Thrust into life at the court of Thavell, Lydia discovers being the Gatebreaker is the least of her problems.
With John still in the wind, and Erin and Murphy pushing back on all of her choices, Lydia struggles with adjusting to court life and balancing her responsibilities, her magic lessons, and trying to find a way back home. She can’t even rely on Prince Aidric for help as he withdraws the more she gets involved with the nobility.
After a trip to the city puts Lydia in danger, she begins to second guess everything she has learned so far. When the King asks for Lydia’s help she knows she has to figure out what is true and who she can trust. She also has a big decision to Does she go back to her old life or does she stay in Adylra forever?
Find out what happens in book two of the Gatebreaker series, a young adult fantasy adventure. If you enjoy exciting coming-of-age stories then you’ll love Michelle Wilson’s magical tale. Buy Magic Wielder today.
This was another incredible journey with Lydia, the Gatebreaker. As I watched her face the dangers from all directions and use her magic to fight off the enemies of the crown, I found myself forgetting a simple realization about her. Then her own heartrending, sobering words brought it back, “I’m not this person. I’m not brave. I don’t want to do this anymore.” Lydia was still a youth, one pushed to take on a role that threatened to break her many times. She shouldered burdens that she didn’t own and blamed herself when it ended in bloodshed that wasn’t her fault either. Then there’s Aidric, the prince. I rotated between loving him and wanting to strangle him. He kept finding himself in a position to apologize, and he had a lot to be sorry for. He was constantly struggling in this part of the journey, with his feeble and subtle efforts to protect Lydia and still follow orders that he felt like he had to. It seemed he should have known better. After all he understood how this world worked, but he continued unsuccessfully trying to balance two things that could not exist together. Once again for all his princely responsibilities and position, he was still young though, not comprehending the lengths some will go to make their vision come to pass. Sometimes it’s the basics that get lost in the schemes of men. Aidric’s desperate exchange with Lydia shows this, “How am I supposed to save my people? How can I be a good leader?” Lydia answers him, “You’re supposed to be a good person, Aidric.” Aidric continues with, “It’s not that easy.” Lydia answers again, “It is that easy, Aidric. Be a good man.” Can they save the land of Adylra? Is it as simple as Lydia says? I don’t know, but it’s a good starting point. Sometimes how you fight the battle is just as important as winning it. When you emerge from your struggle, you want to be able to still see a good person reflected back. Perhaps Aidric is right, and it’s not that easy. Yet, I think Lydia is right, and it’s the only path worth taking in the battlefield before them.
I had to keep reminding myself that Lydia, the main character, was only 16!! I was like why in the world is she believing them or why is she doing this or that…we’ll at 16 years old it all makes since. The magic was interesting especially with seeing the different types and who ‘sent’ it.
Loyalty was tested to the fullest, teen love, suspense, betrayal and lots of adventures. New friends come into play. Will Lydia and her friends find a way home or are they stuff there?
Make sure to read book 1 first!! Cliffhanger…I’m looking forward to book 3 to see what happens.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Lydia is back and in Thavell and of course so is all the fun , meaning the danger, intrigue, interesting characters and the magic. It made me laugh and groan and sometimes want to slap Lydia, then I would remember she is a teenager so it makes sense. But I wan entertained and had to see how things went with Lydia and the court and her powers. Had to see what Lydia would find and discover . Would she be able to get home this time around.
Book two brings betrayal, loyalty tests, new friends, old friends and love!
The main character is young, which makes her decision making skills hard to stomach sometimes and I found myself grimacing and wondering what she was thinking. But then I remembered she’s sixteen.
If you like the “dropped in a magical world and set off to save the day” trope, this book is not for you.
The general plot of this series is pretty typical - a group of people find themselves in a magical world and sign up to save the day. The magic system is pretty interesting, and the characters are well done.
The MC is only 16 years old. I had to keep reminding myself of that every time she was too gullible, naive, and immature. For a 16 year old, it would make sense that when faced with adult decisions, she'd immediately jump in and do whatever anyone asked of her. Particularly when she's living it up in a castle with a highly respected position, with everything to lose by refusing, and everything to gain by accepting whatever they tell her to do. But I can't help thinking she was too quick to dismiss her suspicions, and not skeptical enough. That really bothered me.
The plot was interesting, and although I was expecting things to turn bad, I didn't know how exactly that would happen. I'd be interested in reading the next book, if only to know how everything ties up in the end. The writing flowed nicely, but there were some grammatical errors that needed fixing. They didn't detract much from the experience though.
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Michelle Wilson’s Magic Wielder (Gatebreaker Book 2) is a worthy successor to the first book in the series, Gatebreaker. Lydia is back in the court of Thavell and that means adventure, tests of loyalty, betrayal and teen love. A Bradley blend that’s well handled. But for the fact that I’m literally dictating this review to my husband from my hospital bed I could go on and on with praises. The book definitely deserves it. Since I can’t do that I will simply note that the book is most definitely one to read, and it is easy to highly recommend. I’m definitely looking forward to the next book in this series.
I am absolutely in love with the Gatebreaker series and cannot wait to read more when it gets released. Michelle Wilson paints a wonderfully interesting universe with great, dynamic characters. Magic Wielder was a great sequel filled with the perfect amount of tension and an ending that makes you crave more. If I had any complaints, it's that the betrayal in the end was pretty unsurprising and, arguably, a little cliche. However, the rest of the ending came as enough of a shock to me that the cliche didn't hurt the ending.
I am reviewing this voluntarily after receiving a free copy.
The "Magic Wielder" picks up where the first book left us, so I recommend reading the first book before this. That being said, I really enjoyed the book. I loved the world building and the characters, and the plot was intricate enough to keep me interested throughout reading. I'll definitely read the next book as soon as I get my hands on it!