Synopsis
In the contest to keep their magic, the only options may be die… or kill.
Each year, the North American Confederation of Mages assesses every sixteen-year-old novice. Some will be chosen. The rest must undergo a procedure to destroy their magical ability unless they prove themselves in the mysterious and brutal Mages’ Exam.
Disadvantaged by her parents’ low standing, Rocío Lopez has dedicated herself to expanding her considerable talent to earn a place in the Confederation. Their rejection leaves her reeling—and determined to fight to keep her magic.
Long ashamed of his mediocre abilities, Finn Lockwood knows the Confederation accepted him only because of his prominent family. Declaring for the Exam instead means a chance to confirm his true worth.
Thrown into the testing with little preparation, Rocío and Finn find themselves becoming unlikely allies—and possibly more. But the Exam holds secrets more horrifying than either could have imagined. What are the examiners really testing them for? And as the trials become increasingly vicious, how much are they willing to sacrifice to win?
Review
4.5/5 stars
In brief, I would fully recommend this book, it’s going to my favourites and I’m looking forward for the next one. It’s well written and you can feel you really are in the world Megan presents. If you like magic you should really give this book a try. Besides, how can you not want to read a book that claims to be the perfect mix between the Hunger Games and Harry Potter?
The story is based on a world of people with an affinity to control magic using vibrations such as singing or humming. Students around age 16 are selected for College or for loosing their ability, having the option to declare for the Exam and get a “second chance”.
It’s written in first person changing between Finn’s and Rocío’s POVs which I really like because you get to know better the characters. I did get a little confused sometime about whom the POV was as their way of expressing themselves was not very different, but nothing so problematic.
Other than that this book is pretty well written and caught my full attention since the second chapter.
The first chapter was narrated by Finn, an old-magic who was meant to be chosen by the Confederation for the importance of his family. At first, he seemed so weak that I feared that I would hate the book, fortunately he showed that it was much more than that soon enough to keep my interest and make me fall in love with the sweet and stubborn guy that, knowing magic wasn’t his best talent, enters the Exam for proving he was more than just a last name. He has a really good heart and a positive lifestyle that gives the book a bit of humour and helps to have some peace when things are too tense. I just think it would have been nice if he had improved a bit with the magic once he discovered that he did not need Latin for the casting, but at least he grew a lot as a person.
As for Rocío, I’m a huge fan of this Dragon-Tamer. She’s a new-magic girl with enough talent for beating any top student but without a magic family to support her. She is forced to participate in the exam if she wanted to keep her powers. She is intelligent, has an incredible connection with magic and also has a really good heart that makes her give the best of herself not only to become champion, but also to save all the members of her team.
The others characters were great too, all of them had a story that made them who they were and had particular abilities that helped them succeed in the tests. The romance also felt real, it wasn’t so fast, and they are SO cute together.
I can’t say I loved the end of the book but I saw it coming and it felt ok as this is a saga. This book fits perfectly into my favourites styles and the only reason why I can’t give it five star is because there were a few times when I felt things were way too similar to the Hunger Games.
In general there were resemblances between both books like the fact that the girl is the strongest one and the competition but the way in which Megan presents them creates a completely original story. I do understand and agree that Harry Potter and Hunger Games fans could really like this book. At least I did.
Bye bye ?
