a couple months ago I finished a book called the sword of Kaigen, which was the prequel to this book, which was written after the Theonite series. The prequel, was very mature and very character based and had a Japanese style background which I enjoyed a lot. Reading that book gave me a certain expectation to how the series was going to be, but it’s safe to say that it didn’t go how I expected at all. I’m not saying it was bad at all it was just saying that it surprised me.

The book first off is very much YA, dealing with a girl who develops this power at a young age and discovering a whole new world. So straight off the bat it was a different POV since the prequel dealt with a mother and her son. It instantly shifted things in a different direction. In hindsight in the prequel it did say follow the family in the theonite series, so now I understand what the means.

One of the things I liked about this book was the length. It was pretty short, it got straight to the point and didn’t over stay its welcome. The main character, Joan, is a smart and strong girl, she has many flaws pertaining to the fact that she’s had to suppress her powers ever since she was small. She has a photographic memory and is able to learn and comprehend far more than anyone around her which comes off good and bad. Good because she doesn’t take long to pick things up when she should, but bad because there are times when she comes off like a know it all and little unlikeable. I’m sure there’s a plan to develop her character beyond that though.

Something I didn’t like was that I felt the book was leading up to something and leaves everything hanging at the end. With how short the first book was, I hope it is able to cover as much detail as it can as it goes on. I’m just a little worried that the world won’t be explored as thoroughly as I would like.

Overall, I liked it. the length was good, the characters were good and the story was well paced, there’s a ton of questions looming for the other installments. So I’m excited to read more. it may not be at the top of my list of books I like, but I would say its a promising start. Thanks for reading, God bless!