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Publication
47North, Kindle Edition, 226 pages
Description
Throughout her studies, Ceony Twill has harbored a secret, one she's kept from even her mentor, Emery Thane. She's discovered how to practice forms of magic other than her own--an ability long thought impossible. While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician's exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony's past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member kmartin802
Ceony is busy preparing for her examinations to become a Magician when the villain of the last book - Siraj - escapes from prison. Ceony is afraid that he will target her family again. She also wants to stop him before he can hurt her mentor and beloved - Emery Thane.
Emery has determined to have
Ceony also has a surprising secret. Though it is thought that once a person pledges to a kind of magic that is the only magic they can use, Ceony is able to bond to any kind of magic. She is able to use every kind of magic but refuses to ever use blood magic which requires a death to activate. Siraj does use blood magic.
I liked the clever spells that Ceony creates for her examination and I like the way she and Emery work together as equals. Each is eager to protect the other but respects their abilities anyway. And it does take to two of them, working together, to defeat this villain.
This is the concluding book of a trilogy and nicely ties up loose ends while leaving options for more stories in the world. It was a fascinating story will engaging characters.
Emery has determined to have
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her tested by another paper mage so that no one can accuse them of favoritism because of their relationship. Unfortunately, he chooses Pritwin Bailey. The same Pritwin Bailey that he bullied when they were students together. Bailey hasn't gotten over it and still has a grudge against Emery and by extension Ceony.Ceony also has a surprising secret. Though it is thought that once a person pledges to a kind of magic that is the only magic they can use, Ceony is able to bond to any kind of magic. She is able to use every kind of magic but refuses to ever use blood magic which requires a death to activate. Siraj does use blood magic.
I liked the clever spells that Ceony creates for her examination and I like the way she and Emery work together as equals. Each is eager to protect the other but respects their abilities anyway. And it does take to two of them, working together, to defeat this villain.
This is the concluding book of a trilogy and nicely ties up loose ends while leaving options for more stories in the world. It was a fascinating story will engaging characters.
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LibraryThing member waclements7
4.5 stars
Excellent finish to a truly original and thoroughly enjoyable trilogy!
Excellent finish to a truly original and thoroughly enjoyable trilogy!
LibraryThing member nospi
Next ending to series as Cerony stretches her magical gifts
LibraryThing member LongDogMom
I think the magical arts that the author has created (paper Folder, rubber Siper, glass Gaffer and so on) are wonderfully original, and I love the things that Ceony creates. The description of the illusions we makes for the jungle award celebration was wonderful, and I liked the necklace that she
That said, I found her character to be annoying, more so with each book, but especially with this one. I found her somewhat immature and frustrating in that she always felt that she had to be the one to do everything and everything was her fault. She seemed overly self-absorbed and illogical in a lot of ways and it annoyed me as the reader. She became predictable because of these traits and never seemed to learn anything from her past mistakes. She talks about trust and promises and having faith, but then doesn't trust anyone else to do the right thing, thinking only she can do it all and she is constantly putting others in danger or getting them in trouble through her actions.
The book felt somewhat unbalanced...the horrors of the murders and crimes weren't equalled in seriousness and depth by the rest of the book, which came across as very simplistic and superficial, even trite as points. I liked the first book the best, but found myself enjoying them less as the trilogy went along. I feel like the world the author created was different and interesting and that it would have been a better series if the author had taken the time to go deeper into the world and flesh out the characters more.
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makes for herself. It was interesting to learn a bit about the other magical areas beyond Paper.That said, I found her character to be annoying, more so with each book, but especially with this one. I found her somewhat immature and frustrating in that she always felt that she had to be the one to do everything and everything was her fault. She seemed overly self-absorbed and illogical in a lot of ways and it annoyed me as the reader. She became predictable because of these traits and never seemed to learn anything from her past mistakes. She talks about trust and promises and having faith, but then doesn't trust anyone else to do the right thing, thinking only she can do it all and she is constantly putting others in danger or getting them in trouble through her actions.
The book felt somewhat unbalanced...the horrors of the murders and crimes weren't equalled in seriousness and depth by the rest of the book, which came across as very simplistic and superficial, even trite as points. I liked the first book the best, but found myself enjoying them less as the trilogy went along. I feel like the world the author created was different and interesting and that it would have been a better series if the author had taken the time to go deeper into the world and flesh out the characters more.
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LibraryThing member lauriebrown54
This book concludes the trilogy that started with “The Paper Magician”. Ceony is about to take the final exam that will make her a magician instead of apprentice, but her mind is on other things. Saraj, the murderous Excisioner who killed one of Ceony’s friends, has escaped from prison and
Magician Thane, Ceony’s mentor and intense love interest, has made the decision to have another Folder administer Ceony’s examination so that there can be no accusations of favoritism. Ceony makes it her mission to track Saraj as he moves across England to try and safe guard her family and herself; this is actually made easier by her move to another magician’s dwelling. She can use the talent she’s discovered- to use all sorts of magic rather than just Folding- with less fear of discovery. But is this new talent enough to defeat an Excisioner?
The story has a lot of things happening, but it doesn’t all hang together well. The bit with her sister didn’t really fit in. Ceony acts very rashly, more like the girl she was earlier than the almost-Magician she is. She still has her “only I can save this situation” attitude that puts her in danger- and threatens to reveal to Saraj how she performs her new magic abilities. I had a lot of trouble seeing her as a mature person! The action seems all in a rush, too, without good connection. The book has its moments – the magic is very inventive and I still love it. My favorite scene, though, isn’t a battle scene but at the very front of the book where Ceony decorates for a client’s party by bespelling paper to portray a living jungle!
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Ceony fears he will seek revenge for his imprisonment. Magician Thane, Ceony’s mentor and intense love interest, has made the decision to have another Folder administer Ceony’s examination so that there can be no accusations of favoritism. Ceony makes it her mission to track Saraj as he moves across England to try and safe guard her family and herself; this is actually made easier by her move to another magician’s dwelling. She can use the talent she’s discovered- to use all sorts of magic rather than just Folding- with less fear of discovery. But is this new talent enough to defeat an Excisioner?
The story has a lot of things happening, but it doesn’t all hang together well. The bit with her sister didn’t really fit in. Ceony acts very rashly, more like the girl she was earlier than the almost-Magician she is. She still has her “only I can save this situation” attitude that puts her in danger- and threatens to reveal to Saraj how she performs her new magic abilities. I had a lot of trouble seeing her as a mature person! The action seems all in a rush, too, without good connection. The book has its moments – the magic is very inventive and I still love it. My favorite scene, though, isn’t a battle scene but at the very front of the book where Ceony decorates for a client’s party by bespelling paper to portray a living jungle!
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LibraryThing member lurgidbee
Another fun, quick read like the previous two. The romance between the POV protagonist is less front and center as the timeline progressed approximately 2 years from book 2. (For reference, there was only a few months difference between books 1 and 2.) Despite the fact that the character has had 2
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years of learning/growing, we really only see the addition of new spells to her arsenal - there seems to have been minimal personal grown. She still has the "take it all on herself" mentality, which caused deaths in both books 1 and 2. After 2 years, it seems like the message that "working alone is dangerous" should have had a more profound impact on her personality than some light nightmares. A specific example that comes to mind is that she frets when others in positions of authority do not wish to include her in discussions about the criminal Excisioners (death magic, basically) on the loose, but doesn't seem to account for the fact that perhaps the reason they don't is that they work together whereas she is prone to flying solo and unpredictably. I'll also agree with another reviewer that the overall ... lighthearted? ... language of the book doesn't seem to really match some of the darker themes that are introduced. This is true in books 1 and 2, but after getting to book 3 it just feels more apparent. I also feel like the POV character is mentally much, much younger than her approximate stated age - I have to keep reminding myself that she's not a teen with her obsessive, idealized romantic feelings toward her mentor. Show Less
LibraryThing member laura.w.douglas
Finished the series!!!!
Loved reading these
Loved reading these
LibraryThing member tjsjohanna
The one thing that I don't like about Ceony is that she always feels like she has to do everything on her own. She keeps secrets and everyone else keeps secrets and then people get hurt. I really enjoyed watching Ceony learn to use all the different types of magic, and that in the end she and Emery
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are finally honest with each other about everything. When they start working together they are pretty formidable. Show Less
LibraryThing member BraveNewBks
Fairly predictable, but I constantly found myself wanting to read more, and I finished it with record speed. Definitely enjoyable.
LibraryThing member MrNattania72
This was a great closing to the series. I do hope to see Ceyone and Emory again real soon
LibraryThing member Isana
So I read all these books in the span of a morning and it was definitely worth it. Usually, when I say a book was amazing and it's not even 300 pages, I get upset, but honestly, these books are so wonderful at their length that I'm not upset. I feel so content thanks to the ending. It was obviously
An easy read that is very cute and very exciting. My heart was racing and I was grinning. I recommend it, it you don't want something too twisting and complicated or potentially upsetting because sometimes you just need something good.
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expected but it was so nice because that's what I wanted from the books. I wanted what I needed to happen to take place and it did. An easy read that is very cute and very exciting. My heart was racing and I was grinning. I recommend it, it you don't want something too twisting and complicated or potentially upsetting because sometimes you just need something good.
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LibraryThing member ViragoReads
Wonderful continuation of the story. This brought an end to the story of Ceony and Emery vs the Excisoners; however, there are so many more questions. What will her former teacher do with the secret Ceony told her. Which I think was foolish. My only real dislike was that she gave up information
The story was a fun listen. As will the two previous, it kept my attention. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded. The whole concept of this world is fascinating. The magics were so original and I believe a lot of thought went into their creation, the spells...just wonderful!
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that could be used for serious evil. I have to wonder if the next book will follow that story, or if it will be one of those "the next generation" stories--which let's hope not because those are the worst.The story was a fun listen. As will the two previous, it kept my attention. I enjoyed the way the story unfolded. The whole concept of this world is fascinating. The magics were so original and I believe a lot of thought went into their creation, the spells...just wonderful!
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LibraryThing member jamestomasino
Really solid ending to the trilogy.
LibraryThing member KittyCunningham
This has turned into a romance novel. I can't stand the pining.
LibraryThing member chirikosan
I previously wrote a very long review in another language about why I hated this book so much. I think I will be brief here.
Book 1 is fabulous and I loved the concept of a common material based magic system. I loved the fact that Ceony was encouraged (more like forced because she entered magic
Book 2 is sort of good, and it focuses its attention between Ceony's obvious forbidden infatuation that is never well recieved by Emery, and the fact that she pissed off three people that are now set upon getting rid of her. Other elemental magic is seen within this book (too briefly for my taste), and once again, she gets herself into danger (much more out of a sense of arrogance on Ceony's part) when legally there was no need for it.
Book 3 is arguably the worst of the 3 books. Ceony discovers that there is a way to bypass the bonding incantation and can now use spells from the 5 elements at will. She obviously decides to keep this knowledge to herself, while treating everyone like crap. Emery gets worried that he might get into legal trouble because she's too obnoxiously in love with him, and she is forced to continue her apprenticeship with the only other paper magician in the country: a man resembling all of the negative traits of Severus Snape who hates Emery, but he accepts to teach Ceony anyways. Instead of being grateful, Ceony treats him and his student horribly for no reason whatsoever, and continues to get into trouble until she becomes so intolerable, you'd wish the bad guys would just finish her off.
A great story concept ruined by a detestable protagonist, I awarded the final book of the trilogy 2 stars.
Book 1 is fabulous and I loved the concept of a common material based magic system. I loved the fact that Ceony was encouraged (more like forced because she entered magic
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school with a scholarship and feels indebted to her benefactor) to become permanently bonded to what is percieved to be the worst element: paper. Over the first book, she starts to see the benefits of her element, along with a fleeting love interest for her teacher Emery. After his life is in danger, Ceony uses her wits and creativity to keep him temporarily alive while she locates the person who tried to kill him.Book 2 is sort of good, and it focuses its attention between Ceony's obvious forbidden infatuation that is never well recieved by Emery, and the fact that she pissed off three people that are now set upon getting rid of her. Other elemental magic is seen within this book (too briefly for my taste), and once again, she gets herself into danger (much more out of a sense of arrogance on Ceony's part) when legally there was no need for it.
Book 3 is arguably the worst of the 3 books. Ceony discovers that there is a way to bypass the bonding incantation and can now use spells from the 5 elements at will. She obviously decides to keep this knowledge to herself, while treating everyone like crap. Emery gets worried that he might get into legal trouble because she's too obnoxiously in love with him, and she is forced to continue her apprenticeship with the only other paper magician in the country: a man resembling all of the negative traits of Severus Snape who hates Emery, but he accepts to teach Ceony anyways. Instead of being grateful, Ceony treats him and his student horribly for no reason whatsoever, and continues to get into trouble until she becomes so intolerable, you'd wish the bad guys would just finish her off.
A great story concept ruined by a detestable protagonist, I awarded the final book of the trilogy 2 stars.
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LibraryThing member jazzbird61
This was a sweet little trilogy.
Original publication date
2015-06-02
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Pages
226