A review by bookbriefs
Step into Magic by Day Leitao

3.0

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Step into Magic is the first book in the middle grade fantasy series, Portals to Whyland by author Day Leitao. I thought Step into Magic was a solid first book in the series. In some ways, it was solidly in the middle grade category,, but in other ways I did think it was a little busy for a middle grade book, but I will get more into that in a bit. Step into Magic was a fun story about our main character Karina who find a pair of magic shoes, which leads her to a magic land. I really enjoyed the story and I can't wait to pick up the second book in the Portals to Whyland series.

Karina is fourteen, and what fourteen year old girl would not love to get swept away to a magical world to go on an adventure? What I loved about Step into Magic was that I was instantly hooked with the story. There was no slow start, we got to dive right into the action, which was awesome. I liked Karina. And I liked that as soon as she got to Whyland that the plot got even more interesting. Things are not what they seem in Whyland, and I was really excited to find out more. And I got more and more excited as the story progressed and we started meeting more and more characters and learning more. But then, we got to a point around half way through the book where I thought things got a little too busy. There was a lot going on, and there were a lot of characters. It was harder to keep track of everyone and everything.

I do think by the end of the book, everything kind of evened out, and there is the potential that it will be even better in the next installment, but I do wish there were a handful less characters introduced in this story. I think just focusing on Karina, Cayla, Darian and Sian would have been more than enough. I especially want to see more from Sian, so hopefully he will play a larger role in the next story. 

Overall, Step into Magic was a fun magical story that is perfect for middle grade readers who are looking to go on a fast paced magical adventure. I am excited to see where the next book is going to take us. 

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs