Secrets and Spellcraft (Art of the Adept) Paperback – November 1, 2019

This book has ruined me. More to the point, it's ruined other book series I like that cover magic, wizards, royalty, the fae, and so on. This series is so masterfully written I am quite concerned it'll all be downhill from when I finish it. Curses!

A Choice of Magic:Overall, I give it 5 stars because it entertained me and kept hooked the entire time. For only a few bucks, it's well worth the purchase. Below you will find some more detailed information. - He's a 14-18 year old boy from a back water town. He's bound to make dumb decisions. Who made good decisions at that age? His idiocy is not as glaringly horribly as some reviewers would make it out to be, especially when you take into account his age and how/where he was raised. - There is a stark contrast between his dumb decisions (inexperience) and how successful he is at everything he does. Constantly throws himself into crazy situations without knowing much at all and somehow comes out no worse for wear. I personally enjoy the "bumbling fool" approach and if you stick with it, you can see him grow and learn throughout the books. - (possible baby spoiler) When he meets Isabel, he keeps doing the "who is she? why does she hide her identity?" etc... But then he sees "Isabel" with his half sister in Branscombe and STILL is like "who is she, why does she hide her identity"). He's met her, twice, just a few years prior while she was with his half sister. The densest among us would be able to make the connection to determine her real identity (as far as he knows). There are a few little things like this in the book that make you slap your forehead. Luckily, they are overshadowed by the rest of the story and the book. - Good writing, found myself engaged and interested in what was going to happen next. You can tell that some decisions are solely made for progress of the plot and not something a normal person would consider doing. This just loops back to point one. Keep in mind his age and where/how he was raised. - Interesting concept of a magic system. Some elementals, some warlockry, fae, long lost unique abilities, good times. - Not the best character development for the supporting characters. They're very shallow and not at all interesting. Luckily they aren't used heavily. Some relationships he makes in the first book don't continue on into the later books (I've only ready books 1 and 2 so I'm not sure about the later books).

Good book. Sadly i read another book published 2 years earlier by a different author and aside from some areas, its almost as if this story was plagerized from the other book. I checked the publishing dates, and this book came after the other one. Guy Antibes Song of Sorcery series. Strikingly similar, different in some ways as well, but there was enough to make me wonder about it none the less. Still, all in all, a very good story. I didnt think i would enjoy it when i saw the cover art, looks too cheesy for this work and i almost didnt get it, but what the hell, and i am glad i did. Maybe next time, the author can get a better artist and come up with a really new idea.

Plenty of surprises twists n turns 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Editing: 5/5 Nothing stood out to me as a bad editPlot: 5/5: It wasn't a straight forward, at lesat at first, story as it could have been. While the story ended up kinda where you "wanted" the MC to get to, it did so in a fairly round about way where you are wondering for a while just who is going to win what/who.Backstory: 4/5: I chip a star off here as the world as created so far seems relatively simple. There is obviously back story of not only the surrounding lands, but also the kingdom indicated by references, but nothing solid. For example, of the "nobility" only 1 duke was mentioned in addition to 2 seperate counts, not nearly enough for a "court" or kingdom to exist on. The story could easy use more coverage in that area to build out what should be more a nation than a small realm.Character Development: The MC builds in both personality and maturity and changes between the start and finish, going from a relatively yet still confident ex-soldier coming out of several victories, to the world-aware, damn-it-all mage willing to take on anyone even if it kills him.Overall I loved it and read it straight through in one sitting it was so engrossing. MGM has demonstrated an incredible skill at world and story building in his previous series, and I am incredibly excited to see where this one will go. I do think it will be best fulfilled in at least a 5-novel arc, as a trilogy will leave far too little time to expand and the resolve the many issues that remain in the storyline.

Will’s military career ends as his academic career begins. However, he continues to find himself an enigma. Even though he attends a school for magic, he discovers its use is widely limited, for others. While he continues to excel at getting into trouble, his elicit relationship with the princess only complicates matters.The adventure never ends as Will navigates his new environment. It is fun to see how his past experiences color his behavior. Even though he is a relative novice, his capabilities far exceed others. However, there are still limits but he is willing to die for those he loves.

Loved the characters, their very funny dialogue and the detailed descriptions of their fantastic world. Just enough was familiar but lots is wildly creative, and I started to accept it as true. What a skilled writer Mr. Manning is. Amazing!

This story is great, but there is some weird formatting in it when read on PC. (Not sure on other devices.) The first book in the series did not have any issues.Also, this one suffers from a lack of proofreading. The first one did, too, but not as bad.

I love how the author ignore cliffhangers between his books, the magic sistema is good but I wish the protagonist was... less stupid. Damnit, sometimes I don't know if my expectations are to high for the protagonist or the author just likes to use his stupidity for plot twist. Anyway. I love this books, It's like a soft Dark Fantasy/High Fantasy, with realism but hope and a protagonist who are getting stronger.

Loved it

I am starting to get really annoyed by the fact that the mc is almost only making stupid choices while having the luck it somehow works out (well, I mean he survives, if his choices had no consequences I would have been too bored to continue reading)I'm at 80% of the book, and the choice he makes should have dire consequences, so it doesn't it'd contradict things said about the fae, if it does, it won't be pretty. Like teacher like pupil?If the 3rd book continues like this, I might drop it, or at least I'll need a pause it

i liked the game plot alotnot the 100x plot frog to prince - but the archemage reborn - not too much surprise tho - but really well writen and you want to read what he can accomplish - recommended!

I didn't expect the second book so soon, and when I randomly checked for it, I was happy to see it.It wasn't until after I had finished reading it that saw how short of a time there was between 1 & 2 but fear notz quality doesn't reduce at all!The character of will is so well written. He manages to do what alot of other writers fail to do. Make their protagonist relatable. He's funny, and normal but also has a dark side too. He made him human.While he has a love interest, he's not opposed to noticing the beauty in others too and thankfully doesn't harp on and on about the same one person. He magaes to live a life outside of pining after a woman!The side characters flow so well, as if it's a chat between people in real life rather than stilted and awkward. (The scene with the purple dye and Seth genuinly made me burst out in fits of laughter. I could completely see the scene play out in my head)And finally, he's not afraid to make will get a little bit dark, a little bit of a sociopath almost.He reminded me of geralt from the Witcher series.Murdering a number of people as he does isn't infact, okay. that's not something normal people do. And when it becomes a point where it's happening on a regular basis, the author does well to give you a sense of the dynamic that will has found himself in.He doesn't have time to sit and wallow about it or feel guulty. If he does that hell end up dead and so, you get the sense that he's in survival mode. Very well written.Later, by creating a conversation where one of his friends points that out to him and how little affected he is by it is refreshing.He has a heart, he just has it locked away that little bit deeper because it's how he survives(which we see later and understand why with the ritual scene)He's not afraid to get his hands dirty and do what needs to be done.Later, he can reflect on it and process it and let his emotions get the better of him.But then he picks himself back up and trudges on.My only downside is that now every other book feels inadequate and poorly written so alas, I guess I'll have to wait until either this series next.So far only a small few series have managed to make me feel lost after finishing a book, not knowing what to do with myself after.With that, unfortunately fortunately, this is most definitely one of those books.Brilliant read both books 1&2