Unfortunately, I ended up DNF'ing this book. Parts of it were enjoyable and I found the writing to be okay but the plot just couldn't draw me in.

Choices determine our fate, but passion puts the life into it. Thomas has many decisions to make as he is thrust into society and adulthood, ready or not. With a plot to engage, and friends to support, things turn personal and Thomas finds the passion he needs to seek the source, seek the truth and become the man he’s meant to be.
Formidable and interesting characters drive this fantasy laced, historical fiction plot. Intelligently written, with undertones of racism, sacrifice, faith and religious history, Fawkes is a different type of historical fiction. It will have you pondering how one person can wreak havoc on an entire people, and how others often blindly follow those who are out only for themselves...when really all you need to do is seek the truth, regardless of the beliefs society has pressed upon you. Fawkes is thought provoking and really quite fantastic.

Fawkes is the perfect history buff and fantasy lovers dream. Fawkes is based on a real person named Guy Fawkes. I have no knowledge of this character but the author takes this character weaves a magical tale set in london, with a devasting plauge that changes people to stone and weaves in color magic. If that doesn’t intrigue you then maybe you should pick up another book.

I loved how much is packed into this one story, you get historical references and the magic system is weaved into perfectly. The magic system in this story is based on masks which are made by fathers and given to sons or mothers given to daughters. We have two sides fighting against each other all in the farce of believing in how they fell magic should be used. Those who are loyal to one color or those who wield all colors and follow the white color.

The author did a amazing job of pacing this story out and keeping me entranced that almost wish their was more story to read. Pick this one up right now.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing an e-arc in exchange for my honest review!

My immediate thoughts on Fawkes are that is was alright. I adored the setting and the historical fiction aspect of it. The magic system seemed intriguing but it was not my favorite.
Fawkes is a historical fiction novel based on the Gunpowder Plot and Guy Fawkes. It has a fantasy twist to it and I appreciated that this novel taught me a lot the history lessons in school failed to inform me on. It is set in 17th century England, which was what really draw me to this book. It is a very atmospheric read, you really feel like you venture through London back in 1605. In this novel it is possible to possess color magic but therefore you have to receive a mask made by a parent.
while I liked the overall concept of the book I felt like it could have been condensed a lot. There is a lot of back and forth and I sometimes grew tired of our main character's perspective. In my opinion it could have been at least 100 pages shorter.

Overall I still recommend this book to lovers of historical fiction and fantasy novels.

Title: Fawkes
Author: Nadine Brandes
Genre: YA, fantasy
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The Stone Plague has tormented England for years. There is no cure. In most cases, it means death. For a lucky few, it means a life of despair and being shunned and beaten. Thomas Fawkes has the plague, but it’s dormant, hidden behind his eye patch, and almost no one knows.

Except his father, the legendary Guy Fawkes, known for his bravery and courage. But he abandoned Thomas after his son got the plague, and all Thomas wants from him is his own mask—so he can graduate and make his way in the world using his color power as a Keeper, one who bonds with a single color power. Keepers are beaten and killed now that an Igniter king is on the throne, so Thomas trusts no one.

When his father doesn’t show up, Thomas is kicked out and abandoned. Angry, he makes his way to London, and finds his father embroiled in a plot to kill the king and Parliament, destroying Igniter power forever and putting a Keeper on the throne. But Thomas starts to see that things aren’t as his father believes, and with the help of a classmate, an Igniter girl with more power than he’s ever seen, he learns the truth. Now Thomas must decide between his father and the girl he loves—and his choice is a death sentence for one.

I found the magic system in Fawkes fascinating and unique. Thomas is a troubled character searching for the truth amid many obstacles. His relationship with his father—the notorious Guy Fawkes—is complex and nuanced, and the exploration of English culture is vivid and probably uncomfortably accurate. I highly enjoyed reading this adventure.

Nadine Brandes loves Harry Potter and Oreos. Fawkes is her newest novel.

(Galley provided by Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.)

My Review: I kept hearing about this book in Instagram, it has a beautiful cover so I was pretty excited when I was approved on Netgalley for an ARC. I went into this story a little blind, I only vaguely knew it was a historical fiction with a fantasy twist (and the fantasy is what drew me in), and honestly this is a book not to go into blind. I really struggled with this book, the pacing is really slow and if you are not invested in the characters or the story you will quickly loose interest. I ended up downloading the audio book in hopes of getting the story moving a little better for me and the voice fluctuation did help identifying the characters but it really didn't help the story too much for me. I appreciate the amount of research that went into this story to keep it as close to accurate as possible but I feel like that added to the story dragging, it became too dense and too detail oriented. There were also a few statements that were made throughout the story about race, beliefs and getting to the truth but again they didn't add to the story and were a bit of a filler, even though they are important topics, it just didn't fit with this story for me. Clearly a lot of other readers really enjoyed this story and that is great but it didn't work for me.

My Rating: I so struggled with this book, for a book just over 400 pages and using the ebook with the audio book it should have taken me only a few days to get through it but it took nearly 10 days. I really had to force myself to keep picking it up. Sadly this is a One Star and a Stump Wag book for me.

FAWKES has a very unique premise. Each parent makes their child a mask which will then bind them with their color magic. Thomas has always craved his grey power that will accompany him when his father provides him with has mask. Thomas however is plagued. Though his plague has been dormant for years it still haunts him. Thomas has been raised to believe white light is evil, until one day it speaks to him and he must question everything he knows. There are assassiantion plots and lots of political intrigues. Although FAWKES is historical fiction the fantasy elements are very intriguing. I found those moments more exciting. I gave FAWKES a three out of five stars. Sometimes I found the historical elements to be slower and less exciting. However I think Nadine is a brilliant writer and I’m looking forward to more of her works.

It was a really good fantasy novel; I enjoyed the story and the world development. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to read this book before it was published,

Fawkes
by Nadine Brandes

Release Date: July 10, 2018

My rating: 5 stars

SUMMARY: Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone. He lives in 17th century London, in the midst of a color war where the Keepers think the Igniters caused the Stone Plague and the Igniters think the Keepers did it. Thomas becomes mixed up in the plot to install a new king because his father says it will end the plague.

MY THOUGHTS: This historical fiction-yet-not-historical-fiction is so unique. It’s set against real events during the Gunpowder Plot of the 17th century, and yet it is also a fantasy story. What a brilliant idea. I want more of this hybrid kind of story! I enjoyed the plots and twists, the Christian undertones, and seeing Thomas grow and change and develop his own opinions. Definitely gets 5 stars for originality and for keeping me turning the pages while giving me something to think about it! I would have like to have seen a bit more explanation of things in the beginning, but as the story unfolded the knowledge came.

This book is recommended to anyone who likes historical fiction and/or fantasy or who is interested in a hybrid of the two.

===============
At my request, I received a free electronic copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. This review reflects my honest thoughts and opinions on the book, and I received no compensation for this review.

I tried, I really did. I try especially hard when books are gifted to me to review to read the entire book. However, I couldn't finish it. Although I found the premise of the story to be really interesting, I did not enjoy the characters and the writing style was difficult for me to enjoy. I found myself getting really annoyed with Thomas and I wish there had been more explanation to the color powers. As I was reading, I felt like I was thrown into this magical world without any understanding of what it was about, then kept that way. I normally give books that I don't finish one star, however, I chose to give this one two as I thought it was a really creative idea for a book. Who knows, maybe I will take a break for a bit and then try again...

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My review below is honest and the views are completely my own.

This historical fantasy retelling of the Gunpowder plot with an added original magical caste system was interesting. Guy Fawkes' son, Thomas, suffers from the Stone Plague and wants nothing more than to receive his mask from his father so he can come of age in the magical world. Thomas finds himself thrust into the world of treason as Guy Fawkes rallies around a group of fighters looking to assassinate the King. The plot was a lot, with the Gunpowder plot, along with so many characters, not to mention the romance plot... it somehow felt rushed and yet slow at the same time.

Though slow at times, the second half of the book had tension built upon each chapter. It took me quite a while to get through it, and I found myself putting it down a lot.

While weak with the pacing, I would recommend Fawkes to YA and fantasy readers who are interested in historical fiction.

From the blurb, you’ll gather there are two major magical factions. Both believe absolutely that their viewpoint is right and that if they don’t prevail, disaster will overtake the country. This point of view also sums up the attitudes of the religious differences prevailing at the time, which was the underlying cause of the Gunpowder Plot and is a nifty way of generating added interest in the religious divide that fractured the country for generations, but that our modern secular society finds difficult to understand. However, I did find it a bit of a problem. While I knew all about the differing beliefs of the Catholics and Protestants of the time, I wasn’t clear exactly how the colour system of magic operated. As James, the main protagonist, isn’t a magic-user, he doesn’t have an intimate knowledge of how it works and while I realised that white magic is the dealbreaker, I wasn’t sure what happened with the likes of teal and crimson, for instance. I was able to let this go for the sake of the story, but I did feel it was a weakness.

James’ determination to search out his absent father and persuade him to craft him a mask which would allow him to access his magical ability, snagged my sympathy – especially as that father happened to be Guido Fawkes. And once James tracks down his father, as we already know, his problems are only beginning. Elements from the actual plot are woven into this tense historical thriller, which I really enjoyed. But the character who really stole the show for me was Emma.

Personally, I would have preferred to have had the story told from her viewpoint as I think she was a stronger, feistier character who pinged off the page and whose story arc is more interesting than James. The problem with James is that he is only ever on the edge of the plot and spent much of the story grappling with the plague. I felt that Brandes got a tad overwhelmed with the sheer richness and complexity of the elements in her story and consequently, there was a stronger, more coherent version struggling to surface.

Nonetheless, Brandes is clearly a skilful, capable writer with an interesting tale that has had me pondering many of the elements since I finished reading it. Recommended for readers interested in fantasy with a historical twist.
7/10

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins Publishing, for the read of “Fawkes”. A big thank you to Nadine Brandes for a cleverly written novel.
I loved this novel. How Nadine Brandes took the November 5, 1605 Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot historical facts and used it to create a YA Fantasy, was extremely clever. The writing is excellent. The characters interesting. The plot, great!..and then wait... and then ok. Everyone is to earn a mask to control magic power over a colour. Brown controls earth, mud…blue controls water – you get the idea. Everyone but the plagued. Thomas Fawkes, son (fictional or non, not sure) of the infamous Guy Fawkes, is infected with the stone plague and sans mask. And I found him not a very strong, likeable fellow. But there are enough other characters and plot lines that I didn’t mind much. The world-building was impressive; it was easy to get swept up in the story, but at the same time, it left me with a few questions regarding the mask magic. Like, what happens when the mask cracks, breaks or is stolen – as they are in the novel? Is there a mask repair shop? Do you get another mask? If yes, where?
The other characters were great. Emma, Thomas’ love interest, is portrayed as a modern day heroine, facing modern day challenges, in a 1605 setting. I won’t give any Emma away because it was one of my favorite surprises in the novel but you’ll see what I mean when you read it.
But, I really enjoyed this book. It was a unique, entertaining read. I highly recommend this book and it is definitely one I will order for our library must reads.

“I couldn’t let her shape my decision just because I cared about her. And I couldn’t let Father shape my decisions just because I wanted his approval.”

That quote sums up a lot of the story and Thomas’ character growth. I’m not the type of reader to really analyze what a book is trying to say but it’s impossible to miss in Fawkes. I thought its a historical fiction fantasy story about 🎭 masks and magic with a plague and overthrowing a tyrant. Fawkes is about overcoming prejudice, thinking for yourself instead of what society is shoving down your throat, and standing up for what is right not based on belief or popular opinion but at the source as it applies to everyone despite race or gender.

I knew basically nothing about the history of Guy Fawkes until this book. (That being said this is, in no ways, a history textbook. Just going to throw out that warning right here. But if this is what happened, it’d be so amazing – and would make more sense than some things in history do to me). I have, however, always been fascinated by the event – an assassination plot gone wrong? Count me in. And then you throw in magic and I’m sold. Who can I give my money to before I leave?

I adored the leading lady, the heroine, the masked companion that is Emma. She was all about empowerment. Not only was she strong, especially in a fight, but she was also honorable. I really enjoyed Thomas. Yes he can kind of stick his foot in his mouth sometimes, but what I loved about him was his journey. The magic is amazing here. The magic is combined with politics and social justice. There’s so much more to the magic and to the implications. You felt fully immersed in the world. In the way that you know a bit, don’t know a lot, and spend some time lost in the middle. But there’s so much, dare I say it, color to this world.

It could have been a 5-star read, but as always execution of premise could not be the way I wanted it or probably less confusing.
Times of Guy Fawkes, magic, secret love, power play, a lot of action and complicated connections - what not to love here? Right?
Well - due to lack of good explanations about what each faction can do or what colors of their mask represent (like Brown can do...). That made that read much more confusing than it should have been and disturbed the reading pace as I tried to cover it with my imagination.
Needs that added so readers won't be that confused!

This was a book that got my interest because it's a blend of many things: fantasy ,historical fiction and a great cover! In general I enjoyed the book, but there are aspects of it that was lacking in my opinion.
I found the idea of people wearing masks and control the color that coincides with their mask. The world building was unique and there were twists to the original historical story, which was good.
It could be even better if the writer explained the original historical characters and events a bit more, as I assume not everyone knows and it would bring more attention from the reader if explained.
The magic aspect was a bit messy, I wish there was more structure to it. Also, it wasn't so well thought and explained. The world setting and magic system need to be really set up well to make a great fantasy book.
Overall, I enjoyed it, but at the same time I really think it could be much better if these issues were met.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for granting a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw the title of this book I though I knew the story of Guy Fawkes and what to expect. This story about Guy Fawkes’ son, Thomas is so much more than historical fiction mixed with magic! This book uses magic and the plot of treason to cause the reader to question where their loyalty lies. Not just governmental loyalty, but the loyalty to themselves. Without spoiling things, Thomas has to decide if he will follow his father’s lead or question things and make his own decisions.
The magic system in this book is quite interesting. When you come of age, your mother or father gives you a mask they have made for you that will bond with you and you will be able to use “Color magic”. Color magic controls things that are that color, for example blues control water and browns control dirt. It is part of the political intrigue because there are two schools of thought, the Keepers who believe each person should control only one color and the Ignitors who want to control multiple colors. This idea of one strength or using multiple strengths is something I see people struggle with in our daily lives, do we focus on one skill or do we multitask? This book will make you think about that.
Give this book a read because I walked away feeling like I need to figure out where I stand in life and what I want to be, and as an adult I thought those feelings were behind me, but Thomas and his friends have made me reinvigorated to pursue my true purpose.

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes is a young adult historical fantasy novel set in the time and events of the Gunpowder plot. Thomas Fawkes is dying, a magical plague is turning him to stone, literally. The only thing he thinks can save him is his color mask. Once he is able to connect to color magic through it he thinks it will save him. The only problem is that his father, the famous Guy Fawkes, is the only one who can carve his mask, and Guy has not been an involved father for Thomas. Thomas goes in search of his father and gets pulled into the political intrigue of magic and politics and a plot, the real version of which is still celebrated today.

For me Fawkes was a lot of fun. Blending the real people who were involved with some unique added characters and concepts that make the story all its own. Thomas as a character is still really learning and trying to find himself. He is pulled and pushed by the events and people around him, not really sure who is leading him in the right path. He wants to impress his father but also Emma who he finds a greater and greater connection to. The story from start to finish leads us along a complex path as Thomas is exposed to more and more of the world around him

Overall I recommend Fawkes by Nadine Brandes as a well conceived blend of real events and people with fantasy, romance and adventure. As the characters learn that there is more that meets the surface going on, in so many instances and ways, the twists and turns we are presented with keeps us feeling for the characters and wishing everyone could win somehow. I also enjoyed the afterward where Ms. Brands gives us the historical context behind the characters, who was real, what they actually did, and where the ideas for other characters were drawn from.

(I voluntarily reviewed an advance review copy of this book I received for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my open and honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.)

This story has a strange mix of true history and fantasy. Some of the events and characters were real. Guy Fawkes did take part in a gun powder plot to kill King James. But, in reality, there were no Keepers and Igniters who could control colour. There is even a different kind of plague in this story. This one turns a body to stone, rather than making someone sick. It was sometimes hard to keep track of what was real and what was fiction.

The war between Keepers (the people who only controlled one colour) and the Igniters (the people who controlled more that one colour) resembled the fight between Protestants and Catholics. They use the same information, in this case controlling colours, in different ways. Racial issues also came up multiple times in the story. Unfortunately, this separation of religions and races is still prevalent today, just as in the 17th century.

This book was good. I liked the way it rewrote history, with a fantasy twist.