Theme: A super fun, modern-day fantasy centered around a secondary school for the Magical Arts. Described as Sabrina the Teenage Witch at Hogwarts (which is a totally accurate description.
Nature of Review: I was provided with an audio book download from the author in exchange for an honest review!
Release Date: Spellcaster Academy Episode 1 is currently out for purchase on Amazon in all formats! Episode 2 was released on August 30, 2019 and is available in kindle or paperback format only (they are released in Audiobook format about 30 days after release). Episodes are released every 30 days and there are currently at least four episodes planned!
Warnings: this audiobook is very tame, suitable for all ages of young adult/adult readers.
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Josy Barrows lost her parents when she was a baby, being raised by her grandmother until she passes. Now, Josy is an orphan with no where to go next, until a mysterious aunt sends an invitation for Josy to go live with her. Jumping at the chance to explore new family, Josy and her cat Nine journey to find the address her aunt sent her.
Except there is no house. There is no aunt. But what Josy finds is much more interesting.
Josy finds out she was invited to attend Borealis Academy of Magical Arts, despite her lack of magic and her slim knowledge of why she was invited to study magic in the first place. The first episode of Spellcaster Academy introduces a magical world filled with hidden secrets, unwanted fate and magical problems that Josy must conquer in order to pass her classes, and survive the new world she has stumbled upon.
This story, as a whole, was super entertaining. The writing was clear and concise and drew me in from the first chapter. The story line was easy to follow and undeniably magical, leaving me feeling like a child again, watching Harry Potter for the first time.
The narrator was great, and made listening to this audio easy on the ears. There are some narrators I just cannot get into, despite how much I like the story, but Aimee McKenzie made the story more than just an easy read. She captured my attention right away and voiced Josy perfectly, and it was so easy to follow along so I did not get lost once (which happens often). I did not want to turn it off and listened to the whole thing in one sitting!
Honestly, this audio book read just like a movie, and the whole three hours was like I was sitting in a theater watching it unfold.
Now, despite how much I love the audio book (and how much I want the second episode), I feel obligated to share why I didn’t give it the last star.
The story was pretty cliche, in both the magical world and the academy world. Without spoilers, the main character lost her parents, is invited to a magical academy where she is more than she appears, is the odd-one out/semi-hated until she has a redeeming moment, and has the attention of a super good looking guy. Not to mention the focus was almost all on the characters and the world itself lacked some description and development.
But am I complaining? No. I will read cliches over and over again and love it every time. I will fall in love with the totally expected couple and be so happy when they get together. I will watch our hero/heroine get the shit end of the stick until they tap into their magical ability. I will completely enjoy the different versions of the same magical world that everyone loves to read/write about. There is nothing wrong with cliches, especially when they are so damn fun to read about again and again.
In fact, I’d be totally disappointed if I didn’t get to encounter the different tales of common troupes. And the small amounts of description was what helped the audio-book be easy to follow along with, and what helped it read like a movie or TV episode.
That being said, I’d recommend Spellcaster Academy to anyone who loves these magical academies as much as I do! I cannot speak for the eBook version, but the audio-book made this story for me, and would suggest the audio version to everyone who is interested!
Bookish Bex 