Review: A Trial of Sorcerers by Elise Kova

Synopsis
Ice is in her blood.

Eighteen-year-old Waterrunner Eira Landan lives her life in the shadows — the shadow of her older brother, of her magic’s whispers, and of the person she accidentally killed. She’s the most unwanted apprentice in the Tower of Sorcerers until the day she decides to step out and compete for a spot in the Tournament of Five Kingdoms.

Pitted against the best sorcerers in the Empire, Eira fights to be one of four champions. Excelling in the trials has its rewards. She’s invited to the royal court with the “Prince of the Tower,” discovers her rare talent for forbidden magic, and at midnight, Eira meets with a handsome elfin ambassador.

But, Eira soon learns, no reward is without risk. As she comes into the spotlight, so too do the skeletons of a past she hadn’t even realized was haunting her.

Eira went into the trials ready for a fight. Ready to win. She wasn’t ready for what it would cost her. No one expected the candidates might not make it out with their lives.

What I thought
I received a copy of this book from the Author, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

As per usual for Elise Kova books I pretty much read this in one day. She has an amazing way to draw you into the story.

This book gave me a lot of vibes from the beginning of the Air Awakens series. So I have very high hopes that I am going to enjoy the whole series.

Eira accidentally killed someone three years ago when she lost control of her powers and froze the whole tower. Yep, the whole thing, and no she did not know she was doing it, I believe they said it happened in her sleep. So as you can imagine her powers are scary strong so you would think that they would train her on how to use them and control them but no. So I know that if they would have done what they should have for someone that exhibits her strengths but then we wouldn’t have a story now would we. lol Anyway, what I am getting to is that the adults in this story failed her and the whole “we are just trying to do what is best for you” thing got old even to me.

I loved Alyss she is an amazing friend and wise beyond her years. I can not wait to see what happens in the future books with her. (please let her live Elise) I know we were set to maybe feel bad for Marcus but I really never could. There was just something about his character that I did not like. Hey, we can’t like everyone.

Cullen and Ferro we knew there was going to be a romance in this book but who was it going to be. So my initial thoughts were changed as the story progressed. The more we saw of Cullen the more that I liked him and began to root for him. The more we saw of Ferro the more creepy he felt. Reading their interactions made my skin crawl at times. I won’t say how this all works out you have to read the story for that 🙂

If you enjoy young adult epic fantasy then you really should read the books in this world. I would suggest reading the first series before picking up this one only so you are not spoiled for it. However, if you don’t mind knowing how that series ended before you start then you can jump in with this book.

My Rating: /5