Release Day Review: Warlock in Training by TJ Nichols #Review #Giveaway

Author: TJ Nichols
Book: Warlock in Training
Series: Studies in Demonology #1
Publisher: DSP Publications
Publication date: February 14, 2017
Cover artist: Catt Ford
Length: 226 pages


Reviewed by Meredith

Synopsis

Angus Donohue doesn’t want to be a warlock. He believes draining demons for magic is evil, but it’s a dangerous opinion to have—his father is a powerful and well-connected warlock, and Angus is expected to follow the family tradition.

His only way out is to fail the demon summoning class. Failure means expulsion from the Warlock College. Despite Angus’s best efforts to fumble the summoning, it works. Although not the way anyone expects.

Angus’s demon, Saka, is a powerful mage with his own need for a warlock.

Saka wants to use Angus in a ritual to rebalance the magic that is being stripped from Demonside by warlocks. If Angus survives his demon’s desires and the perils of Demonside, he’ll have to face the Warlock College and their demands.

Angus must choose: obey the College and forget about Demonside or trust Saka and try to fix the damage before it’s too late. Whatever he does, he is in the middle of a war he isn’t qualified to fight.

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Review

I love books about magic, demons, witches and warlocks. I do. The depth these books take and the creativity astounds me. One thing that can never fail is the world building. This process also can’t be rushed. In Warlock in Training by TJ Nichols we are starting a new world and a new series. The first book of a series is vitally important. I liked how it’s set up. Angus is a warlock. He didn’t want to be one; he wanted to heal and be a wizard but his father would not allow that and made him go to college. There he summoned his very own demon, Saka.

The world building in this is wonderful. I liked the Humanside, Demonside, balance and magic aspect. You can’t just take; you must also give. But that is lost on the Humanside and so balance must be restored or both worlds will be destroyed.

We meet many secondary characters in this in both the Demon world and Human world. Both sides have their rules but it often seemed one side didn’t play fairly. In the hope to save the worlds there is an underground where wizards and demons must work together.

TJ Nichols creates not one but two worlds so this was tricky. We weave between Angus’s POV and Saka’s and both live in LITERALLY very different worlds. Saka and Angus balance through lust mostly and with that they have become attached to each other. They, of course, see relationships differently so that was interesting. 

I really liked the creativity the author brought to this book. At times I will say this book dragged but with building the start of a series a lot must be explained. I would have liked more excitement perhaps? But it was very engaging. At the 75% mark it gained incredible speed and I was thrilled! 

Now, there was something at the end of the book I very much wanted to see but we don’t get to we get told and I felt a little jipped about that. Of course that is just my personal opinion. The writing is very well done and I am very much looking forward to book two. It doesn’t so much end on a cliffhanger as it does end with a lot of questions and wonder. So you will be wanting the next book when it’s done.

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