Book Tour Review: The Alchemists Academy (Stones To Ashes) by Kailin Gow

The Alchemists Academy Book 1: Stones to Ashes

What do you learn here...at the Academy? Wirt asks. Magic? The responsibility to use your powers responsibly? Uh...something like that, his roommate Spencer said. More like how to rule worlds.

Wirt, is used to being shuffled from foster home to foster home, adopting a devil-may-care attitude toward the world along the way. Now he s in a school he can t escape, learning to develop his latent magical abilities, for what use, he doesn't know...

To save his world or to destroy it...



STONES TO ASHES was actually a fairly low-key YA fantasy, involving magical elements. The book started out with the hero, Wirt, in a world of trouble, but it didn't rely upon frenetic action sequences and constant danger to keep the reader engaged. In fact, there could be a parallel to the HARRY POTTER series drawn here. Wirt discovers a hidden world where students attend a school that teaches them the ins and outs of magic- or alchemy, as it's called here. Alchemy has more to do with the chemistry of making the "impossible" possible than the usual "now you see it..." of magic.

I really enjoyed this first part of THE ALCHEMISTS ACADEMY series. There was a beginning to Wirt's adventures, and a mystery that engaged the characters that he comes to call classmates and friends. Each character has their own personality, and Kailin Gow is proficient in making all of the characters, even the ones not in the spotlight, matter. At the end, it is clear that Wirt and his friends' adventures will continue, however Gow relies on a solid plot, interesting characters, and simple yet affective writing, instead of a cliffhanger to make me, as a reader, want more.

There's really not anything that I didn't like about STONES TO ASHES. In fact, I almost feel that Wirt, as a semi-underdog hero, was a refreshing change from what I usually read. He doesn't have all of the answers, he makes some mistakes along the way, but in the end, his determination and drive to somehow do the right thing leads him to a satisfactory end. Wirt is a regular guy, with who I think, female and male readers will be able to relate. The language and content of STONES TO ASHES is easily accessible to younger YA readers, while not being "dumbed down".

Book Rating: 13/15
4 star
A-

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About The Author:
Kailin Gow is the award-winning, international bestselling author of over 80 distinct books.

Kailin Gow is also the President of a media company, a media personality, and has been writing full-time since she was first published. Holding a Masters in communications management and leadership positions in Fortune 500 corporations, she puts her leadership abilities, her experience, and desire to help others into her fiction books. As a result, she has written the forthcoming, Finding the Heroine in You book which is also a national tour.

She is a mother and spends whatever spare time she has volunteering at the Red Cross, Battered Women's Shelters, and other organizations.

Currently her Frost Series is in development for a major international MMO Game, and she has over 14,000 and growing Frost-ers on her Facebook fan page.

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This book was provided by the author via Book Blasts and Blog Tours, in exchange for my honest review only