Good day! Before anything else, I would like to extend my deepest, sincerest gratitude for sending me a digital review copy of this book (via NetGalley). Thank you very much for the opportunity!

Unfortunately, I am sad to say that I have lost interest in this particular title, and consequently, I have decided against finishing it. Forcing myself to finish a book I am disinterested in (solely for the sake of finishing it) can only negatively impact the entirety of my reading experience, which, in turn, could result in me writing an unfairly negative review. That is a circumstance I hope to avoid. With that said, I believe that the best course of action is for me to simply not read it and to refrain from publicly posting any feedback regarding this book.

I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Again, thank you for the lovely opportunity!

A pretty intense read! One cannot help but admire Victoria as she endures the cruelties she experiences. A complex story that will entertain you to the end.

<b>story-line and plot</b>

Victoria, “Vic,” is from Ourtown. Since a young age she has intended to become a Logkeeper. Logkeepers are in charge of preserving every record their predecessors had from space logs, to information about their space travels and home planet. Being the youngest Logkeeper ever Vic starts her job in earnest and travels to many villages to recite the logs and transport letters between communities. While staying at a town called Cairo they are attacked by pirates who are also slavers.

Vic ends up Vic being sold into sex slavery, things take a drastic turn. She is the mistress of the Remlord, Lornk Korng, held against her will and abused at his hand. He strips her of her name, her clothes and her dignity. But when the brutal master leaves, his son flips the script, allowing Vic to roam the house and regain her dignity. He shows her a portal that eventually saves her life. But the life on the other side of the world, won’t be so easy either. In the new city and culture, Vic will once again remake herself and become the warrior that can take on her former master.

<b>character talk</b>

Victoria is a wonderfully written and well developed main character I think. She starts off the story as a sixteen-year-old girl who gets dealt a shit-hand, but overtime develops into a courageous young woman. I am super excited to see how her story continues in the next book and to see her develop even more, hopefully.

Prince Ashel is a very unique character and I thought he was sooo interesting to read about as well. He has no interest in running a kingdom but serves his country through being a recorder. In Latha, they use music to tell their history and Prince Ashel is one of the greatest musicians of his time. A recorder and a Logkeeper are essentially historians for their people.

Lornk Korng is a villain through and through. There will be no redemption for this character. His version of breaking people down and melding them into what he wants is unique. I think he is an extremely well written villain. He made me feel so much and I love a good villain who gets me riled up!

<b>Conclusion</b>

The author's writing is really good and makes this an addictive and compelling read from beginning till end. It's descriptive, original and full of action. The characters are realistic and lovable because they are really well developed. I loved the world-building; I found all of the settings really interesting to read about! It has creative concepts and includes diverse cultures, from light skin to dark skin with no racial hierarchy. This story had me engaged from beginning to the end and the cliffhanger was so killing - yeah, heads up: cliffhanger incoming!! I highly recommend this story!

All of this combined made it be a fast-paced read and I'd definitely recommend this book if you're interested in adult fantasy, <b>but a warning has to be made as well I think regarding the sexual abuse! If you're sensitive to this, I'd say that it's better to avoid this one</b> <i>It doesn't last long though and it's an important part of the character development I think, but I can see why not every reader out there would want to read about that</i>. Other than that, I'd say; give this one a go! It's a really great read!

A Wizard’s Forge has been sitting on my Netgalley shelf for ages and I’ve only just got around to it.

After the first chapter, I wasn’t certain what to expect: Vic had an air of arrogance around her, a naïve perspective on her surroundings and a sense of entitlement because of her knowledge. This first chapter skimmed through events, clearly setting up the rest of the story, and didn’t allow any depth or connection to the characters.

The next few chapters also made it impossible to connect to Vic. Sold into slavery, she is slowly broken by her new owner; his twisted methods make her physically crave him as he gets inside her head, turning her into an obedient clock-work doll with only one thought: pleasing him to give him what he wants.

After that, however, the plot and the characters really start to develop.

Having escaped from her owner’s clutches, Vic’s life changes dramatically when she is taken in by the royal family. But she is determined to find where she truly belongs, and what she has to do in order to truly escape her enemy: his hold on her mind is still as strong as ever.

Having been introduced to a naïve girl, we soon see Vic grow into a strong, capable woman. She rises through the army, changing the course of the war due to her daring tactics and determination to stop others suffering the same fate she did.

Vic isn’t a superhero though. She is haunted by her past and has to fight her own demons every day just to be able to function. There were no miraculous recoveries; no implausible feats.

Secondary characters were also strong. Ashel – a musician prince with a wild side but a caring nature – is the balm to Vic’s pain. His sister, and Heir, Beth becomes a friend that Vic can rely on. They become her family and give her someone to fight for.

Lornk is evil and twisted and plays mind games that go far beyond abuse. His son, Earnk, is initially seen as redemption and salvation for Vic. But he’s weak; he still treats Vic as a slave despite professing his love. He comes through in a few places, but otherwise I thought he was weak, especially compared to what Ashel is prepared to do for Vic.

This story is dark! It’s full of slavery, rape, war and abuse. It destroys dreams and hopes and only provides a soft hint at being able to survive the ordeals the characters go through. Events act as a crucible: some characters come through stronger than before, others are broken by the ordeal.

Despite my initial uncertainty, this was a very powerful, gripping and moving story. The descriptions are vivid and real – I flinched more than once during some of the torture scenes, cringing for the characters. My reaction made me realise I liked the characters and wanted them to survive – it showed me how hooked I was.

An engrossing and gripping read.

Thank you to netgalley and A.M Justice for allowing me read and review this book. I’m not usually one to read science fiction but this left me pleasantly surprised and wanting to read more

3.5 stars. I admit that I wasn't sure I would enjoy this story at first. It goes into some pretty sensitive subjects, including sexual forms of torture, sexual abuse, psychological abuse and more and in a way that you are sort of caught off guard. Vic's psyche remains a mystery to the reader until she starts to figure out some things for herself and even then it leaves you with more questions than answers. The world the author created was interesting but a little difficult to follow. There are things that didn't make sense to me at all and things that I could deduce based on assumption. I think a softer introduction into the world elements would have made a huge impact.

I don't know if it was the writing or the story, but I sadly couldn't connect with the characters. I tried to continue reading till the end but I just felt like i was forcing myself. I'll hopefully go back to this some other time.

A. M. Justice takes a ready on the journey of a young woman who goes from a Scholar to Slave to Warrior to Wizard:

Victoria was the youngest scholar in her town. It was her job to spread the word of the history from town to town to make sure that the past was never forgotten. On her very first trip she is kidnapped and sold in to sexual slavery to the Realmlord whose every desire is to break Vic's will and make her love him and no other. Vic is able to break free, she has no desire to be a slave she knows she has to fight in order to make sure it never happens again. She becomes a warrior hell bent on revenge from her former captor but there could have been other reasons the Realmlord chose her. Vic is about to learn more about herself and her destiny but it will a bloody battle and many friends will be lost and the very thing that Vic craves may be what destroys her as well.

This was an interesting read and more high fantasy with a mix of sci-fi than I thought that it was going to be and I think overall Justice created an interesting and compelling read but there were a few flaws. For me I got lost a bit in the details of the world building that Justice tries to impose on the reader. It almost felt like Justice was trying to hard in creating her world. I guess what I'm trying to say is Less is More. I'm still not sure what the importance is yet that they are on a different planet than Earth this aspect was very downplayed the farther you go in to the book. I'm going to assume here that there will be more development on this in the future books. For me what drove this book was the development of her characters both those you liked and hated.

Vic is an amazing character, the strength she shows on a daily basis to go through what she has endured is amazing. I liked that Justice never had Vic forget what had happened to her as it has shaped her and still defines her character and the choices that she makes. It will be interesting to watch Vic come in to her powers and abilities the more practice and control and I look forward to Justice being creative with this. There are times when Vic's ideal are child like though which makes sense as she is only a teenager when this books starts and she has to grow up quick. I also find that these characteristics come out the more that she is with Ashel. Personally, I disliked Ashel as a character; I liked him when you first meet him in the book but it kind of went downhill from there. He is a spoiled rich prince who is not used to hearing no, he has not really experienced the world and always has his family there to bail him out if needed. I think that Justice created him this way so that when he meets Vic and actually has to go through some life changing even on his own his character has the ability to develop and change.

Justice does not shy away from torture in this book and it takes on several different forms from mutilation to sexual to psychological in nature. While this book may feature a teenager, this is not for a young adult audience some of the things that Realmlord does to his people is very disturbing. However, Realmlord is an interesting foe and one that Vic will never be able to forget and he uses that to his advantage on more than one occasion. The Realmlord is one of the highlights of this book as his a a really good villain and the length he will go to for control and to get Vic back are extreme.

Overall enjoyed the book even though I found the world building a bitt too convoluted, I really enjoyed the story and Vic as a character. Of course there is a cliffhanger at the end too, so you'll be wanting to read the next book

Enjoy!

Couldn't finish, not really what I was expecting. Will maybe try again in the future

This book was not at all what I was expecting it to be. I went into it thinking it would be a good mix of fantasy and sci-fi, but it definitely ended up being more of a sci-fi read. Also, a reader warning: this book gets into sexual and psychological abuse and torture, and it is very emotional and tragic.

As a frequent reader of fantasy and sci-fi, I think that this book had the potential to be great but fell just short. The plot was interesting, and the idea of logkeepers and world elements were fascinating. However, one of the things that just didn't strike my interest was the world-building. In sci-fi and fantasy novels, you can do ANYTHING. There are no rules, no limits to what kind of world and magic an author can bring to life. But ultimately, the world introduced to us just felt like Earth 2.0. Certain scenes and depictions felt so similar to what I would read in a contemporary novel, and in a fantasy setting, that is disappointing. I also feel like the structure of the world itself was not fully grasped. Details were thrown in that just didn't connect, and it was a real struggle as a reader to piece together bits of info and form a picture.

One thing I will say though is Justice NAILS the emotions of the main character, Vic. Some of what she goes through is heartbreaking and disturbing, and Justice wrings out every little ounce of emotion you could possibly feel. Vic is a strong female character, and I LOVE THAT. I relished her want for revenge, wanted to see her tear down her tormentor bit by bit. The characterization of Vic was by far my favorite part of this book.

And UGH, multiple love interests. OVER. IT. Love triangles (and worse, love squares) will kill a book for me like no other, Vic had a couple suitors, and when the romance part of things started, I found myself slowly disengaging. For a book like this, I wanted more magic, more exploration, more revenge! Those were the parts I enjoyed, and when the love interests were presented, those parts became a bit of struggle for me to get through. Love triangles are very hard to weave through, and so far, only Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series has portrayed a GOOD one for me. It'll be interesting to see how the characters and their connections to one another continue to develop.

Overall, this was an entertaining, emotional read. I wished there were a bit more magical elements and world-building, but the character development, especially for Vic, was bar none.

Good story, some parts of it I couldn't get into and ended up skipping. Has potential to be a great story. Either way A.M Justice did a good job! Keep up the good work.

Intriguing plot twists, captivating plot ,strong story line and well delivered mystery made this book a one sit read. I would recommend it to everyone. I loved it. I hope for more titles like this from the author

I was fascinated by the cover of this book as well as the title. Witches, Wizards, Magic and I’m in!

So first, being a log keeper is like a librarian in modern day? is that right? (please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong..) but they record every events? something like that..

Anyway, at the early chapter of the story, I was so annoyed with the main character, Victoria, because she has a lot of negativity. She doesn’t project that much confidence even if her edge among her peers is she, being a log keeper at an early age.

I am glad I forced myself to read more, and from the middle up to the end, it’s like “This is what it looks like!” something like “Hell yeah!”. I don’t get the clock work toy thing? and I am really be glad if there are some pictures or drawings I can see just to have a full picture of the clothing, accessories and many others on my mind.

The moment she was forged to be a wizard, that was the start of the very good part of the book. The good part started when she go to the Device and transported to Ashel’s kingdom. I liked the her strong character.

I am really looking forward to the next book!

I loved this book!

It's about a girl that start's a as a logkeeper (logkeepers maintain the logs that is something like books that hide the history of the world) and then her life completely change.

What I liked the most about the main character Victoria, is that she knows who she is, there is no in the beginning. She is a logkeeper and she likes her job and then something happens that completely changes the situations and the environment. Victoria adjusts and changes as a character but also succeeds to stay true to her self. I enjoyed it a lot that I couldn't predict what would happened next.
The side characters were very intriguing too, the villain was complex the best kind.

I will definitely read the next one of this series and I recommend it!!!

I've had quite the tumultuous journey with this book - at first, I couldn't stomach the chapters with our heroine Vic in captivity, because it made my stomach churn too much. I turned to other books and left this behind, until I felt too guilty about having this on my TBR for so long and picked it up again, determined to soldier through. Once I got into it, I was HOOKED - I stayed up til 3am in the morning and had to force myself to put my phone down before I risked dropping it on my face out of weariness! Then the following day as I was reading the second half, some of the plot threads just didn't come together properly, other arcs were introduced that didn't go anywhere and the tone grew rather unexpectedly dark towards the end. I've never had such mood whiplash with a book before!

I can't separate out what the pros and cons were, as they're inextricably tied. For instance, the beginning with Vic being kept as the naked plaything of the villain was so hard for me to read - although there is no penetrative rape, the sexual as well as psychological assault on her was nearly unbearable. But what I have tremendous respect for is that the author didn't gratuitously pen these scenes and then move on, to the contrary, they have long-lasting impact on Vic throughout the rest of the story. We see her struggling to cope in the aftermath, and even once she has seemingly moved on, there is the occasional glimpse of her breaking down which rings so true to life. People can move on from a tragedy and be seemingly well-adjusted, then have a setback and experience that pain and grief all over again.

I absolutely cannot stand rape as a plot device, but that's because I've found a lot of authors tend to throw it in for shock value and nothing more. I really appreciate that's not the case here at all, and I wish more authors would similarly only incorporate sexual assault if they're willing to actually explore how it affects the character in question and show their recovery from this event.

Another aspect I enjoy is how sprawling and ambitious the story is - it takes the protagonist in so many different directions and fleshes out several different lifestyles for her. Vic: Scholar, Captive, Royal Ward, Soldier, Wizard.I couldn't predict where Vic's path would lead her from one chapter to the next, it was such a roller-coaster ride! I loved seeing Vic pick herself up from her most broken and vulnerable, displaying this amazing resiliency and great fortitude as she rebuilt herself and forged her own way in a foreign kingdom.

And yet that's also its weakness, there's almost TOO much packed into this one novel. As if in concession to that, we're treated to a couple of time-jumps to take the character from one point to another, and I find that a little disappointing because I'm interested in seeing that growth and how Vic adjusts from one role to the next. I feel like the characters and plot would've been better served if this were split across two different novels - I know it's called 'A Wizard's Forge', but the wizardry towards the end didn't feel convincing and I felt that since Vic had suddenly became super powerful, she ought to have been able to defeat all her enemies then and there rather than having several chapters still to go. Plus there was an odd time-travel/prophecy angle that was introduced late in the game and it felt quite of place and superfluous to the plot, there was already so much going on that this was like the straw that broke the camel's back!

On to the supporting characters - since the book spans several years with the time-jumps, we do meet and then move on from a stable of characters with some frequency. The most important and constant would be the royal family of Latha, who take Vic under their wing: the king dotes on her, the queen is more suspicious and I'm very dubious about her motives (she's so cunning that by the end, I'm still not sure if she's trying to kill Vic or not), the princess Bethniel is a flighty princess who does some growing up when she needs to defend her claim to the throne and the prince Ashel...well. He's the main love interest and very tedious and exasperating in my opinion - BUT the best thing about this book is that Vic doesn't let his feelings for her hold her back. I totally adore that she puts her mission first and love life second, it's such a rarity, I never read about female characters doing that! And I also enjoy how the 'damsel in distress' trope is flipped on its head here with Vic needing to mount a rescue mission on Ashel's behalf.

Overall, this is a very imaginative and thrilling book with tons of action and suspense. The different countries in the fantasy world were very well-thought-out and creatively established with elements of sci-fi. I would've liked for the story to be allowed to 'breathe' and settle in a little more instead of jumping from one highlight to the next, and supporting characters suffered a little from not being fully developed or lacking proper character motivation, but I did enjoy reading about the protagonist's adventures as well as her emotional journey.