Disclaimer: I received this book from the publishing company. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows

Author: J.M. Bergen

Book Series: The Elandrian Chronicles Book 1

Rating: 3/5

Diversity: many different POC side characters

Recommended For...: middle grade, fantasy

Publication Date: February 2, 2019

Genre: MG Fantasy

Recommended Age: 10+ (science, magic, and technology combined, slight violence)

Publisher: Elandrian Press

Pages: 352

Synopsis: Thomas thinks he's an ordinary twelve year old, but when a strange little man with gold-flecked eyes gives him an ancient text called The Book of Sorrows, the world he knows is turned upside down. Suddenly he’s faced with a secret family legacy, powers he can hardly begin to understand, and an enemy bent on destroying everything he holds dear. The more he reads and discovers, the deeper the danger to himself and the people he loves. As the race to the final showdown unfolds, Thomas must turn to trusted friends and uncertain allies as he seeks to prevent destruction at an epic scale.

Review: This was a good book. The book had great world building and the story was interesting. I felt like the book was well written for the most part and that the book did well to blend different sciences with magic and technology.

However, I had a lot of issues with the characters. I felt like the female and POC characters were stereotypical. They didn’t have much of a personality outside of what you normally perceive of them and that was a bit of a problem with me. I loved the inclusion, but I think more could have been done or a team of sensitivity readers could have been used. I also felt like that pacing was very slow overall.

Verdict: It was a good book, but just some issues.