I'm going to start this off by stating that this is bad YA, but the good kind of bad. The kind of good bad that makes you want to read more and more. It's filled to the brim with so many tropes, but somehow Carter did them really well and I give her a whole lot of credit for that.

I'm surprised by how much I liked this to be honest. I went into this expecting it to be a case of Special Snowflake Syndrome where our heroine discovers her magical powers and is instantly the most powerful mage to ever exist and will vanquish all evil with the flick of her wrist. You know, the usual.

I WAS WRONG.

The tagline "Magic just got a whole lot harder" IS TAKEN SO LITERALLY YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. Like. Let me tell you a bit about my girl Ryiah.

She is not your typical special snowflake heroine. OH NO. RY SPENDS THE ENTIRETY OF THIS BOOK NEAR THE BOTTOM OF THE CLASS. ONE OF THE WORST MAGES OUT OF ALL THE FIRST YEARS. RIGHT UP UNTIL THE END. SHE HAS TO ACTUALLY WORK. HER DAMN. ASS. OFF ALL DAY EVERYDAY IN ORDER FOR HER TO PROVE HERSELF. There are so many times this woman almost called it quits. So many people told her she didn't belong there, not just because of her status but because she was so obviously nowhere near their level. BUT THIS GIRL IS LIKE "BITCH. NAH." AND WORKS HERSELF LITERALLY ALMOST TO DEATH TO PROVE THAT SHE DESERVES TO BE THERE JUST AS MUCH AS EVERYONE ELSE. LIKE SOMEONE GIVE ME A TISSUE AND A SHOULDER TO CRY ON I'M A GODDAMN MESS OVER THIS FANTASTIC CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

AND THE FRIENDSHIPS. HOO BOY.

Ryiah and Ella. The loves of my life. Brotp to end all brotp's. They come from very different social classes, and are placed in a situation where they have to compete against each other for a shot to make their childhood dreams come true. A lot of authors would have pitted these women against each other and made them rivals coughPriscillacough. But Ryiah and Ella? BFFs. There for each other unconditionally. Never jealous of each other, even when their skill levels are so different. They just. Help? Each? Other? Even when that means one of them might surpass the other. It doesn't matter. They just want each other to succeed no matter what. Like. Rachel E. Carter, thank you. I need more tissues.

Ryiah and her brother Alex. Alex is so damn protective of Ry and it's the sweetest thing ever omg. BUT. He also respects her and doesn't overstep his boundaries. He understands that she is a strong independent woman and she can take care of her damn self. But you bet your ass he's going to be there in the background with a proud look on his face as she sets straight anyone who tries to tell her she isn't good enough. MORE TISSUES PLEASE.

The one thing that I really didn't like about this book, what brought it down from five stars to four. *sighs* R o m a n c e. I would have been 3000% here for it if Ry and her love interest had just been bomb ass friends. The weird sexual tension between two people who only know each other through eye contact across the cafeteria and the occasional brief encounter is not necessary. Also, every time Ry said his touch made her feel like her veins were on fire or some shit, I wanted to scream. Just saying.

So yeah. Read this. You might be surprised by how much you like it