Review: Arcania (Trial by Fire #1) + Giveaway

Info:

Title: Arcania
Author: Liz Maverick
Series: Trial By Fire #1
Publisher: Coliloquy
Publication Date: January 11, 2012

Blurb:

Born without arcania in her blood, Adia has lived in the shadow of her magical twin her whole life until the day she accidentally inherits her spellcaster sister’s talents. Now she’s got the ability to save the lives of everybody she loves…if only she knew the first thing about how to use it.

Once she leaves Earth for the training academy in Arcania, there are plenty of people who could show her the ropes, including darkly passionate Grey, the top shield at the school, devil-may-care charmer Seger, a swashbuckling rogue with a talent for daggers, and Finola, the clever and empathic healer with a gift for keeping her team out of sickbay.

With a battle heating up, Adia doesn’t have much time to learn how to use the magic that now flows through her bloodstream, earn a spot on a fighting team, and stop the ancient war between the forces of magic from spreading to Earth and destroying the loved ones she’s been forced to leave behind.

This is an Active Fiction title
"Active fiction" is a new type of e-reading experience that allows the reader and the author to interact with each other and the text in new and different ways.

In Arcania, Liz allows readers to hunt for clues alongside Adia. Struggling to unlock the secrets of her new powers, she also searches for answers about her sister’s last moments. What really happened to her twin? And what are the elders trying to cover up? Careful readers and Adia will learn that seemingly inconsequential choices can change your perception—and your reality—in an instant. Arcania - Trial By Fire 1

My Thoughts:

Let me start off by saying that the choose your own adventure books were my absolute favourites in elementary school. I'm pretty sure I read every one in my school library. So I was super excited to get the chance to read this book, which sounded like it would give me a chance to rekindle my love of this type of book.

Unfortunately, the interactive portion of the book fell flat for me. I think there were only a couple of places where I got to make a decision for Adia and they are super minor. So I was a bit disappointed on that front.

On to the actual story. I'll be straight with you; Adia's life sucks. Her parents and twin sister have ditched out to some magical land, leaving Adia on her own to care for her younger sisters. Then, when she ends up inheriting her sisters powers and going to the mystical academy, things get even worse. She's miles behind everyone and people are so mean to her. Liz Maverick did a good job making me feel the tension of the hyper-competitive academy.

However, I'm not a huge fan of Adia. Sometimes she does or says things that are incredibly stupid. I think I'm a much less impulsive person, so I can't sympathize as much as other people can.

Overall though, the world that Liz Maverick has created is very intriguing and I can't wait to see what happens between Adia and Grey, considering the history between Grey and her sister. I just hope the next one does a better job of being interactive!

On the Cover:

I really like this cover. I like the little design around the A of Arcania and I like how we can see the contrast between Adia and Lara.

Rating: 3 Hearts

Source: I received an ecopy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Find the Book: Goodreads | Amazon | Coliloquy

Find the Author: Goodreads | Website | Twitter | Facebook

Giveaway:
 a Rafflecopter giveaway