Book Review: The Bronze Key by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

The Bronze Key – Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

*Warning – may contain spoilers*

Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Scholastic Press

First published: 2016

Edition: Hardback

Pages: 249

Blurb:    Magic can save you.

               Magic can kill you.

Students at the Magisterium are supposed to be safe. Under the watchful eyes of the mages, they are taught to use magic to bring order to a chaotic world.

               But now the chaos is fighting back.

Call, Tamara and Aaron should be worrying about things like pop quizzes and magic contests. Instead, after the shocking death of one of their classmates, they must track down a sinister killer…and risk their own lives in the process.

As Call, Tamara and Aaron discover, magic can only be as good as the person who wields it. In evil hands, it has the capacity to do immeasurable harm – unless it is stopped in time.

History of my copy: I’ve been a fan of the Magisterium series since the very start and so I received The Bronze Key as a Christmas present last year.

As per the previous books in the series, The Bronze Key was quite short and so it only took me 4 days to read. Whilst I feel like the books could be longer, I do find it refreshing to only read a smaller book from time to time. It does, however, make the time between installments seem even longer!

Plot: The third installment in the series definitely picks up the urgency and threatening nature, with someone trying to assassinate Call. Things start to take an even darker turn as the spy, who has the Alkahest, succeeds in killing Aaron, for which Call is blamed. Ending up in the mage prison, we are left with a cliff-hanger as Call’s true mother is revealed…

         The plot was hard hitting and dark, especially for a kids book, as the intensity starts to build up. I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

Setting: Just like the majority of the rest of the series, this book takes place in the caverns of the magical school, the Magisterium. Even though it’s the third installment now, I still get wowed by some of the gorgeous descriptions of the vast caves and narrow tunnels that Call and his friends both live and study in. When we find ourselves leaving the stone confinements, the descriptions are just as vivid.

Characters: Call is starting to make a really interesting main character, an intriguing mix between Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and his own unique self. I think Black and Clare have done well at capturing Call’s age and the difficulties he is facing, whilst keeping the character likable and humorous. I’m also starting to warm to Tamara.

               Whilst none of the characters still are hugely memorable, I think they are starting to find their niche in the literature world and are becoming a little more iconic.

To read or not to read: Read. This series has a huge amount of potential and whilst it isn’t the best books going, they’re easy to read, funny and have a great plot. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series.

| The Copper Gauntlet |

Christmas Book Haul

Firstly, I want to wish a very Merry (belated) Christmas to you all!

This Christmas, I was lucky enough to get many fantastic gifts from all my family, but to save boring you, I shall just stick to the books I received. However, I shall briefly mention a fantastic sort-of Christmas present. Just before Christmas, I received an offer to study medicine at Plymouth university!

~The books I received for Christmas~

1) Eragon's Guide to Alagaesia  by Christopher Paolini

Although I've only read the first two books of The Inheritance Cycle (the other two       remain on my ever increasing TBR shelf), I am a huge fan of the world Paolini has created. I saw this at a Garden Centre in Autumn and so got my parents to put it back for Christmas.

2) Illustrated Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling

Initially, I wasn't that sold on the idea of my favourite book series being illustrated. I enjoy the magic of using your imagination to picture the story, and was worried that the images would make me feel as if my version was 'wrong'. However, as soon as I saw the book itself, it instantly became one of my presents from my grandparents.

3) Wars of the Roses: Bloodline by Conn Iggulden

Although I wasn't a huge fan of the first in the series, as you can see from my review here, I absolutely loved the second book, Trinity. Because of this, Bloodline was a must-have Christmas present and again was a book I chose for my parents to give to me.

4) Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

I'm a big fan of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan, and all his other series have been on my to-buy-to-be-read list for ages. I'm also a huge Thor fan and, because of that, I have wanted to delve into Norse mythology a little more. When I stumbled across this book, especially a signed edition, I knew I had to have it!

I've actually started this one already and so far, I love it! It even has a special dedication to one of my favourite authors Cassandra Clare regarding the name Magnus. Also, it has a small appearance from one of my favourite characters from the Percy Jackson series too.

5) The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski

Growing up, I had a fascination of the Titanic, which probably rubbed off from my brother who loved it. This was a cover buy late this year, which ended up being put back for Christmas. I look forward to reading it!

6) The Kane Chronicles

As previously mentioned, all of Riordan's books have been on my TBR list for a while now, so The Kane Chronicles was one of the series that made it's way onto my Christmas wishlist for my family to choose presents from. Despite the fact I knew I could end up with the series as a present, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that they had found a nice hardback box-set of the trilogy.

7) The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

I really enjoyed the first of the Magisterium books so The Copper Gauntlet also made its way onto my wishlist this year. It was a good book, proven by the fact I've already read it. Find the review here!

8) The Enchanted Forest Postcards by Johanna Basford

At first I was sceptical of the new trend: adult colouring. Growing up, I found the task boring and repetitive, always preferring to do things more mentally active such as reading or doing puzzles or jigsaws. However, I did warm to the idea as I heard a lot of good things about how relaxing it is.

As some studying six A-levels whilst battling depression and anxiety, as you can imagine I find it quite hard to relax most of the time. My family took this into consideration, along with my occasional mention of these adult colouring books, and bought me one as a surprise Christmas present.

So far, I've only done a little, but I am really loving it! I've bought some new pens and pencils to keep with it, and I am thoroughly enjoying spending a few minutes here and there colouring to take a break from everything else. I really recommend it to anyone who finds it hard to relax for any reason, especially the postcard sets as they are much smaller and less daunting than a huge, blank page needing to be coloured. They can also fit in your bag so you can take it with you on the go. The only downside is that some bits are extremely tiny and fiddly, but that only makes it more fun!

Book Review: The Copper Gauntlet by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

The Copper Gauntlet – Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

*Warning – may contain spoilers*

Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Publisher: Scholastic Press

First published: September 2015

Cover: Hardback with dust cover

Pages: 264

Blurb:    The enemy is close. Very close.

                                Callum Hunt’s summer break isn't like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of course, most kids aren't heading back to the magical world of the Magisterium in the fall.

                                It’s not easy for Call…and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc.

                                Call escapes to the Magisterium – but things only intensify there. The Alkahest – a copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic – has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes – and come closer to an even more dangerous truth.

History of my copy: I received this book for Christmas this year (2015) from my parents. I’ve been eagerly anticipating it since reading The Iron Trial not long after it came out.

This book, and indeed the entire series, has received a lot of negativity for being too similar to Harry Potter. I am an enormous Harry Potter fan and yes, there are some similarities – a man character with black hair (and containing the soul of the enemy), a magic school – but that is about it. The Copper Gauntlet and the rest of the Magisterium books deserve credit in their own rights. After all, J.K. Rowling wasn’t the first to have a school for wizards. All authors gather inspiration from other places, and you could spend hours comparing books with others to find parallels, or you could just enjoy them for what they are.

Plot: The Copper Gauntlet carries on right where The Iron Trial finishes off, which was a little difficult at first as I have forgotten some things that happened in it, so I would recommend re-reading it before starting this one. It follows Call and his friends through the summer and the beginning of the new term as they hunt down Alastair who has the Alkahest. It is a relatively short story, but a decent length for the plot it contains. Black and Clare kept the plot fast paced and interesting and, although there were a few places where they could have expanded the story a little more, they did a good job of not dragging it out and making it boring.

Setting: The Copper Gauntlet is set in numerous places from the eerie caves of the Magisterium to the extravagant house of Tamara’s family. The new settings were described fairly well, although more words could have been dedicated to re-describing the school, and perhaps adding a little more to Alastair’s barn and the tomb at the end of the book.

Characters: This book focussed a bit more on the background of Callum and his two friends, Aaron and Tamara. Although known that Call’s father, Alastair, hates the Magisterium, it still isn’t really explained why. However, the book shows a drastically different relationship between father and son than before.

                One downside of this series is that none of the characters stand out as particularly special. Yes, the main trio have both their good and bad sides, but their personalities aren’t really described.

                One problem I do have with the main character, Callum Hunt, is that for the first half of the book he is just full of angst about who he is, which does get a little dull after a while. Also, even though it is addressed by Tamara at the end of the book, Call is severely angered by Tamara lying, despite the fact he is hiding an even bigger and more dangerous lie from them all.

To read or not to read: Read. Despite my dislike for the lack of development of the characters, I did enjoy the plot and story of The Copper Gauntlet and thoroughly enjoyed the read. Don’t bother if you disliked The Iron Trial as I wouldn't say it gets better, but do try it out if you liked the previous book.