Remembering Majyk

I received this e-arc from NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. actual rating: 3,5 stars. This book confused me, a lot. A lot was happening but there wasn't enough explanation. There was so much stuff, so many names and things happening, but I understood 50% of it. There were a lot of names and I had no idea what they were talking about. This is also the reason that I give the book 3,5 stars. But besides that, the book was really good. I really liked the characters and the story - for what I understood - was really cool. I highly enjoyed Valia's writing style and I'm looking forward to the second books. Because I still need to know what happens. But it just occurred to me that I have a long time for book two. This book isn't even out yet. God.

** spoiler alert ** Thank you so much to the author for providing me with a copy of this book! First of all can we talk about the covers? WOW, have you seen the new cover designs? absolutely gorgeous. I had never read a fantasy book submerged in Russian folklore the way this one was and I loved it, it was so insightful! The world was inspired by Russian tales and the main character was strong lead. Of course I gravitated more towards the book once I found out it was inspired by supernatural! One of my favorite TV series. The author does an excellent job building the world and developing the characters as the story unravels. There were many obstacles the MC went through that kept me on the edge of the seat. I love when a book keeps me guessing about the possible direction things are going to take and this did exactly that. The whole gist of the MC not having memories of her past and fighting this constant evil within her was just so intriguing to me. I am sure the MC will grow more in the second book although she was pretty badass in this one. The elemental magic was absolutely wonderful, I love stories that have this concept and Valia did an amazing job putting that together in this story. The only thing I found just a little bit difficult was some of the terminology, but as the story developed I got used to the terms and understood more about them. Last but not least....Holy Moly the plot twists! Some just completely blew my mind, like how did I not see this coming! Overall I really enjoyed this story, I can't wait to see how this story ends. Definitely reading the rest of the books!

I was sent an ebook copy by the author to review. Remembering Majyk was the perfect page-turner to unwind at the end of a long day. Some elements of this story fell into the classic YA tropes: A magical dimension connected to our world through a series of gates, a villain hell bent on unleashing chaos, the ordinary protagonist who’s actually special and the handsome love interest who is madly in love with her. However, tropes are not necessarily a bad thing. The elements of Russian folklore gave a touch of novelty to the world and the story’s fast pace and the witty banter between the characters made this a quick read with many moments of hilarity in the midst of the adventure. Calista’s initial memory loss gave her a more relatable dimension as she struggles to come to terms with her role in a world she doesn’t remember and her own emotions toward Brendan, the love interest. However, I would have liked the big reveals toward the end of the story to be more fleshed out. Though I see how they will make the rest of the series richer, they felt quite sudden and not as impactful as they could have been. The romance also didn’t convince me to the fullest. While Brendan is eye candy to its maximum capacity (insert drooling here), some of his overbearing behaviors didn’t sit well with me. I would have liked to see a touch less banter and a few more scenes of deep and meaningful interactions to better highlight Calista and Brendan’s long friendship and the forbidden aspect of their relationship. Overall, a very fun, quick read that I recommend to lovers of YA fantasy.

I was sent an ebook copy by the author to review. The speed with which I was able to read this book was a welcome distraction from the edits of my own novel. I had fun reading this book. Remembering Majyk is very easy to read and is perfect for fans of fantasy—especially Urban Fantasy. Calista is an ordinary girl who finds herself thrust into a story of magic and intrigue of which she is the unwitting protagonist. She comes from a parallel world, called Skazka, to oursand she is the Protector, tasked to guard a relic whose power could cause the distraction of the worlds if fallen into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, Calista remembers nothing of her past, and is very much convinced she is an ordinary human girl until trouble comes knocking at her door. There are elements of Russian folklore woven into the story tied to the land of Skazka that I found very enjoyable and the protagonist was relatable in her moments of self-doubt and confusion. The more memories she uncovers, the more Calista questions herself and where she stands in the balance between good and evil. It made for a very compelling, morally gray protagonist. The chemistry between Calista and Brendan turned this book into a page-turner. I was looking forward to reading their sizzling chemistry. The fact that Brendan is eye candy has nothing to do with this, of course. *wink wink* *nudge nudge* However, as it often happens with drama between characters, some of their scenes felt repetitive, because you can’t have the characters already jumping their bones but they really want to. Recovering her memories is also a painful experience for Calista, and those scenes felt a little repetitive as well the more we progressed with the story. All in all, I really enjoyed this book and I am very curious to see how the story continues. I definitely recommend giving this gorgeous book a chance!