A review by mehsi
The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell

5.0

"The feathers fly on, and we have to follow, I told you that these woods were dangerous..."

This beautiful, stunning book was bought during my London trip. I was so happy when I was able to visit Foyles, and then I spotted this book. Signed, with a special illustration included. Of course, I just couldn't leave it, especially when I saw/read some sample pages. I was in love.

And that love stayed with me throughout this magical, beautiful, wonderful, sweet, mysterious book. If anything my love grew with each page that I read. <3

We have two characters, Xar and Wish. Wish was my favourite, and I very much disliked Xar. So I first want to talk about Xar to get the bad feelings away. Xar is a lying, mean, sexist, rude type of guy who should just consider telling the truth for once. But no, throughout this book he acts like he is the destined one. Whatever happens he keeps this act up. Stealing a sword? Kidnapping people? Being a dick? Embellishing the truth? I can imagine his dad is disappointed in him. I think any dad wouldn't be too amused having such a son as Xar.
And yes, at times I felt sorry for him. In a wizard world he is magicless. Yep, his magic hasn't set in yet. Of course Xar being Xar he will be trying to find a way to gain magic.
There were also a few moments were he did seem to realise that maybe he shouldn't act so conceited all the time. And moments were he showed some real emotion and feelings. He should do that more often.

There, we got that away, now back to Wish, the warrior girl. She was my favourite character from the moment we saw her. She is a bit like Xar, her mom is disappointed in her and her warrior talent is not really showing yet. But unlike Xar she stays kind, friendly, normal. From the start I knew this girl was special and I was delighted with the route the author took for her. I love how she wasn't afraid to speak up, and how she was curious about all the stuff around her. From spellbooks to what lives in the forest.

If this world isn't scary enough with all sorts of creatures inhabiting the forest, there are witches. Not the kind of witches you generally see in books, knobbly and old ladies. Oh no, these beings are much more like the witches as you would see them in Madoka Magica. Creepy, dark, deadly monsters that you don't want to encounter as they will kill you in a very painful way. The witches were perfect, especially that one witch we meet later. I thought it couldn't get any creepier, but then we meet that guy. Brrrrr. *shivers*
I loved how everyone thought they were extinct. How they thought everything was all right. I can't wait for the next book and to see what will happen there.

The worldbuilding is pretty great, the author really paints a wonderful (and creepy) image of the forest. Though I have to say I am kind of curious about the world outside of the forest. There must be so much more, and I wonder if it is just as magical as the forest. Also are there witches or not outside of the forest?

The book will pull you in from the first page and won't let you go until the very last page, and even then you will have this book on your mind. Yep, you won't be leaving the world the book creates so soon.

The book is also covered with illustrations. While I didn't always like the style, in the end I have to say I quite loved them. They fitted so well with the magical story. <3

Oh, and bonus points to the narrator and the fact we saw some pages from Xar's spellbook!

All in all, I just want book 2 now. I need it actually. I need to know what is going to happen with Wish, is she going to be able to hide THAT? Will Xar go to x side? What about the witches? What about all the sprites are they doing fine? What about the magicless creatures did they find a cure?
And I would highly recommend this book to everyone looking for a magical, exciting, dark, awesome book.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/