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Earth. Psychic. Ritual. The three magical affinities. No mage has ever been chosen by all three…until now.
My name is Octavia Hadley, and I am the mage who broke the affinity ritual. I have been at the New York Academy of Mages for less than one day and the school board already wants to strip me of my powers.
It would be a whole lot simpler if it didn’t also mean giving up on them—the four mages that I got paired up with: Kendall, my best friend’s twin brother, Draven, the leather-clad ritual mage, Cedric, the principal’s son, and Flynn, the only other mage who also has more than one affinity.
The school board tells me I am mistake, but I know that isn’t right. This magic is mine, and I will find a way to keep it. My paired mages will fight beside me even if it means losing everything—so long as it means they don’t have to lose me too.
ABSORB is a young adult/new adult paranormal reverse harem romance novel. It is the first in the Forgotten Affinities series.
My name is Octavia Hadley, and I am the mage who broke the affinity ritual. I have been at the New York Academy of Mages for less than one day and the school board already wants to strip me of my powers.
It would be a whole lot simpler if it didn’t also mean giving up on them—the four mages that I got paired up with: Kendall, my best friend’s twin brother, Draven, the leather-clad ritual mage, Cedric, the principal’s son, and Flynn, the only other mage who also has more than one affinity.
The school board tells me I am mistake, but I know that isn’t right. This magic is mine, and I will find a way to keep it. My paired mages will fight beside me even if it means losing everything—so long as it means they don’t have to lose me too.
ABSORB is a young adult/new adult paranormal reverse harem romance novel. It is the first in the Forgotten Affinities series.
- GenresFantasyMagicYoung Adult
158 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 19, 2018
484 people are currently reading
457 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
August 14, 2023
2.5
There were issues with this book. The world building was lacking, to say the least. Until 77% there was no explanation for why Octavia knew about magic when her family was non-magical and all magic was hidden. There were grammar issues that any decent beta reader should've caught, let alone an editor. The split perspectives weren't handled well either, there were too few for them to be a staple of the book. It felt like they were used when the author couldn't think of any other way to move the story forward rather than an intentional storytelling method. I'm reading the second book with reservations, so we'll see how it goes.
There were issues with this book. The world building was lacking, to say the least. Until 77% there was no explanation for why Octavia knew about magic when her family was non-magical and all magic was hidden. There were grammar issues that any decent beta reader should've caught, let alone an editor. The split perspectives weren't handled well either, there were too few for them to be a staple of the book. It felt like they were used when the author couldn't think of any other way to move the story forward rather than an intentional storytelling method. I'm reading the second book with reservations, so we'll see how it goes.
December 31, 2018
I considered dropping this, but I went ahead and finished it. I just won’t read the next books in the series. This book has my least favorite type of harem: one in which the guys are hurt by being in the harem and are only there because of emotional blackmail. I’m also not super into any of the guys, and the MC is blah. The plot itself was fine, no major holes, but some aspects really bugged me. Also, if this is something that bothers you, be forewarned that none of these characters are adults, so I guess this is technically YA.
This MC, Octavia, had me rolling my eyes a good bit. I guess she was an immature Mary Sue, but she’s also a special snowflake, so she got a double whammy. I thought it was weird that we didn’t learn her age until 51% into the book, and she supposedly has dyslexia, but we only see her struggling with it at the beginning and end of the book, so it just seems like an obvious plot device. There’s a moment near the end when she’s unnecessarily bitchy to the girl who is supposedly her best friend. I know they’re fighting and Octavia thinks the friend betrayed her, but you can’t unsay any of that (i.e., “no one would ever want you”); however, I bet they’re going to be just fine in book 2, and that’s bull. I also thought she was unnecessarily angsty at times: for example, when she was discussing how her feelings for Kendall were “wrong” because he’s her friend’s brother. Omg, get over yourself; it’s fine.
Octavia’s harem consists of four members. It’s a bit weird because Octavia says, “Each of them brings something so unique, so different...something that I need.” Sure, they’re all very different, but I never really got the sense that she needs any of them. None of their relationships with her are particularly developed. In some RH books, something will happen to the MC, and I’ll immediately think that I want her to go find a particular guy because he’ll be the best at making her feel better at that particular moment. At no point in this book did I actually want her to seek out one of the guys unless it was to further the plot. The only reason she needs them is that she can’t access all of her magic unless she has all of them, which adds a great deal of utilitarianism to their dynamic.
Kendall is probably too shy, but he’s a good boy. I feel really bad for him because he’s had a crush on Octavia for so long and then gets shoved into a harem against his will. He had an odd moment when the author described him as “letting his long blonde hair fall in soapy tendrils across his face” while in class. Did he not wash the soap out of his hair? I feel like the MC should have thought that was weird, because I sure did.
Draven is probably the most interesting of the guys, but I’ll be honest, I don’t really understand what’s going on with his secret bootlegging. Is the crime family the only group buying from him? Why did they attack him? Idk, and I guess I won’t find out since I’m stopping here.
Cedric is just a little shit, and he never really does anything redeeming. He has psychic powers, so he lets Octavia feel what he feels while he apologizes, and that supposedly changes everything, but here’s the thing, and it’s something I have to explain often in reviews: READERS DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO THAT SAME MAGIC, SO THEY DON’T FEEL WHAT THE CHARACTERS FEEL. Seriously, whenever you rely on magic to build characters’ relationships, you ALWAYS create a disconnect between the readers and the main character. So Octavia thinks that she and Cedric are cool now, but the readers don’t have anything tangible that they can point to and say ok I guess he isn’t a shit anymore. Pretty much all of his actions and words are obnoxious and disrespectful, but that’s supposed to be ok because Octavia sensed emotion from him once. Wtf.
Flynn is pretty obnoxious too, but I actually like it. Whereas Cedric is flat-out selfish, Flynn is just self-absorbed. Maybe I’m just splitting hairs there, but they feel different to me. Flynn doesn’t notice what others are feeling until he’s already said the cringeworthy thing, but he feels bad when he does notice; on the other hand, Cedric notices everything and just doesn’t really care. Flynn is kind of lost inside his head and his studies. Tbh, I think the only reason I like him is that he reminds me of my dead grandpa, lol.
As I said before, these harem members are incredibly unwilling to be part of a harem. Most of them are only ok with it because they don’t think she would choose them if she had to make a choice; that just feels like coercion, even Octavia isn’t doing it intentionally. The worst moment was when Kendall agreed to join the harem: “Whatever he is about to say, it is killing him to say it. ‘I for one will consider myself lucky to have Octavia—even if that means having to share her.’ He can’t meet my eyes when he says it.” Nothing about that makes having the harem seem like a good idea, but Octavia takes him at his word because she’s really that selfish.
I also had some issues with the plot itself. The biggest issue is that OMFG I HATE WHEN AUTHORS USE SCENES FROM THE END OF THE BOOK IN THEIR PROLOGUES. Omg I seriously hate it so much. It’s a cheap plot device meant to build tension in the beginning by using high-tension moments from the end, but guess what, including the scene in the prologue takes all of the tension away from where it actually belongs. When I finally got to the point where the prologue came from, I ended up just skimming it because I. HAD. AREADY. READ. IT. You should never do anything that will lead readers to skim the climax of the book. Tbh, I pretty much already knew I wasn’t going to like the book when I read the prologue, but part of me was hoping that the MC had just had something really exciting happen to her before the beginning of this plot. No such luck. I usually skip prologues when I know for sure (e.g., when every other book in the series has done the same thing) that the scene will be exactly repeated later in the book.
Anyway, the plot had some other issues as well. For example, we never received any sort of explanation for how she found out she had powers or got invited to this school. The mage community is apparently very elitist and big on keeping out people who don’t have strong mage bloodlines, and Octaviais essentially a mudblood does not have mage parents. It’s implied that her powers were discovered by her mage childhood friends, but she can’t use any magic until the beginning of this book, so how did they discover her. Her circumstances are apparently very unusual, so it seems odd that we never get any insight into that moment that changed the course of her life. If the author really needed to include a prologue, then describing those events there would have been much better, but I think just including an explanation or even a flashback in the meat of the book would have been enough.
Furthermore, the author had a habit of saying things were a certain way, without giving us anything to back up the statement, to further the plot. For example, I thought it was weird that Octavia has this big revelation about wanting to keep all of her magic instead of choosing just one facet of it before she ever really uses any of it. I know that her magic is a natural part of her and that taking any of it from her is wrong, but I wasn’t sure what actually incited this revelation for her. She couldn’t even use any of it at this point, so I don’t buy the idea that it already felt as if it was part of her. Also, she later says, “I keep assuming I’m alone in this, but I’m not. I’ve got Draven on my side. And all the others too.” Here’s the thing: she doesn’t really have them on her side at this point. None of them, except Kendall, have really done any real supporting of her that she’s aware of at this point, and certainly none of them, except Kendall, have given her a reason to confide in them.
The writing itself was fine for the most part. I was nervous at the beginning because, in the first scene of chapter one, the author didn’t bother stating which characters were in the scene. I thought it was only Octavia and her friend, but then Octavia refers to “them,” which really confused me because we’d only been introduced to one person aside from Octavia at that point. Apparently Kendall had been in the scene the whole time, but that was not mentioned for several pages. Poor baby is always an afterthought. I also saw a British English spelling in the beginning but then didn’t notice any others in the book. It’s possible that I just overlooked them, but because this book is set in the US, I’m more inclined to believe that the rest of the book used US English. The rest of the writing mechanics weren’t too bad. I saw some problems with word choice (e.g., “impertinent” instead of “imperative” or “important”), missing apostrophes, apostrophe’s that shouldn’t be there, commas in the wrong places (e.g., “you can, be if that is what you want”), and too many words in some places (e.g., “it is also his Kendall’s first”).
Overall, this book had a lot of things that I actively disliked and nothing that really made up for them, so I won’t be continuing the series.
This MC, Octavia, had me rolling my eyes a good bit. I guess she was an immature Mary Sue, but she’s also a special snowflake, so she got a double whammy. I thought it was weird that we didn’t learn her age until 51% into the book, and she supposedly has dyslexia, but we only see her struggling with it at the beginning and end of the book, so it just seems like an obvious plot device. There’s a moment near the end when she’s unnecessarily bitchy to the girl who is supposedly her best friend. I know they’re fighting and Octavia thinks the friend betrayed her, but you can’t unsay any of that (i.e., “no one would ever want you”); however, I bet they’re going to be just fine in book 2, and that’s bull. I also thought she was unnecessarily angsty at times: for example, when she was discussing how her feelings for Kendall were “wrong” because he’s her friend’s brother. Omg, get over yourself; it’s fine.
Octavia’s harem consists of four members. It’s a bit weird because Octavia says, “Each of them brings something so unique, so different...something that I need.” Sure, they’re all very different, but I never really got the sense that she needs any of them. None of their relationships with her are particularly developed. In some RH books, something will happen to the MC, and I’ll immediately think that I want her to go find a particular guy because he’ll be the best at making her feel better at that particular moment. At no point in this book did I actually want her to seek out one of the guys unless it was to further the plot. The only reason she needs them is that she can’t access all of her magic unless she has all of them, which adds a great deal of utilitarianism to their dynamic.
Kendall is probably too shy, but he’s a good boy. I feel really bad for him because he’s had a crush on Octavia for so long and then gets shoved into a harem against his will. He had an odd moment when the author described him as “letting his long blonde hair fall in soapy tendrils across his face” while in class. Did he not wash the soap out of his hair? I feel like the MC should have thought that was weird, because I sure did.
Draven is probably the most interesting of the guys, but I’ll be honest, I don’t really understand what’s going on with his secret bootlegging. Is the crime family the only group buying from him? Why did they attack him? Idk, and I guess I won’t find out since I’m stopping here.
Cedric is just a little shit, and he never really does anything redeeming. He has psychic powers, so he lets Octavia feel what he feels while he apologizes, and that supposedly changes everything, but here’s the thing, and it’s something I have to explain often in reviews: READERS DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO THAT SAME MAGIC, SO THEY DON’T FEEL WHAT THE CHARACTERS FEEL. Seriously, whenever you rely on magic to build characters’ relationships, you ALWAYS create a disconnect between the readers and the main character. So Octavia thinks that she and Cedric are cool now, but the readers don’t have anything tangible that they can point to and say ok I guess he isn’t a shit anymore. Pretty much all of his actions and words are obnoxious and disrespectful, but that’s supposed to be ok because Octavia sensed emotion from him once. Wtf.
Flynn is pretty obnoxious too, but I actually like it. Whereas Cedric is flat-out selfish, Flynn is just self-absorbed. Maybe I’m just splitting hairs there, but they feel different to me. Flynn doesn’t notice what others are feeling until he’s already said the cringeworthy thing, but he feels bad when he does notice; on the other hand, Cedric notices everything and just doesn’t really care. Flynn is kind of lost inside his head and his studies. Tbh, I think the only reason I like him is that he reminds me of my dead grandpa, lol.
As I said before, these harem members are incredibly unwilling to be part of a harem. Most of them are only ok with it because they don’t think she would choose them if she had to make a choice; that just feels like coercion, even Octavia isn’t doing it intentionally. The worst moment was when Kendall agreed to join the harem: “Whatever he is about to say, it is killing him to say it. ‘I for one will consider myself lucky to have Octavia—even if that means having to share her.’ He can’t meet my eyes when he says it.” Nothing about that makes having the harem seem like a good idea, but Octavia takes him at his word because she’s really that selfish.
I also had some issues with the plot itself. The biggest issue is that OMFG I HATE WHEN AUTHORS USE SCENES FROM THE END OF THE BOOK IN THEIR PROLOGUES. Omg I seriously hate it so much. It’s a cheap plot device meant to build tension in the beginning by using high-tension moments from the end, but guess what, including the scene in the prologue takes all of the tension away from where it actually belongs. When I finally got to the point where the prologue came from, I ended up just skimming it because I. HAD. AREADY. READ. IT. You should never do anything that will lead readers to skim the climax of the book. Tbh, I pretty much already knew I wasn’t going to like the book when I read the prologue, but part of me was hoping that the MC had just had something really exciting happen to her before the beginning of this plot. No such luck. I usually skip prologues when I know for sure (e.g., when every other book in the series has done the same thing) that the scene will be exactly repeated later in the book.
Anyway, the plot had some other issues as well. For example, we never received any sort of explanation for how she found out she had powers or got invited to this school. The mage community is apparently very elitist and big on keeping out people who don’t have strong mage bloodlines, and Octavia
Furthermore, the author had a habit of saying things were a certain way, without giving us anything to back up the statement, to further the plot. For example, I thought it was weird that Octavia has this big revelation about wanting to keep all of her magic instead of choosing just one facet of it before she ever really uses any of it. I know that her magic is a natural part of her and that taking any of it from her is wrong, but I wasn’t sure what actually incited this revelation for her. She couldn’t even use any of it at this point, so I don’t buy the idea that it already felt as if it was part of her. Also, she later says, “I keep assuming I’m alone in this, but I’m not. I’ve got Draven on my side. And all the others too.” Here’s the thing: she doesn’t really have them on her side at this point. None of them, except Kendall, have really done any real supporting of her that she’s aware of at this point, and certainly none of them, except Kendall, have given her a reason to confide in them.
The writing itself was fine for the most part. I was nervous at the beginning because, in the first scene of chapter one, the author didn’t bother stating which characters were in the scene. I thought it was only Octavia and her friend, but then Octavia refers to “them,” which really confused me because we’d only been introduced to one person aside from Octavia at that point. Apparently Kendall had been in the scene the whole time, but that was not mentioned for several pages. Poor baby is always an afterthought. I also saw a British English spelling in the beginning but then didn’t notice any others in the book. It’s possible that I just overlooked them, but because this book is set in the US, I’m more inclined to believe that the rest of the book used US English. The rest of the writing mechanics weren’t too bad. I saw some problems with word choice (e.g., “impertinent” instead of “imperative” or “important”), missing apostrophes, apostrophe’s that shouldn’t be there, commas in the wrong places (e.g., “you can, be if that is what you want”), and too many words in some places (e.g., “it is also his Kendall’s first”).
Overall, this book had a lot of things that I actively disliked and nothing that really made up for them, so I won’t be continuing the series.
December 21, 2018
A wonderful debut
A wonderful debut novel with a fine YA crew of magic wielders which define themselves with their distinctive natures. I can not wait to move on to the next bbook and see where the crew takes us next.
A wonderful debut novel with a fine YA crew of magic wielders which define themselves with their distinctive natures. I can not wait to move on to the next bbook and see where the crew takes us next.
January 13, 2019
Decent academy tale
This was a bit confusing at times and rambled here and there, but overall I have to rate it a 3.5 concept and execution.
Pros:
- good concept
- Who doesn’t like academy stories?
- some unique twists on familiar themes
Cons:
- reminiscent of ‘Marked by Power’ - though different enough not to cause any yelling.
- Rambled and felt disjointed
- Some action was confusing
- Character actions and choices made little sense
This was a bit confusing at times and rambled here and there, but overall I have to rate it a 3.5 concept and execution.
Pros:
- good concept
- Who doesn’t like academy stories?
- some unique twists on familiar themes
Cons:
- reminiscent of ‘Marked by Power’ - though different enough not to cause any yelling.
- Rambled and felt disjointed
- Some action was confusing
- Character actions and choices made little sense
August 19, 2019
This is why I would LOVE to edit books.
Ford has a fantastic idea--I mean, the premise of the book is on-point: a hidden world of mages, three unique types of magic, a girl (not born from magic parents) who somehow has the affinity of all three, plus a fourth that mysteriously appears. She's bonded to one person each who will be her magic partner, for lack of better terms. The conflict is there--just solid story throughout.
However, there were many grammar errors and the storyline/background needed some work. I'm not sure if Ford self-published or this ran through an editor, but there was a lot of work to be done. For a new author with such a dynamite concept, it's a disservice not to help her pick through her writing with a fine-tooth comb. The bones are there, just needed more fleshing out.
Ford has a fantastic idea--I mean, the premise of the book is on-point: a hidden world of mages, three unique types of magic, a girl (not born from magic parents) who somehow has the affinity of all three, plus a fourth that mysteriously appears. She's bonded to one person each who will be her magic partner, for lack of better terms. The conflict is there--just solid story throughout.
However, there were many grammar errors and the storyline/background needed some work. I'm not sure if Ford self-published or this ran through an editor, but there was a lot of work to be done. For a new author with such a dynamite concept, it's a disservice not to help her pick through her writing with a fine-tooth comb. The bones are there, just needed more fleshing out.
June 8, 2020
Good start
I like the premise of this book however I found myself frustrated a little with the characters, who are all a little selfish, especially Octavia. I really can't stand it when there's a glaringly obvious question etc and they just put it off until much later for no reason whatsoever!
The other issue is with spelling and grammar. I really hate to bring this up as an issue and will actively overlook a lot of things however when there are odd words dropped in sentences for no reason, spelling mistakes and obvious misuse of words eg. "impertinent" instead of "pertinent", it really detracts from the book. When its quite a few instances in every single chapter it begins to hamper the quality of the book and detract away from the story when you are trying to work out what is actually meant. Good proofreaders and editors should have picked these out easily!
I'm glad I read this on KU otherwise I would have been upset that I had spent my money on subpar quality.
However, with all that said. I did like the story line. A slightly different take on the PNR RH academy type stories, especially on why Octavia and Flynn may have more than one type of power.
I'm looking forward to meeting the new pair of Flynns and hoping that he is Octavias 4th affinity pair too, with a MFM relationship between them!
Overall, the execution could have been better but I'm looking forward to the next book!
I like the premise of this book however I found myself frustrated a little with the characters, who are all a little selfish, especially Octavia. I really can't stand it when there's a glaringly obvious question etc and they just put it off until much later for no reason whatsoever!
The other issue is with spelling and grammar. I really hate to bring this up as an issue and will actively overlook a lot of things however when there are odd words dropped in sentences for no reason, spelling mistakes and obvious misuse of words eg. "impertinent" instead of "pertinent", it really detracts from the book. When its quite a few instances in every single chapter it begins to hamper the quality of the book and detract away from the story when you are trying to work out what is actually meant. Good proofreaders and editors should have picked these out easily!
I'm glad I read this on KU otherwise I would have been upset that I had spent my money on subpar quality.
However, with all that said. I did like the story line. A slightly different take on the PNR RH academy type stories, especially on why Octavia and Flynn may have more than one type of power.
I'm looking forward to meeting the new pair of Flynns and hoping that he is Octavias 4th affinity pair too, with a MFM relationship between them!
Overall, the execution could have been better but I'm looking forward to the next book!
June 27, 2021
A very fun fun fun read!!
I loved ford’s version of a magical academy. The creativity behind her world building was so wonderful. I’ve never looked at magic and considered the different ways to practice is but man! That is such a clever idea.
I also really enjoyed the role of body marks in this book. It’s a fave trope of mine so I’m glad it was in this series!
The plot was really great! I liked the pace and the relationship building. And the boys!! Omg I literally cannot pick a favorite and don’t make me, I’ll fight you!
I love that they are all so different in terms of personality, how they express their affections, how they practice magic, all of it! They all seem to compliment each other and I really enjoyed these sweet beginnings for their relationship with Octavia.
My only criticism is a small one but as a romance lover I feel that I should just say it: I wish some scenes were more fleshed out. The one that I’m wishing for in particular is the coffee ritual dream. I got the gist of what it was about but I wish I new the deets but that’s just meeee hoping for some good smut in every book I read ahaha!!
Would totally recommend!! You won’t regret it!
I loved ford’s version of a magical academy. The creativity behind her world building was so wonderful. I’ve never looked at magic and considered the different ways to practice is but man! That is such a clever idea.
I also really enjoyed the role of body marks in this book. It’s a fave trope of mine so I’m glad it was in this series!
The plot was really great! I liked the pace and the relationship building. And the boys!! Omg I literally cannot pick a favorite and don’t make me, I’ll fight you!
I love that they are all so different in terms of personality, how they express their affections, how they practice magic, all of it! They all seem to compliment each other and I really enjoyed these sweet beginnings for their relationship with Octavia.
My only criticism is a small one but as a romance lover I feel that I should just say it: I wish some scenes were more fleshed out. The one that I’m wishing for in particular is the coffee ritual dream. I got the gist of what it was about but I wish I new the deets but that’s just meeee hoping for some good smut in every book I read ahaha!!
Would totally recommend!! You won’t regret it!
January 4, 2019
Could have been so much better
I feel like there was a book before this one that I missed. No character building, I was not invested in their lives at all. I liked the idea of the story line and some scenes were pretty well written so I gave 3 stars If there was more world/character building it would have been a good read, unfortunately, I had to stop reading a third of the way through and skip to the end to leave a review.
I feel like there was a book before this one that I missed. No character building, I was not invested in their lives at all. I liked the idea of the story line and some scenes were pretty well written so I gave 3 stars If there was more world/character building it would have been a good read, unfortunately, I had to stop reading a third of the way through and skip to the end to leave a review.
February 3, 2019
Fast paced and fresh
I really enjoyed this book, the storyline is great, characters are good for the most part. I think we could have used some more character development but I do understand there are a lot of important characters and a very fast paced story. That being said look forward to reading the next book and seeing where that takes us and if it answers some unanswered questions.
I really enjoyed this book, the storyline is great, characters are good for the most part. I think we could have used some more character development but I do understand there are a lot of important characters and a very fast paced story. That being said look forward to reading the next book and seeing where that takes us and if it answers some unanswered questions.
April 5, 2022
this book could have been really good if it was a little more thought out. There was just so much unexplained. The world building was severely lacking and there wasn't much relationship development but neither was there an obvious insta-love connection so it just felt a bit forced.
I finished it but it was too much of a tell you instead of show you story for me to bother reading the rest of the series
I finished it but it was too much of a tell you instead of show you story for me to bother reading the rest of the series
October 25, 2018
Awesome new take on magic!
I really like the guys, they seem at first to be one note The Bad Boy, The nerd, the rich kid, the boy next door. But as Olivia gets to know them they have more to them. I love the different affinities Earth magic, ritual magic or Psychic, it is original. Most magic school books stick with the four elements. Looking forward to the next one.
I really like the guys, they seem at first to be one note The Bad Boy, The nerd, the rich kid, the boy next door. But as Olivia gets to know them they have more to them. I love the different affinities Earth magic, ritual magic or Psychic, it is original. Most magic school books stick with the four elements. Looking forward to the next one.
November 19, 2018
Interesting
This story was fantastic. The storyline was intriguing and interesting. The characters were entertaining and engaging, the four boys, each different but all caring in his own way, and Octavia and her interactions with not just the boys but with other characters were fantastic. Definitely want to read more.
This story was fantastic. The storyline was intriguing and interesting. The characters were entertaining and engaging, the four boys, each different but all caring in his own way, and Octavia and her interactions with not just the boys but with other characters were fantastic. Definitely want to read more.
November 23, 2018
Interesting YA mage story
Interesting story about a new mage who never used to have any magical affinity all of a sudden thrust into situation where her heart, friendships and mind will be tested. Interesting storyline and enough mystery and intrigue to keep the pages moving. Slow burn.
Interesting story about a new mage who never used to have any magical affinity all of a sudden thrust into situation where her heart, friendships and mind will be tested. Interesting storyline and enough mystery and intrigue to keep the pages moving. Slow burn.
December 12, 2018
Loved it!
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but was happily surprised!
Octavia is a bit young and naive, but I'm hoping that changes as the story continues.
The guys are great though, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.
This was worth the read.
I see that book 2 is out now, so I'll be staring that the minute I finish this review!
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but was happily surprised!
Octavia is a bit young and naive, but I'm hoping that changes as the story continues.
The guys are great though, and I'm looking forward to getting to know them better.
This was worth the read.
I see that book 2 is out now, so I'll be staring that the minute I finish this review!
January 13, 2019
I don't know what I think of this one. The opening is disjointed, like I felt like I was missing something between chapters and the rest rushes through things so much its hard to get a feel for them. What I can say is the further this progresses the darker it gets so I think I'm going to wait until the series is finished before reading any further.
February 18, 2019
Disappointed
Kinda disappointed. This book had promise with the story line but just fell flat to me. I'm sorry 😔. Certain parts were good but it became so boring that I found myself flipping through the pages to find some action. U don't really find out the fourth power until the end of the book. I'm sorry. I will not continue this series.
Kinda disappointed. This book had promise with the story line but just fell flat to me. I'm sorry 😔. Certain parts were good but it became so boring that I found myself flipping through the pages to find some action. U don't really find out the fourth power until the end of the book. I'm sorry. I will not continue this series.
December 19, 2018
Loved it
I am a picky person when it comes to books the book might be amazing but if I can't get into it, I can't finish it. And I will read every genre as long as it can draw me in, and yes romance too. Lol but this book is on of the good ones I couldn't put it down.
I am a picky person when it comes to books the book might be amazing but if I can't get into it, I can't finish it. And I will read every genre as long as it can draw me in, and yes romance too. Lol but this book is on of the good ones I couldn't put it down.
December 26, 2018
When I first started reading this I was a little skeptical on whether I would get into this book. Overall the story itself I thoroughly enjoyed there are some aspects to the story that I had a little trouble with. The age of the characters is honestly the only dislike I had with the book.
March 2, 2019
Amazing book!
I’m so happy I happened upon the book. I wasn’t sure if I would like it when reading the very beginning but I kept reading and got hooked almost right away. Such a great story. I can’t wait to Read what happens next.
I’m so happy I happened upon the book. I wasn’t sure if I would like it when reading the very beginning but I kept reading and got hooked almost right away. Such a great story. I can’t wait to Read what happens next.
August 7, 2021
Some TikToks from this author kept appearing to me and eventually I became curious about the concept of reversed harem
The book is nice, but too simple in its development, shallow characters and all that
The book is nice, but too simple in its development, shallow characters and all that
September 26, 2022
It was an ok book it needed some improvements in world building but the premise was good. I got slightly bored with the teenage love tryst especially in such a short space of time and not a very long book. But it was ok for YA.
March 22, 2024
Unique Concept
While I think this book had an interesting concept based oh how mages are bonded. I had a hard time getting through this book. While I wanted to know what the big ending was I never got really sick in to the book like I had hoped.
While I think this book had an interesting concept based oh how mages are bonded. I had a hard time getting through this book. While I wanted to know what the big ending was I never got really sick in to the book like I had hoped.
October 21, 2018
Whoa!!!
This book has twisted turns surprises betrayals shocking outcomes jaw dropping scenes and I love it none the less! I can't wait till the next book comes out!!!
This book has twisted turns surprises betrayals shocking outcomes jaw dropping scenes and I love it none the less! I can't wait till the next book comes out!!!
October 30, 2018
Great
Great start to a new series. Loved how the magical affinities created created so much drama because a girl was different. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!
Great start to a new series. Loved how the magical affinities created created so much drama because a girl was different. I can't wait to see what happens in the next book!
November 9, 2018
Rating: 3.5 stars
December 10, 2018
Great story!
Must read! I love this new author!This book got me hooked in the first page. I can't wait for the next book!
Must read! I love this new author!This book got me hooked in the first page. I can't wait for the next book!
December 16, 2018
Great read!
Really good book, thoroughly enjoyed it! Cannot wait for the next book! This is a YA RH book, with mages, rituals, rivals and a twist. Give it a read.
Really good book, thoroughly enjoyed it! Cannot wait for the next book! This is a YA RH book, with mages, rituals, rivals and a twist. Give it a read.
December 22, 2018
NEW MAGIC SYSTEM
I found this to be a rather intriguing read! Not a perfect 5 star, but definitely close. Can't wait to see what's mext!
I found this to be a rather intriguing read! Not a perfect 5 star, but definitely close. Can't wait to see what's mext!
January 6, 2019
I may get back to this book, i wasnt feeling well when i started it so that may be why it didnt interest me much
February 9, 2019
Loved
I loved this book. Can't wait to see what happens next. They seem like they make a great unit and I know they will be powerful.
I loved this book. Can't wait to see what happens next. They seem like they make a great unit and I know they will be powerful.
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