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Reforging #1
The Locksmith
In a world where membership in one of the four magic guilds guarantees respect and wealth, it is strange that Lucinda Guillierre is terrified of being exposed as a witch. The Fire Warlock finds her attitude puzzling, but does not give her his full attention until a long-buried secret comes to light. She has good reasons to be afraid. As war looms and dangerous romance beckons, who will have the best chance to kill her? Her enemies, her friends, or Lucinda herself?
- GenresFantasy
278 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2017
44 people want to read
About the author
Barbara Howe
9 books11 followersOriginally from the USA, Barbara has called New Zealand home since 2009. She lives in Wellington, where she works as a software developer in the movie industry and resides in a house overflowing with books, games, and jigsaw puzzles. After a long hiatus from creative writing, she took up writing fiction again several years ago to indulge her love of books with appealing, intelligent female characters. The Reforging series of epic fantasy novels is the result.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 21, 2017
The stages of me reading this book:
Stage one: Just reading it - seeing where it goes
Stage two: Hmmm, that's interesting
Stage three: I really like these characters, where is this going?
Stage four: OOOOOOOOHHHHHH
Stage five: Hooked
Stage six: I don't want it to end so therefore I won't read it because then it can't end
Stage seven: Enough of this nonsense pick up the book and kind of read fast like pulling off a bandaid
Stage eight: Enough of this nonsense and just wallowed in the book pretending not to see I was nearing the end
Stage nine: I don't want it to end but oh I loved how it ended!
Stage ten: THERE BETTER BE MORE BOOKS! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! THIS IS A GREAT WORLD.
This book got more and more complex and the characters unveiled themselves, along with the world they live in, along the way. There were some aspects of the "Office" that I didn't totally understand until the end but by the time I got to the end I understood the world they live in and I was in love with the characters. I appreciated the strong female protagonist as well as the strong male characters who surrounded her. It is a rich, magical world, filled with people being people, and I am in awe that someone could come up with all of that in their own imagination. I cannot wait for the next book.
Stage one: Just reading it - seeing where it goes
Stage two: Hmmm, that's interesting
Stage three: I really like these characters, where is this going?
Stage four: OOOOOOOOHHHHHH
Stage five: Hooked
Stage six: I don't want it to end so therefore I won't read it because then it can't end
Stage seven: Enough of this nonsense pick up the book and kind of read fast like pulling off a bandaid
Stage eight: Enough of this nonsense and just wallowed in the book pretending not to see I was nearing the end
Stage nine: I don't want it to end but oh I loved how it ended!
Stage ten: THERE BETTER BE MORE BOOKS! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS! THIS IS A GREAT WORLD.
This book got more and more complex and the characters unveiled themselves, along with the world they live in, along the way. There were some aspects of the "Office" that I didn't totally understand until the end but by the time I got to the end I understood the world they live in and I was in love with the characters. I appreciated the strong female protagonist as well as the strong male characters who surrounded her. It is a rich, magical world, filled with people being people, and I am in awe that someone could come up with all of that in their own imagination. I cannot wait for the next book.
September 20, 2020
Excellent fantasy! The beginning was slow and seemed to indicate a cliche YA romantic fantasy, but the storyline blossomed in multiple startling directions. Suitable for both YA and adults, and the ending is quite satisfying. I'm looking forward to more by this author.
June 3, 2018
I initially picked this up to support a NZ-based writer. However, I was glad I did. This is a YA novel set in a Fantasy version of medieval/renaissance France (Frankland) where Guilds of wizards have been established to protect the Kingdom. As a former Ars Magica player I appreciated the fact the a lot of the action revolved around books and libraries.
June 24, 2017
First off, this isn't necessarily my go to genre at this stage in my life. I chose to read this book as I was offered an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Like a moth to a flame, however, (a teensy bit of foreshadowing) I couldn’t resist coming back again and again to this book. Readers will recognize influences like Harry Potter and even fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty. Yet Howe has concocted an intriguing cocktail of a story all her own. “Hoist by own petard” is just an example of an occasional obscure Old English catch phrase that I enjoyed looking up and learning about. She could then switch back to writing that was simple and delightful:
“As soon as she was out of sight the surge of affection evaporated. My blood boiled. It seemed strange there was no steam rising from the dishwater my hands were in.”
Of course the big plus to the story is the smart, quick-witted female protagonist /heroine in a fairy tale setting, chipping away at our age old stereotypes. Here is gem I LOVED:
“You see, a man who wants to have intelligent sons must marry the most intelligent woman who will have him.”
This is not necessarily light reading. There are at times some complicated political themes woven throughout -- at moments I was reminded of Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The storyline can get wonderfully difficult at times. I really loved the complexities and layers she wove especially with the locksmithing theme. In all honesty there were times that the story stalled a bit trying to untangle what was happening with the posturings and history amongst ruling factions in this fictional world. (I saw this more of an editing issue and one that could be refined in future installments.)
The end product though was a fresh compilation of a magical world with an engaging new heroine. No spoilers, but this fairy tale ending isn’t what you will expect. A word of caution with younger readers -- there is a an “earthy” reference or two with a little irreverence. Modern day middle schoolers could certainly handle it but if you had a precocious elementary school reader, you might check it out first.
Two thumbs up, and can’t wait to see what she comes up with for the sequel!
Like a moth to a flame, however, (a teensy bit of foreshadowing) I couldn’t resist coming back again and again to this book. Readers will recognize influences like Harry Potter and even fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty. Yet Howe has concocted an intriguing cocktail of a story all her own. “Hoist by own petard” is just an example of an occasional obscure Old English catch phrase that I enjoyed looking up and learning about. She could then switch back to writing that was simple and delightful:
“As soon as she was out of sight the surge of affection evaporated. My blood boiled. It seemed strange there was no steam rising from the dishwater my hands were in.”
Of course the big plus to the story is the smart, quick-witted female protagonist /heroine in a fairy tale setting, chipping away at our age old stereotypes. Here is gem I LOVED:
“You see, a man who wants to have intelligent sons must marry the most intelligent woman who will have him.”
This is not necessarily light reading. There are at times some complicated political themes woven throughout -- at moments I was reminded of Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The storyline can get wonderfully difficult at times. I really loved the complexities and layers she wove especially with the locksmithing theme. In all honesty there were times that the story stalled a bit trying to untangle what was happening with the posturings and history amongst ruling factions in this fictional world. (I saw this more of an editing issue and one that could be refined in future installments.)
The end product though was a fresh compilation of a magical world with an engaging new heroine. No spoilers, but this fairy tale ending isn’t what you will expect. A word of caution with younger readers -- there is a an “earthy” reference or two with a little irreverence. Modern day middle schoolers could certainly handle it but if you had a precocious elementary school reader, you might check it out first.
Two thumbs up, and can’t wait to see what she comes up with for the sequel!
June 24, 2017
First off, this isn't necessarily my go to genre at this stage in my life. I chose to read this book as I was offered an advance review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Like a moth to a flame, however, (a teensy bit of foreshadowing) I couldn’t resist coming back again and again to this book. Readers will recognize influences like Harry Potter and even fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty. Yet Howe has concocted an intriguing cocktail of a story all her own. “Hoist by own petard” is just an example of an occasional obscure Old English catch phrase that I enjoyed looking up and learning about. She could then switch back to writing that was simple and delightful:
“As soon as she was out of sight the surge of affection evaporated. My blood boiled. It seemed strange there was no steam rising from the dishwater my hands were in.”
Of course the big plus to the story is the smart, quick-witted female protagonist /heroine in a fairy tale setting, chipping away at our age old stereotypes. Here is gem I LOVED:
“You see, a man who wants to have intelligent sons must marry the most intelligent woman who will have him.”
This is not necessarily light reading. There are at times some complicated political themes woven throughout -- at moments I was reminded of Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The storyline can get wonderfully difficult at times. I really loved the complexities and layers she wove especially with the locksmithing theme. In all honesty there were times that the story stalled a bit trying to untangle what was happening with the posturings and history amongst ruling factions in this fictional world. (I saw this more of an editing issue and one that could be refined in future installments.)
The end product though was a fresh compilation of a magical world with an engaging new heroine. No spoilers, but this fairy tale ending isn’t what you will expect. A word of caution with younger readers -- there is a an “earthy” reference or two with a little irreverence. Modern day middle schoolers could certainly handle it but if you had a precocious elementary school reader, you might check it out first.
Two thumbs up, and can’t wait to see what she comes up with for the sequel!
Like a moth to a flame, however, (a teensy bit of foreshadowing) I couldn’t resist coming back again and again to this book. Readers will recognize influences like Harry Potter and even fairy tales like Sleeping Beauty. Yet Howe has concocted an intriguing cocktail of a story all her own. “Hoist by own petard” is just an example of an occasional obscure Old English catch phrase that I enjoyed looking up and learning about. She could then switch back to writing that was simple and delightful:
“As soon as she was out of sight the surge of affection evaporated. My blood boiled. It seemed strange there was no steam rising from the dishwater my hands were in.”
Of course the big plus to the story is the smart, quick-witted female protagonist /heroine in a fairy tale setting, chipping away at our age old stereotypes. Here is gem I LOVED:
“You see, a man who wants to have intelligent sons must marry the most intelligent woman who will have him.”
This is not necessarily light reading. There are at times some complicated political themes woven throughout -- at moments I was reminded of Maguire’s Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The storyline can get wonderfully difficult at times. I really loved the complexities and layers she wove especially with the locksmithing theme. In all honesty there were times that the story stalled a bit trying to untangle what was happening with the posturings and history amongst ruling factions in this fictional world. (I saw this more of an editing issue and one that could be refined in future installments.)
The end product though was a fresh compilation of a magical world with an engaging new heroine. No spoilers, but this fairy tale ending isn’t what you will expect. A word of caution with younger readers -- there is a an “earthy” reference or two with a little irreverence. Modern day middle schoolers could certainly handle it but if you had a precocious elementary school reader, you might check it out first.
Two thumbs up, and can’t wait to see what she comes up with for the sequel!
August 15, 2020
Heard a reading from about 1/3 of the way into the book during the recent New Zealand world con (CoNZealand) and it sounded appealing so I bought it. Read it in one night and now I'm moving on to book 2 in the series.
Beautiful world building, strong characters and fast-moving plot. Young woman who is not a fire witch but has studied everything she can get her hands on about fire magic, fire mages and fire witches, takes a journey with her beautiful step-sister. She hopes for … more books. And does she ever get her wish, and more.
Beautiful world building, strong characters and fast-moving plot. Young woman who is not a fire witch but has studied everything she can get her hands on about fire magic, fire mages and fire witches, takes a journey with her beautiful step-sister. She hopes for … more books. And does she ever get her wish, and more.
August 25, 2019
What really made this novel for me was the protagonist, Lucinda Guillierre. I've read plenty of fantasy novels whose central characters feel like they were invented by a committee. Lucinda doesn't. She's strong, determined, flawed, impulsive, and someone you really want to see succeed against the formidable obstacles that face her in the intriguing world the author has created. I'm looking forward to reading the next novels in this series.
July 1, 2017
This is high fantasy, and it's a long demanding read - but I got hooked and couldn't put it down. The main character, Lucinda, is 19 - the book is probably best described as a YA/Adult crossover. It's the first in a series, so fans like me will be looking out for the next volume. Recommended for older teenage fantasy enthusiasts.
May 29, 2020
A solid 3. It has an interesting wizards-plus-renaissance Europe setting, which is leant a bit of extra reality by having its own literary canon, which is mentioned in bits and pieces here and there (Tolkien and Martin use this trick as well in their respective settings). A fun read, but the ending felt a little rushed.
Read
August 9, 2018Recommended to romance readers who like a tale with fantasy elements.
I really like the premise.
I felt there was some world-building missing. But, overall enjoyable and very readable, for sure.
I really like the premise.
I felt there was some world-building missing. But, overall enjoyable and very readable, for sure.
December 5, 2021
Enjoyed this immensely. Strong storyline and characters in a world full of magic and mystery. A great read for young and older adults. Looking forward to the rest of the series!
September 23, 2017
I have to write this to explain the rating I gave. There is a difference between the objective rating and the subjective. To me, this novel is much more than the sum of its parts. On a plain technical execution rating I would likely give it only 4 stars, for I find the plot, the characters, the imagery, etc. to be just very good. I had to rate it a 5 because I find it to be of profound beauty. I have read hundreds of books, albeit slowly, and I almost never reread one (although I hate to part with a good one). I have reread The Locksmith more than any other book. I relate to the protagonist so much that, even though I know all the secrets and plot twists, I want again and again to relive parts of her experience. I want to see the fortress as she sees it, I want to touch the books that call to her, I want to feel the bread as she kneads it, I want to converse with her friends, and so much more. She lives in a different world, and yet it feels so much like my own, only better.
August 9, 2018
This is a good read. This book introduces interesting characters and places them in inventive situation. The story is compelling, making the book difficult to put down while more remains to be read.
Merged review:
This is a good read. This book introduces interesting characters and places them in inventive situations. The story is compelling, making the book difficult to put down while more remains to be read.
Merged review:
This is a good read. This book introduces interesting characters and places them in inventive situations. The story is compelling, making the book difficult to put down while more remains to be read.
July 16, 2018
This book kept me up all night, I couldn't put it down. It has a well thought out fantasy world, where volcanoes provide the power for major magic. It has a romance that initially looks like it is star crossed, but... The "origin" story of how the heroine gets started in magic is great!
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews