Welcome to my stop on the Alchemist Academy Tour
hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
Click HERE to check out the rest of the tour schedule.
This stop reviews both Book 1 and Book 2.
Stones to Ashes (Book 1)
Blurb:
What do you learn here...at the Academy? Wirt asks. Magic? The responsibility to use your powers responsibly? Uh...something like that, his roommate Spencer said. More like how to rule worlds. Wirt, is used to being shuffled from foster home to foster home, adopting a devil-may-care attitude toward the world along the way. Now he s in a school he can t escape, learning to develop his latent magical abilities, for what use, he doesn't know...to save his world or to destroy it...
Cindy's Review: I decided to do the blog tour mainly because of the author. I love Kailin Gow's books. I find that she writes really awesome romance stories. But it turns out the Alchemist Academy Series wasn't as romantic as I thought, but the little romance between Wirt and Alana was enough to satisfy my hunger a little.
Stones to Ashes started off with Wirt living on Earth, living with yet another new set of foster parents. When he was bullied one day, he wished with his hardest might to be somewhere else. That wish had brought him to The Alchemist Academy which is an academy where you learn about magic. The whole Academy is in a tree. That's right. You didn't read wrong. It's in a tree and that tree is basically in the middle of nowhere. Don't worry, the tree is ginormous and it has this tree transporting system, where you step through a hole and wish to be somewhere. Then you'll fall and fall like Alice in Wonderland until you reach your destination. In that case, it kind of reminds me of The Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne where Jack and Annie goes to a tree house and wishes to be somewhere while pointing to a book and the tree house would spin and spin until they get there. And well, the Alchemist Academy kinda is a magic tree house. It's more like a magic tree school though. ;)
At first, I was kind of disappointed that the book didn't have enough action. And I was bored with it, wanting to put it down. But they always saves the best for last, so I continued reading it, and I must the ending was much, much better. ;)
Rate: (1-10) 8 stars!!
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Elemental Explosions (Book 2)
A new student has entered The Alchemists Academy, and he brings with him an explosive power that threatens the Academy and the legend of Merlin. Wirt thought he was the only bad boy at the Academy, but he was wrong. Not only is Roland Black worse than Wirt, but a new teacher had replaced one of their beloved teachers, and she has more planned for Wirt and his friends than just lesson plans. Alana, his crush has grown prettier, and now he is rivals for her attention with not only his best friend Spencer, but newcomer Roland, as well. On top of that, it is their second year, and the year where all the students must pass a test to move on to the Elite Class at the Academy. The Elite Class is the only class in the third year at the Academy, and the students who fail will be sent home, others will face something even deadlier.
Cindy's Review: The Elemental Explosions went by a whole lot faster than Stones to Ashes. Although I think there were more pages, the whole book was interesting from the front to the end. The new student Roland seems like something that may catch a reader's attention and hate him. While Spencer, Alana, and Wirt tires their best to get a spot in the 14 spots available for the the third year elite students, Roland seems like a threat to them. It's not that he's smart. Not that he's powerful. Just that he cheats. But no one else knows but Wirt and Spencer. As much as Wirt complains to Alana about Roland, Alana believes Roland to be a nice, helpful guy. Ugh.
The Elemental Explosions reminded me a little of Harry Potter this time. Wirt is kinda like Harry Potter who tries to solve the problems brewing up at school. Like Hogwarts, Alchemist Academy is a boarding school that focuses on magic and could transport. And also like Harry Potter, there is Spencer for Ron (except their personalities are kinda the opposite, but they serve the same role.) and Alana for Hermoine. And Roland just reminds me of Draco, who never seems to get in trouble no matter whatever he does. The whole elite students thing reminds me of the head of each group in Harry Potter. Ex: Like Percy being the head in Gryffindor.
Either way, I must the Elemental Explosions served as a great read and I can't wait for the next book to come, The Quamtum Games and see who wins the final place in the elite students. And also, another comparison. The Quamtum Games reminds me of Quidditch, a little. Yeah. ;)
Rate: (1-10) 8.8!!
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Kailin Gow is the award-winning, international bestselling author of over 80 distinct books.
Kailin Gow is also the President of a media company, a media personality, and has been writing full-time since she was first published. Holding a Masters in communications management and leadership positions in Fortune 500 corporations, she puts her leadership abilities, her experience, and desire to help others into her fiction books. As a result, she has written the forthcoming, Finding the Heroine in You book which is also a national tour. She is a mother and spends whatever spare time she has volunteering at the Red Cross, Battered Women's Shelters, and other organizations.
Currently her Frost Series is in development for a major international MMO Game, and she has over 14,000 and growing Frosters on her facebook fan page.
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