Thomas and his magical friends are determined to stop the evil Arius before he can find a staff of great power and use it to destroy everything they hold dear. A mysterious monster is stalking them, so Thomas’ teacher, Scott, accelerates their training in magic abilities and fighting techniques. Thomas’ mother has been keeping secrets about where Thomas’ father really disappeared, and Thomas will have to decide who he can trust.

I enjoyed this book so much! The magic system is marvelous, the plot is brilliant, and the characters are deep and endearing.

One thing I really loved is how this book continues the world-building from

 the first book in the series with the history of magical artifacts and other mysterious worlds. It also dives into Thomas’ family past and his heritage of magic. I loved seeing how this world develops even further and poses new questions and new mysteries to be solved.

The absolute best thing about this book is the characters and their relationships with one another. I love Thomas’ relationship with his best friends, Enrique and Akhil. They tease each other, and their banter is priceless! I feel like they are real people, because there are so many great details about their friendship.
Thomas’ relationship with his mother is a little strained in this book, but I liked to see the character development and growth as they work through it and learn to trust each other again.

I loved the fascinating characters that Thomas meets along his journey. They are all so memorable and unique, with mysterious back-stories and secrets. I was intrigued by every new person that Thomas encounters, and desperate to know more about them.

There is a big plot-twist reveal at the end that I saw coming a mile away. I knew what the plot twist was going to be on page 84, but that didn’t ruin my enjoyment of the book. I still wanted to see how it would all develop and how the plot twist would be revealed.

The first book in the series has some pacing issues, but this second book did not have any of those problems. The action moves along swiftly, the scenes are dramatic, and the characters are complex and emotional.

I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/ author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.