Reign of the Seven Spellblades, Vol. 1

This was a bit hard to rate.

For the first two chapters, it was more of a 3.5★ read. The first chapter is understandably slow because it serves as an introduction to our cast and Kimberly Magic Academy. The world gives off massive Harry Potter vibes, but with athames, madness, and a lot of politics right off the bat. An accident occurs during the welcoming parade, so that was interesting as far as introductions go. The second chapter, however, dragged on endlessly. It was such a struggle to go through, even though it's showing us all the magic-related classes in the academy. Even the action scenes felt draggy, and Nanao's long flashback made it even more so. I feel like it's so unnecessary long, with quite a few moments of telling instead of showing.

That being said, the latter half of the book is a lot better. It's fast-paced and action-packed without a moment of boredom, and it's where all the fun finally unfolds. For the first volume, a lot of focus is given on Katie and her struggle to adapt to the academy and its people, who aren't exactly kind to her. Of course, Oliver and Nanao are really dominant as the leading characters, and they can be found at the center of most—if not all—battles taking place in this book.

My reason for bumping this up to 4★ is definitely because of the twist at the end. I did guess the culprit behind the troll incident easily, but this one took me by surprise. The prologue is pretty intense, and I was waiting for the story to link back to it eventually... but that was not what I expected LOL. In a good way. Not only it got me curious as of where this story is going, but it also makes Oliver a lot more interesting as the main character. He spent the majority of the book hiding his true nature and objective, and as it turns out, I like his secrets quite a lot. Will definitely be following the series.