Book Review:- Rotten Magic (Jeffrey Bardwell)

3.25*

In a world with artefacts and magic, this book will always have a comparison to Harry Potter and that is undeserved. The story is different, more steampunk and I like the difference. it feels something more akin to Warhammer, than anything else, and the concept of a university tinkering away is a pretty cool concept, compared to the threat of magic and it kept the 'chosen one' trope at arms distance.

All in all, I just didn't mesh with the characters. Devin was as annoying as Harry Potter (unfair I know), but I didn't get much of a sense of 'him' under the suppressed magic, wanting to prove himself, hillbilly chip on shoulder, and showing off and Dru wasn't there enough early on to bring her out. By the time the plot ramped up towards the end, I was loosing interest in the characters before they became estranged.

Good concept, potentially great threat, but it didn't push it enough for me, or make me invested in the characters enough to really root them on. Almost, but not quite for me, but a cool alternative to Harry Potter, with potential.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4218573961