A Wizard's Forge

loved this book

I enjoyed this book. It brings many different themes into the story: love, trust, betrayal, hope, overcoming fears. It is about a girl named Vic, who lives in her village and becomes a Logseeker, the youngest ever. She continues this job until she is kidnapped and sold to a man named Lornke. He is an older man, and renames her "Kara". He breaks down Vic emotionally, mentally, and physically, leaving her to only depend on him. She is able to escape through a device and is transported to Latha. She becomes a ward of the king and queen, but has reservations about the queen. She meets their son, Ashel, who she had met in Traine before she escaped. They become friends but eventually Ashel wants more than friendship. Vic joins the army and becomes a captain, but people in Latha believe she used her "wiles" to become a captain since she was considered "Relm's whore". She returns after 4 years away and becomes the Blade, with her group known as the Dagger. She still does not have a handle over her "relationship" with Lornk since he considers her his. Vic is able to eventually overcome this and when she is travelling to save Ashel, who was kidnapped, she drinks this water and the Kragnashians believe Vic will bring back order. This water makes her become a wizard, where she man manipulate air, similar to what the queen of Latha can do. Vic is able to rescue Ashel and realizes she cares very deeply for him. I cannot wait to read the next book to see where Vic's destiny leads her, Vic's relationship with Ashel, and this affects all the kingdoms. If you enjoy lots of plot twists, adventure, magic, and becoming more than anyone expects you to be, this is a novel for you.

Epic medieval fantasy.Victoria is the youngest Logkeeper ever. Traveling to the other villages to teach, she is captured by pirates and sold into slavery to the sadistic Relmlord. Psychologically bending her to his will through seduction and deprivation, she escapes to the land he is at war with. The royals of Lathan embrace her as their ward, and slowly she heals. Joining the Lathan army, she advances in the ranks. They call her the Blade, her unit , the best. Lornk's hold on her, still, is crippling her. When he captures the prince of Lathan, she uses her newly awakened powers as a wizard to free him and try to kill Lornk. Betrayal, war & magic made this an action packed read in book 1 of The Woern Saga.

This was a thoroughly entertaining fantasy.
The main characters were very strong and the world was very believable.
My only negative would be that there were a few too many characters which at times made the story difficult to follow.

Excellent fantasy book but it requires a strong stomach and tolerance for bloodshed, physical and psychological abuse, and relentless violence.

Is the Relmlord Dead?

A broken young girl, ripped away from a life she only just begun to live and forced into a painful life of untold horror and misery without any hope of the path she was raised to follow. The very abrupt and catchy opening storyline is a good firm base for a tale of hell and heroism, love and loss, sometimes from those we expect it from and often those we don’t. The plot is not about a forge with a fire and hammer in a real life situation, but a metaphor for a young girl with no hope, who, as a risen phoenix, takes life by the collar, gives it a good shake and stands up to be counted, not letting anything or anyone get in her way. The storyline is fast paced and clips right along and while leaving no stone unturned, it’s not clunky or too heavy, but takes the reader on a whirlwind path to follow a wizard forged into many guises. Well written and so easy to read, I finished very very late evening or more so, I should say, early the following morning. This appears to be the beginning of a very good epic story, so I will be hanging around waiting impatiently for the next episode (of hopefully many more) in our heroine’s life.


A review copy was provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first chapters of this book didn't particularly hook me, but while reading, I got somehow attached to the story and the characters.
A. M . Justice created an amazing world, with different countries, cultures and languages, exotic names and lifestyles and curious characters. The worldbuilding was highly detailed and the author's writing allowed us to get to know the characters and places even better! The book has 326 pages, but it seems much longer. While reading the last chapters, I remembered what happened in the first pages and it all seemed far far away, like it belonged to another book. I can justify this reaction with the fact that a lot of years passed in this story: Vic was fifteen/sixteen when it all started, but finished the book with more or less twenty years old.
The plot is very simple: basically, something bad happened, and Vic needs to deal with it, in her own way, at the same time she deals with other things that just show up in her life. But I kind of liked it, not the plot itself, but how the author worked with it. Vic had a goal, worked for it, and in the book she got there, but we don't have much more after that, so I'm hoping the next book will start from there. Also, talking about the next book, I really expect it to deal more with wizardry, as the title had wizard in it, and we get to know History and details about the past, but not much about the present.
It was hard to understand our main character, Vic. She got through all that hard stuff, and I can understand that it changed her, especially because after she was kidnapped, her Master created a whole new person from her, and Kara - as he named her - was always fighting against Vic. However, I don't understand how could Vic take some of her decisions - in my opinion, there's lack of detail about what happened while she was Kara, because we only have some "flashes" throughout the book, and maybe if we had everything before, I could better understand what she was feeling. But this book is also about the whole thing of being yourself and embracing who you are, and thankfully, that's what Vic did. She grew up (there's an evident change from the first pages, but I still think Vic is not on point yet) and embraced all the things she is - "Scholar. Slave. Warrior. Wizard.". I really hope she can make it on the next book!
The character I think that grew up the most was Bethniel, Ashel's sister and princess of Latha (and Heir, by the way). She first reminded me of a typical teen princess, with her love for pretty dresses, but when the thing she wanted most was taken from her, she fought for it, and became one of my favorite characters. I'm really excited to see what happens to her!
And as I'm talking about more characters besides the main ones, I want to just random ramble about side characters. In this book we get to know new characters as much as we say goodbye to them! Okay, I understand that life happens - people die or they just follow their own way, and at least, most of people that went away had an important role, but what about Samson??? He just showed up in the first pages, explained a couple of things to Vic, and a little after that we just say goodbye to him! I thought he would show up again eventually!
Last, the romance. It was good (kind of), but nothing memorable. Vic was extremely confused! We had quite a few love interests here: one very unhealthy that she tried to fight back; one that didn't last even a day (at least, from her) and other that I could say it's the canon one. Those last two started very abruptly, just like someone said "And now they're in love", and I didn't like it, but I decided to ignore and keep reading. It were the boys who fell in love first, and to be honest the romance isn't that great because Vic didn't like neither of them until the thing was right under her nose! Again, I think that things will be better in the next book.
And I feel that I'm just saying bad things about this book and hoping that the next book will be better, while in reality I really liked this book and I totally recommend it. :)

Fantastic story. Loved the character development and the progression of the story. Well connected. Can't wait to get the next book in this series.

This was a great start to a series with an entertaining plot and well written character. One of my main issues was when the pace slowed down I felt like the story dragged a little bit. This never lasted long but it did happen often. I knew this was mostly a scifi going into it so my expectations werent let down like other readers who believed this was a fantasy. The covers amazing but the title might give the impression its more of a fantasy than it actually is. Although the telepathy was a great addition.

I appreciated the author incorporating important themes to this story. I felt like the traumatising relationship Vic had with her master Lornk when she was captured and sold as a slave was an accurate portrayal of what goes on in the victims mind during and after an abusive relationship. Its not that easy to move on and "just get over it" when you have PTSD. It takes a certain degree of empathy to understand Vic if you havent been through an abusive relationship. Sex slavery isnt anything to belittle and this story really demonstrates the effects it can have.

I loved the idea of this story being set on a different planet but it would have been even better if it didnt resemble earth so much. Make the ocean water yellow, the tree leaves blue and the sky red with two suns and three moons. Ok maybe not all that but you get my point. Its a totally different planet and an opportunity to create something extraordinary. The world was still interesting and I was able to tell a lot of thought went into the different cultures and beliefs. I also really appreciated the diverse characters.

I liked the main character Victoria but her three love interests left something to be desired. Ashel was the one I liked the most but he still had quite a few flaws. In a sense that makes him more realistic so I cant be to upset with his flaws. Lornk was vile and despicable but he made a great antagonist. His son who was the other love interest was caring but still too controlling. I questioned some of the characters actions but overall this story had a lot of fascinating secondary characters, like Geram and the Princess.

This is an amazing novel! I began reading it with no expectations and found myself caught in its story, unable to put the book down. When I was reading, I didn't even remember about the space travel aspect, because the social and political situation that was described on this new planet was so intriguing. The author also did a fantastic job in character development; Vic's growth is done flawlessly and makes the reader really love the character. The one slight negative I would point out is that the novel began in a way that presumed the reader already knew detailed elements regarding the Logbooks and the space travel that occurred in the story, and the aspects of magic. This presumption was also present at another point in the novel when magic becomes the central focus; the origins and the way in which magic was acquired was a little lackluster in comparison to the rest of the novel. The story is graphic in its depiction of the horrors Vic faced at the hands of her tormentor, so readers should be aware of that! All in all, this story was packed with adventure, love, and revenge, and I am already impatient for the next novel in the series! If you are looking for an intense fantasy/sci-fi novel to read, then do yourself a favor and check this one out!

This book was given to me to read in exchange for an honest review. I would have purchased this book regardless. I can read about four to five 400 pages books in a week, no problem (I have a problem, I know) but I read this one much slower. I wanted to really look at it, feel the characters, see where it took me, you know, give me the "feels". As an avid reader, I know what I like and I know what I don't. I LOVED this book. There was a section (chapter 2) in which a graphic scene was described that happened to the main character as a younger late teen girl that I was slightly uncomfortable with but, it wasn't enough to make me put the book down. Having a traumatic past myself, it did trigger some negative feelings however, I pushed through and continued the story. I am very glad I did. The passage was not super long, you could skip It really I it bothers you and still not miss much since there are later points in which the main character reflects back on what happened to her but in less graphic detail. All in all, I will be continuing to read the rest of the series.

One of the first things that drew me to this book was the cover. Let me start off by saying that it is beautiful and definitely eye-catching. After reading the description, I was drawn in by the fact that it was not a young adult story; although the main character is fifteen in the beginning of the book, the timeline does progress several years, meaning Vic in her early twenties for a majority of the plot.

I was also intrigued about how the book was conceptualized into four major sections of narrative: Ore, Smelt, Forge, and Temper. I really liked the symbolism of what each section represented in terms of Victoria’s development, or forgery, from the Logkeeper of the Oreseekers she started out as into the Blade and Wizard that she became.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. Were there parts that I didn’t like? Sure. But I’m excited to continue reading the series to find out what comes next in A.M. Justice's second book of the series, A Wizard's Sacrifice!

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH! When I read the synopsis I immediately felt interest but I had no idea how much I was going to love it until I started and I just couldn't stop reading it! It's very difficult for me to read in my computer - and for that reason I am getting a Kindle - but I read it incredibly fast even tho my eyes were killing me!

This is (probably) the first time I've ever read a book that deals with any kind of sexual abuse. I don't think it's an easy subject to board but this book really showed it well. How the main character deals with it seemed so realistic! All her journey trying to release herself from him, trying to understand who she really was and all the rough moments she passed made this book amazing!

- And it's that amazing because all that Vic passes is real. It happens in our world. And although Vic may seem a weak person for some for not being able to compose herself, that doesn't happen with a wink!

They said that she was going to have a easy life because she was not going to work as a slave but what she went through was in no way easier. It takes a long time and a lot of help and strength to get over that type of psychological torture (and sometimes people are still not able to do it). I loved how the writer shows that so well throughout the book!

The writing is fantastic and incredibly captivating! It's the first book I read from A.M. Justice. Sometimes when I read a new author's book I get a bit of a rough time to adjust in the first 50 pages or so. That didn't happen with this book. I instantly got amazed by the writing and I just wanted to keep reading!

The book is filled with imagination and intrigue. It has amazing characters and some of them really surprised me while others remain a mystery!

Victoria is wonderfully written and well developed. She starts off the story as a sixteen-year-old girl but we see her growing over time and turning into a strong young women. I loved how her powers and her weaknesses were balanced. She is a wizard, a warrior and a extremely intelligent person but she needs her friends if she wants to find real strength against Lornk.
Prince Ashel is very unique and an amazing person. He has no interest in running a kingdom and his path was drawn as a musician- in Latha they use music to tell their history - and is one of the greatest ones. The same concept of what Vic did but in a different way of doing it.
Lornk Korng is a villain. He is a horrible person that takes pleasure by hurting others, even the ones he is suppose to care for. He tries to break people - he is very clever with words and emotions - and molded them as he pleases.
The story presents us with a lot more interesting characters but these ones are the most important.

The book is set three thousand years ago, when a crew of mineral miners set out on a mission from Earth to the planet of Gomorrah but due to sabotage were not able to make it to their destination. With the mission a failure Captain Wong of the shuttle Elesendar was forced to stop in the orbit of what is now referred to - Knownearth.

The crew came down to the planet to search for metals so that they might be able to repair the ship. I suppose that they were unable to make it and settled on the planet, which is filled with amazing cities with different cultures and costumes and I thought although it's pretty similar to Earth it was beyond amazing!



I couldn't recommend this book more! I loved it to pieces! I haven't read a book that made me this anxious and thrilled in a long time!

I can't wait for the second one - A Wizard’s Sacrifice!!