Rebecca's Thoughts

Mini Book Reviews!

originally from Top 5 books of July & August!

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Catenan Republic – the Hierarchy – may rule the world now, but they do not know everything.
I tell them my name is Vis Telimus. I tell them I was orphaned after a tragic accident three years ago, and that good fortune alone has led to my acceptance into their most prestigious school. I tell

them that once I graduate, I will gladly join the rest of civilized society in allowing my strength, my drive and my focus – what they call Will – to be leeched away and added to the power of those above me, as millions already do. As all must eventually do.
I tell them that I belong, and they believe me.
But the truth is that I have been sent to the Academy to find answers. To solve a murder. To search for an ancient weapon. To uncover secrets that may tear the Republic apart.
And that I will never, ever cede my Will to the empire that executed my family.
To survive, though, I will still have to rise through the Academy’s ranks. I will have to smile, and make friends, and pretend to be one of them and win. Because if I cannot, then those who want to control me, who know my real name, will no longer have any use for me.
And if the Hierarchy finds out who I truly am, they will kill me.

This book was so good. The vibe, the setting, and the characters were all phenomenal. This book hit a lot of the same feelings and filled the gap that The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss left. I also think this series is also reminiscent of the Poppy War series (also on this list) and I’m not sure if that’s because I read them back-to-back, but I think many of the same themes of belonging and expectations are shared among the two series. I think that this book is my ideal type of fantasy book both in the way it tells the story (first person with a single perspective) but also in its contents. I love a good magical school book and I’m willing to read pretty much anything when it comes to that sub-genre. This book blew away my expectations and will likely be one of my favourite books of the year.

This book had me to the end and still managed to knock the ending out of the park. This whole book was engaging and the plot felt worthy of its 640 page length. At no point did anything drag or feel like it should have been cut. Despite being action and drama-packed I still think the book did a good job laying out the world and setting things up for the next two books in the trilogy.

I think the characters are the right mix of angst and confidence. It takes a lot to make an underdog character feel confident and competent without overdoing it. Additionally, I think all of the characters in this book are great and well-fleshed out. I look forward to seeing what they do after the event of this book.

I am a little weary however, I didn’t particularly like Islington’s previous series, and didn’t like the ending. This book does feel different than the previous series, but I am still cautiously optimistic about the success of the Hierarchy series.