Last Stand by Rachel E. Carter - non-spoiler review

Hi booklovers

This is my spoiler-free review of Last Stand, book four - the final book - in the Black Mage series by Rachel E. Carter. This book was kindly sent to me by the author - I'm a part of her review team - in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book.

This will contain spoilers for First Year, Apprentice and Candidate. Just click on the title to read my reviews. I read this book for the Of Wonderland Book Club on Goodreads. February's theme was 'badass females'.

Title: Last Stand

Author: Rachel E. Carter

Genre: YA, fantasy

Format: e-book (provided by the author)

*Story:
Darren has become the Black Mage and he's married to Ryiah. What he doesn't know is that Ryiah is going to betray him because she wants to reveal what a villain Blayne really is. We get to see the whole process of Ryiah trying to get to the point where she can reveal who Blayne really is whilst still playing the 'happily' married girl, up until she has to convince Darren she's telling the truth.

*Characters:
-Ryiah: I really loved Ryiah in this story. She has grown so much throughout this series, she has really come into her own. You know bad things are going to happen to her, but still she carries on, despite knowing she'll probably lose everything. Sure, she almost changes her mind a couple of times, but who wouldn't hesitate to carry on in her situation?! Her story is so heartbreaking in this book, I actually cried a couple of times.
 

-Darren: Wow, we really got to see two different sides of him. One is the loving, understanding husband - Ryiah keeps her distance when they are first married - and the other is this coldhearted, blinded-by-the-love-for-his-brother kind of guy. Even though this switch is very sudden it was written in such a good way that it was still believable.
SPOILER:
When he finally does believe Ryiah it goes over maybe a bit too easy, but that's something I'm willing to overlook.
 

-Blayne: I hated him with such a passion. He is actually an even bigger monster than his father! (A very well-written monster, mind you!)
 

-Priscilla: Finally, she showed her true colours and I have some new-found respect for her. She becomes a totally different person, but again, it's written in such a good way that it's believable.
 

*Plot/worldbuilding/overall rating:
As far as the worldbuilding goes, not many new places were introduced, but that's okay, we already know the setting.
I thought the previous book was an emotional rollercoaster, but oh my, that was nothing compared to this book. This one ripped my heart out, broke it into a million pieces and put it back together again.
After I finished reading it, I literally stared at the last page for ten minutes. There were so many feelings I had to process, it was rough.
I'm very glad that Rachel ended up deciding to write an epilogue, because it wrapped things up nicely. Otherwise, I might have been a little annoyed!

I adored this series and I can definitely see it ending up in my top 10 books of 2017.

I want to thank Rachel for giving me the chance to read, review and fall in love with the books.

I give this series an overall rating of 4.5 stars and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves to read about kick-ass female characters and a unique magic system.
 

Have you read this book or any of the other books in the series?
 

Bye for now
 

Annelies

Candidate - Rachel E. Carter - non-spoiler review

Hi booklovers

This is my non-spoiler review of Candidate, book three in the Black Mage series by Rachel E. Carter. This book was kindly sent to my by the author - I'm a part of her review team - in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book.

This will contain spoilers for First Year and Apprentice. Just click on the title to read my reviews. I read this book for the Of Wonderland Book Club on Goodreads. February's theme was 'badass females'.

Title: Candidate

Author: Rachel E. Carter

Genre: YA, fantasy

Format: e-book (provided by the author)

*Story: 
This story takes place after Darren announced that both his and Blayne's engagements were off and that he wanted to marry Ryiah instead. It goes without saying that the road to their marriage isn't without obstacles. This book also deals with the upcoming Candidacy, in which the three new coloured Robes will be chosen. Of course, both Ryiah and Darren want the Black Robe, but only one can win and the competion is very brutal. Meanwhile, the rebels also gain strength. During the year leading up to their marriage, Ryiah discovers that not everything is what it seems.

*Characters: 
-Ryiah: After the previous book I had almost given up on liking Ryiah, just because she was so fickle in that story. In this book, however, she totally redeems herself. She again goes through so many changes and emotions it's a miracle she doesn't (completely) crumble.
SPOILER:
Two events made me really feel sorry for her, the first one being when Derrick dies at the hand of Mira. The second one was when she discovered who the real villain is, i.e. Blayne.

-Darren: I really liked how he finally stood up for himself and his love for Ryiah. But true to his nature, he still did things I wanted to strangle him for; like being a very stubborn mule!
 

-Derrick: He really plays a very important part in this story, but I was surprised to see where the storyline eventually took him. We also get to see a totally different side of him during the events of the Candidacy and it wasn't a pretty one.

SPOILER:

What the hell was wrong with him, reacting like that towards Ryiah during the trials. It wasn't her fault what happened to Alex.

-Alex & Ella: We don't get to see all that much of them, but when we do get their story it's packed with - sometimes very raw - emotions.
 
*Plot/Worldbuilding/Overall rating:
This book was so fast-paced and action-packed. Especially the last chapters left my head spinning. I like that we got to see some new places. I also enjoyed that Ryiah gets the chance to be the Combat Mage that she's always wanted to be before she has to stay at the king's palace and her marriage to Darren. Otherwise, it would have seemed like all her training was in vain.
The book ended on such a cliffhanger that I was really happy that book 4 has already been released, otherwise I would have gone mad having to wait to continue reading.

Have you read this book or any of the other books in the series?

Bye for now

Annelies

Apprentice by Rachel E. Carter - Non-spoiler review.

Hi booklovers

This is my spoiler-free review of Apprentice - book two in the Black Mage series by Rachel E. Carter. This book was kindly sent to my by the author - I'm a part of her review team - in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book.

This will contain spoilers for First Year. You can find my review of First Year here. I read this book for the Of Wonderland Book Club on Goodreads. February's theme is 'badass females'.

Title: Apprentice

Author: Rachel E. Carter

Genre: YA, fantasy

Format: e-book (provided by the author)

*Story:
Ryiah has been chosen as the 6th Combat mage apprentice. In this book we go through her training from year 1 'till year 4 (their 2nd 'till 5th year at the Academy). In this book we mainly focus on the training, the mock battles and the relationships.
There is a lot of action but also travelling from training place to training place and of course there's love.

*Characters:
-Ryiah: In the prequel novella and the first book I wanted to strangle Darren for being so arrogant, but in this book it was Ryiah's turn to be strangled. I got so frustrated with her at times. She was so indecisive when it came to her love interests: hot - cold - hot - cold.
SPOILER:
I liked the fact that there wasn't a love triangle in the first book, so I was a bit disappointed that there was one in this book.
What I did really like about Ryiah was how she fought for everything she was worth, she didn't take anything for granted. She became an even stronger person when it came to her mage training, but she remained so fickle towards her love interests. It annoyed the hell out of me.
 
-Darren: What can I say about Darren? He continues to be his charming, pleasant self. In other words: I still wanted to smack him on the head on several occasions. We do get to see more of his personal/emotional side, though, but I still didn't like some of his decisions and actions! Although his stupid behaviour was explained in the end, in didn't redeem everything he did.
 
-Alex: This is a sidecharacter that goes through so many changes and so much growth, I really liked that. (Even though he acted like such a dick sometimes.) I loved how concerned he was about Ryiah and Ella.
SPOILER:
I wanted to strangle him for what he did to Ella, but I'm glad they got together at last.
 
-Ella: Another wonderful sidecharacter that really comes into her own. She is strong-minded and determined to succeed in her training. I really enjoyed her interaction with Ryiah. They still bring out the best in each other.

-Priscilla: She is still such an unbelievably big bitch, but at least she's an honest bitch even though she's very selfish.

-Blayne: I never thought he would be so much like his father, but he is. In fact, I think he's even worse than his father. I do not like him at all, he's such a spoiled brat and a monster.

-Ian: He's a nice addition to the set of charachters, he was funny, nice, sweet, cute :-) I felt so sorry for him when Ryiah did what she did to him.
SPOILER:
As I said, I didn't like the love triangle. Granted, most of the time we think that Darren doesn't want Ryiah anymore, but it was still a low thing of her to do.
 
-Derrick: I loved Ryiah and Alex' little brother. He was so witty and he really knew what he wanted. I hope we'll get to see more of him in book 3.
 
*Plot:
This book is again a bit heavy on the fighting and training, but that is of course still very much a part of their routines. The pacing of this story is different from the first book in the sense that we go through four years in one book. We get a lot more worldbuilding in this book since the apprentices move from place to place during their training.

I also very much enjoyed the further development of the magic system. In this book we are introduced to weather casting, a type of magic where you have to draw from a very powerful emotion to be able to cast lightning. I think this is such a cool concept. 
I also like that their magic isn't limitless. The mages have to build their stamina or their casting doesn't last very long.
 
I really enjoyed this book, but I couldn't give it a full five stars because Ryiah got on my nerves so many times with her indecisiveness it wasn't funny anymore. But I still gave it a solid 4 stars.

I'm currently reading and enjoying book three: Candidate.

Have you read this book or the previous one? Let me know in the comments.
 
Bye for now.
 
Annelies

First Year by Rachel E. Carter - non-spoiler review.

Hi booklovers

I got this e-book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This doesn't affect my opinion of the book.

Title: First Year

Author: Rachel E. Carter

Genre: YA, fantasy

Format: e-book (provided by the author)

*Story:
This book starts with the final scenes of Non-Heir but from Ryiah's POV. We follow Ryiah on her journey to becoming an apprentice at the Academy. She's a lowborn girl coming to the Academy to try and get a place as an apprentice. The only problem is there are only 15 places and there are 122 people starting the year. Through a lot of (harsh) training only those who really have what it takes make it 'till the end of the year. Ryiah has to fight and prove herself from day 1, because she is not one of the highborns who have had years of training and she still has a lot to learn. Also, from the start she has both friends and enemies who all play their part in her journey.

*Characters:
-Ryiah: She is a strong character who doesn't give up at the first sign of difficulties. She grows stronger throughout the story - both litteraly and figuratively speaking. There were, however, moments in the book where I just wanted to grab her by the shoulders, give her a shake and tell her that she should believe in herself and that she knew she had every right to be there.
 

-Ella: I liked how feisty she is and how she didn't let what happened to her with Blayne get her down. On the contrary, it made her stronger and more determined to become a Combat mage apprentice. I really appreciated that even though she was highborn and Ryiah wasn't, she immediately had a connection with Ryiah. I think they really brought out the best in each other. I was really happy that we got to see more of her.
 

-Alex: Ryiah's twin and the complete opposite. He's an extreme flirt and also a bit more confident. But, he also has a soft and caring side to him. That's why he wants to become a Restoration mage apprentice. I loved his bantering with Ella, it made me laugh out loud at times.
SPOILER:
I liked how their love was slow-burning and it wasn't until the very end of the book that they might make a move. I'm curious to see how it will develop. And yay, no love triangle here!

-Darren: Although I had been warned that I was going to want to smack him on the head just like in Non-Heir I found the urge to do so not to be so big. Sure, he is still his arrogant, cocky, brooding self - he is one of the best first year's at the Academy and knows it and acts accordingly - but we also get to see a different side of him. At times, however, I did find it hard  to fathom him completely. Why did he help Ryiah at times and work against her at other occasions?!

-Priscilla: Oh how I hate that character. She has everything and she bests almost every girl at the Academy but it's still not enough for her. She has it in for Ryiah from day 1, because Ryiah is lowborn and Priscilla will use every chance she gets to boycot her. And yet her attitude is partly what makes Ryiah more determined to succeed. So in a way she also helped Ryiah. But that doesn't take away the fact that she's a total bitch.
 

-Eve: I thoroughly regret that we only get glimpses of her throughout this story. I would have very much liked to know more about her first year at the Academy. This is one of the reasons I didn't give the book a full 5 stars.

*Plot/worldbuilding:
I found the worldbuilding to be a bit lacking. Sure, they spend all of their time at the Academy and some parts are 'explained', but I still would have liked to see a bit more of it.
I also found the training and fight scenes to be a bit much sometimes and certain events were even a bit repetitive. I get that there is a certain routine they follow, but still.
What I did immensly enjoy was the magic system: those who have magic have to project what they want to cast. I don't think I've ever read anything like this before. I'm also quite intrigued by the concept of pain casting and I wonder if we'll get to see more of it in book two.
SPOILER:
I liked that not all mages are pain casters and I'm curious to see who'll become the best at it: Darren or Ryiah? Her pain casting is also the reason the Black Mage chose her to be the sixth Combat mage apprentice.

*Overall rating:
The ending of the book had me in tears and they were tears of frustration. Not frustration for the book, but for what Ryiah went through at the very end.
SPOILER:
I know it's stupid because I knew there was no way she wasn't going to become an apprentice. But I was so absorbed in the story that I felt Ryiah's pain and rejection when Priscilla's name was called out as the last Combat mage apprentice.
To me, feeling those emotions when reading a book even though you know things have to work out for the main character, shows that it is a well-written book.

I can't wait to dive into the second book and see how Ryiah comes into her own and if Darren will still be his 'charming' brooding self. (At the moment of posting this, I've actually already finished it :-) )

Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments.
 

Bye for now
 

Annelies

Non-Heir by Rachel E. Carter - non-spoiler review

Hi booklovers

A couple of weeks ago I signed up for Rachel E. Carter's newsletter and I got the prequel novella to her Black Mage series for free. This doesn't affect my opinion of the story.

I read this book for the Of Wonderland book club on Goodreads.

Before I start I want to say this: I think this is the first time I've rated a novella so high :-)

Title: Non-Heir

Author: Rachel E. Carter

Genre: YA, fantasy

Format: e-novella (free)

*Story:

We follow the young prince Darren during his childhood and teenage years while growing up as the non-heir to the throne. Being three years younger than his brother Blayne and the second son has always made him stand in his brother's shadow. We get to see Darren growing up, his training and him trying to stand up to his father.

*Characters:

-Darren: He's used to being regarded as less than his brother which makes him determined to be the best at everything training he gets. It also makes him want to stand up to his father, which usually doesn't end well. We get to see Darren grow - both literally and figuratively speaking - throughout this novella, but we also get to see him become extremely cocky and arrogant. Okay, I can kind of understand why he's acting like that, but I hope that this won't influence my reading experience of 'First Year', because by the end of 'Non-Heir' I was ready to smack him on the head - multiple times!!

-Blayne: I didn't really care for him, but maybe that's because we don't get to see that much of him. And the things we do get to see, aren't very positive. Being the heir puts all the attention and responibility on him, but that doesn't mean that he has to be so cold-hearted and cruel.

-The king: What a cruel man. Darren refers to him as 'the monster' and he's not wrong. Some of the things that he did to his sons were so brutal, both physically and mentally, they made me queasy.

-Eve: I really like her, she is feisty, strong - both in body and mind - and she wears her heart on her sleeve.

SPOILER:
I'm usually not a big fan of the LGBT side character, because that character is sometimes put in the story for the sole purpose of having such a character. But in this case I think her being a lesbian prevents the oh so typical YA trope of the love triangle from happening, so that's good.

-Ella: We don't get to see a lot of her yet, but I have a feeling that might change in 'First Year' and I'm looking forward to it.

SPOILER:
Since she is the girl Darren might have fallen in love with if his brother hadn't interfered, I'm hoping this won't become a love triangle with Ryiah. Although, judging on how she loathes Darren because of what Blayne did, I'm hoping it won't.

-Ryiah: She is a lowborn girl that Darren meets on his way to the Academy. Being the arrogant prick that he is by the time they meet eachother, he instantly despises her, but like Eve Ryiah is strong-minded and she isn't intimidated by the fact that he is a prince.

-Priscilla: Urgh, she is such an arrogant girl, only thinking about herself and how to please her father. That being said, I liked how once it was clear that she didn't really want Darren - she was only doing what her father wanted - she seemed more honest.

*Overall rating:

I usually don't rate novella's this high, because although they are usually a nice addition to the story, it always feels like they are lacking. But not this one. I really liked that we got an insight into Darren's childhood / teen years and that the story in the first book moves on from there. Maybe that's why I liked it so much: it builds up to the first story so the things that started in the novella will (hopefully) be continued in First Year.

One thing I'm scared of is that my opinion of Darren will affect my further reading, because he is so arrogant and I'm not sure I like that. Oh well, we'll see when I start First Year. (I just read a comment from the author herself saying she wrote this novella partly to explain why Darren is such an ass, so maybe it won't affect my reading :-) )

The writing is easy to get into and the story is fast-paced.

Lastly: take a look at the cover: it is stunning!!

Have you read this novella or any of the other books in the series? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

Friday Reads - January 20.

Hi booklovers

Another week gone by, another Friday Reads.

Sadly, I didn't get to finish Heartless this week even though I managed to read a big part of it on Monday because I was at home sick.

On Tuesday I started Non-heir by Rachel E. Carter. I got this free prequel novella after registering on her website.

I've also been approved as a member of her review team, so I've already received the ebook of First Year, the first book in her 'The Black Mage' series. 

I'm hoping to finish Non-heir this weekend so I can move on to First Year next week. Btw, I loooooove these covers, they are so stunning!

I listened to about two hours of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I'm really enjoying this, Stephen Fry is the most perfect narrator for these books.

So this week, I'm just going to continue and hopefully finishing Non-heir and Heartless. But I'm not going to push myself to speed through Heartless, I want to enjoy it. 

I went to the library this week to pick up my teacher's card and I saw that they finally had the Selection series so I decided to get The One, since I've only read the first two books. I'm not sure if I'll pick it up straight away. 

I also borrowed The ocean at the end of the lane by Neil Gaiman. I've heard great things about this book and the author, so if I'm in the mood for it, I'll pick it up soon.

What are you going to read this weekend / the upcoming week? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies