Smoke and Spells (Althuria Chronicles) Paperback – February 18, 2022

Very intense read! I look forward to reading the next book. The characters are interesting, some fun, and various degrees in character. Written well with a good story! I look forward to reading more by this author.

I was impressed by the storyline , the Character /World building up to a point, hopefully book two will Bri t more clarity. I am an Honest ARC reviewer this looks to be epic.

This was an absolutely riveting read and I tore through it. I loved the writing--so smooth and so good! Great worldbuilding that was easy to absorb. The characters are ones you root for and want to come back to--thank goodness it's a series! The ending ratcheted up the tension and I couldn't stop reading until I finished the book.

Asha Olinger is on the cusp of her sixteenth birthday and has no reason to celebrate. She is an orphan working as a cleaner at the Arena in order to make a few coins in an attempt to help her sister put food on the table. One night on the way home, she's attacked for those few coins, and during the struggle discovers she has a power she's never experienced before. She's terrified of it and, when she tells her sister, is informed she needs to keep it completely to herself.When the opportunity arises, thanks to a lottery draw, for her to attend the Luminous Academy, she jumps on it no matter what her sister says. Not only does it mean she could learn what her power is, and how to control it, attending is also her only means of improving her life and better providing for herself and her sister.Once there, she learns she is a void manipulator, a controller of time. Hers is an extremely dangerous power to wield, but she is feeling her way along and becoming somewhat successful with the help of her friends. Unfortunately, she also learns that, as one of the lottery winners, her life is in danger. Each year, those students--all girls who look like her--die or disappear. Who is responsible, and what do they want? Asha needs to find out, but is solving the mystery of those already gone more important than saving her own life?Smoke and Spells by Ryver Knight is the first book in the Althuria Chronicles. I had the pleasure of reading the prequel, Daggers and Destiny first (although it was written afterward) and perhaps that is where the issue lay for me. I find that I'm in the minority in that I was not impressed with this book. While I thought Daggers and Destiny was well done and wonderfully paced, this one fell flat for me. It gave me major Harry Potter vibes with the day-to-day academy experience, but that's not what I was expecting after having read the prequel. I wanted more … more characterization, more world building, more intensity. Instead, I got plot holes, questions, and an easy guess as to who the culprit was.This was the author's debut novel, so maybe that's why there was such a difference between how Smoke and Spells came across to me versus the more recent Daggers and Destiny. The prequel gave me this need to read more about the world of Mala and her brother Baz, but I didn't feel the connection between them and Asha's world. I'm not even certain how much fictional time passed between one book and the next. If the next two books in the series manage to fill in gaps, I'm afraid I won't be finding that out because I've lost just enough interest in the Althurian world that I don't think I'll be returning.I received an advance review copy of Smoke and Spells and have chosen to provide this objective opinion.

I liked the characters and the way they interacted with each other. A bit of mystery, a bit of magic and some growing up to boot!

I enjoyed this book! It left me wanting more and anticipating what is going to happen next. Excellent young adult novel!

If you like Harry Potter-esque stories, this is a fun series to start. Asha gets accepted into a magical school via lottery, granting her an escape from her life of poverty. But though she makes new friends and discovers she has a latent magical talent, things at the school are not what they appear.When Asha learns her talent is destructive and that the lottery system is rigged, she must learn to control the very powers she doesn't understand if she has any chance of surviving her first semester.

Review Time 💎Title: Smoke and SpellsAuthor: Ryver KnightRating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️As a fan of Harry Potter I love any story that has magic within its pages. This story captured my attention within the first 10 pages and kept me coming back for more. If I didn’t have littles I would have read it in one sitting. For such a young Author Ryver knows her audience and works all the right troupes.The charater development, descriptions, as well as how they each had Distinct differences kept me engaged. I also loved the teachers, and people who assisted Asha in her journey of self discovery.Thought I love YA fantasy some things were juvenile for me but I attribute that to my age not a fault of the authors writing.I can’t wait to see where the author takes Asha’s tale to next. I will definitely be reading the next installment!I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Wonderful well-written storylines filled with believable characters some of whom you will love and some you will hate but they all play a massive part in this amazing story. I can't wait to read the next in the series, Baz.