NBTM + Review + #Giveaway: Stealing Magic by Alex C Vick @GoddessFish

Stealing Magic

by Alex C Vick

GENRE:   Middle Grade Fantasy

BLURB:

Shannon thought there was no such thing as real magic. Until that day. The day that changed everything.

Put yourself in her shoes. Would you open your eyes, if you were the one that heard them? Two magic-takers from another world, arguing about whether they can collect what they came for before you wake up. It sounds like a crazy dream, or a practical joke.

But what if the air around you started to vibrate with an invisible force field? What if, all at once, it felt scary, yet familiar too? You would have no way of knowing that this discovery would set you on a path no-one from our world has taken for centuries. Towards a deadly enemy, and a fight you will almost certainly lose.

All you know is that your heart is beating so fast you're worried they will hear it, and your brain is starting to buzz as the force field reaches it. Would you open your eyes?

Join Jax and Shannon as they live through the most exciting and terrifying ten days of their lives!

Excerpt:

“I knew it!” shouted the voice triumphantly.

Shannon nearly jumped out of her skin at the unexpected words. Abruptly the force field seemed to snap back inside her head, leaving her hands and the surface of the tree completely back to normal.

She scrambled to her feet to confront the owner of the voice, knowing already who it was.

“Jax, I presume?” she said, as calmly as she could manage, though her heart was still jumping from the shock, and she was already half-smiling in amazement at what was happening.

Jax, standing with his hands in his pockets, and smiling the same mischievous, slightly mocking grin that she remembered from last time, raised his eyebrows.

“You have the advantage over me, Terran,” he said. “I don’t know your name.”

“Shannon,” she answered. “And you knew what exactly?”

Jax gave a half-bow. “Pleased to meet you Shannon. And I knew you were a magician.”

Shannon’s mouth fell open. Before she could reply, he continued.

“I shouldn’t even be able to travel here on my own. You see this symbol on my shirt?”

He pointed to the star, the centre of which was spinning again just as it had the week before.

“It wasn’t until I met you that it started to spin. It’s not supposed to be able to do that until I come of age. In four years’ time.”

He paused, to make sure she understood the significance of this fact. “Who are you? Why is this happening?”

Shannon laughed. To think that Jax was the one asking questions of her! 

My Review:

Jax and Darius live in world with magic and are sent out nightly along with other teens from their world to Terra, Earth to harvest the magic from the trees. While they are on Terra one night harvesting the magic they spot a girl about their age asleep in the garden behind her home. Darius being the one that likes to follow the rules informs Jax they have to leave before this girl wakes up and sees them.

Now the reason they go to Terra at night to harvest the magic is because no one on Earth is supposed to see them if anyone does there will be terrible consequences to face. But before they can make it back to their world through the portal the girl Shannon wakes and sees them.

Jax being your typical teenager who is very mischievous does not take to well to following all the rules and likes to do his own thing. Besides the boy has a very inquisitive mind. So therefore asks lots of questions as to why they have to harvest the magic and what the reasons are behind all the rules. Once the boys break the rules and then are caught doing it the boys try to make amends.

I really enjoyed following Jax, Darius, Shannon and all the other characters on their quest of harvesting the magic and finding out all the secrets that the people on Androva have been keeping through the generations. The world building was out of this world magnificent. I can’t wait to read more about Jax, Darius and Shannon and what adventures they will take us on next. If you have not read Stealing Magic then let me suggest that you do well that is if you like reading all things magical.   

Guest Post:

Pick a favorite event in time that you would like to visit: Example: Salem Witch Trials, Civil War, The shooting of Abraham Lincoln etc…..(please pick one) 

Tell us why you would like to visit and/or would you like to visit this event just to see and know what really happened or would you like to visit as a participate in the event?

Firstly, thank you to Nancy for giving me the chance to write a guest post for her Avid Reader blog today! This suggested topic appealed to me because I had to research a certain historic event more closely for my third book, and now I really wish that I could have seen some of it for myself.

I would like to visit Pompeii in its final days, before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius encased the city in such a sinister and perfect tomb of hot ash. So much of what we know today about the Roman Empire comes from the excavations of that famous city. It’s as if that one day in 79 AD has been frozen in time forever. But what was the reality behind it all, and why did so many people stay behind?

I’ve always been intrigued by Ancient Rome. It had stunning architecture, a sophisticated culture, and real people as incredible as any you could dream up. Yet underneath this veneer of civilization, the reality could be quite brutal. It was a way of life built on slavery and lands conquered by force.

If I had the chance to visit Pompeii, I would prefer to be an observer, so that I could see as much of the city as possible from different points of view. As time would be limited, I’ve chosen three people that I am particularly curious about:

• Julia Felix, a wealthy heiress and property owner, whose villa had its own baths and apartments for rent. What was her life like as a businesswoman in Pompeii?

• Eutyche, a female slave owned by Aulus Scarus. His business supplied nearly one third of the fish sauce that Pompeiians served with everything they ate. I have read that Eutyche was important enough to actually run one of the manufacturing shops. She even had her own seal. Was her position as unusual as it seems?

• Aulus Vettius Restitutus, one of the Vettii brothers. They were freedmen (former slaves) who became such successful merchants that they owned one of the most luxurious villas in the city. What was the story behind their success?

I don’t know if these three people escaped Pompeii before the volcano destroyed it. I don’t know if they knew what was going to happen to their city, or how it appeared to them at the time. The people that stayed behind seem reckless to us now. But maybe the people that left the city were mocked for being incredibly cautious. Despite all that we continue to learn about Pompeii, some secrets will never be uncovered.

The influence of Ancient Rome can be seen today in everything from our legal system, to the language we speak, and the way our cities are built. If you could visit somewhere in Ancient Rome, where would you go? Would you want to participate or just observe?

Thank you for reading, and thank you again to Nancy for featuring my post!

AUTHOR BIO:

Alex writes contemporary fantasy books for a middle grade audience and older. There are three (self-contained) stories in the Legacy of Androva series so far, with a fourth on the way. You can contact Alex, and find more information about Androva, including a character interview, at http://www.alexcvick.com

Alex lives in the South of England with her husband and two daughters. When she's not working, or writing about magic, she also loves reading and photography.

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