Smashbomb

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TRIGGER WARNINGS: Talk of death, violence

Review:
I want to thank The Parliament House for sending me an eBook ARC to read and review for my honest opinion. I originally rated this a 4 out of 5 stars but after much thought and consideration, I am dropping it to a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Summoned follows Alton, a bored and seventeen year old who wishes to have a new tutor that allows a more challenging experience in Alton’s magic studies. This is where Professor Victor Orvius comes into play. He recruits Alton and another, named Reagan. The only rule these two must follow is that they follow all of Orvius’ rules. If the two do that, they will be taught magic without any limits.

What Alton wasn’t expecting was to be met with such a sarcastic and brash young witch. He becomes star struck with Reagan and the two clash, becoming rivals. That is until the two must join forces because a greater threat has been summoned, a demon.

When I first picked up Summoned by McKayla Eaton, I wasn’t fully invested into the story. I didn’t get into the story until the half way point, and that was when the plot actually started getting good. Don’t get me wrong, this was an extremely easy read and I ended up blowing through it with the little spurts of time I was able to read. But something was lacking a bit.

Alton and Reagan were both relatable and not at the same time. They seemed almost “two perfect for relatability” yet they did things that I could see a teenager doing now-a-days. The whole story gave an almost Harry Potter like feel with the rebellious and angsty teenager (Reagan basically was Draco), the studious and rule follower (Alton was basically Harry Potter mixed with Hermione Granger), and the adult who maintained a large distance from his students and seemed wise beyond his years (Orvius was basically Dumbledore). I loved the vibes I was getting and I wanted to continue reading to find out what happened.

But I was met with a bit of disappointment and a cringe fest. The humor and banter was a bit much at times. The action was interesting and progressed the plot but there were also times where it seemed to slow the plot of the story. There was a ton of character development that helped even some of the plot holes but those missing plot holes really put a damper on reading.

The ending on the other hand was good and left on a major cliffhanger, but it also really felt like it was moving extremely fast. This is where some of those plot holes come into play. This is the first book in the series, so it could have been just groundwork being laid but some may find the plot holes to be a determent from picking up this book.

Is it worth the read? Yes.
Would I reread? Probably not. Don’t get me wrong, it was good and entertaining, but the plot holes really were a determent for me.
Will I continue the series? I’m honestly not 100% sure. I would like to know more about the story and see how the rest of the story unfolds, but I’m also not rushing to read them.

“Life wouldn’t be any fun if you didn’t break the rules sometimes, Alton.“