Book Review | Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows by J. M. Bergen

*I was sent an ARC of this book by a publisher in exchange for an honest review, my thoughts and opinions are my own!*

Title: Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows

Author: J. M. Bergen

Published: February 2nd, 2019

Genre: Middle Grade; Fantasy

LINKS: https://amzn.to/2u0rwmt


[About: Thomas thinks he's an ordinary twelve-year-old, but when a strange little man with gold-flecked eyes gives him an ancient text called The Book of Sorrows, the world he knows is turned upside down. Suddenly he’s faced with a secret family legacy, powers he can hardly begin to understand, and an enemy bent on destroying everything he holds dear. The more he reads and discovers, the deeper the danger to himself and the people he loves. As the race to the final showdown unfolds, Thomas must turn to trusted friends and uncertain allies as he seeks to prevent destruction at an epic scale.]



 Can a Middle-Grade Fantasy remind you of so many other favorite series, but also be nothing like them at the same time? I'm gonna go with yes!
At the beginning this book made me think about the good 'ole days with Percy Jackson and Harry Potter, it just gave me that vibe- though they are completely different.

 This first book felt like a large introduction to a new adventurous series to do with young magicians, but you only actually get the big picture halfway through when everything really picks up.

 I personally really enjoyed the story before the climax- I know, I know- it wasn't the exciting part! But I was kind of backward with this book, I enjoyed the slow parts a lot and the build up so much that the climax was not my favorite part.
It was weird, yes.

But it's one of those books where the side characters and the main character's normal life (that's about to fall apart) were just so entertaining! These were sad, hopeless 12-year-old boys that I just had to feel sorry about because one's head turned to absolute mush when he so much as saw the girl he liked. And they turned out to be magicians!

So what do they do?

Pranks, of course! I absolutely loved Thomas and Enrique- they're boys after my own heart! *sniffles*

I'm curious to see what the author does with the next book and the characters, there's clearly
 more to discover about their abilities and of course Thomas' dad- and the epilogue just gave more hints that there was more to come.


Speaking of the epilogue... I know I said everything before the climax was my favorite... but can I include the epilogue in that? I really liked that too...

SPOILER: Thomas gets a girlfriend! (The little innocent child is growing up!!) *squeals*


So, is this a Middle-Grade that I suggest trying? Yes, if you like Middle-Grades- I definitely suggest this one- it brings back so many book ideas and plots that I loved when I was younger.


[My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐] [3.5 stars]



Have any of you heard of this book or read it before? What did you think of it? Do you like Middle-Grades??

Thanks for reading!!
~Books with Noel