I finally enjoyed a book! I've been in quite the slump lately, DNFing books, dragging my heels reading a book. This one I started reading on the bus. Not a lot of time to read when you have a newborn and an online university. This book dragged me in and wouldn't let go. I stole a minute here, an hour there. I read while feeding my son, preparing formula...
So what got me so hooked? This story isn't too complex. It's about a girl who's attending an elite university on a scholarship. Yes, there's magic, but you won't see spells flying around on campus, nor a Potions class. Magic here costs and the funds are limited. That's something I found unique about the magic system. Every spell costs a kind of money and how much you have a month depends on your worth. A division between rich and poor even in that. That's one of the themes of the story.
Ren, our heroine, can be a bit of a cliché. She's poor, dead father; because we can't have a protagonist without a dead parent, depressed mother. She's also top of her class, okay, 5th, and a know-it-all. However, she doesn't just know things, she can build on them with a mind of a chess player. Magic here isn't just waving a wand, it's complex, layered; takes a real effort. And she's very good at it. Or does she just think she is?
The story itself is simple. You can read it in the synopsis. 6 young people get lost in the woods and need to make it home. However, the journey was full of twists and turns that kept me turning the page.
I liked the prose. I liked that it was simple, to the point and without too many frills. I like it that way. I can see the scene, know what everyone is doing, and not get lost in mildew glistening off a blade of grass. It was fast-paced, a fast read.
I recommend it to people who want to have fun while they read and not overcomplicate things.
