This part of the review doesn't contain any spoilers, if you haven't read the books this review is still suitable to read.
Fire wants to burn
Water wants to flow
Air wants to rise
Earth wants to bind
Chaos wants to devour
Summary :-
The Iron Trial is the first book in the Magisterium series written by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. It follows Call, Callum Hunt, a seemingly ordinary 12 year old boy but all is not what it seems. The time has come for Call to take The Iron Trial, a series of magical tasks he needs to pass to achieve a place at the Magisterium. All Call's life his father has warned him about the dangers of magic and of the Magisterium. Call tries to fail the tests but ends up failing at failing, now he must take up his place at the Magisterium and along with his new friends, Tamara and Aaron, he must find out what happened to him in his past and what lies ahead for him in his future.
Review :-
This book has been on my to-read pile ever since I found out that Holly Black and Cassandra Clare were writing a book together. I really wasn't sure what to expect from a collaboration by these two authors but I had the feeling that it was either going to be spectacular or a bit of a flop. I brought the book almost as soon as it came out, mostly because I was going to the book signing in October with a friend from university. The book signing was unlike anything I'd ever witnessed, it helped me to understand the book a lot better, which always adds to the overall effect of a book.
I did start to read this book in October but then ended up putting it down and reading other things as I didn't feel ready to dive into a new Cassie Clare fictional world quite yet. I decided to make it one of my to-be-read books for January/February because my curiosity hitched and I wanted to know what happened and decided I was ready to sit down and get through it. I'm glad I built myself up to it as I think if I'd forced myself to read it in October I possibly wouldn't have liked it as much.
I have to admit, I felt that the start of the book was quite slow but the pace quickened as the book progressed. In fact, the pace quickened so much that near the end of the book some parts of the action scenes seemed rushed and unpolished. I did get a little confused as to what was going on and it read so disjointedly that I could no longer picture the story in my mind. It appeared to me that Black and Clare had focused more on the plot twists and getting the writing done than on polishing the story up.
Overall, I'm quite on the fence for this book, I neither love it nor hate it which deeply saddens me because of how much I love The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices written by Cassandra Clare. As for Holly Black, I've only read a short story by her so I'm not sure if I do enjoy her writing. One thing is for sure though, I'm certainly going to check out one of Holly Black's books. My on-the-fence feeling isn't going to stop me from picking up the second installment of this series in September though. I am intrigued to find out what happens.
Rating :-
★★★ - 3.5 stars
I plan to post Part 2 of this review soon, where I ramble on about the characters and what I predict might happen in the upcoming books. Please keep an eye out for it.
Happy Reading
:)
xx
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