Dawn of Wonder

Executive Summary: Started and ended really strong with a few lulls in the middles that cost it from possibly being a 5 star read for me.

Audiobook: I'm a huge fan of Tim Gerard Reynolds. He does a fantastic job with every book I've ever listened to him narrate, and this one is no different. He does a variety of voices and always is easy to understand and hear.

Full Review
I got this one as a gift a few years ago, but it was pretty long and the second book doesn't seem to be coming out soon so I was in no rush to pick it up. I found myself at a point where I was trying to pick out an audiobook of the about 30 hours waiting for a new release on April 5th and this fit that bill nicely. I'm glad I finally picked this one up.

I'm a sucker for the fantasy school trope. This isn't quite that. In fact there is very little magic to speak of in the book for the most part. Instead what we get is more like Ranger school.

Aedan at times seems like your stereotypical chosen one, but it turns out there is a lot more going on than meets the eye initially. I thought the supporting cast was really good. You have your typical school bullies and enemy turned ally tropes, but I seem to just eat that up. I liked his lab partner in medical class the best, although I don't recall her name because I'm terrible at names.

As someone who loves puzzles and tends to favor rogues and rangers when roleplaying, I loved the idea of the school with it's training of both the mind and the body taught in a school that seems full of mysteries.

There is enough different going on here that kept me listening to an extra chapter here and there throughout most of the book. I did find a few lulls at points in the middle however.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and will definitely pick up the second book on release day. Based on his website maybe that will be by the end of the year or early next year. I sure hope it's this year!