Book Review | The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

As a child I absolutely loved reading fantasy novels, but for some reason I've strayed away from the genre. When I saw that the book club Booksplosion was hosting a read-along for the first book in the Heir Chronicles series by Cinda Williams Chima, I decided to pick up The Warrior Heir and join in on the fun.

The Warrior Heir is a young adult fantasy novel that follows our main character Jack. The book opens with a mysterious prologue that gives us a glimpse into a magical world, but then jumps forward to Jack's high school life. He's lived as a normal teenager, but one day he forgets to take his medicine and weird things start happening. It turns out Jack is a member of a magical world, and readers follow him as he adapts to his new status.

There were several aspects of The Warrior Heir that I really enjoyed, but unfortunately the story was very slow going for me, and I felt like the world-building took a long time to develop. For much of the book, I was quite confused and wished I had more of a setting for the story. Similarly, I found the story hard to believe. Yes, it is a fantasy novel, but as the story begins Jack is still a normal kid at a normal high school. He and his friends do some crazy things no questions asked, and that annoyed me. However, I did like Jack's relationships with his friends and his Aunt Linda, and I thought the book ended well.

That said, I don't think I will continue on in this series. The Heir Chronicles is a companion series, which means that each book follows a different main character. I would love to hear more about Jack and how his life develops after The Warrior Heir, but I'm not interested in other characters in this world.

I rated The Warrior Heir a solid three stars on Goodreads. While the story was innovative and ended well, the book was just too slow in its world building for me to rate it any higher. If you really love fantasy, especially those with magic, I think you would enjoy this book. On the other hand, if you are looking to break into the fantasy genre, I don't think this is a great series for you. You can purchase The Warrior Heir on Amazon HERE. As always, please let me know your thoughts on this book in the comments!

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Book Review | The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

I've been hearing people gush over both Holly Black and Cassandra Clare since I got back into reading this year, but to be quite honest, I had never read anything by either author! Lucky for me, I was approved on NetGalley to read and review an advanced eBook of the pair's new book, The Iron Trial. This is the first book in a new, middle grade series called the Magisterium. Once I heard magic was involved, I couldn't wait to read it!

The Iron Trial follows Callum Hunt, a 12-year-old boy who grew up with his dad. Call knows there is something different about his family, as his dad always tells him about the dangerous war that killed his mother. This war took place between the mages, magical people who can control the elements. Call is now faced with the difficult task of failing The Iron Trial – the test all magic-prone kids must take to determine whether or not they will be accepted to the magic school called the Magisterium. Call does everything he can to fail this test, but, of course, things don't go quite according to plan and Call is ripped away from his dad to try and learn the ways of the mages. Readers follow Call as he adapts to life in the Magisterium, and tries to determine whether it is the dangerous place his father warned him it would be.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Iron Trial, but before I get into my personal thoughts I do want to address the Harry Potter comparisons. There are many elements of The Iron Trial that reminded me of Harry Potter, but I hesitate to say the are copied. Because both of these series take place in magical worlds, there is bound to be some overlap. Do I think certain choices were interesting based on the Harry Potter connection? Yes. But the overall story in The Iron Trial is so different from Harry Potter that I do not think it is a copycat novel. Instead, I liked reading a book with Harry Potter influences because that's one of my all-time favorite series. I would definitely recommend it for Harry Potter fans!

Moreover, The Iron Trial a fun and easy read, but it's an unpredictable one. I never knew which way the story was going to go, and that made me want to keep reading. The story flowed quite well, and all of the surprising elements made logical sense in hindsight. I think The Iron Trial is perfect as the first book in a series. The world-building was done very well, and I loved how the authors set up the story for the next book. I am really impressed with The Iron Trial and can't wait for the next book to be released!

I highly recommend The Iron Trial for readers of all ages, especially those who love fantasy and magic. It is well-written and imaginative, and just tons of fun. Of course, I gave it a 5 star rating on Goodreads. You can purchase The Iron Trial on Amazon HERE. As always, if you've read this book please let me know your thoughts in the comments!

I received this book from NetGalley to review. I use Amazon Affiliate links so you can find the books I mention easily. All opinions are my own. See my Disclosure Policy for more information.