Books I Read and Other Assorted Oddities

 This book is a kind of sequel to The Paper Magician series, taking place after the events of The Master Magician . My mom really enjoyed this series (and I did too, overall), and the book, so I bought it on Audible and listened to it. Alvie Brechenmacher travels from the United States to London to study polymaking - the art of using plastic in spells, under the legendary Marion Praff. Unnaturally gifted, Alvie progresses quickly. Praff requires her to volunteer, and she spends those hours in a hospital. There, Alvie meets Ethel Cooper, a young woman who lost part of her arm in a horrible accident. Alvie befriends Ethel and is determined to help her out. She and Praff come up with the idea to create a prosthetic arm using their powers. Can they finish the prototype before the grand Convention? And can they protect their research from someone determined to steal it? Overall, I did love this series. I found it rather cozy, and I loved the way it was written. This book, however, felt ...

This was a series that I was really excited to finish. I loved The Paper Magician  and The Glass Magician , so I was excited to read this one. Ceony Twill has a hidden secret: she can perform all the types of magic. She has discovered the secret to unbinding and rebinding to different materials. She has one last hurtle before she's a full magician: the test. Emery has decided that he will not be the one giving the exam, and instead passes Ceony to another folder: Magician Bailey. As Ceony arrives at Bailey's house, she discovers the depth of his dislike for Emery, and that seems to have passed onto her. Now, with Saraj Prendi on the loose, Ceony decides to track him down herself, fearing for her family. Overall, I did really enjoy this book. I loved Ceony, though she did feel a bit whiney this time. She cleverly managed to solve all of the problems in the book, and I loved her method of solving all of the questions on her magician's test. I thought that the plot was overall...

 I really enjoyed The Paper Magician and was excited to read on in the series. If you'd like to see my post for the first book, you can click here . The Glass Magician  continues the story of Ceony Twill, picking up almost immediately after the conclusion of The Paper Magician. Ceony and a group of apprentices go on a tour of a paper mill. The tour quickly turns deadly as they're suddenly evacuated and witness the mill explode. Events only darken as after a lunch date with Delilah, a glass apprentice, Ceony finds herself face to face with Grath Cobalt. Grath is the most feared excisioner, a long-time enemy of Emery Thane's. Will Ceony be able to outwit Grath? This book was amazing. I loved it far more than I liked The Paper Magician.  While the first novel got a little repetitive, this one did not. This novel had very few "down times" and I enjoyed the pacing far more in this one. I loved seeing Ceony's character grow and change, and I love her narrative voice...

Charlie Holmberg came to a young writer's conference that I attended with a group of students. She did a presentation on magic systems that I highly enjoyed. I've been eager to read this book for quite some time. Ceony Twill wanted to be a smelter, but instead, they asked her to be a folder. As she neared the completion of her magical education, the direction of her life was changed forever. Her new mentor, Emery Thane, teaches her the basics of paper folding before the deranged Excisioner, Lira, shows up and literally steals his heart. Can Ceony save him? I had a really hard time rating this book. Part of me found this book absolutely delightful. I loved the magic system. Holmberg is very careful in the way she uses magic - one of the rules she follows that many authors skip is that the magic used has to be within the bounds of what the reader already knows. This makes it more believable, and readers can logically follow the jumps the character takes to solve problems. This is...