Harry Potter x Hunger Games? | Ruthless Magic by Megan Crewe

RUTHLESS MAGIC
by Megan Crewe

Another World Press
Publication Date: May 30, 2018

From Goodreads:

Each year, the North American Confederation of Mages assesses every sixteen-year-old novice. Some will be chosen. The rest must undergo a procedure to destroy their magical ability unless they prove themselves in the mysterious and brutal Mages’ Exam.

Disadvantaged by her parents’ low standing, Rocío Lopez has dedicated herself to expanding her considerable talent to earn a place in the Confederation. Their rejection leaves her reeling—and determined to fight to keep her magic.

Long ashamed of his mediocre abilities, Finn Lockwood knows the Confederation accepted him only because of his prominent family. Declaring for the Exam instead means a chance to confirm his true worth.

Thrown into the testing with little preparation, Rocío and Finn find themselves becoming unlikely allies—and possibly more. But the Exam holds secrets more horrifying than either could have imagined. What are the examiners really testing them for? And as the trials become increasingly vicious, how much are they willing to sacrifice to win?

This one came to me by way of NetGalley and Another World Press. But not the usual way it comes from NetGalley.

I got an email on this one, and NetGalley said, “Hey, man! You want to read this book? It’s like Harry Potter meets The Hunger Games.” 

And I said, “HELL YES I WANT TO READ THAT BOOK!”

I didn’t even read the synopsis. I requested it that minute, and got approved within a day. Boom. Done. But then I started to worry that I had been tricked into requesting a book I wouldn’t like…

I mean, who isn’t going to want a book that is like awesome thing 1 meets awesome thing 2. I have a copy of Invictus waiting for me on the shelf because author Ryan Graudin tweeting is was like Doctor Who meets Firefly. The lesson here is that you can get me to buy anything by telling me it’s like two of my favourite things having a mutant baby.

Now look what you made me do. We’re off on a nasty tangent. BACK ON TRACK!

Ruthless Magic by Megan Crewe was… awesome. There’s so many things about it to like.

The magic system was unique, but not so different that it didn’t make sense. I could relate, even if I can’t use magic (YET!) Spells, or ‘chantments as they’re called, are all done with the voice. Classically trained kids have a lexicon of Latin verses to chant/hum/sing, but we also meet a bunch of new-magic kids who sing, rap, or beatbox their ‘chantments into being.

We follow around a small group of characters, but only read the perspective of two. Finn, an old-magic privileged kid, and Rocio, a new-magic girl with immense amounts of power.

Most of the characters are done very well, but these two are obviously quite exceptional. But the end of the book you get the sense that you were there with them the whole time, and you’ve really bonded to them both.

The exam they took was full of cool twists. I almost wish they didn’t talk about the book having a Hunger Games element to it. I was expecting certain things and was less surprised when some of them happened. That being said, there was still plenty of things that happened in the exam that I didn’t see coming. Exciting, tense, emotional, and thrilling moments for all who enter here.

While I loved the majority of this book, I did have a few peccadilloes. 

The word ‘chantment is thrown around constantly. Never once did  I see the word enchantment. One is just a slang version of the other. Why is everyone, including both narrators using it? Wouldn’t it make more sense if some people used the slang while other used the entire word? If the goal was to have a universal word that the whole magic community used, I think it would have been better to make up a whole new word, instead of just dropping the ‘en.’

Secondly, the narrators were too similar. Beyond the third or fourth chapter, the two are pretty much always in the same place, or close enough that location isn’t an indicator. It was written in first person, turning he or she into ‘I.’ Another indicator gone. And finally, their voices were too similar. I found myself getting mixed up in the middle of chapters. Rocio would throw out the occasional word or two of Spanish, but it was too rare to depend on.

Overall, I loved this book. I’d feel totally comfortable telling a friend, “You should read this book. It’s like Harry Potter meets The Hunger Games!”

Fun fact about this post: It’s like a book review combined with some really bad jokes!