was a really exciting adventure with some losses along the way, but with bits of humor to lighten the mood as well. I thought this fantasy world of mythical creatures, gods and magic was wonderful and I really can’t wait until I can read the next story.
Note: I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads.
Note: I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads.
February 23, 2018
I found this book as a recommendation from Suzanne Johnson. The blurb of A Meddle of Wizards intrigued me, so I decided to go for it.
There's some interesting world-building here, with Tandara being nicely fleshed-out little by little via the narrative rather than in the form of info dumps.
There are quite a number of characters present, most of them intriguing in their own way. My favourite was Gertie, the troll (though this is a very different type of troll than any I've heard of before). I especially liked the concept of the wizards, and I'm looking forward to delving into it more in the future.
The characters had a tendency to burst into tears a lot, which didn't work for me, and sometimes I found it hard to follow Raine's logic in the decisions she was making.
Nevertheless, an enjoyable read. I'm looking forward to the next one!
There's some interesting world-building here, with Tandara being nicely fleshed-out little by little via the narrative rather than in the form of info dumps.
There are quite a number of characters present, most of them intriguing in their own way. My favourite was Gertie, the troll (though this is a very different type of troll than any I've heard of before). I especially liked the concept of the wizards, and I'm looking forward to delving into it more in the future.
The characters had a tendency to burst into tears a lot, which didn't work for me, and sometimes I found it hard to follow Raine's logic in the decisions she was making.
Nevertheless, an enjoyable read. I'm looking forward to the next one!
December 29, 2017
I absolutely loved this book. The characters were well-developed, believable and relatable. I developed an emotional attachment to them, and found myself tearing up a couple of times.
As others have said the pace moved along briskly, with little room for lulls. However, it did not move too quickly, in my opinion. It was just right to keep me hooked and wanting to ignore the chores of parenting and adulting in general (my poor family).
I am really looking forward to the next book! I must know the outcome of Raine’s choices and destiny on Tandara, as she deals with the evil forces plotting her demise. I am thoroughly invested in Raine, Gertie, Bree, Mauric, Raven, et al., and can’t wait for Alexandra Rushe’s next book in the series.
As others have said the pace moved along briskly, with little room for lulls. However, it did not move too quickly, in my opinion. It was just right to keep me hooked and wanting to ignore the chores of parenting and adulting in general (my poor family).
I am really looking forward to the next book! I must know the outcome of Raine’s choices and destiny on Tandara, as she deals with the evil forces plotting her demise. I am thoroughly invested in Raine, Gertie, Bree, Mauric, Raven, et al., and can’t wait for Alexandra Rushe’s next book in the series.
January 14, 2020
A Bustling Adventure
I happened upon this wonderful book after a long day of work. The cooker was colorful and the premise seemed interesting.
I read the first few chapters and I was immediately thrown into a wonderful world filled with magic, dark wizards, and trolls. The creatures are brimming with life from the wonderful imagination of the author.
Raine, the sickly main character, goes on a journey into a magical world called Tandara. Her twin in this world had lived a privileged life, while Raine suffered greatly on Earth.
She goes through many of her own personal struggles as the dark wizard nips at her heels. Her friends are her greatest strength, but Raine slowly starts coming into her own. I’m so excited to read the next book in the series. Who will have Raine’s heart? What more will happen to her? I just can’t wait to find out!
I happened upon this wonderful book after a long day of work. The cooker was colorful and the premise seemed interesting.
I read the first few chapters and I was immediately thrown into a wonderful world filled with magic, dark wizards, and trolls. The creatures are brimming with life from the wonderful imagination of the author.
Raine, the sickly main character, goes on a journey into a magical world called Tandara. Her twin in this world had lived a privileged life, while Raine suffered greatly on Earth.
She goes through many of her own personal struggles as the dark wizard nips at her heels. Her friends are her greatest strength, but Raine slowly starts coming into her own. I’m so excited to read the next book in the series. Who will have Raine’s heart? What more will happen to her? I just can’t wait to find out!
June 19, 2019
This is your standard hero-quest fantasy where the hero is a heroine, and she's clueless about the fantasy world because she's been transported from the contemporary United States to it. She is being chased by a dark wizard and travels with a troll, an elf seer, a ghost, a giant, a couple wizards, and some magical fighting men. She meets all sorts of creatures and semi-adopts a possibly magic child. She also has a bunch of prophesy to live up to. Not the kind of story I usually like, but the characters were well-written, and I found myself enjoying the book despite myself. I just bought book 2 because I'm curious about the next adventure.
December 13, 2017
Great debut fantasy novel from the author. I was super caught up in the Raine's story and can't wait until the next one! I love the combination of magic, myths, and Rushe's unique take on trolls and other monsters. Also, Raine is from Alabama. Nice touch!
December 27, 2021
Was going to give this a two star rating….it took forever to read and was very confusing. However, the last chapters peeked my interest and I decided to read the second in the series. Author could have left out a lot of the descriptive lines…far to many!
January 6, 2018
I have a deep fondness for portal fantasies, since I read a ton of them as a teen in the 90s, so this had a lot of nostalgia for me. I'm not sure the cover is a good match for the book, though. The cover made me think this would be a romantic fantasy novel, like Amanda Bouchet's Kingmaker Chronicles. Instead, it's a quirky sort of epic fantasy, with pretty much nonexistent romance, and reminds me most of my memories of reading Piers Anthony's Xanth books as a teen. It has its own sort of fun, but if you're going into it expecting a romantic undertone, like I was, you're going to be disappointed.
The book is mostly told from Raine's perspective, in the third person, though occasionally it switches to another character. I disliked these parts, because I felt like it was taking me away from Raine's story, and just piled on confusion. The first few chapters of the book were rough reading, as there are a lot of characters, place names, and Gods, some with multiple nicknames. The pacing also had a couple of really slow spots, and I felt like the switching POVs hurt that as well. At one point, we spend a couple chapters with Queen Balzora of Tannenbol for no particular reason I could discern, as there wasn't anything that happened that the characters didn't go back to Raine and explain later.
I just never really connected with Raine. She goes from super sick (to the point of dying) to absolutely stunning gorgeous and powerful in the course of a few weeks. Of course, there is an explanation for why she's been so sickly all her life (and it was obvious from the beginning), but it still seemed like she recovered much too quickly. I did like that, even though she was ridiculously powerful, she had no control over it, and caused a lot of accidental destruction. She had a couple of annoying TSTL moments ("oh, I'm hearing a weird voice in my head, maybe I should tell one of the super powerful and knowledgeable wizards over there? Ooooor, I know, I could just wander off into the creepy forest!") that didn't endear her to me either. I honestly felt closer to some of the other characters than I did to her. I especially liked Gertie, the troll.
“If they kill me, throw yourself out of the tree and hope you break your neck. You don’t want to be alive when they start to eat you.”
And that leads in to my favorite part of this book - the world building. To start off, there's a gorgeous map at the front of the book, and that should clue you in that this'll be one of those lovely long journey books a la Fellowship of the Ring. Each of the various countries is under the auspices of a certain god, and as the book progresses, we learn more about the inhabitants of each land and some of their stories. Some of my favorite parts of the book were Gertie's stories about the founders of two of those countries. Also, I absolutely adored Gertie and the whole troll culture. The fantastical creatures - from trolls to frost giants to the various types of "goggins" - were all fascinating and very well done. In terms of building characters, the book was wonderful - it was just getting the characters to feel like real people that I cared about that I felt the book struggled with.
There's definitely more of a young adult feel to this than epic fantasy. For one thing, there's a lot of silliness. Some of it is truly funny, and some of it struck me as just over the top. A "wizard who set his farts on fire" joke? A wizard who turns himself into a bird and then poops on an annoying character's head? There's even a joke about - I cannot believe I'm typing this out - a "jigglestick." The characters also have the habit of talking in Ye Olde English, aka Fantasy English, which is a pet peeve of mine.
Overall, I think this book was just not my cup of tea. If you're on the lookout for a quirky fantasy with fantastic world building, however, this may be the book for you!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The book is mostly told from Raine's perspective, in the third person, though occasionally it switches to another character. I disliked these parts, because I felt like it was taking me away from Raine's story, and just piled on confusion. The first few chapters of the book were rough reading, as there are a lot of characters, place names, and Gods, some with multiple nicknames. The pacing also had a couple of really slow spots, and I felt like the switching POVs hurt that as well. At one point, we spend a couple chapters with Queen Balzora of Tannenbol for no particular reason I could discern, as there wasn't anything that happened that the characters didn't go back to Raine and explain later.
I just never really connected with Raine. She goes from super sick (to the point of dying) to absolutely stunning gorgeous and powerful in the course of a few weeks. Of course, there is an explanation for why she's been so sickly all her life (and it was obvious from the beginning), but it still seemed like she recovered much too quickly. I did like that, even though she was ridiculously powerful, she had no control over it, and caused a lot of accidental destruction. She had a couple of annoying TSTL moments ("oh, I'm hearing a weird voice in my head, maybe I should tell one of the super powerful and knowledgeable wizards over there? Ooooor, I know, I could just wander off into the creepy forest!") that didn't endear her to me either. I honestly felt closer to some of the other characters than I did to her. I especially liked Gertie, the troll.
“If they kill me, throw yourself out of the tree and hope you break your neck. You don’t want to be alive when they start to eat you.”
And that leads in to my favorite part of this book - the world building. To start off, there's a gorgeous map at the front of the book, and that should clue you in that this'll be one of those lovely long journey books a la Fellowship of the Ring. Each of the various countries is under the auspices of a certain god, and as the book progresses, we learn more about the inhabitants of each land and some of their stories. Some of my favorite parts of the book were Gertie's stories about the founders of two of those countries. Also, I absolutely adored Gertie and the whole troll culture. The fantastical creatures - from trolls to frost giants to the various types of "goggins" - were all fascinating and very well done. In terms of building characters, the book was wonderful - it was just getting the characters to feel like real people that I cared about that I felt the book struggled with.
There's definitely more of a young adult feel to this than epic fantasy. For one thing, there's a lot of silliness. Some of it is truly funny, and some of it struck me as just over the top. A "wizard who set his farts on fire" joke? A wizard who turns himself into a bird and then poops on an annoying character's head? There's even a joke about - I cannot believe I'm typing this out - a "jigglestick." The characters also have the habit of talking in Ye Olde English, aka Fantasy English, which is a pet peeve of mine.
Overall, I think this book was just not my cup of tea. If you're on the lookout for a quirky fantasy with fantastic world building, however, this may be the book for you!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
November 22, 2017
I received this book as a Goodreads Giveaway. This is a classical storyline with a "earth girl" transported to another plane. What I liked about the story is that it didn't conform to all the traditional thoughts on good and evil in terms of which races are good and which are evil. I also really liked the world building and character development. A fun read, not to deep, with a lot of potential for future books.
February 12, 2018
A wonderful tale full of danger, magic, sorcery, factions, conflict, problems, situations, and destruction. A well written story that i enjoyed reading. A must read for any and all book lovers everywhere.
September 13, 2021
Great book. I loved it- Such a great world the author built. It was a fun, interesting read with a lot going on. I loved the main character and can't wait to dive into the next installment.
January 1, 2018
I received a copy through a Goodreads giveaway and that has not affected my review.
The cover was what drew me in to this book, even if given all the trekking around I don't think Raine ever was dressed quite so glamorously, and I don't remember snow being involved. Oh well! Strong woman, interesting title, and mysterious background: I was intrigued. And this book did turn out to my liking. The heroine, Raine, is actually one of the least interesting parts of the story; as she's practically spent her life on bedrest due to an inexplicable illness, she's quite sheltered and unworldly, and so adjusts to landing in a completely different world even more slowly than the typical human might. But she grows as she learns more about who she is and what she can do; there's a little bit of "ooh look I'm so special" happening, so I hope that in future sequels there is even more character growth to let it feel like her status and powers are earned.
There's a lot of traveling around the continent running from a dark wizard, and it made me think of the Lord of the Rings, but in a good way (I don't read fantasy too often; I imagine more frequent readers of the genre might get tired of what they consider LotR knockoffs), as in remembering the disparate cast of characters brought together, and the sweeping landscapes they traversed. I liked that the most powerful character, Gertie, is a troll, and one frequently described as, er, unpleasant to behold. But she is a kind and generous character; I'm glad that beauty and ugliness are not assigned to good and evil in a simplistic way.
There is a lot of world-building to do here. Some of it is accomplished through exposition because Raine is completely new, but actually there is not much of that, rather it's revealed slowly or through varying points of view (the POVs jump around throughout the book, particularly at the beginning). It took me a while to feel like I knew what was going on. However, some of the bigger reveals (such as answers about Raine) toward the end of the book were pretty obvious, and one of the plot developments toward the end was annoyingly reminiscent of Harry Potter.
The humor can be kind of corny ("He looked her up and down, taking in her ashen complexion, frizzy locks, and gaunt frame. 'You are unwell?' 'Wow, someone give Captain Observant a free T-shirt.'") but I started to enjoy it, and think of it in cinematic terms more like a PG movie than a complex adult fantasy novel.
Overall, this is a lighthearted and fun romp, with a colorful cast of characters and nothing particularly challenging in terms of theme (just in terms of getting acquainted with the world!). It reads a bit young, but that's OK as I can't recall anything super-inappropriate for young adults (there was one dirty joke that could easily go over someone's head).
The cover was what drew me in to this book, even if given all the trekking around I don't think Raine ever was dressed quite so glamorously, and I don't remember snow being involved. Oh well! Strong woman, interesting title, and mysterious background: I was intrigued. And this book did turn out to my liking. The heroine, Raine, is actually one of the least interesting parts of the story; as she's practically spent her life on bedrest due to an inexplicable illness, she's quite sheltered and unworldly, and so adjusts to landing in a completely different world even more slowly than the typical human might. But she grows as she learns more about who she is and what she can do; there's a little bit of "ooh look I'm so special" happening, so I hope that in future sequels there is even more character growth to let it feel like her status and powers are earned.
There's a lot of traveling around the continent running from a dark wizard, and it made me think of the Lord of the Rings, but in a good way (I don't read fantasy too often; I imagine more frequent readers of the genre might get tired of what they consider LotR knockoffs), as in remembering the disparate cast of characters brought together, and the sweeping landscapes they traversed. I liked that the most powerful character, Gertie, is a troll, and one frequently described as, er, unpleasant to behold. But she is a kind and generous character; I'm glad that beauty and ugliness are not assigned to good and evil in a simplistic way.
There is a lot of world-building to do here. Some of it is accomplished through exposition because Raine is completely new, but actually there is not much of that, rather it's revealed slowly or through varying points of view (the POVs jump around throughout the book, particularly at the beginning). It took me a while to feel like I knew what was going on. However, some of the bigger reveals (such as answers about Raine) toward the end of the book were pretty obvious, and one of the plot developments toward the end was annoyingly reminiscent of Harry Potter.
The humor can be kind of corny ("He looked her up and down, taking in her ashen complexion, frizzy locks, and gaunt frame. 'You are unwell?' 'Wow, someone give Captain Observant a free T-shirt.'") but I started to enjoy it, and think of it in cinematic terms more like a PG movie than a complex adult fantasy novel.
Overall, this is a lighthearted and fun romp, with a colorful cast of characters and nothing particularly challenging in terms of theme (just in terms of getting acquainted with the world!). It reads a bit young, but that's OK as I can't recall anything super-inappropriate for young adults (there was one dirty joke that could easily go over someone's head).
March 8, 2018
If you’re tired of the dark, depressing, violent saga of George R.R. Martin and the gaggle of poor imitations flooding the marketplace, do yourself a favor and give A MEDDLE OF WIZARDS a read. It’s a joyous adventure written in a witty, fresh style that brings the FUN back into fantasy. It’s a great joy to spend time in the company of a skillful storyteller with the mettle to pull off a grand story like Alexandra Rushe does with her first novel. AMOW is a not just a refreshing voice in the wilderness and a truly funny story, it is also a character-driven novel full of well-drawn, likable but quirky oddballs who grip the reader from the outset and refuse to let go.
It’s the story of Raine Stewart, a young girl afflicted with a mysterious illness, who begins having hallucinations about a peculiar man visiting her room. Or is it a hallucination? Her ordinary life up to this point is about to change in ways she doesn’t imagine. Let the adventure begin!
This is a quest story with an admirable crew of characters and a lyric writing style that fits it to an H. Or is that a Tee? In either case, AMOW if one of those rare yarns that earns the reader’s interest and respect while also dragging him/her along for a delightfully rollicking ride. Along the way you’ll get to know and love some wonderful people, experience the joys and perils they face together, root for the good guys, and boo the bad guys. Like great literary adventures have always done.
There are certain books you just want to savor – not rush through in a white heat, but slowly roll around in a while to keep that great flavor going as long as possible. AMOW is one of those special books. The worst thing that can be said about it is that it ended. But I'm confident enough people will agree with me that Alexandra Rushe has earned a chance to continue this wonderful tale.
It’s the story of Raine Stewart, a young girl afflicted with a mysterious illness, who begins having hallucinations about a peculiar man visiting her room. Or is it a hallucination? Her ordinary life up to this point is about to change in ways she doesn’t imagine. Let the adventure begin!
This is a quest story with an admirable crew of characters and a lyric writing style that fits it to an H. Or is that a Tee? In either case, AMOW if one of those rare yarns that earns the reader’s interest and respect while also dragging him/her along for a delightfully rollicking ride. Along the way you’ll get to know and love some wonderful people, experience the joys and perils they face together, root for the good guys, and boo the bad guys. Like great literary adventures have always done.
There are certain books you just want to savor – not rush through in a white heat, but slowly roll around in a while to keep that great flavor going as long as possible. AMOW is one of those special books. The worst thing that can be said about it is that it ended. But I'm confident enough people will agree with me that Alexandra Rushe has earned a chance to continue this wonderful tale.
January 8, 2018
I have always been a fan of collective fantasy stories. Rushe has a developed a wonderful mixture of supernatural species and magical humans enlisted to save mankind and supernaturals alike.
Raine Stewart is a woman who has spent her life ailing from a mystery illness. Once cared for by her Aunt, she is now alone and dying. A man appears in her mirror and she is sure that she is suffering from a brain tumor. She can also see her ghostly Aunt Mimsie, who passed away years ago, which also leads her to believe that she is having hallucinations because of said brain tumor. But, that isn't the case, when the mirror man appears in front of her and has a very real hand grasping her arm and wants to drag her to another world, she still doesn't believe him, and he tugs her through a portal to Tandara.
Raine soon discovers that she is needed to defeat an evil wizard, and with a band of supernaturals and Viking-like humans they set out on their quest.
This series has so many one-liners and laugh out loud moments. I found it witty, amusing, and tender. Like many other quest stories, they acquire characters as they go along, some temporary, some not.
I liked Rushe's mix of mythology and unusual supernaturals.
While the pace was a bit slow in places, the action scenes were well thought out and vivid. The pacing is just the nature of establishing a new world and series.
I thoroughly enjoyed the main characters and the humor was great fun. Raine's gradual grasp of this new world, her raw magical talent, and the gifts of the individuals in the group are cleverly revealed and are the strength of the novel's world building.
I do look forward to the next book in this Fledgling Magic series.
I received this ARC from NetGalley, with no understanding as to my review.
Raine Stewart is a woman who has spent her life ailing from a mystery illness. Once cared for by her Aunt, she is now alone and dying. A man appears in her mirror and she is sure that she is suffering from a brain tumor. She can also see her ghostly Aunt Mimsie, who passed away years ago, which also leads her to believe that she is having hallucinations because of said brain tumor. But, that isn't the case, when the mirror man appears in front of her and has a very real hand grasping her arm and wants to drag her to another world, she still doesn't believe him, and he tugs her through a portal to Tandara.
Raine soon discovers that she is needed to defeat an evil wizard, and with a band of supernaturals and Viking-like humans they set out on their quest.
This series has so many one-liners and laugh out loud moments. I found it witty, amusing, and tender. Like many other quest stories, they acquire characters as they go along, some temporary, some not.
I liked Rushe's mix of mythology and unusual supernaturals.
While the pace was a bit slow in places, the action scenes were well thought out and vivid. The pacing is just the nature of establishing a new world and series.
I thoroughly enjoyed the main characters and the humor was great fun. Raine's gradual grasp of this new world, her raw magical talent, and the gifts of the individuals in the group are cleverly revealed and are the strength of the novel's world building.
I do look forward to the next book in this Fledgling Magic series.
I received this ARC from NetGalley, with no understanding as to my review.
January 16, 2018
This was a fantastic book filled with exciting world-building, amusing characters, and a promise of amazing adventures to come! I sped through this book in a day, eager to read more about all the quirky parts to this fictional world and see where it took our heroine. While I would have liked to have seen some romance (because admittedly, I fully expected there to at least be a little), there was none to be had. BUT given how the book progressed, I have high hopes that at some point in the future Alexandra Rushe will satisfy my craving for a little romance. Pretty please?
Raine Stewart has been flung into a land where gruff trolls, alpha warriors, ancient wizards, and sensitive giants wander. Told she has an evil twin (no joke) that is aiding an evil wizard in trying to take over Tandara - the world where she now finds herself - she is now her new friends' only hope of taking back their home. As she travels, she notices that the disease that plagued her in her world has gradually begun to slip away in Tandara, and where before she was thin, homely, and in pain, now she is healthy, beautiful, and pain-free. Perhaps this is really where she belongs, if only she can survive long enough to see her happy ending.
My favorite part for me in this book really wasn't Raine, even though I loved her to pieces. She had lines that made me laugh so hard, and the way she described the warrior Mauric was hysterical:
"Lord a-mercy he was huge, one of the biggest men she'd seen--well over six feet tall and packed with muscles. He was a college football recruiter's wet dream, a goal line stand by himself."
Aside from her, starting with my most liked, the author gives us the lovable Tiny Bart, a giant with a heart to match his height, Mauric, a manly warrior who has no idea what to do with sickly Raine, Gertie, a troll sorceress with a terrifying exterior but a gruff motherly interior, and Bree, an ancient wizard who can't see what's right in front of his nose. All of these characters really made this story leap off the pages. There are many more characters, but these are the four that make up Raine's crew for majority of the book. These are the ones that will get you to continue reading and wish the book never ended.
I can't wait for the next book in this series! It's sure to be a wonderful adventure, with hopefully a touch of romance to spice things up.
**I received a free copy via NetGalley and this is my honest review.**
Raine Stewart has been flung into a land where gruff trolls, alpha warriors, ancient wizards, and sensitive giants wander. Told she has an evil twin (no joke) that is aiding an evil wizard in trying to take over Tandara - the world where she now finds herself - she is now her new friends' only hope of taking back their home. As she travels, she notices that the disease that plagued her in her world has gradually begun to slip away in Tandara, and where before she was thin, homely, and in pain, now she is healthy, beautiful, and pain-free. Perhaps this is really where she belongs, if only she can survive long enough to see her happy ending.
My favorite part for me in this book really wasn't Raine, even though I loved her to pieces. She had lines that made me laugh so hard, and the way she described the warrior Mauric was hysterical:
"Lord a-mercy he was huge, one of the biggest men she'd seen--well over six feet tall and packed with muscles. He was a college football recruiter's wet dream, a goal line stand by himself."
Aside from her, starting with my most liked, the author gives us the lovable Tiny Bart, a giant with a heart to match his height, Mauric, a manly warrior who has no idea what to do with sickly Raine, Gertie, a troll sorceress with a terrifying exterior but a gruff motherly interior, and Bree, an ancient wizard who can't see what's right in front of his nose. All of these characters really made this story leap off the pages. There are many more characters, but these are the four that make up Raine's crew for majority of the book. These are the ones that will get you to continue reading and wish the book never ended.
I can't wait for the next book in this series! It's sure to be a wonderful adventure, with hopefully a touch of romance to spice things up.
**I received a free copy via NetGalley and this is my honest review.**
February 7, 2018
Raine Stewart lives in Alabama and has been suffering from a strange, unidentified illness for her whole life. So, when she sees a man come through her mirror she thinks he is a hallucination. What else is she supposed to think when she is told that she is a lost twin, a wizard, and from another world. I mean she sees her dead aunt’s ghost, this can’t be real right? But Raine soon learns that it is true. She has a great power in her that she is going to have to learn how to control if she is going to find a missing magical stone and defeat the evil wizard.
I really enjoyed this story. I admit that Raine had a tendency to get on my nerve sometimes with how she treated the others in her group. I did have to remind myself that a lot of that comes from the fact that she does not have a lot of experience around people. But that excuse can only last you so long.
Beyond that, I loved this world. There was so much happening, you had a great group of people to follow along with, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns to the story. I really liked how Raine had to work at her powers. She was more dangerous trying to use her power than if she would have just stayed back. But this makes the story more believable as opposed to her just coming to Tandara, being able to save everyone right off the bat, and just fitting in perfectly.
This is a great story and a fantastic start to a trilogy. I’m excited to see where Rushe is going to take us in the next book.
I received A Meddle of Wizards from Silver Dagger Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.
I really enjoyed this story. I admit that Raine had a tendency to get on my nerve sometimes with how she treated the others in her group. I did have to remind myself that a lot of that comes from the fact that she does not have a lot of experience around people. But that excuse can only last you so long.
Beyond that, I loved this world. There was so much happening, you had a great group of people to follow along with, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns to the story. I really liked how Raine had to work at her powers. She was more dangerous trying to use her power than if she would have just stayed back. But this makes the story more believable as opposed to her just coming to Tandara, being able to save everyone right off the bat, and just fitting in perfectly.
This is a great story and a fantastic start to a trilogy. I’m excited to see where Rushe is going to take us in the next book.
I received A Meddle of Wizards from Silver Dagger Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.
March 1, 2018
A great start to a new series. I loved the world building, as Raine traveled the reader wasn’t left out of getting a feel for her new surroundings. I also liked that we were given a good amount of backstory to the characters, without losing all mystery. Everyone is layered and there is still so much more to learn. I also liked how involved the Gods are, and that there are beings even older than them. So there is sort of a system of checks and balances, making no one so powerful they can’t be brought down a peg or two.
What I didn’t like was Raine ignoring warnings. When she first arrived in Tandara it made sense. It was an accidental kidnapping and she thought she lost her mind. But once she realized it was real and the dangers she faced, a bit more caution and thought would’ve been nice. But that is an issue I’ve noticed with a lot of lead characters thrown into a new and magical or supernatural environment. The need to argue or prove their point seems to outweigh common sense and asking questions before acting. Overall I really enjoyed the book and I can not wait for the next installment.
What I didn’t like was Raine ignoring warnings. When she first arrived in Tandara it made sense. It was an accidental kidnapping and she thought she lost her mind. But once she realized it was real and the dangers she faced, a bit more caution and thought would’ve been nice. But that is an issue I’ve noticed with a lot of lead characters thrown into a new and magical or supernatural environment. The need to argue or prove their point seems to outweigh common sense and asking questions before acting. Overall I really enjoyed the book and I can not wait for the next installment.
January 17, 2018
Somebody please tell me book two is coming soon!!! Though she's occasionally petulant and is definitely at a loss at times; Raine is a rather fun character, and learning about her, her powers, the illness we see her suffering from in the beginning, and learning with her about the new world she's found herself in. It's interesting learning the legends of each nation and the different species on the planet.
Raven, Bree, Gertie, Tiny....... There's so many wonderful characters. The villains are extra evil, their connections to our meddle shocking once they're revealed, and the gods themselves are involved. I want to know so much more about the mysterious troll wizard, what's up with Flame, will Raine get the Eye and so many other queries.
It's not overly dramatic of a cliffhanger but yet there is a cliffhanger to this book. Several loose threads at the beginning are explained, yet as mentioned there's still many many more I need to get answered. I loved this book.
Raven, Bree, Gertie, Tiny....... There's so many wonderful characters. The villains are extra evil, their connections to our meddle shocking once they're revealed, and the gods themselves are involved. I want to know so much more about the mysterious troll wizard, what's up with Flame, will Raine get the Eye and so many other queries.
It's not overly dramatic of a cliffhanger but yet there is a cliffhanger to this book. Several loose threads at the beginning are explained, yet as mentioned there's still many many more I need to get answered. I loved this book.
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