Schooled in Magic

Yes, the book borrows a lot of the world-building from Harry Potter, but the author's goal seems to be to repair some of the flaws he saw in the Potter world, based on some of our protagonist's sarcastic comments about the books. There aren't otherwise many original ideas here.

I found it hard to like our protagonist, Emily. She's neurotic, insecure, and is overly concerned about what others think of her. Her social skills are poor and lacks anything like a sense of humor; anyone who teases her sends her into paroxysms of guilt and despair.

Still, she's smart and has an implausibly good knowledge of history and science for someone still in high school and these are the key to her success, rather than bravery or martial skills.

It's a fine series for mindless entertainment; I listen the stories as I do housework and this one doesn't demand a lot of my attention.

It's inevitable to compare this book to Harry Potter. They are both in the Magic School Genre and the main character is considered a "Chosen One"

But this title stands on its own due to its smart and independent heroine and the time the author takes to explain the book's magic system and world building.

If you go into this book hoping for a romance, you might be disappointed. As the first book deals more with Emily getting used to the world she's transported to and the new school she's enrolled in.

I particularly enjoy how Emily uses her knowledge of modern technology to make waves in this new magical world.

If you're into characters from our world using their know-how to improve the world they've been transported to, I think you'll like this book.

Look, the overall story here still intrigues me, and I really wish that the performance and writing style were good enough that I could make it past the 2.5 hour mark, but they're not, and I can't. The voices she uses for other characters actually aren't half bad, but her general narration voice/voice of the main character is just obnoxious. It's very grating. As for the writing style, I can normally handle overly descriptive as long as we don't get into "Dostoyevsky taking a whole chapter just to describe a tavern" territory, but what I can't handle the main character wondering something about the world and the way it works and then saying "I'll just ask someone later". This device is employed at least 25 times in the first 6 chapters alone. Pacing is a real problem here. You'll get serious whiplash trying to keep up with it. You'll start making some good progress story wise, and then BAM! Fifteen minutes describing the beginning of one tutoring session and the working of one spell, then halfway through figuring out the second she starts talking about the last few months of training. It just skips months of training in one sentence! I had to stop and check that the app didn't randomly skip a chapter! My point is, for me, it was a very jarring read (or listen, rather), but if that stuff doesn't bother you, there could be a really interesting STORY in there somewhere.

TL;DR: bad narration/writing style, interesting story concept. Listen at own risk. Advise using free credit, not money.

When I first started this book the beginning seemed rushed and unpolished. Then as I get a little further it seemed WAY too similar to harry potter. BUT I['m glad I kept going. That was just the beginning setting the stage part of the book. After that the author seemed to find his stride and their own voice. The last half was way better then the first. And the 2nd book was even better. I have to give it only 3 stars for the Story but in reality it's like 2 stars for the first third and 4 stars for the last 2/3.

So get the book. Get past the beginning and you will be happy. I'd recommend to the author rewriting the beginning some. I'd imagine many of the bad reviews are from people who got ticked off at the beginning and didn't want to keep going. But I've finished the 2nd book now and I'm so glad I kept going.

Overall, I think this book is quite good. I have no problems with the book, but did notice I was not FULLY captivated the entire time I read it which is why I give it a 4/5.

Things that the book did extremely well -
Humans from earth travelling to other magical worlds is a fun concept but generally falls into one difficult issue: how to characterize the MC on earth while not developing any lingering attachments that would create plot holes. The author succeeds excellently in succinctly delivering the MC's character explanation and a solid reason why MC would not need/want to return to earth.
Generally, the advantages of alt-world MC's are derived from unrealistic depth of knowledge of earth technology. The MC constantly mentions these things but does not have any ridiculous insights in industrialization of a medieval society.
Also, I particularly loved all her interactions with her princess friend - the author makes a point to compare cultural values and the effects magic may have on otherwise one-sided moral choices.

Pretty solid book, I suggest a read

Book 1
Very good story. Well written. Well narrated. Easy to listen to. Well worth a credit. I just bought book 2.

Mild Spoilers ahead...
I have mixed feelings about this. Considering there are 10 books in this series, it might be too early for me to be overly judgmental about this. I am not typically a harsh critic in this genre. I love magic fantasy. There's simply no way not to see this as a rather blatant Harry Potter rip off. If you're a HP fan then this will either annoy you or endear you. For me it was a little of both. It is possible to craft a story about a school of magic without ripping off JK Rowling. A good example is The Magicians series by Lev Grossman, which I adore. I will try not to draw too much comparison between this book and that one though because Nuttall would not fair well at all if I were to hold his writing to that standard. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this and I'm planning to dive into book two immediately because I'm intrigued enough at this point that I really want to know what happens with Emily next. But the writer has a few habits that I'm not fond of. He drastically over uses the term "snorted" for one. Let's talk some specifics...

The Good
Emily is very likable. Her character is sweet and caring and smart and she's a great strong female lead. The magic system used is clever and believable. I love the concept of mana and it's very reminiscent of role playing or of video game RPG. I enjoyed the detailed explanation of how spell craft works built upon spell components. The world building isn't bad either. The writer took the time to explain politics and relate that to the story in a way that truly matters.

The Bad
It steals from J.K. Rowling big time, right down to the grand master, the relationships between students and teachers, the school's defenses, the magical creatures classes, Marshal Magic parallels Defense Against the Dark Arts, Shadye parallels Voldemort, and many more blatant examples. The writing is a little bit lacking in that I wasn't nearly as captivated or drawn in as I would have liked. The battles were not as awesome as I would have liked. There was some sense of inconsistency with the aptitude of magical abilities. One minute Emily is a naive first year student who barely escapes capture by bumbling captors and just a few chapters later she's conquering a skilled necromancer in single combat by summing a black hole pocket dimension. It also felt a little too cute for me at times when I wanted it to be darker. I didn't really like Alassa at all. I wanted more character development from her roommates. I was also a bit disappointed in the grand master. I wanted way more badassery from him.

Overall though I did enjoy the story. I'm intrigued by Void. I hope to hear more about him in the next book. If you like magic fantasy fiction and you're willing to look past it being a poor man's Harry Potter, then I would recommend it.

I have been anxiously awaiting these books in audible format. The mere fact I'm purchasing every book in the series a second time should be some indication of my opinion on the quality of the tale.

Reading this book feels like reading a homework assignment by a seventh grader. The writer hasn't even mastered the skill of not repeating the same descriptions too frequently. Don't waste your time, I couldn't get past the first thirty minutes of the audio.

Very well written.. Good read I recommend it to everyone.

Harry Potter

I have heard her with other books and she brings a very believable person to life.

N/A

Very enjoyable.. When will book two be available.