Ice is in her blood.
Eighteen-year-old Waterrunner Eira Landan lives her life in the shadows — the shadow of her older brother, of her magic’s whispers, and of the person she accidentally killed. She’s the most unwanted apprentice in the Tower of Sorcerers until the day she decides to step out and compete for a spot in the Tournament of Five Kingdoms.
Pitted against the best sorcerers in the … best sorcerers in the Empire, Eira fights to be one of four champions. Excelling in the trials has its rewards. She’s invited to the royal court with the “Prince of the Tower,” discovers her rare talent for forbidden magic, and at midnight, Eira secretly meets with a handsome elfin ambassador.
But, Eira soon learns, no reward is without risk. As she comes into the spotlight, so too do the skeletons of a past she hadn’t even realized was haunting her.
Eira went into the trials ready for a fight. Ready to win. She wasn’t ready for what it would cost her. No one expected the candidates might not make it out with their lives.
A Trial of Sorcerers is the first book in a brand new, young adult, epic fantasy series intended for readers who love stories involving: sorcerer competitions, slow-burn romance, adventures to distant lands, and elemental magic.
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Eira Landan has always been forgotten, standing in the shadows of everyone around her. But all of this changes the second Eira begins to compete for a spot in the Tournament of Five Kingdoms. As she fights to be one of four champions, other doors begin to open for her as well. But sinister plots are happening behind closed doors, and Eira needs to be strong enough to survive them.
Holy. Freaking. Cow. I am absolutely obsessed with Elise Kova’s writing!!! This book had everything: action, adventure, angst, romance. It was complete and utter perfection. I have so many emotions about this book, it’s not even funny. There were so many moments where I was ready to cry and ready to scream, but also others where I laughed out loud and wanted to squeal.
Eira. She’s amazing, and I love how strong she is, yet I also loved the parts where she wasn’t as strong, but she wasn’t ridiculed from them. I absolutely hated the way her family treated her, but I won’t go into the details of that. I also loved how intriguing her magic is. I love this world that Kova has created, and all the unique types of magic that are involved in it.
The romance element of this book also gave me all the feels. I don’t want to go into it too much, but there’s everything between * swoony swoon swoon * moments to * throw your kindle at the wall * moments. I adored this book, and I cannot wait for the next one!!!
Eira has waterrunner magic. She lives and is educated in the Tower of Sorcerers. She hides in her brother’s shadow and on the fringes of society and is mostly shunned due to an ‘incident’ that happened when she was younger. She has one good friend, Alyss, her brother Marcus, her books and her classes and duties to fill her days. But then, something remarkable happens and she’s given a chance to pursue a dream of hers, one that she thought could never come true. The story of how she pursues her dream in spite of being discouraged at every step is a good one; well-written and engrossing. One thing I really like about this story is that Elise Kova writes her characters so well. Her main characters aren’t suddenly the smartest, fastest, and most competent people in the room. Eira acts exactly as you’d think a troubled 18-year old would act. One moment she’s wise beyond her years, fierce and determined and the next she’s indecisive, nervous, and reacting emotionally. Her inner dialogue and debates with herself are perfect. If you like well-written fantasy, with a wonderful story and relatable characters, you can’t go wrong with this one!
Another wonderful addition to the Air Awakens world!
Sorcerers…Magic…Affinities…Sibling Rivalry…Family Struggles…Elves…Hidden Talents…Magical Competition
Once again Elise takes us on another adventure in the Air Awakens universe with a new group of sorcerers who must compete in a competition to find the best of the best. I enjoyed having some of original Air Awakens characters resurface in this storyline. This is the first book in this series, but I was drawn into the book from the beginning. Looking forward to book 2.
I thoroughly enjoy Elise Kova’s work. A Trial of Sorceress is set 20 or 30 years after the Air Awakens series. So some of our beloved characters in that series makes a guest appearance in this book. Eira is a fairly powerful water runner but is held back in her training due to an incident involving other students. She is also a social outcast because she hears voices and people think she’s crazy or dangerous. However, due to an up coming tournament called the 5 kingdoms Eira and her friend Alyss push themselves so that they can participate in the trials. Because part of the tournament is held in Meur or the Crescent Continent which Eira is obsessed and fascinated with. Along the way Eria makes new friends, allies, and enemies who try to eliminate or when it comes to her family hold her back from reaching her potential, have 0 faith in her and praise her older brother Marcus in high regard while living in his shadow. Any fan of Elise Kova’s work should give this book a try.
‘Trial of Sorcerers’ by Elise Kova follows the story of Eira Landan, an elemental sorcerer called a Waterrunner, who grows up feeling like her older brother outshines her at every turn. Having accidentally killed a peer, her past plagues her constantly and her claims of magical whispers add to the belief that she’s just crazy or flawed.
Unpopular with the other inhabitants of the Tower, when the opportunity to compete for a much coveted spot in the Tournament of Five Kingdoms emerges, she takes it.
Facing off against the best of her fellow sorcerers, Eira discovers that performing well in the trials has benefits of its own. Caught in a whirlwind of sudden attentions, she finds herself on the arm of the ‘Prince of the Tower’ in the Imperial Court, discovers a knack for secret.. forbidden magic, exploring mysterious tomes hidden away in unknown rooms, and rendezvousing discreetly with a charming elfin ambassador.
The book is beautiful and I found the synopsis intriguing, so of course.. I couldn’t wait to read it.
Suggested by some to be a good read for fans of The Legend of Korra series, I surmise this is mostly due to the particular style of elemental magic structure.. which is akin to the elemental benders for water, earth, fire, and air. Other than that, I’m not really sure there’s a huge correlation, but I’ve only sparingly seen episodes of Korra and Avatar.
While I’m not normally bothered with books that start out slowly, it’s because what others deem slow is often just character or story development. I’m patient as long as the content is well put together and I don’t need the writer to rush into action or drama for the sake of keeping my attention.
However, the first third of more of this book is not only slow, it’s rather dull. The development is scattered and none of the characters give the reader (at least not me) enough to connect with. They lack any sense of charisma and are either whiny, rude, or so bland they’re barely noticeable.
Now, where a writer with robust language skills can power through something like that, Kova either doesn’t have them or willfully chose not to utilize them. I’m not sure which it is, as I find periodically I run across an author who seems to think that writing YA means they can’t use big words or complex sentences and this is definitely a book that gives that impression. While the overall book structure is solid, the use of language reads like a writer who might be quite young. Obviously, none of that is true.. which begs the question.. is it intentional or not?
I know it might sound like I’m panning the book, but I’m not. As I said, there’s nothing inherently wrong with the writing other than the fact that for me, the beginning was uninteresting. I continually put it down and had to make myself return to it.. up to around the midpoint of the story.
Once Kova reached the bulk of the plot, everything else started firing at once too. There was action and drama, yes.. but also, we finally started getting to really know some of the peripheral characters. That is to say.. those with the most depth.
When they started opening up and interacting more with the MC, they filled in a lot of the gaps that had left the story feeling empty. Honestly, from here to the end.. it just continued to build steadily. Sure, Eira was still whiny.. all the time.. but there were plenty of others to offset the lead with layers of their own.
By the end, I was thoroughly invested, emotionally wrecked, and ready for more. And ultimately, I think that’s all I really want from a book.. so I’m eager for the sequel which isn’t due out for a year.
If you are the kind of person who can grit your teeth through the beginning and hold out knowing there’s interesting story ahead of you, give this one a shot. The reward was worth the wait. But if you have to be hooked quickly, you might want to skip this instead.
(I received this title as an ARC. All opinions are mine and freely given.)
What a book this one is. Truly a great book with great story but the characters? Well, let’s just say I had huge problems with the protagonist and the villain. Does this mean I’m disappointed? No, as I said above this is a great book and I really find the story enjoyable.
What I liked the most about this book was the trials. There are many sorcerers who are competing in the trials including the protagonist herself, Eira. There are a mixed of easy and extremely dangerous trials that these sorcerers had to face. The challenges went from small to big real quick. These trials had its purpose which is to keep the peace between five kingdoms intact. However, it was also to show which four sorcerers will represent their own group. Out of all the candidates, only four will be chosen to go to Meru to compete with the other sorcerers from the other kingdoms.
Honestly, this book for the most part can be very unpredictable. There wasn’t a lot of surprises but when there was, it blew my mind and shocked me to the point I didn’t know what to expect. There was a twist too regarding Eira’s background. I had a theory regarding that one, and the more I read the story the more I was convinced my theory was right but when I really think about it, it seems unlikely considering the story has been very unpredictable so far. My theory regarding Eira is Adela’s daughter kind of make sense but then again, it’s too predictable. When Eira had a conversation with Deneya, I doubted my theory was right because they made it sound like she doesn’t have any relation with Adela. The mystery regarding who is Eira’s birth mother is still open, so I’m hoping the answer will be in the sequel.
The actions in this book are well-written, and the author nailed it the most with giving full descriptions of the trials and what the candidates should do in those said trials. The well-detailed explanations and descriptions made me even more hooked. The trials part are so engrossing and I really loved how good it was handled in this book.
The whole storyline and plot as I said are unpredictable for the most part and there was a twist in the story. I thought I need to read the Air Awakens series first before starting this one, but I’m glad I don’t have to. There is nothing confusing about this book at all, of course a few of the characters from the previous series appeared in this book too but at least this one doesn’t focus on them but rather focus on new characters and their journey.
The ending was intense and emotional. It was intense because I can already feel the dangers that are lurking in the shadows trying to strike the four sorcerers from Solaris who were chosen to go to Meru to compete in many more trials against sorcerers from the other kingdoms. I’m more worried about someone targeting Eira after what happened to her and her brother in the last few chapters. The reason the ending was emotional was due to what happened to Eira and her brother before continuing her journey to Meru.
Eira is the protagonist of the story, and well do she have a lot of story to tell. After learning more about her, I can understand her situation and how she feels all the time. She and I are more alike in many ways. I didn’t expect to read about a protagonist who is too relatable but here I am.
Eira is smart but also naive. She was stubborn too when someone give her an advice, and then she went out of her way to do something as reckless as having a secret meeting with the elf which only ended up with her being betrayed by the said elf. I don’t want to see her being reckless again, I don’t want to see her blindly trust someone just because they’re attractive, and I definitely didn’t want to see her putting her guard down and be naive whenever she’s around strangers whom she just met. Just because they’re kind doesn’t mean they’re entirely good. She need to have a proper character development in the sequel because in this book, she doesn’t have a single strong development at all. I hope she will be given a good character development that can help her character be more likable and be a lot wiser.
There was little-to-no romance in this book which to me is just fine since this book heavily focused on Eira’s journey as a sorcerer, and the whole trials to keep the peace between five kingdoms. I liked that the book doesn’t focus too much on the romantic aspect because sometimes the romance took over the plot and storyline which makes the whole book hard to enjoy. This book has been great even with the little-to-no romance moments or if you can even call it a romance, it depends on how each reader view it as.
This book as an overall has its ups and downs, especially when it comes to the protagonist, Eira. Despite the flaws in her character which affected how she narrate the story, I still enjoyed reading it. This book was full of intriguing plot, intense trials between sorcerers, and Eira’s personal journey because that is the point of the whole book. The story started off strong and ended in an emotional way, but at least the ending helps keep the hype going for the sequel. If you’re into a page-turning story that can make you feel on edge and turn you into a detective to find out who is trustworthy and who isn’t, then this might interest you. Bonus point, if you like reading about sorcerers competing in intense and dangerous trials then you’re in for a treat and prepare your mind to be blown away.
Eira’s story is captivating! I loved seeing previous characters, all while making this actually Eira’s story. I felt that Fritz wasn’t his old self though, but all the other previous characters were amazing! Vhalla especiallly (of course). Eira really goes through a lot and comes to find out her own true self in this book. I think that will truly help her in all the future books of the series. Her past experiences really continue to hurt her over and over, and it follows her everywhere she goes. This will continue to be one of her biggest struggles. This first book is a great book to set up the entire series, it introduces the main characters and really sets the stage for the overall arc of the series, while leaving us hanging with a lot of unanswered questions. There is no cliffhanger, so you’re satisfied with the ending, while ready to plunge into the rest of the story. I loved the romance, or even lack thereof. It was so little, but it dances around the romance line that we will be eager to get to it in the next book, as it is promised there. I really want to find out more about Noelle, but I’m sure she will be explored a lot more in the next book. I loved the entire cast of characters here, especially Cullen! I was really disappointed in her parents, though, and when “the revelation” occurs, I think I bawled like a baby. Experiencing family drama is rough, but Eira has it in spades. Overall, I was engrossed in A Trial of Sorcerers, and I cannot wait for book 2!
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“Be careful when you go hunting for the truth. It’s rarely what you expect.”
Eira is a Sorceress, particularly a Waterrunner. She studies alongside her older brother Marcus at the Tower of Sorcerers. But, while her brother is talented and adored by everyone. She’s an outcast whose only friend is Alyss, a Groundbreaker.
“I saw your brother come by, so I knew you wouldn’t be far behind.” Marcus’s shadow. That was all she ever was. Even Alyss, her best and truest friend, knew it.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Eira hears voices, and probably killing someone 3 years ago didn’t help much either.
Anyway, she was an outcast under her brother’s eternal care. Which was bad enough, but made so much worse by Marcus’s best friend, Cullen, a lord and the first Windwalker after the Empress. He was literally known as “The Prince of the Tower”.
Eira has a chance to change her life when the Tournament of Five Kingdoms is announced. Friendly game to be in Meru, the elven kingdom that was discovered not long ago and completely obsesses Eira. She is willing to show her potential and earn her place on that journey. Even if it means disappointing her family and making changes that she might later regret. Furthermore, a certain elf ambassador has given Eira even more reasons for wanting to go to Meru. But winning the trials may be the least of her problems…
Should she go with him? She could already hear Alyss saying no. Even if the elfin were friends of Solaris and he was clearly a nobleman, she should definitely not sneak off into the night following a stranger. So, of course, Eira did.
Do you want my honest opinion? Here’s my honest opinion…
This is the first book from Elise that I read, but I knew her fame. I can’t understand how such a sweet person enjoys hurting us so much .
When the trials are announced, her whole family tries to clarify that she must support her brother and not compete. The truth is that Eira complains all the time, but I did not find it unpleasant. I feel like she was right about everything, and it’s very sad to see that no one but Alyss understands her.
“I am my own person. I don’t just jump when asked and I won’t neatly exist only where and how you or anyone else wants me to.”
Marcus is an excellent older brother and they both love each other, but he also does not realize the damage done to her by “protecting” her. In truth, her parents go too far and I find it hard to believe that they did everything for her.
His gaze swept to hers and Marcus gave her a small nod, one Eira returned. To him, it was likely a gesture of a plan they both knew. For Eira, it said, Let the games begin.
As for Cullen, I super hated him at first. It was horribly disgusting as well as cocky. However, it turns out that Cullen only acted like that to her in response to how she treated him. And now I love him .
“It’s admirable,” he said, finally. Eira noticed he didn’t immediately withdraw or flinch from her touch. “To be so passionate about something. To not care what anyone else thinks of that passion.”
Eira laughed softly. “It’s not that I don’t care what they think. It’s that I can’t care. It hurts too much when I do. It’s easier to encase myself in—”
“Walls. So they never see the real you. If they don’t really know you, then they can’t really hurt you.” She had been going to say ice, but… “Yes.”
There is a small love triangle. Small because Eira is not interested in opening her heart at first, and I pride myself (and surprised myself ) to say that for the first time I was not Team Elf. You can imagine how interesting Cullen is… Although I just remembered that he is a lord, so maybe I am not so surprised of myself .
This is a magic academy book, full of dark secrets and mistakes. It also has slow-burn romance, loyal friendship, and complicated family relationships. And, of course, magical trials.
Eira is forced to go on a journey of self-discovery when her world is destroyed. For the first time in her life, she will have the opportunity to prove herself and unleash her true powers.
She was the one in charge of her own destiny; and, now that she knew this feeling, Eira would never let anyone take it from her again.
The book has excellent world building, vivid emotions. The trials to decide the representatives of the Tower were quite interesting and original. Although I can’t help the Harry Potter vibes, particularly The Goblet of Fire for the trials and The Half-Blood Prince for a mysterious book of dark magic . Also, I really like the magic system, it’s elemental, but the abilities that each element has have very interesting twists.
“No…the cold won’t kill me.” It hadn’t claimed her when she was a baby, it wouldn’t now. It had been a part of her for her whole life. It was the only thing she knew she could trust to be real.
I knew I would like Elise’s books, but I hadn’t had a chance to read one before. The moment this book was announced, I knew it was made for me, so I moved land, sea and sky to get an ARC and it worked! I devoured it and didn’t even realize when I finished, I should have read it slower to be able to stay longer in Solaris, but at least now I have the Air Awakens series in the same world.
Honestly, I loved this book, and Elise joins my favorite authors where I knew she would belong.
This is set in the Air Awakens world but you don’t have to read Air Awakens (which I have not) to understand it. The series can be enjoyed separately.
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I absolutely loved this story! So fun and exciting. Just grabs ahold of you and doesn’t let go. I finished much faster than I thought I would. And some twists you won’t see coming!
There’s Elemental magic. I love seeing the creativeness that comes with writing elemental magic. Like, what cool things can I do with this ONE element?
It has a Magic Competition and that is always exciting and at times dangerous
Eira, the MC, is an outcast.
There is a nice diverse case.
Eira and Alyss have a very sweet and realistic friendship.
And a little Enemies to Lovers
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Some Quotes
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“You’re crazy.”
“So they tell me.”
“Lucky for you, I like crazy.” Alyss hooked her elbow with Eira’s.
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“You know, I never wanted anything to do with you,” Eira murmured.
“I never wanted anything to do with you, either,” he whispered. “But here we are…and now I will fight for you.” His knuckles stroked her cheek one last time and, without another word, [he] left.
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A few days of jogging with Alyss when the trials were announced wasn’t going to make up for years of books over push-ups.
Girl, same
I received a copy of this book from the Author, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
As per usual for Elise Kova books I pretty much read this in one day. She has an amazing way to draw you into the story.
This book gave me a lot of vibes from the beginning of the Air Awakens series. So I have very high hopes that I am going to enjoy the whole series.
Eira accidentally killed someone three years ago when she lost control of her powers and froze the whole tower. Yep, the whole thing, and no she did not know she was doing it, I believe they said it happened in her sleep. So as you can imagine her powers are scary strong so you would think that they would train her on how to use them and control them but no. So I know that if they would have done what they should have for someone that exhibits her strengths but then we wouldn’t have a story now would we. lol Anyway, what I am getting to is that the adults in this story failed her and the whole “we are just trying to do what is best for you” thing got old even to me.
I loved Alyss she is an amazing friend and wise beyond her years. I can not wait to see what happens in the future books with her. (please let her live Elise) I know we were set to maybe feel bad for Marcus but I really never could. There was just something about his character that I did not like. Hey, we can’t like everyone.
Cullen and Ferro we knew there was going to be a romance in this book but who was it going to be. So my initial thoughts were changed as the story progressed. The more we saw of Cullen the more that I liked him and began to root for him. The more we saw of Ferro the more creepy he felt. Reading their interactions made my skin crawl at times. I won’t say how this all works out you have to read the story for that
If you enjoy young adult epic fantasy then you really should read the books in this world. I would suggest reading the first series before picking up this one only so you are not spoiled for it. However, if you don’t mind knowing how that series ended before you start then you can jump in with this book.
I am a big fan of the Air Awakens series. Elise has a true gift for writing fantasy. The worlds and characters she builds/creates are amazing.
Anyway, this story pulled me in as fast as the first Air Awakens book did. The premise of the story with the depth of various character relationships was riveting, and completely different from Air Awakens or Vortex Chronicles. Mystery that keeps you guessing, characters that you want to get behind and root for (and some you want to throw stuff at), along with some heartbreak and hints of relationships to come.
I can’t wait for the next book!!
I’ve heard so many wonderful things about her books but I hadn’t read one until now I will definitely be reading more of her work!u2063
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Wow! I loved it! This book pulled me right in. An altercation in the first chapter made me want to know more. I was suspicious of every character at one point or another and I couldn’t stop reading until I knew what was going on. u2063
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Eira is a Waterrunner. Her magic controls the element of water, mainly ice. She kinda reminds me of Elsa She also has other powers that she can’t control yet and her family worries about her. They hold her back from things they think she can’t handle. So when the Emperor announces a tournament, she knows she’ll be trying out for it. Her family tries to talk her out of it, but she blazes forward anyway, determined to prove that she CAN do this. Her rebellious streak was fantastic! I love everything about these characters and can’t wait to learn more about what awaits Eira!u2063
Eira accidentally did a very bad thing years ago and now it follows her around everywhere she goes. She is a powerful Waterrunner, but attempts to keep her magic in check so nothing bad happens again. Sick of her older brother always having to look out for her, she longs to break free of the looks and the whispers everyone sends her way.
When it comes time for the Tournament of Five Kingdoms, and at the scrutiny of her own family, Eira decides to compete, even if that means competing against her brother. What Eira discovers is that she is stronger than she ever imagined. But, along with that discovery, secrets kept hidden from her begin to surface, making her feeling even more alone than ever before.
This was such a magical read! From the different castes of magical apprentices, to the deception and secrets, to the AMAZING slow burn romance that begins to blossom, this was absolute perfection.
I’ve received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
A trial of sorceress is a story about Eira – an 18yo girl with ice in her veins and fire in her heart. She’s always been in the shadows of her brother, guarded and watched and carefully managed so the incident from 3 years ago when she froze half the tower and a person died – to never repeat again.
Struggling with her everyday life, with the voices she hears – Eira sees an opportunity to prove herself during the Tournament of Five Kingdoms, a trial of sorceress where the best from 4 groups: Windwalkers; Firebearers; Groundbreakers, and Watterunners need to prove their skills and 1 of each nation gets to go to Meru and compete further.
While she is eager to prove herself and show that she is capable of finishing the trials she is also facing a lot of blockages because everyone she loves is against it. Her parents, her brother, her uncle tells her to drop from the Trials and let her brother shine, he deserves that – but no one thinks about what she wants, or what she deserves, so she proves to them how capable she is and does the opposite of their advice.
I can say I got a little bit affected by the way Eira was seen by her family. No doubt they loved her, but I felt like they treated her like an outcast – the girl who murdered someone following her everywhere. 3 years ago, she declared her feelings for the first time to Adam the guy she fell in love with, just for him to mock and play a trap on her. That shattered her, broken her heart and trust, and made her wish to never feel again anything and so in her sorrow, she lost control of her power and froze half of the tower and someone has passed away because of it. But what everyone forgets to look at is how hurt she was on that night, everyone was focused on the accident and NOT on her which really made me question how much they actually loved her.
Her life takes a complicated turn during the Trials, she finds out deep secrets her family has been hiding. Her brother turns against her because she won’t back down from the trials and all she’s left is an odd alliance with the Elfin Ambassador of Meru, her best friend Alyss, and the strange guard of the Elfin’s Ambassador – Deneya who has her own agenda, or so it seems.
I can’t give all the deeds about the book since it’s a new release, but the story feels so complicated which makes it so appealing to me because I love complicated things. I love the books that gives you breadcrumbs and lures you in and then BAM you’re knocked in the head and you don’t know what’s happening anymore. I LIVE for these moments! The Elfin Ambassador is so sweet and gentle to her and he is giving you the feeling he is hiding something, that behind his friendliness and flirting he has other intentions, dark and cruel intentions. And oh my god, how right I was. I didn’t see that coming, I knew there is something weird with him, his secrets, him being so sneaky. He was exactly like a spider creating his web around her, blinding her, luring her in until he finished his job.
I don’t think there was something that I didn’t like to be honest. The book has been really amazing, the story, the plot twist everything I’ve enjoyed fully and I can’t wait for the next book!
What I wasn’t expected was the connection between her and Cullen (not the vampire tho). Even tho at first their relationship was a hate-hate relationship towards the end of the book their relationship changed, and everything they thought of each other has switched to 90 degrees and I can’t wait to see how their relationship will develop from now on because they legit gave me goosebumps whenever they were close to each other.
This is the 1st installment of “A Trial of Sorcerers” and the way the book ended makes me wait for the 2nd book with a lot of curiosity and excitement! There is so much more this story has to offer and I can’t wait to see the next adventure Eira, Alyss and Cullen are going into. This is a Sword & Sorcery and coming of age book and I’ve legit run through the pages but at the same time, I didn’t want it to end. Plenty of moments that make you hold your breath to not miss any single thing, the way things are described and told makes the story develop like a movie behind your eyes. An amazing story to stay up at night and read it.
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This book is the first novel I have read by Elise Kova. I jumped into this book quite blind. I didn’t know much about the plot, except that it took place in the Air Awakens Universe. What sold me to this book was that fans of The Legend of Korra and A Sorcery of Thorns would love it.
Where do I start?
While this book did start off slow for me, I was hooked around the 13%-20% point. I read this book rather quickly. I couldn’t put it down because I was curious to find out what happens next. Kova’s characters were what made this story magical. I loved the various relationships that took place (from Alyss and Eira’s friendship to Marcus and Eira’s relationship as siblings). The character developments and personalities stood out to me. Eira was a likeable protagonist who was a bit gullible at times. However, I felt she and even Cullen were relatable characters.
The romance, which will probably further progress in future books, was slow-burn. I loved it, and I’m excited to see how it will further develop in book two.
I was able to figure out who the antagonist was early on in the book. However, the events at the end were a surprise to me.
This book left me excited for its sequel, and it also left me with tons of questions. I’m curious to see how the plot will further develop. I also hope a few of my questions will be answered in the sequel.
My only critique is that I wish there were a little bit more descriptions of the setting. I wanted a better understanding of what the tower and its surroundings looked like in the story.
Overall, A Trial of Sorcerers was an addicting read that made me excited for book 2. The romance, the characters and their relationships, and all my questions kept me hooked until the end. I will be reading book two when it comes out.
I always struggle to describe what I love about my favorite books without giving away spoilers, but this one has certainly joined the ranks of my favorites. Eira is an amazing character who immediately had me rooting for her. And my heart broke for her in so many different ways with the trials she faced. The world is just as awesome as it was in the earlier connected series. I’m excited to read the next book as soon as it’s out to see what else will happen.
I received a free advanced copy from the author, but I also purchased this book on preorder and my opinions are my own.
“I am my own person. I don’t just jump when asked and I won’t neatly exist only where and how you or anyone else wants me to.”
Actual rating: 3.5/5 stars
I received an e-ARC copy of this book from the author and Book of Matches Media in exchange for an honest review. A Trial of Sorcerers will be out on March 4, 2021.
This is my first Elise Kova novel, and had a lot of expectations because I know other readers have nothing but praises regarding her works. While this is a spin-off series of her Air Awakens which can be read separately from the main series, I personally feel like I would have enjoyed this book more if I have read the main series first. The world was easy enough to understand and grasp, but I just personally felt like I was missing out on stuff since I haven’t read the original series first. Nevertheless, it’s still a very entertaining first entry to a new series.
This book reminded me so much of a mix of Avatar: The Last Airbender, Frozen, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. All these similar elements were combined together in my head, and created a very nicely done and engaging fantasy novel. I just really enjoyed the idea of a school training elemental magic users and then thrusted into a competition to prove the capacity of their powers against their peers. I liked how the main story centered around this competition, and introduced other concepts that could break or play a character’s strategy within the game. The worldbuilding and magic system were pretty great, and easy to grasp. My only complaint is that I wished that the other elements, apart from the Waterrunners’, were given a time to shine even just for a bit, and that they were slightly more fleshed out for new readers like me. It would have made for an even spectacular time if that happened.
I currently have a love-hate relationship with the main character, Eira. I greatly admire her tenacity and perseverance to prove to others of what she could do, and that others – even her own family – were wrong to handle her like she was something dangerous, thus preventing her from being herself. Her previous incident that resulted to her being basically ostracized by her community was something she needed to fight against, and I really liked how hard she fought too. I also liked the way she was learning to discover what more she could do with her magic, and the revelations that shook her very core. On the other hand, there were times that I just found her a tad bit too naive and gullible, and some of the choices she made made me want to smack her. Things got a whole lot predictable afterwards based on the choices she had made, hence my love-hate relationship with her.
The love triangle romance trope rarely works for me, and this didn’t escape it. The romance between Eira and the two male characters were slow and sweet, but I didn’t root for either one of them until the end. What I did love more was the friendship and family dynamics Eira has with the other characters. I absolutely love Eira and Alyss’ closeness and partner-in-crime loyal friendship between them – that is something I highly enjoy in any story. Her relationship with her family is strained at best, and heartbreaking at worse. Her relationship with her brother Marcus was something I really loved reading, so I definitely felt my heart break towards the final few chapters.
Despite the slightly rushed ending that I felt like could have been expounded even more, I still enjoyed this book, and it was worth the late nights reading into it to get to the next chapters. I’m definitely going to read Air Awakens soon, since I’m finding Empress Vhalla’s story very intriguing.
I have high hopes that this series will take off within the next books.
The suspenseful intrigue slowly builds in spectacular storytelling that will keep you riveted to these unputdownable pages! This is another jewel in Elise Kova’s crown. Don’t miss this jaw-dropping journey that Eira takes. The twists and turns will keep you upon your toes.
Eira is rather a sad individual. She’s set a part from her peers and her family. She’s had her trust violated and her heart crushed and she’s still fighting.
I had such mixed feelings about her brother, Marcus. Was he holding Eira back or was he her protector?
Cullen is an unexpected ally, or is he? The game has drastically changed and I’m fearing what lays ahead.
If you loved the Air Awakens universe this will be a delight! Seeing past characters is wonderful and made me fangirl. #ForeverAFanOfVhalla if you’ve yet to venture into the AA universe this is something that is sure to entertain you with it’s spellbinding storytelling! No one crafts a series quite like Elise Kova.
What an amazing adventure. From beginning to end I needed to know what was going to happen next. I loved Eira’s character, she was complex and you got to see her learn and grow through the book with her best friend Alyss. Throughout the trials the for the Watterrunner’s many revelations come to light and the truths about people from Eira, to Marcus, Ferro, Cullen, and Deneya. There are plenty of twists and turns and you questioning motives, that suck you in needing to know. I can not wait for the next book to come out!!!!
*I received an eArc of this book for an honest review.*
What a beautiful book inside and out. The cover is what drew my eye first, but I’m happy to write that the story was just as good!
I throughly enjoyed the story, characters, and pacing. While this book is set in the Air Awakens world, you don’t need to read the original series in order to understand this world. Perhaps some situations or characters would be understood more quickly but I’m not sure. That being said I want to read the prior series to this book!
The writing style is great and easy to follow. Each thing, whether person or setting, was described to the right amount that I could imagine that I was there facing the trials with the main character.
A Trial of Sorcerers has a magical tournament, very slow burn romance, female friendship, and the main character finding her voice and standing up for herself throughout the story. While each chapter was enjoyable it wasn’t until about chapter 11 that I got super invested.
The characters definitely kept me motivated in reading the story because I wanted to know more about them. I love that there was a female best friends relationship, I don’t see enough of that in books and am always happy to see it! I wish we had gotten little bit more of that but it was nice to read about two friends that were so in sync they didn’t need to do a lot together to know that they were besties. The romance aspect was right up my alley, it’s an extremely slow burn romance, like not a lot happens but the potential is there sort of situation. There is an older brother and family aspect to the story as well that was cause for a lot of the conflict in the book. The only thing I didn’t really like about the characters was it felt like they would change their opinion/feelings about something very quickly.
Each chapter was well paced and always had either important information or was action packed. There were many chapters at night where I was so drawn in that I’d stay up late to read another one. I haven’t read too many books with magical tournaments so I really enjoyed that as well.
The world building has a lot of potential but I feel like since we only followed the main character in the Tower we didn’t get to see a lot else about the world. Not to say too much but I’m excited for the next book and what we might see in that. There are still mysteries to the world and characters that I can’t wait to explore.