hobbitsbooksandbeyond's review against another edition
4.0
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Relic Spell was a really fun, light read. The front cover drew me in straight away in all honesty. I know we’re told not to judge books by their covers and sometimes doing so leads to immense dissatisfaction about the story once you sink your teeth into it, but this time it didn’t lead me wrong.
The world building was intriguing and interesting, I got shadowhunter-y vibes from the fighting every now and again, and from the relationship between Orion and Max, but in a good way since I love that show and the dynamics in it. I loved the magic system and the use of mystery that saturated past events surrounding Orion’s father and the war that occurred.
For me the best part was the friendships and relationships between the characters that grew as the book progressed. I loved Orion and I felt quite a strong sense of kinship with him on certain unreciprocated feelings. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m being careful of how I phrase this but, while the plot was interesting enough to hold my attention, it was definitely the interactions between the characters that kept me going.
Overall I would definitely recommend this one. A nice diverse cast of interesting and different characters rounds out the well crafted relationships and solid plot! Great for fans of urban fantasy YA.
The Relic Spell was a really fun, light read. The front cover drew me in straight away in all honesty. I know we’re told not to judge books by their covers and sometimes doing so leads to immense dissatisfaction about the story once you sink your teeth into it, but this time it didn’t lead me wrong.
The world building was intriguing and interesting, I got shadowhunter-y vibes from the fighting every now and again, and from the relationship between Orion and Max, but in a good way since I love that show and the dynamics in it. I loved the magic system and the use of mystery that saturated past events surrounding Orion’s father and the war that occurred.
For me the best part was the friendships and relationships between the characters that grew as the book progressed. I loved Orion and I felt quite a strong sense of kinship with him on certain unreciprocated feelings. I don’t want to spoil anything so I’m being careful of how I phrase this but, while the plot was interesting enough to hold my attention, it was definitely the interactions between the characters that kept me going.
Overall I would definitely recommend this one. A nice diverse cast of interesting and different characters rounds out the well crafted relationships and solid plot! Great for fans of urban fantasy YA.
biblionerdrflxn's review against another edition
4.0
See more of my reviews and other bookish content here!
***Thanks to BookSirens for providing a copy of the book. My review consists of my honest thoughts and opinions about the book.***
This book was a wild ride full of magic, demons, and teenage angst. The pace was almost non-stop from the beginning, and it was hard to put the book down. The author did a beautiful job with the prose in this book, especially the descriptions of the locations and magic system. I was able to picture all of it easily in my head. The world-building was intricate and slowly revealed over the course of the novel, and the story left me with so many questions I need answered. My only complaint would be that the book was excessively wordy at times and I found myself skimming at times without really missing anything. The characters were well-developed, and their backgrounds were intriguing and mysterious. I appreciated the excellent LGBT representation, which was displayed casually throughout the novel. The friendships and relationships between the characters were also compelling, and I especially enjoyed seeing the impact of Orion's crush on the friendship between him and Max. As if that wasn't enough, the story worked beautifully as a metaphor for the fight against systemic economic inequality. I'm excited to see where this series goes next and will definitely be reading the next book. Therefore, I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars.
***Thanks to BookSirens for providing a copy of the book. My review consists of my honest thoughts and opinions about the book.***
This book was a wild ride full of magic, demons, and teenage angst. The pace was almost non-stop from the beginning, and it was hard to put the book down. The author did a beautiful job with the prose in this book, especially the descriptions of the locations and magic system. I was able to picture all of it easily in my head. The world-building was intricate and slowly revealed over the course of the novel, and the story left me with so many questions I need answered. My only complaint would be that the book was excessively wordy at times and I found myself skimming at times without really missing anything. The characters were well-developed, and their backgrounds were intriguing and mysterious. I appreciated the excellent LGBT representation, which was displayed casually throughout the novel. The friendships and relationships between the characters were also compelling, and I especially enjoyed seeing the impact of Orion's crush on the friendship between him and Max. As if that wasn't enough, the story worked beautifully as a metaphor for the fight against systemic economic inequality. I'm excited to see where this series goes next and will definitely be reading the next book. Therefore, I rate the book 4 out of 5 stars.
raynreads's review against another edition
4.0
I have received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
“Armed with his limited knowledge of magic, Orion is the only one left in the city who is strong enough to investigate the origins of the spell.”
Novaro, sets up this book with a lot of building of characters and stories. I love deep character building especially with this being the first book of a series.
I enjoyed how the magic system was so deeply explained as well as the history of magic in the book. Orion and his friends are all facing their own challenges so its not only about magic and war but also about friendship and growth.
Overall, a really fun read that makes me excited to see what else is coming.
“Armed with his limited knowledge of magic, Orion is the only one left in the city who is strong enough to investigate the origins of the spell.”
Novaro, sets up this book with a lot of building of characters and stories. I love deep character building especially with this being the first book of a series.
I enjoyed how the magic system was so deeply explained as well as the history of magic in the book. Orion and his friends are all facing their own challenges so its not only about magic and war but also about friendship and growth.
Overall, a really fun read that makes me excited to see what else is coming.
rainbowreadsbooks's review
4.0
I loved this book! It had such a great cast of characters! The MC is a bisexual Argentine-Japanese American sorcerer. The side characters were also awesomely diverse, and there was even non-binary rep! I really loved that this book jumped right into the middle of the story. It took me a minute to figure out the world building. But I really appreciated that this was a story about a teenage sorcerer and we didn’t have 5 chapters of set up and world building at the beginning introducing you to the world.
The magic in this story was really beautiful. You had to work to be able to use it. Orion talks about learning how to meditate as a child was necessary before he could start casting spells. And the magic energy for his spells were all around in the world in the form of golden light. This magic system was such a beautiful and believable form of magic, I just loved it. And I really can’t wait for the sequel to come out!
I read this book as a free digital copy from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review.
The magic in this story was really beautiful. You had to work to be able to use it. Orion talks about learning how to meditate as a child was necessary before he could start casting spells. And the magic energy for his spells were all around in the world in the form of golden light. This magic system was such a beautiful and believable form of magic, I just loved it. And I really can’t wait for the sequel to come out!
I read this book as a free digital copy from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review.
annebonny's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
I received this free from Book Sirens in exchange for an honest review.
Orion is a teenage sorcerer defending his town from demons with his best friend Max, and Max’s girlfriend Briar. He’s the son of an infamous and powerful sorcerer that disappeared 14 years ago, along with all of the other sorcerers in town, a moment that no one in the town is willing to discuss. When a powerful entity attacks the town, activating a spell that harms a lot of people, Orion and his friend are the only ones willing to protect the town and get to the bottom of the attacks.
I enjoyed this right from the beginning-only a few pages into the book and Orion and Max are chasing down a demon. The magic system was really interesting; I liked the different branches of magic, and how they interacted with each other, and I liked that it was shown to take a toll on the users. Orion loves to “geek out” about magic, as Max says, and it’s easy to see why! I found all the protection spells and the different ways they could be invoked fascinating.
The characters are really great as well. I love how much Orion cares for his family and cares about protecting innocent people, and how that conflicted with the resentment he felt towards Briar. I felt really sad for him at times! Briar-a part demon girl trying to use her demon magic for good-was fun to read, and personally I enjoyed how many women were in the novel and were necessary to the story. Orion’s inner monologue is also really funny sometimes.
Novaro weaved multiple threads together to create a very compelling plot; there are multiple mysteries to be solved and stories to be uncovered, and I think most of the novel was paced perfectly. The last 15% or so dragged, though, getting bogged down by a lot of action scenes, and what I thought was going to be a confrontation with the “Big Bad” ended up being very anticlimactic. However, I thought the end was still very satisfying! It answered some questions but left enough threads to make the next book in the series all the more enticing.
The Relic Spell is an exciting urban fantasy and a great start to what I hope will be a great series.
jamesflint's review
adventurous
medium-paced
4.0
Five Reasons You Should Read This Book.
Rep: Argentine-Japanese American bi mc, Black side character, nonbinary side character
ARC kindly provided by Jimena Novaro
Rep: Argentine-Japanese American bi mc, Black side character, nonbinary side character
ARC kindly provided by Jimena Novaro
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