Schooled in Magic

By: Christopher G. Nuttall

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

Length: 15 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Emily is a teenage girl pulled from our world into a world of magic and mystery by a necromancer who intends to sacrifice her to the dark gods. Rescued in the nick of time by an enigmatic sorcerer, she discovers that she possesses magical powers and must go to Whitehall School to learn how to master them. There, she learns that the locals believe she is a "Child of Destiny" - someone whose choices might save or damn their world, a title that earns her both friends and enemies.

A stranger in a very strange land, she may never fit in to her new world, and the necromancer is still hunting her. If Emily can't stop him, he might bring about the end of days.

©2014 Christopher G. Nuttall (P)2016 Podium Publishing

KEEP GOING! The last 2/3 is MUCH better.

Any additional comments?

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.

Schooled in Magic

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

Charming alt-world magic school story.

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 was interesting

But there was an over abundance of words describing book or mechanical items which became quite boring. I listened in Audible but the author went on and on describing every little thing. The story line was very good. Worth the read it you don't mind the descriptions.

Blatant plagiarism from Harry Potter.

Schooled in Magic is obviously based off the Harry Potter world, the sad thing is the story is good enough to stand on it’s own with out borrowing from Harry Potter. The author actually mentions Harry Potter through out the book, to many times. Instead of having house points as in HP we have room points, there is a forbidden forest, quittage is mentioned comparing the School’s wizards game to it. There are a lot of the same classes as in HP and some few students are Prefects, does that sound familiar?

If all of the HP references were not in this book it would have made the book so much better. This is actually a really good story well written with tons of original ideas that make it worth getting. Honestly I did struggle to get past all of the references they stuck out like sore thumbs, once I did the story opened up to reveal a beautiful world that amazed me.

The narrator did a great job with the characters and their voices keeping them unique. This is the first time I’ve heard Tavia Gilbert’s work and I am quite impressed.

Over all there were so many great things about this story that will keep me listening to the rest of the series, again the only parts that I did not like and that was over done was the mentioning HP and borrowing what I said above from that universe.

Great Series Didnt think i would like at first

Would you listen to Schooled in Magic again? Why?

Plan to listen to the whole series again as part of my book listening cycle

What did you like best about this story?

The better question for me was what didn't i like about it. What I liked was the length of it. I shy away from books that are less than 7 or 8 hours listen don't feel i get my moneys worth. But this series captivated me as she went from earth to another world that was the same only different. Where magic did play a part in everyday life and new non magical idea's were introduced. There is so much more i could write chapters but wont bore you.

What does Tavia Gilbert bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This is the first book where a female actually was the narrator. Most of the books i listen are men. But She brought a new experience to the listening. if i had just read the book i would have been in monotone mode and might have gotten bored with it. She was great with the voices and change of characters.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

If i could have Yes. I listen to it on my hour drive to work and back home and then i set aside at least thirty minutes at bed time to listen.

Any additional comments?

Very pleased i took a chance to get this series

Fantastic beginning to a series

If the rest of the series is as gripping and entertaining as this first book, it will be a great ride

Better than Harry Potter?

I liked this book as it pulls a person from the "real" world and back to another world. It steps through the process of adapting to a old world with modern-day knowledge. Well at least the knowledge of the average teenager. Good story line and characters.

I enjoyed every second.

There wasn't a dull moment. This was so good I listened to it twice. Recommend it!!!!

Amazing story

All I have to say is wow! This book was fantastic! Nuttall is an amazing writer, and did such an incredible job at creating this amazingly detailed new world which completely embraces the reader/listener whisking you off to a new and incredible place. The characters and sublime. They are unique, and different than any other magic academy book I’ve read. I love our main heroine, and her passion. The pacing was perfect, and the story flowed beautifully. If you enjoy magic, then absolutely pick this one up! Can’t wait to finish the series!