I come today with not one, but TWO action-packed mid-grade reads … actually, the start of a series.

Because we’ll never get old of reading great series, right? If there’s one thing we’re good at, as bookish people, it’s waiting patiently for the next book, right? Hm? That sound? Oh, it’s just my soul screaming into the void. I’m sure it’s fine. And be careful where you step. All that dust on the ground is bits of my soul flecking off with every passing day. But it’s fiiiiine.

James Riley came up in my quest to read more middle grade, since we have his Story Thieves series, and that’s pretty popular among our young readers. What I didn’t realize is that he’s working on a new series … which is this one. You saw that coming, right?

The Revenge of Magic starts an action-packed, fast-paced adventure series. Pro: Magic exists. Con: Only children can use it. Oh, and there’s a giant beast attacking Washington, DC, like you do.

The Last Dragon is book two in the series and has … (spoiler) dragons! This book doubles down on the magic, and the kids have to kick butt and save the world! There are also beasts attacking … but Washington is spared this time. They’re welcome.

Without putting it off any further … let’s get to the books!

The Revenge of Magic (The Revenge of Magic, #1)

When long-dead magical creatures are discovered all around the world, each buried with a book of magic, only children can unlock the dangerous power of the books in this start to a thrilling new series from the author of the New York Times bestselling Story Thieves!
Thirteen years ago, books of magic were discovered in various sites around the world alongside the bones of dragons. Only those born after “Discovery Day” have the power to use the magic.
Now, on a vacation to Washington, DC, Fort Fitzgerald’s father is lost when a giant creature bursts through the earth, attacking the city. Fort is devastated, until an opportunity for justice arrives six months later, when a man named Dr. Opps invites Fort to a government run school, the Oppenheimer School, to learn magic from those same books.
But life’s no easier at the school, where secrets abound. What does Jia, Fort’s tutor, know about the attacks? Why does Rachel, master of destructive magic, think Fort is out to destroy the school? And why is Fort seeing memories of an expelled girl every time he goes to sleep? If Fort doesn’t find out what’s hiding within the Oppenheimer School, more attacks will come, and this time, nothing will stop them!

Rating:

❧ This opens with a really touching scene between Fort and his father, who, as it turns out, is a professional at dad jokes and embarrassing his son.

All of us parents can only aspire to be as pro as he is. I thought this opening was particularly effective, because a lot of the inner turmoil of this book (heck, this series) revolves around Fort’s despair at losing his father and the connection between the two of them. Normally, I might be annoyed that a character is introduced just to disappear, but I can’t even be mad, because his father is just such a great character. I wanted more of him, so it was a nice emotional impact when he’s taken, because I liked him enough where it felt like a loss for me, too. I just wanted to get to know him, darn it. I promise!

❧ Magic books means a mysterious magic riddle, right?! Because what’s one without the other?

It may come as absolutely no surprise that I love slightly veiled prophecies in poem form. Yes, give me something vague and cryptic to ponder over for the remainder of the books as I try to slowly work out what it means. This book is certainly no exception to that, and no, I can’t really go into more detail on my suspicions as to what parts of this riddle mean.

Suffice it to say that what I found particularly interesting are the different types of magic and the sorts of things the characters can do with them.

Not all magic is created equal, after all. And not all magic is quite as it first appears, either, which was neat. As you might guess from the poem, there are multiple types of magic, and the ones specifically addressed in this book are Healing and Destruction. On the surface, destruction might seem pretty flashy and neat (and trust me, it is), but healing has some pretty funky things going on for it, too, so don’t write it off just yet.

I thought the magic system in this was pretty neat. There’s not a lot of explanation behind it just yet, but that’s part of what the book world is still trying to figure out.

❧ This book tackles some really deep themes of revenge and justice, which I thought were handled well.

Fort is a bundle of contradiction and emotion. Then again, what teenage boys aren’t? Or teenagers in general, for that matter. He walks a very thin line between revenge and justice for his father being lost in the attack on DC. He obviously wants to punish whoever’s involved … but to what avail? I thought it was interesting to watch him grapple with this.

❧ The side characters in this are just a riot.

I didn’t know what to make of them at first, but they definitely grew on me. Cyrus is probably my favorite, the sole remaining Time student, sent from England. He can see the future, which seems like both a blessing and an inconvenience in a potential friend. Just saying, you maybe don’t want more than one of these in your friend circle, for your own sake.

Jia and Rachel are also particularly wonderful, for different reasons. They’ve worked hard to get to where they are, and they’ll take no crap, thank you very much. Jia learned healing and Rachel learned destruction, but don’t let that fool you: they’re both a force to be reckoned with.

❧ Fort may be the lead character here, but he’s far from the chosen hero I originally expected when I picked this up.

Actually, he’s more of an accidental hero, which I find all the more fascinating. I grew up reading chosen hero tropes, so I was looking forward to the nostalgia of visiting that niche again, but I was even more surprised to find that there’s nothing particularly impressive about Fort at all. I mean, that’s sort of the appeal of him, isn’t it?

Instead, it’s really the females who carry this cast and have most of the power in this, which was such a nice change!

Especially considering the ones that I grew up with almost never had females, in general, or they were minor sub-characters. Here, we get three super powerful women. Though they all have different backgrounds, different powers, and different motivations, it was nice seeing them come together and taking charge, for a change, instead of being relegated to wilting flowers in the corner.

❧ James Riley starts his author’s note at the end of each of these books with a super cute and funny comment about the ending of the book and what’s in store for the next one.

I confess: I normally don’t read author’s notes. Yes, I’m a monster. Generally, though, the way I read books, I tend to separate them from the author, so I don’t really want to read author’s notes, especially if they try to tell me what the author was going for with a book and I interpreted it as something completely different. Boy does that spoil my enjoyment sometimes.

I definitely read these author’s notes, though, because this was just so cute. I love the snark and the humor in them, and I don’t recall seeing any other author do this. It was definitely appreciated and got me all the more excited to read the next book!

The Last Dragon (The Revenge of Magic, #2)

Fort Fitzgerald is determined to uncover the truth, but a new student at school and the secrets he has to keep complicate matters in this second novel in a thrilling new series from the author of the New York Times bestselling Story Thieves!
Fort Fitzgerald can’t stop having nightmares about the day his father was taken from him in an attack on Washington, DC. In these dreams, an Old One, an evil beyond comprehension, demands the location of the last dragon. But other than some dragon skeletons dug up with the books of magic on Discovery Day, Fort has never seen a dragon before. Could there still be one left alive?
And weirdly, Fort’s not the only one at the Oppenheimer School having these nightmares. His new roommate, Gabriel, seems to know more than he’s letting on about this dragon as well. And why does everyone at the school seem to do whatever Gabriel says? What’s his secret?
Fort’s going to need the help of his friends Cyrus, Jia, and Rachel, if he’s going to have any chance of keeping the Old Ones from returning to Earth. Unless, the Old Ones offer something Fort could never turn down…

Rating:

This review will contain spoilers for the first book.

❧ We’re back with the same lovable characters from the first, but they seem a little more confident now.

Or, at the very least, slightly more realists. Then again, Rachel was obviously always the voice of reason. And by that, I mean she said what I was thinking. This book really tests their friendship, and I understood all sides of the issue, but boy was it hard to see the group fractured. But you know, sometimes things have to break in order to become stronger.

There’s a new book of magic in this, and I don’t want to spoil anything about it, so I’ll just say that yes, this is a type of magic I’d learn.

Buuut maybe just the first spell? I’m sort of both terrified and curious of what later spells in this book might be, and I’m not entirely sure I want to find out? But who am I kidding? I totally do. I bet they’d be awesome.

❧ This book doubles down on the fantasy aspect and shows us a whole new world, which I absolutely loved.

It’s not exactly like the Aladdin type of whole new world. There’s no romance or wonder. Although, there’s magic and potential death, so yay for that? The Old Ones are back again, with some of their greatest hits, except now the fight comes to them.

I’m trying hard not to give any spoilers away, so all that I’ll say is portals are involved. And magic. I think you’ve probably figured that out by now. And a world that is terrifying, but also fascinating. The threat from the first book is amped up, but so are our intrepid heroes, who team up with new friends to take down baddies. Or, you know, to blunder their way through and hopefully not die. That works, too.

❧ While Sebastian is largely dropped in this book (which is a shame, because I loved his aloof self), there’s a new main character, who presents an interesting mystery.

His name is Gabriel, and that’s about all that Fort knows about him. Well, that and he’s pretty cool. Okay, Fort doesn’t know that about him. That’s completely my opinion. But still totally a valid one. He keeps his secrets close to his chest, but also doesn’t rat out anyone else’s secrets or dig into their business, and that’s a pretty cool sort of personality to have.

I will say that, in the end, I didn’t entirely love what was done with Gabriel’s character.

I was immediately attracted to him from the start, and by the end … eh. I think he’s meant to be a foil of Fort, but his arc just wasn’t strong enough for me, personally. I did love his addition to the group, though I’m undecided as to whether I want to see more of him or not. Probably not, which makes me sad, but what can you do?

❧ Where the last book tackled revenge vs. justice, this book tackles how far you’d go for someone you love.

It’s such an interesting question, and while I didn’t love how it was handled here, I do think it would be relatable for middle grade readers. They’re in this weird stage where their family is still sort of their world, and imagining losing a parent at any age is tough, but I think you’re more expecting it by the time you’re an adult.

Fort and his father obviously had a beautiful relationship, and how far would anyone go for a parent who means everything to them? I know so many adults who, given Fort’s situation, would make the same or similar choices, which made it all the more of a reliable struggle. Even if Fort made the wrong choice. I thought it was a nice touch where the “hero” isn’t always noble. I mean, heck, he’s just a kid who’s now lost two parents. Choices are hard even under the best circumstances, and these are not the best circumstances.

❧ Fort’s entire character and personality in this revolved around his desire to get his father back, to the detriment of everything else.

Including the world. Which, hi, I have issues with. I mean, I get it. If it were my father, I’d want to get him back, too. Probably. I mean, I’m open for negotiation, at least. But if it were my father versus the world? I’d like to think he’d understand, but I’m going to have to choose humanity. Because … duh? Is that a no-brainer, or is that just me?

While I enjoyed the strong family ties in the first book (and certainly, yes, I want Fort’s father back and more of his character, because he’s fantastic), this wasn’t enough of a driving factor for me, and Fort’s character sort of stagnated.

Also, boy was he freaking hypocritical. Because after potentially dooming Earth and all of humanity, he wants to lecture another character about the same dang thing and try to take the moral high ground. *knocks him off his high horse* Nuh-uh. You sit there and think about what you’ve done for two seconds before you try to talk down to someone else.

I wanted to love him as much in this book as I did in the first book, but I just … didn’t. There’s some hints at his character arc, so I have hope that he’ll continue to grow into a character I can love again, but this ain’t it. I will admit, though, that the mid-grade readers this is targeted to probably won’t have the same issues with his character that I do.

If you could learn any kind of magic, what would you choose to learn: healing, destruction, mind, or time magic?