Ahoy there me mateys! So this book is a bit of a conundrum. Ye see I normally write me reviews immediately after finishing a tome. I like to put me thoughts in me log right away as it helps me process what I read. And yet this novel was read months ago and I am still struggling with pinning this one down. Me rule be to review every book I read so I figured come hell or high water, today be the day.

The Good:

- extremely fun magic system. magic spells are written out in luminous text using parts of the body. it is an odd system but totally works.
- a main character, Nicodemus, who has failed to live up to his golden child destiny. they thought he was the chosen one and then gave up on him.
- Nicodemus has dyslexia, a major factor in why he has disastrous consequences when using his magic. woven into the story and magic in a beautiful way. the author has dyslexia too so #ownvoices.
- a spellcaster named Shannon who is the mentor of Nicodemus but is just plain awesome. easily me favourite character in the book.
- golems. very cool constructs. kinda want one.
- dragons. 'nuff said.

The Not So Good:

- the pacing. so very hard to get into the story. the world building is intriguing and kept me going but parts of the story were a slog. wanted to abandon ship multiple times.
- Nicodemus is annoying. very much sympathize with his situation. he is just so bitter and angry and not in the sarcastic clever witty way. he is a hot headed fool.
- Nicodemus cannot breathe without looking for his mentor, Shannon's, approval. totally get why this is part of the story but urg. in combination with the previous note, makes me want to wring his neck.
- evil beings for the sake of evil. perhaps there is a greater reason then the usual. but this book didn't explore it.
- dragons. well this trilogy claims to have dragons which be part of why it was begun. got a dream dragon. huh?

So there it be - me thoughts. I like the world building and magic quite a bit. The main character and pacing irk me. So do I want to read the next in the series. All these months later and I still be unconvinced. So has any of me crew read this series and want to tip the ballast one way or the other?

Check out me other reviews at https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/