It was alright, but i felt like it was missing a bit to the character. He was a bit bland and boring to me.

3.5 really on the fence about this book, on one hand i feel like i did like the story but on the other hand it seemed slow and jumpy.

This was not what I was expecting and it didn't grab my attention. Possibly just not my cup of tea. DNF after around 25%.

Summary: 12 year old Mierta McKinnon is shown visions of his past, present, and future during his Rite of Wands ceremony. He discovers his fate is to die in 22 years at the hands of the Shreya, a vicious plague sweeping through Iverna leaving tons of bodies in its wake. Mierta is determined to learn everything he can in order to craft a cure to stop the plague. After all, his life depends on it. 16 year old Orlynd O'Brien is the newly appointed advisor to the King of Vandolay. When the king is poisoned, Orlynd is determined to protect the crown prince from meeting the same fate.

This YA fantasy is unlike any I've read before. Let's find out why:

- The Rite of Wands ceremony: We start off right at the beginning of Mierta's rite. The early pages make it out to be this intense test used to determine if a 12 year old is worthy of becoming a magical citizen. Mierta is so worried he will fail and disappoint his father. In actuality, the so called test was just showing Mierta some visions. I don't understand how this was a test at all? There are repercussions for failing, but literally nothing happened that could warrant a person to fail. Very anticlimactic. I'm surprised something that inspired the title of this book could be so... boring.

- The Worldbuilding: The worldbuilding in this book was SORELY lacking. Things were mentioned in passing with no real explanation, and they were never mentioned again. I have no idea how this world works. To be a warlock, you have to be born in the Kingdom of Aracelly. Why? What happens if two mortal parents decide to have their baby in Aracelly? Will the baby become a warlock or is it genetic? Furthermore, there are all these mentions of the O'Briens being a disgraced family for something Orlynd's father did, but it's never said what he did! I think it has something to do with the persecution of the Magulians, the people who fail the Rite of Wands ceremony and are not granted magic, but I have no idea. The Magulians were mentioned a few times, but I still don't know what happened. It also doesn't make sense to me why they were persecuted or even executed. They'll never disappear if 12 year olds keep failing the Rite of Wands. Are they just going to kill a bunch of 12 year olds? If it's not obvious, I am very confused.

- The Plot: I can sum this up in one word- nonexistent. Nothing actually happened until about halfway and even then it barely picked up. There's this mention of a prophecy throughout the whole book but nothing happens with it. The pieces to the prophecy are still falling into place. This felt like a prequel to a novel I didn't read, not the first book to a series. I also felt like there were a few obvious and annoying plot devices. For example, why would a complete stranger offer to teach, feed, and house a kid he met two seconds ago? Why would the king's royal guard let the last person of royal blood wander off ALONE in the middle of a forest because he can hear a woman crying? And he's the only one who can hear her?? That's not ominous or anything. These things were very unbelievable and felt like it was just a cheap trick the author pulled to get the "plot" to go where she wanted it to.

- The Characters: Mierta was supposed to be 12 in the beginning, but he did not speak like a 12 year old. He also tries so hard to be funny that it's not funny at all. The reader is bombarded with his supposed-to-be-funny thoughts for every action he takes. At one point he pulls a bone off a shelf and thinks something like "I've got nothing funny about this one." Why does everything need to be funny? Just describe the scene! Ugh. And then to make matters worse he becomes a totally different person by the end. This would be fine if the reader got to see the events that changed him but oh, wait we skipped 22 years into the future. I have no idea what happened to him during that time, but now he's willing to take a person's free will away. Oh-kay.

The Setting: This is a medieval fantasy. There's jousting. I was not expecting that from the synopsis, so that's just a heads up. Also, somehow French is a language even though France is not a country that exists in this world? At this point I don't even care anymore.

Overall, I was left with far more questions than answers. I didn't want to overwhelm you with all the questions I still have left because this review is already too long. There is a second book that was recently released, but it doesn't look it's going to answer most of my questions. From the synopsis, it takes place during that 22 year gap, but again it will not shed light on the prophecy. It took 3 years for the second book to be released, and I wouldn't want to wait 3 more before I get any answers if any, so I will not be reading it.

For those reasons, I'm out.

I managed to get a quarter of the way through this book before giving up. The story is not engaging and the dialogue seems largely pointless. I have absolutely no idea what the point of the book is. I don’t mind mystery and intrigue where you find out what is going on in piecemeal but this is not that. Orlynd’s speech is also annoying, it makes him sound like a half-wit. Why is he the only one that speaks that way when even his Father did not? Also the pronunciation guide at the front is fine, but none of the words have a meaning. I flicked back at one point to try to work out what was being said and found I could pronounce it but had no clue to the meaning. For such a short book, it would have been really important to get the story going and moving because there was less time to let your readers know what is going on. I think this will stay on my DNF pile, which is surprisingly small given the amount of books I have read.

ARC from NetGalley

Well, I gave this one a good go. I made it to 49% before I just couldn't do it anymore. This book is told between various perspectives that are still not fully realized half way through the book.

Orlynd is a little bitch. Prince Deor is a stereotypical villain who kicks sand in the eyes of puppies and sneers constantly. He is also 14 but talks like an adult, if a petulant adult.

This story really makes no sense. I have no idea where we started, where we are, where we're going or why.

The characters are almost all incredibly irritating and flat. The story is confusing. This book isn't really bringing anything to my table. DNF it is.

I had fun reading it and appreciated the world building.
The plot is good but there's some issues toward the end.
It was an engrossing and entertaining read, recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Rite of Wands by Mackenzie Flohr is a fast paced adventure book about Dragons, witches, warlocks, Kings and Queens. It is about the coming of age of one boy who learns his destiny in the Rite and is determined to change it.

The book starts out with Mierta who has come of age and is ready to be the man he was raised to be. Yes he is “of age” but he makes decisions as an adolescent that proves that he doesn’t have to grow up too fast.

Then there’s Orlynd. His family is disgraced but he is given a chance because of his mother’s legacy as he has something to prove to the King, to the countrymen and to himself.

The book Goes from POV to POV to tell it’s story and all the lives are synchronized painting a picture.

That being said I do wish the story wasn’t quite so fast paced. I feel like because it is some of the plot points weren’t as fleshed out as others and it missed the mark a bit.

All in all it was an okay read. I wouldn't read the sequel but I would recommend to someone. They might have better luck with it than I did

2.5/5

Thr rite of wands by Mackenzie Flohr
This was a kind of book which left me curious for more. A tale of magic, trust, betrayal, prophecies, love, hate, sorrow, family, secrets and wands. This was a a book with a different vibe to it with the historical society and characters who will definitely keep you curious. To be honest it took me a long time to read this book. The writing was a bit different but later after a few chapters I was comfortable with it. The author has an unique style and I acknowledge that it's beautiful.

This is a tale of a kingdom and it's prophecies that need to come true and some people trying to stop it. At the heart of this tale is betrayal, trust and magic that gives the whole thing a blissful uplift that will ensnare you if, you are a fan of historical fiction. The rite of wands is a procedure that every warlock must undergo and thus whatever happens at that time should not be told to anyone no matter what. That being the only rule complicates things. A murdered mother, a murdered king... So many events yet hidden to the eyes. A quest of the warlocks to see justice done with a wonderfully crafted book. I loved the characters both dark and good with the plot of the story.

The multiple pov's in this book keep the anticipation up if what is to come and that acts as a treat to the reader. The landscape setup was a bit confusing but I thoroughly enjoyed the circumstances and how the story just flowed from past, future and present without too many hitches. If you are looking for a grasping read with a touch of magic you can surely pick this book up.
#netgalley #theriteofwands

The Rite Of Wands is a medieval fantasy about a warlock, Mierta who foresees a horrific future in his Rite Of Wands ceremony, a ceremony which of initiation all witches and warlocks must go through. Scared, Mierta starts working towards preventing the tragedy he has been shown. Meanwhile, in the castle where Mierta's father works as a court physician, there are people who are full of secrets and nobody knows who to trust.

When I opened this book and saw the translations for Orlynd's speech, I was a bit concerned I would not be able to understand the book. However, it was pretty easy to understand what he was saying without having to check the list too often.

This story had such a medieval feel to it. I felt like I was transported back to the days of dragons and witchcraft. I particularly liked the use of terms we do not normally see like 'warlock' and 'soothsayer.' There was even a banshee thrown in.

The plot moved quickly enough that I finished the book a lot faster than I expected. My only issue was that at some points, the author included a bit of unnecessary explanations.

My favorite character was Orlynd, the new soothsayer at the castle. He was the only person I felt to be truly trustworthy and loyal. I was glad when the king realized his worth.

I would actually like to continue this series and see what happens next. This series would appeal to those who love fantasy and medieval stories.

Recurrent themes: Magic. Potions. Royalty. Secrets. Poisoning. Murder. Deception

Violence: A character was shot with an arrow. Characters were poisoned. A violent explosion mars a character's face badly
Sexual Content: The sexuality of one of the characters is hinted at and used to her advantage but there is no detailed description
Profanity: None
Religious Themes: A character prays to God
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: Mead is drunk at parties

The world build is very intriguing. And it's a shorter read, which I loved. Still, the character pacing and motivations, especially towards the end of the book, didn't make sense. But I liked one character, who was really the co-protagonist, a lot.

Can people speak French if there has never been a France? Is using an outdated and insulting way to portray the Scottish burr to write a character's speech ok? Where is all the world-building? Is this little novel ever going to end?
These questions kept popping into my head while reading this book. The plot is flimsy, the world-building is barely sketched, and the characters are not well rounded.