The Paper Magician - Charlie N. Holmberg

[Sky Princess]

This book caught my interest from the moment I saw the cover. And then read the summary. And I've loved every moment of its lovely pages! I used to be an avid reader, but in past years have found excuses to let the dust gather on the shelves. This book brought me back to the world of literature. The author enchants with witty dialog and strong lead characters. The story starts off with Ceony Twill, a young magician who's just been told she is not allowed to choose her craft. She's forced into apprenticeship under a Paper magician, Emery Thane, and has nothing good to say about him or his skill, or anything else for that matter. Until her lessons begin. With each lesson, she falls deeper and deeper in love with the craft. And when disaster strikes, her quick memory and clever thinking prove vital in a quest to save her tutor's life!

This book explores the depth of the human soul, and teaches one not to make judgement based on first impressions. The lead male is not perfect, the lead female not weepy. The author chooses to expose human flaws in each of her characters as flaws, not quirks, requiring the characters to then accept and grow and mature in their personal lives and their relationships with each other. The story's progress is not too slow, but it's action packed scenes don't feel rushed. The style is good for any reader, beginner or advanced. I recommend it fully for anyone with an interest in action, romance, and magic.

A word of caution. The book does explore some dark concepts with the villains and their blood magic. Though the gore is almost non-existent and the violence kept at a minimum, I'd rate this book appropriate for young adults and older. Just to be on the safe side. Also, I did not like that there was very little background given on the villains.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 starts.

[CaseyPaige]

I very much enjoyed this series. It is aimed towards the teen/young adults but the writing is well done and keeps you entertained. You can predict the love interest right off the bat and can guess the kind of character the main character is going to be. She ends up being the typical heroin who sets out to save the world and rid it of evil like a majority of the books that are out right now. I did love the time setting being in the early 1900s and did like how the love interest wasn't your typical rich, hot, jealous type. That was very refreshing. And I loved how the main character wasn't the ditzy girl who only wanted the boy. I would say it was a good and easy read.

[gali]

I have read the series and loved it, but I think the first book was the best.

[Michael Lilly]

I first read this book two years or so ago, when it was featured on Amazon Prime's free Kindle book, and loved it. I especially liked how Ceony was not allowed to choose her magic, instead the magic was chosen for her. The antagonistic attitude of Ceony toward Emery, and her own strong will was refreshing in a magical coming-of-age story. I look forward to acquiring the other 3 book in the series, and am glad it finally got recognized here on onlinebookclub.

[ScoutWrites]

I also found this book on Amazon Kindle First, and chose it because the cover intrigued me. What I loved most about this book was how quickly it pulled me into the action. I think I read it in a single day because it wouldn't let me put it down. The rest of the series is great, too. If I have one complaint, it's that Ceony has a tendency to think she needs to fix everything by sneaking off alone in search of danger. It's a character flaw that I see frequently in young adult fiction. This does move the action along, though, and makes for a compelling story.
I'm glad I found others who loved this book! Have any of you read Charlie Holmberg's other works? I'd like to know if they're as good as this series.