Meh. ( )

Fun read, nice world, I love Tomas and VeeVee. But sometimes it felt a bit rushed, especially the ending. ( )

Yikes. Really needs more development and a solid copy edit. There were some good ideas in there but the book just didn't gel. ( )

I really enjoyed this book, but before I say why, let me put in a disclaimer/warning:
If you aren't a long time fan of Lackey's Elves on the Road world (Bedlam's Bard mostly, but also Urban Elves, and Diana Tregard series) move on. This book is less a novel in it's own right and more fan service for folks who want another taste of their favorite world and characters.

And actually, that's pretty much why I enjoyed the book. Tomas was an interesting enough character, though he could have been more thoroughly developed. VeeVee has potential, but spends more time infodumping her own history than interacting or moving the plot. Cameos or secondary character roles for Eric Banyon, Hosea Songmaker, Kayla Smith, Dottie (mechanic from Fairgrove) and a few others turned an otherwise mediocre story into a really fun read just from the excitement of seeing what they were up to and the anticipation of who was going to pop up next.

Ending was a bit of a disappointment, very rushed and it felt like the authors tried to cram 3 or 4 potential plots into the story without fully developing any--Tomas' struggle to accept magic, family drama in the Torres family, two romance plots...

I'm happy I bought it, and I'll pick up a sequel if they write one just to see my old fave's again, but I hope they'd put more effort into a well developed plot and characters ( )

Arcanum 101 is a prequel to the Diana Tregarde series, written by Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill.

Plot:
When he's 15 years old, Tomas Torres discovers quite by accident that he can throw magic fireballs. Hoping to help his family out with the money, he lets himself and his skill get employed by the mafia who can always use an untraceable arsonist. But it doesn't take long until he gets caught. Instead of prison, Tomas finds himself in a school that is filled with kids who have powers. And there's VeeVee, star pupil, who gives him a tour first thing. But Tomas doesn't want to be there, no matter how pretty VeeVee is.

I am not familiar with the series Arcanum 101 is a prequel to (the series isn't about Tomas and VeeVee, though). In fact, I wasn't even aware this was part of any kind of series at all at first. Having read it now, I would be willing to check out the rest of the series, although Arcanum 101 didn't really show me why I should.

Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2018/09/12/arcanum-101-mercedes-lackey-rosemary-edghill/ ( )