Angus Donohue doesn’t want to be a warlock. He believes draining demons for magic is evil, but it’s a dangerous opinion to have—his father is a powerful and well-connected warlock, and Angus is expected to follow the family tradition.His only way out is to fail the demon summoning class. Failure means expulsion from the Warlock College. Despite Angus’s best efforts to fumble the summoning, it … summoning, it works. Although not the way anyone expects.
Angus’s demon, Saka, is a powerful mage with his own need for a warlock.
Saka wants to use Angus in a ritual to rebalance the magic that is being stripped from Demonside by warlocks. If Angus survives his demon’s desires and the perils of Demonside, he’ll have to face the Warlock College and their demands.
Angus must choose: obey the College and forget about Demonside or trust Saka and try to fix the damage before it’s too late. Whatever he does, he is in the middle of a war he isn’t qualified to fight.
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I would rate this 4.75 stars.
When Angus realizes that what his parents taught him is not always true, he needs to find his own path in life and while is it not what his parents want, it might be what the world needs. Angus is in a magic school, learning how to summon a demon to steal his magic. Eventually when a demon is drained of magic, they are usually killed. There are wizards who have magic, but do not make themselves stronger by taking magic from demons.
There are so many interesting what-ifs in Angus’ mind. I love the different types of demons. Angus doesn’t want to summon a demon in class so he can fail out; he gets a sexy demon instead and gets yanked into Demonside/Arlyxia. Saku needs a warlock to rebalance his world due to the humans taking magic from it. The whole way humans are exploiting the demons and magic itself became more horrifying once I got to see demon civilization. The higher warlocks in Humanside obviously know what is happening, but are too greedy for their own power to care. There are three ways to rebalance the magic, but the most fun is sex magic. I vote yes. If you don’t like knives and blood play, this may not be the book for you. There is a lot of violence and sex in this world.
The world-building here is intriguing. Miniti is the ruthless leader in Demonside and trying to save her people. Humans are the ones that starting breaking the unwritten agreements between them set in place hundreds of years ago after the demon wars. The more magic humans take, the colder and wetter their world is becoming. Warlocks in Vinland are storing the magic somehow. Meanwhile, Demonside is becoming a desert–the demons becoming like Saharan desert natives. Usi is another demon mage like Saku, only she uses blood magic and gives the souls to Miniti. The danger is clear: when beings are backed into a corner with nothing to lose, violence is a likely result.
Angus and Saku are now bound together until one of them dies. When Angus is retrieved from Demonside and the warlocks, including his father, try to take his memories away that he is left feeling betrayed, confused, and frightened. Is it better to stay at the Warlock College and continue to learn magic in order to fix what is wrong? In essence, he becomes a double agent. He could be killed by either side. He seeks out his ex, Jim, in the wizard underground for help. Saku has his own help from the mage council, but not all mages are happy with watching their world die while waiting for the humans to get a clue and do the right thing. The parallels with what we are doing to our workers and our natural resources, the despair and climate change, are obvious.
Terrence becomes his college tutor, but he is also part of the underground. I hope to see more of him in future books as a way to give Angus an anchor in the human world. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot. Let me just say I loved everything about this story. I can’t think of anything I’d change.
I read the trilogy and though the story was interesting, it seemed to lack something. The 1st book got me interested and pulled me in, wanting to read more but then it seemed to go down hill. in some parts I felt it was rushed. Some of the characters come and go and others just linger around not having or knowing why they are there. In saying this, I did like where the writer was taking us though.
I hope many readers will choose to read the Studies in Demonology series,because each of the three books are absolutely must reads.
The action takes place in an incredible and amazingly depicted fantasy world, a world divided in two realms: Humanside and Demonside. Demonside is brimming with magic while Humanside has none of its own, that’s why human warlocks have found ways to exploit demons and rob power from them. It used to be an equal trade only humans have become greedy for power and are taking too much,causing Demonside’s demise.
In Warlock In Training, demon mage Saka takes warlock student Angus to the demon side of the veil, showing him the truth of how both their worlds are slowly in danger of dying.
And the plot gets more thrilling and engaging with each page,because Angus wants to help finding a balance in the use of magic,but anything he might do could only mean putting his life at risk. He seeks assistance from the Underground, a group of people that seem to have his own goals,but eventually he’ll be in the position to pick a side.
Poor Angus has never really wanted to be a warlock and now he finds himself in the middle of a fight for survival. My heart felt for all the tough choices he’s forced to make ,the dubious moral decisions he’s confronted with. It’s disheartening to see him not belonging on either sides of the veil,battling between fear and the conviction of doing the right thing.
Saka is also an incredible character. Steadfast and with an unwavering sense of duty,he’s ready to do anything to save his world and his people. Angus was supposed to be a means to an end and he doesn’t know what to do about the feelings he starts to have for his human apprentice .
What Angus and Saka have is not romance, considering Angus is also attracted by Terrence, a member of the Underground. But there is a strong pull towards each other, something far more powerful than only desire…and sadly,what they might or not feel for one another is not important when their priority is actually the greater good of both their worlds.
Warlock In Training is a fantastic and gripping book. It certainly kept my mind awake because there are so many spectacular details of the settings and the Demonside’s society, so many twists and turns in the plot,and so many strong,battling emotions…all in a fast paced story line that offered me a thrilling reading experience.
Warlock in Training is the first book in the Studies in Demonology series by TJ Nichols.
Fantastic world building, with vivid descriptions that make it possible to see the world written within these pages. There is also an interesting plot that captures interest and keeps it.
The main characters are Angus and Saka.
Angus is an earthbound warlock who would rather be a doctor or something, anything, other than a warlock. Instead of failing his demon summoning class as he secretly planned, he summons Saka. Saka is a demon, a mage, a sexy teacher…He wants to restore the balance between the earlthbound and Demonside. As the story unfolds, these two characters build a relationship together… a bond that is strong and unbreakable. And together they create beat and magic.
The supporting characters are interesting as well.
OMG! That scene with the ritual?!? This book has some HEAT!!!!! It also has mystery, suspense, magic, and drama. I am intrigued by the 3 “sides”beginning to be explored in the series… The College, The Underground and Demonside. I am excited to read the second book… this series is going to be good!
I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.
Intriguing! It pulled me in from the start. I loved the concept this new fascinating world of demons and warlock and magical. I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and loved seeing this grow and discover more about each other and themselves. I can’t wait to see where this series goes.