*SOME SPOILERS BELOW*
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
I have to honest this book just seemed to go on forever and it was difficult for me to get into at the start. It wasn’t until I was at least halfway through that I actually became interested in what was happening in the plot and understanding everything to do with the Order. The writing at times felt a little disjointed and I was confused when chapters ended and felt like I was missing information. Like I would have to go back and read the last couple of paragraphs before continuing on because I couldn’t understand the continuation.
Once I was actually invested in the story it was highly interesting. Everything to do with the Root magic and how it interconnected with Bree’s family in particular. I love the separate storyline with Patricia and how she helps Bree with her grief whilst also sharing with her knowledge about her mother and what she can do. I wish we got more interactions between them because I think Patricia was a very calming and nurturing person in Bree’s life and I was a lot more interested in the Root magic.
The Order and Line of Scion was very confusing at first to take in. There are just a lot of characters and titles that was a little difficult to get my head around. That part of the story felt info dumpy to me and I struggled to get a clear picture of what was happening when she was there. Once I was able to figure it out the politics and hierarchy was infuriating. I am glad Bree chose to stand her ground and confront those who were racist and colourist towards her.
I am liking the love triangle that is taking place but I feel like they formed these relationships way too quickly. Nick being in love with Bree after like two days is unrealistic and it felt rushed to me. Sel’s I can sympathise with because I feel like he had so many more intimate and powerful moments with Bree than with Nick so I’m intrigued to know how that plays out for sure!
There is sooo much packed into this story and honestly was a lot to comprehend, but the plot is highly original and action packed. The magic system was interesting and branches off a lot so I’m excited to learn more about it and how aether can be manipulated. The twists were surprising and I couldn’t predict anything that was going to happen which is always a plus.
⭐️3/5 stars A promising start, will definitely be continuing on!
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