BINGO – Bird – As in, birds of a feather flock together
Six of the best magicians are invited to join The Alexandrian Society which protects all of the knowledge of the Library of Alexandria. Six are invited to live and study at the Library, but only five will make the cut after two years. Nico and Libby are both physicist magicians who can control the forces of nature like fire, waves, and the physical aspect of things. Parisa is a telepath. Callum is an empath. Tristan is an illusionist. And Reina is a naturalist who can control nature and plants. They each have a storied background that has brought them to the attention of the Society. They are all the best at what they do. And it’s up to them to unravel the mysteries of the Alexandrian Society and decide for themselves what price is too high for knowledge and power. Alliances are formed. Trust is broken. Relationships are tested. But ultimately, they’re stuck together until the end.
The magic system was so cool, even though we didn’t really see any of the characters do a lot of it. It really felt like we were all figuring out magic together but in a way that was still in service of the characters and the story. I loved that the characters were free to explore and experiment with magic. It made the entire system fresh and fun.
I also really enjoyed the way that Blake told the character’s stories. There’s a seamless weaving of flashbacks into the current happenings of the story. I’ve never read anything where the transitions from present to flashback and back were so seamless. Each chapter focuses on a different character which usually I don’t care for, but Blake made it work. There’s a great balance between flashbacks, present situations, and interactions with other characters despite the focus being on just one at a time.
The only thing that is keeping me from giving this 5 stars is the ending. For whatever reason, I have been picking up books recently that do not have proper endings. Nothing is resolved. There’s a new twist or addition right at the very end, and everything is set up for books later on. Don’t get me wrong, I love a series, and I am very interested in reading more, but I also love resolution. And frankly, nothing is resolved by the end of this book. Every single plot thread is still open. And that is frustrating.