Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was amazed by this new fantasy coming-of-age novel, which exceeded all of my expectations. The book is HUGE, but I read the whole thing almost non-stop in two days, constantly intrigued by the mysteries of the created world and life of the main character and supporting characters. The story is told entirely from the main character's point of view, which I really enjoyed, as the constantly switching perspectives of most new fantasy works often annoy me. Although the main character is a young teenager for the whole story, his occasionally childish perspective makes me think of that age more with nostalgia than annoyance at the MC's immaturity (which usually happens in books with young MCs). All of the characters are realistic in their actions and motivations, and, although there is typically a clear line between the good guys and bad guys, no character is perfect and struggles with various faults and temptations. The book even addresses on more serious topics such as abuse, cultural intolerance, and religion, though never in a way that feels preachy or overdone (more in the way of addressing serious topics that are real and need to be addressed in the life of the main character). The main character (though young) has enough faults to be relatable but enough strengths to be admired and someone I would like to be (an important and difficult balance that many books have a difficult time maintaining). Additionally, you get a TON of reading material for a cheap price, with no discernible editing errors (very unexpected and amazing in an indie author). Also, despite handling some heavy topics, this book has content suitable for all ages of readers (no cursing, sex scenes, or gratuitous violence), although the writing style is in no way simplistic or dumbed-down for younger readers. When thinking of what the target audience of this book probably is, I realize that I can't imagine an age past 10 that I would not immensely enjoy this novel. The only possible faults with this book that I can come up with are that it follows a very overdone fantasy trope (a gifted young boy's coming-of-age in an academy) and that the next books in the series are not out yet. Despite following an overdone theme, this book brings me back to why that theme is so popular, and in my opinion is second only to (if not even with) Rothfus' Kingkiller Chronicles, one of my all time favorites. Even following standard rules of this genre, everything feels very realistic for youths of that age (I especially liked the way the young romances were handled). This is also very much the first book in a series, and there are many potential mysteries and avenues for development of characters and the created world that are hinted at in this book but left to future books to encounter more thoroughly. All in all, I LOVED this book, more than any I've read in years, and can't wait for the next in the series. I will soon be recommending this to both friends and enemies: friends to share in the enjoyment of this first book, and enemies to share the suffering of waiting for book 2.