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The Sigil: A Novel - Part I

Shakeil Kanish (Goodreads Author),

Larissa Mandeville,

Payge White (Editor)

3.93 · Rating details · 46 ratings · 41 reviews

The Descent Meets The Magicians.

Disclaimer: This novel is being re-edited currently so this is not the FINAL version! I'm working on making this the best novel it possibly can be!

A tragic death.
A dangerous obsession.
A desperate mission.

Lake’s brother Devlin was murdered right in front of him. Simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Why, then, does ...more

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Kindle Edition, 385 pages

Published January 27th 2020

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Jul 07, 2020 Miranda Reads rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: published2020, received-to-review

Just finished my 2020 Book-Year in Review BookTube Video - Click the link to see my recs!

The Written Review

New month, New Booktube Reading Vlog - tier-listing all the books read in July!

The Written Review

I must have missed something. Something important.

Lake Smithson had a charmed life. The keyword being "had".

Everything changed with a robber killed his brother, plunging him into an increasingly uncertain world.

Magic. He said magic. Holy crap. I'm Harry Potter.

Lake f ...more

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Feb 29, 2020 Hamad rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-reads, e-books, from-the-publisher, good-covers, fantasy, ya

This Review ✍️ Blog 📖 Twitter 🐦 Instagram 📷

Actual Rating: 3.75 stars

“I know it’s probably selfish and corny and dumb, but I started praying that I’d just be happy.

I was provided an e-copy of the book in exchange of an honest review. This of course, does not change my review in any way. You also know that I don’t read much YA these days but I was excited for this book because it is an LGBT book written by an own voice male author and you know the YA genre does not have many YA male a ...more

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Feb 23, 2020 Stacy Fetters rated it really liked it

"And I know this world is complicated and hard and crazy, and that sometimes you feel you don’t belong. Hell, sometimes I feel like I don’t belong. But I want you here. Because you make me happy again.”

Sabriel meets The Descent in this high urban fantasy that you won’t ever forget.

A tragic death.
A dangerous obsession.
A desperate mission.

This is the diverse, own-voices fantasy novel that I have been waiting for. A lot of ones being released lose my interest quickly and I end up leaving them be ...more

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Feb 17, 2020 Catherine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, lgbtqiap, 4-stars

"This is me now, and I will not let anyone walk all over me anymore."

The Sigil is the debut novel of a Own Voices author, Shakeil Kanish, co-writed with Larissa Mandeville. This is the book this gay man of color probably wished he could have read, with a male main character he could relate to, and that he wrote for himself and so others readers could have this hero in their life. There are so many LGBT+ books being released now, however myself and plenty of others readers wish for more Own Voice "This is me now, and I will not let anyone walk all over me anymore."

The Sigil is the debut novel of a Own Voices author, Shakeil Kanish, co-writed with Larissa Mandeville. This is the book this gay man of color probably wished he could have read, with a male main character he could relate to, and that he wrote for himself and so others readers could have this hero in their life. There are so many LGBT+ books being released now, however myself and plenty of others readers wish for more Own Voices books. If that's your case, this author wrote for this book for you, too. Before I go further, keep in mind that I'm white and straight, and that no matter how much representation matters to me, I cannot relate to it the way others do. I'm saying this because I hope that others, who are concerned by the representation in this novel, will also read it and write reviews that will be more important than mine.

This is urban fantasy, and while I doubt that those who don't like this genre will change their mind with The Sigil, I'd recommend to give it a chance. While everyone who's been following my reviews and the books I read know my love for fantasy, urban fantasy can really much be a hit or miss with me too, and this one was a hit. I had my doubts at the beginning: the writing is indeed very much the one you can expect in urban fantasy (it would have been weird if it wasn't), the pacing felt like it was too slow and too fast at the same time. I know this seems like a strange thing to say, so let me explain: the prologue starts with the murder that will set off the following events. In the first chapter, we go back very soon before it happens and are introduced to Lake, his brother Dev and their parents. By the end of chapter 2, the murder has happened. So, it was already very fast-paced, but at the same way it felt slow in the sense that I didn't really care for what was happening. I also had a hard time connecting with the characters and the writing style, and felt like the author didn't give me time to care and at the same time spent too long during that very short time on things that didn't serve the story.

I was wrong, though. I pushed further, because you really get into the book after a few chapters and understand the choice made by the author at the beginning. It's fast-paced without being too fast, the narration makes it a page-turner and very hard to put down, I had a lot of questions on my mind and those are answered in time, letting us make our own guess about how and why and what, without dragging to give us a good explanation either. I didn't expect the turn the story took, which is a rare thing. I'm not trying to brag, but I'm not easily suprised by twists and revelations. So if you feel the same way I did when you start this book, please keep reading.

The strong point of this novel though, is by far the characters. No matter how good a story is, I'm definitely more a character-driven person than action-driven reader. I can forgive plotholes as long as the characters are great, but I don't care how good a plot is if I don't give a damn about the characters. Lake, a gay boy of color, and Nova, my girl that deserves a hug, are the two main characters. They're both strong and vulnerable at the same time, they feel real, authentic, relatable. You can't help but root for them and wish you could be here for them. The characterization is incredible and that's how you know this is Own Voices. I couldn't have written this book, I couldn't have done such an amazing job with the characters. There's also a very interesting cast of side characters who all have their own importance in the plot. My favorite is by far Stone, and the romance in this book made me want to, once again, hug a character. And I don't hug characters all the time, people.

"And I know this world is complicated and hard and crazy, and that sometimes you feel like you don't belong. Hell, sometimes I feel like I don't belong. But I want you here. Because you make me happy again."

Overall, this is a great debut novel and the end is satisfying enough to make me wait for the sequel without counting the days (which doesn't mean I don't want it as soon as possible!) While there were times where it was obvious this was a debut novel, the great points totally made me forget it while I was reading and I'd like to encourage the author to keep working because he definitely has the potential to improve very much.

Nb: I bought the paperback edition of this book, which has grammatical and formatting mistakes. I'm usually the first one to complain about it, because it's annoying as hell. However, you should be aware, if you also decide to buy the paperback edition, that the author paid everything himself, that he apologized in person to me for said mistakes without me complaining, and that he's working on fixing that problem as soon as possible. So no hate in the reviews about this, please: be kind and support new authors who do their best! ...more

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Mar 07, 2020 Lance rated it liked it

Shelves: lgbtqia, arcs, urban-fantasy, worldbuilding-goals

"“I know it’s probably selfish and corny and dumb, but I started praying that I’d just be happy.”

"And I know this world is complicated and hard and crazy, and that sometimes you feel you dont belong. Hell, sometimes I feel like I dont belong. But I want you here. Because you make me happy again."

Many thanks to the author, Shakeil Kanish, for giving me an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

3.5 Stars. The Sigil: A Novel, albeit while having a rough start, is a promising debut novel from a n "“I know it’s probably selfish and corny and dumb, but I started praying that I’d just be happy.”

"And I know this world is complicated and hard and crazy, and that sometimes you feel you dont belong. Hell, sometimes I feel like I dont belong. But I want you here. Because you make me happy again."

Many thanks to the author, Shakeil Kanish, for giving me an ARC in exchange for a honest review!

3.5 Stars. The Sigil: A Novel, albeit while having a rough start, is a promising debut novel from a new, fresh voice in dark fantasy. I'm not going to lie, the first few chapters of this book made me a bit apprehensive about how this novel would turn out. Thankfully, the last act of the novel delivered on the "dark" part of the fantasy that this book is being marketed as. Every aspect of this novel is a mixed bag, apart from the beginning third and the ending third: the prose, the worldbuilding, and the magic system all of it landed square in the middle of the spectrum for me.

Let's talk about the beginning to get it out of the way first. Looking on it now, I think what's weird to me is how discordant the first part of the book is in comparison to the rest of the book. I don't necessarily mean that the first part was poorly constructed or shoddily written; I mean that the first part does not seem like the start to a dark urban fantasy book. The first impression I got of this book was that it was kind of "campy:" the dialogue felt a bit cheesy and stilted, sometimes the phrasing was awkward, and the characters did not behave in a way I'd expect from a dark fantasy. Particularly, the way the parents were written and talked felt a bit off and hyper-exaggerated. The introduction of new characters, particularly Nova, in this part also felt a bit forced. I also couldn't get a good handle on who Lake, our protagonist, was and what his personality was. Overall, there were hints of a darker story but the beginning felt weirdly divorced tone-wise from the rest of the novel.

Now for the prose. Again, it felt a bit dry and cheesy beginning but steadily grew into itself in the middle and latter thirds of the book. I wouldn't at all say it's purple prose, but the first person perspective it is written it serves it's purpose well. Everything is communicated very effectively and I was never confused about what was going on in a scene. The prose also definitely accentuates character voice rather than drowns it out, as Lake and Nova sound different form each other whenever the narrative switches to their POV (as indicated by an illustration of them). I will say that I firmly believe that the prose is at its absolute best in the last third when all the events of the novel culminate and everything is going haywire, (view spoiler) I felt the prose was at its best then, as I could visualize everything going on during a chaotic battle scene and that's a sign of good writing.

As for world-building, I thought it was good. There was nothing glaringly wrong with it, nor was there anything particularly innovative or interesting about it. I liked that sigils were the core of the magic system and how they were utilized by different characters in many different ways. The author(s) made good use of a magical school setting, as often whatever the students are learning simultaneously informs the reader of how the world operates; this book is no exception. I would like to learn more about the various species in this world, as demons exist (which is always a fascinating topic to explore, especially in dark fantasy). I get the feeling that in Part II, we'll get a firmer exploration of everything introduced in this part of the novel.

Characters. I'll start by saying I'm very happy to see a gay man of color writing about POC protagonists, particularly a gay black main protagonist; it's very rare to see #ownvoices representation for gay men in fantasy or even contemporary, much less a gay man of color.I definitely like the core characters in this novel (Lake, Nova, Stone, and Knox) but don't truly love them in the way that I love a lot of characters in books. That being said, (view spoiler) I also really did love Lake and the fact that he's an entirely human protagonist caught up in this magic craziness. Perhaps due to genre conventions, I was expecting (view spoiler) Also, Lake's whole arc around hating being in the shadow of his brother, while grieving him at the same time, and trying to assert his own agency and importance in the world really resonated with me. Also, (view spoiler)

Now for the best part of this book: the last third. I was wholeheartedly not prepared for how crazy the ending was going to be. Everything from (view spoiler): it was the darkness that I was eagerly waiting for from this novel, delivered in a perfectly written manner. Again, the writing was particularly good in this section as it almost felt like watching a horror movie with how well I could picture the carnage and terror occurring. In addition, the ending: (view spoiler)

Conclusively, I would definitely recommend this. I'm unsure of what to classify this book as in terms of age (Young adult? New adult? Adult?) but I would definitely give this to older teens. It's a compelling start to what's sure to be a hell of a dark urban fantasy ride. ...more

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Feb 12, 2020 Rebecca Crunden rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, lgbt-fiction

Everything that happened led you to this place [...] and a boy who lost his voice and didn’t care if he’d ever get it back now wishes every day that he could just open his mouth and tell you all of this.

I really enjoyed this début novel from Shakeil Kanish and Larissa Mandeville! The main characters of Lake and Nova are great, and the bro angst really brought the FEELS. Brotherly love is something I adore in books, so of course this one tugged at my heart. ;_;

I want him to choose what he wants t ...more

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Feb 05, 2020 Shakeil Kanish rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

This is my novel and I just wanted to tell everyone who has this on their list of things to read I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did! Growing up a gay colored kid I never really had a lot of heroes in novels that I could look up to so I wanted to make one. I want kids of all shapes and sizes and sexuality all around the world to be able to look at my novel and see it doesn't matter who you are or if you have powers or magic you can still be a hero. Just by being yourself! :) ...more

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Dec 25, 2020 Alex rated it liked it

Shelves: 7-8-and-9

Thanks to the author for providing a ecopy of The Sigil in exchange for an honest review.

The Sigil follows Lake after the murder of his brother spurs him to look further into his life only to discover that his brother was offered a space at a magical school. Originally going in his brother's place, Lake works his way into a new school and hidden world.

I liked how casual this book was with Lake being gay since while YA is getting better at including queer characters, it normally focuses only on Thanks to the author for providing a ecopy of The Sigil in exchange for an honest review.

The Sigil follows Lake after the murder of his brother spurs him to look further into his life only to discover that his brother was offered a space at a magical school. Originally going in his brother's place, Lake works his way into a new school and hidden world.

I liked how casual this book was with Lake being gay since while YA is getting better at including queer characters, it normally focuses only on coming out or prejudice and while those are important topics to explore, sometimes you want to be able to read about a queer character who's life story doesn't revolve around how difficult it is to be queer. This book also has a really strong opening and conclusion, but its mid-section dragged a bit for me and felt a bit directionless. It does a good job of setting up for the conclusion, but I wish there was an additional goal or something driving the characters forward for readers to get invested in.

The narration was well done, but some of the teen-speak felt a bit uncanny valley, especially when it was used to relay plot, world, or relationship information. It wasn't necessarily because it felt exposit dumpy, but there was definitely something else off that I still can't quite put my finger on. We also follow both Lake and another character named Nova, and I honestly don't think her perspective was really needed. Her chapters are narrated indistinguishably from Lake's and it sometimes made it difficult to remember who's perspective you were in and she doesn't offer anything to the story until after the midway point so her chapters just took away from Lake's. I understand the importance of us caring for and empathizing with Nova in later chapters, but my (and judging by the other reviews I've read, basically everyone's favorite character) Knox managed to be one of the most empathetic and developed characters despite not being a perspective character so Nova easily could have been developed without giving her an entire POV. ...more

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Dec 13, 2020 Meg loves to read rated it really liked it

I have often daydreamed what it would be like to go to Hogwarts for a Year - or even just for a day! As a muggle myself, I wonder if I could fit in with a school of wizards and witches.

Well, if you ever have wondered the same thing, then this book is for you. "The Sigil" by Kanish and Mandeville have taken my childhood daydreams and turned them into reality!

After Lake witnesses the violent death of his older brother Dev at the local gas station, Lake finds his ordinary world crumbling before hi ...more

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May 24, 2020 Rogan Shannon rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: queer, books-i-own, netgalley

Thanks to NetGalley for providing this copy to review.

Representation: gay black boy MC, black girl MC

Lake Smithson is in a rut, trying to get into colleges and being declined from all of them. He experiences a great tragedy, and starts to spiral until he stumbles across an odd letter. With this, he discovers there's a whole hidden magical world that humans aren't allowed to be a part of. Of course, Lake fights this because he feels like he's finally found a place where he could belong. There's m Thanks to NetGalley for providing this copy to review.

Representation: gay black boy MC, black girl MC

Lake Smithson is in a rut, trying to get into colleges and being declined from all of them. He experiences a great tragedy, and starts to spiral until he stumbles across an odd letter. With this, he discovers there's a whole hidden magical world that humans aren't allowed to be a part of. Of course, Lake fights this because he feels like he's finally found a place where he could belong. There's magic, creatures of the dark, love, friendships, and chaos.

Rating: 3.5/5 Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this! I thought the magic system was interesting, with how only the gifted are able to use it by drawing sigils and activating them. Humans can technically use it too, but they'll be corrupted and possibly die if they try. The whole concept of the MC getting into a magical school, not having any magical ability, and never suddenly discovering some hidden power was really refreshing. I loved that Lake's being gay was very casual, it came up in the story from time to time but was never a big coming out moment. I really loved Nova! Sure, she's a little abrasive in the beginning, but I just love her unapologetic blackness. I liked how they showed the POV change with illustrations of Lake and Nova before the perspective shift. Though I did feel like Nova's POV came in really late. I wish she had been added earlier, and had more chapters.

From the cover of the book, you expect a dark fantasy and it is, but you don't really get that feeling until maybe a third into the book? The beginning is a little dark with the loss of Lake's brother, but other than that, it felt like just a standard YA story until we finally encountered the Neth, creatures of the dark. That was when it went darker, the pacing started to pick up and we dove more into this magical world. There were some plot holes, and some things that were kind of glossed over that shouldn't have been (view spoiler), and some things that I felt like were missing but couldn't put my finger on. On one edition of this, the author says it's being re-edited but I don't know when that was posted. I hope the copy I received is an older one, because there are quite a few grammar issues, typos, and so on. But all in all, I did enjoy this read, and that ending WHEW! I need the next book!! ...more

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Feb 12, 2020 Cat rated it really liked it

I enjoyed reading this dark, urban fantasy. But there were some issues I had with the story. First I thought the first person narrative didn't work because there were dual first POV, Lake and Nova, and it threw me off when the first 25% of the book was all Lake's POV, then it switched to Nova's. I thought the sudden switch of POV disrupted the flow of the story. I think it would have worked better as a third person narrative because of the sudden shift.
*Spoilers* I'll try not to reveal too much ...more

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Dec 21, 2020 Tabatha Shipley rated it liked it

What I Did Like:
-Lake. He’s a solid character with a lot of heart who has an interesting backstory. I like learning more about him and I like the way his story plays out. Great character!
-Action scenes. They’re intense, they’re well written, and they are easy to follow. They move at a good pace and give you a clear picture of what is happening.
-Magic. I always enjoy reading stories about Magic and this one was no different. I liked the background involved in this world and the originality of th ...more

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Mar 12, 2020 Paula (lovebookscl) rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2-stars

(English / Español)
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

In a Nutshell: Boy discovers his brother's biggest secret

MC: Lake (clueless and living la vida loca without magic)

Plot: After tragically losing his brother, Lake finds himself lost in his life. But a strange letter in his brother's room leads him to discover a secret world difficult to imagine that exists.

My Opinion: The first chapters were very good, they have a dark and sad theme going on. And that immediately captivated me, the trauma of losin ...more

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Mar 19, 2020 Tessa rated it it was ok

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. *My thanks to the Author for gifting me with this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review*
*Warning for Mild spoilers*

The Sigil is described as a dark urban LGBTQA+ fantasy wherein a boy named Lake Smithson should be bound for college, but cannot seem to get his foot in the door and does not appear to know what to do with himself. When his beloved older brother is murdered, that sends Lake into an even deeper spiral until he discovers a strange artifact that his brother hid away: A letter o *My thanks to the Author for gifting me with this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review*
*Warning for Mild spoilers*

The Sigil is described as a dark urban LGBTQA+ fantasy wherein a boy named Lake Smithson should be bound for college, but cannot seem to get his foot in the door and does not appear to know what to do with himself. When his beloved older brother is murdered, that sends Lake into an even deeper spiral until he discovers a strange artifact that his brother hid away: A letter of acceptance to a mysterious Academy. Drawn to the strangeness of the letter, Lake attempts to take his brother’s place at Breywood, and discovers a world of magic that he desperately wants to belong to. But Lake does not have Faeri, or magic—so how can he survive in a world that repels him by its very nature?

The author warned me from the beginning that there would be typos and even slight pacing issues as they are still working on cleaning those up, so I won’t talk about them here. But I, unfortunately, did not connect with this book despite that.

Our two POVs are Lake and a girl named Nova, neither of which have very much to do with each other for most of the book until about 50-60% when we have a time jump and they appear to be friends. There was a set up meant to happen there, but it did not make sense until well past the second act and by then, the pacing was thrown off for me entirely.

I could not pinpoint what it was that Lake truly wanted. He has a loving home where his parents and brother adore him and each other. They are all entirely supportive of him as a person and as a gay man. And yet, he seems senselessly jealous of his brother, who seems like he would bend over backward to get him wherever he wanted to go in life. Instead of talking to any of them, Lake is listless and without dreams of his own which made him a frustrating character to follow in the beginning.

When Lake goes to Breywood in his brother’s name, he immediately is cast aside for not having the proper magical ability and is told he will be sent home. He is then talked into making a terrible mistake with another magic-less boy and costing someone their life in the process. After another series of unfortunate events, he returns to the school and somehow manages to bully the Dean of this powerful, magical place into letting him attend despite the fact that humans are not allowed. Except they are allowed, sometimes, they just have to get their memories erased. This did not make sense for me, as one would imagine this woman would have the ability to simply send a petulant child home without recourse.

The only true plot for Lake is to get into Breywood. Once he’s there, I could not figure out what else the book was supposed to be about as we drifted through him sitting through classes he could barely participate in and making half-formed accusations until well passed 60%. There is a thread about the magical world “keeping” magic from the humans as if it isn’t explained time and time again why it is utterly dangerous for humans to use the magic at all. Not only could it kill them, but it could also kill others. The perpetuated hatred toward the Dean and the Council for wanting to keep these worlds apart not only made sense— but to me, it was the kindest and safest solution. This magic corrupts humans to death if used too often, not the mention the creatures that could be unleashed by accident and yet Lake and his friends make them out to be horrible and elitist for it. I could not help but consider the main characters to be selfish and childish.

It continues much this way, and for me, the inconsistencies simply proved too great. I put a lot of stock into characters and their relationships with others. Lake did not seem to naturally form a genuine relationship with anyone outside of his roommate Knox, who I would die for, and his demon companion. The other friendships were either glossed over or time skipped and I simply could not believe that there was true affection there. The situation with Stone made a few valiant attempts, but the long time stretches between interactions that mattered made them fall flat.

There was a twist near the end that I enjoyed and was threaded through the story relatively well, if a little bare. I think expanding upon that and tightening up the middle would make it much more effective, as the pieces came together well enough.

I believe this book has potential, and I know that it is still currently being adjusted in some places, though I am not privvy as to what and where. I can tell a lot of thought went into building this world and I’m excited to see how these authors grow from here, but there is simply more work to be done for this particular novel. ...more

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Feb 13, 2020 Janine rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020-tbr, new-adult, fiction, fantasy

The Sigil is a dark New Adult Fantasy that hit me in the feels early on, and didn’t let go until the very end, with a gripping plot, intriguing characters that I was able to cling onto, and an interesting, if not very dark, magic system and world. The pacing was quick most of the time, but I wish it was a bit more consistent and things were made clearer.

I did enjoy having both Lake and Nova’s PoV in the book (as well as the artwork of the characters to indicate a PoV switch), both having unique The Sigil is a dark New Adult Fantasy that hit me in the feels early on, and didn’t let go until the very end, with a gripping plot, intriguing characters that I was able to cling onto, and an interesting, if not very dark, magic system and world. The pacing was quick most of the time, but I wish it was a bit more consistent and things were made clearer.

I did enjoy having both Lake and Nova’s PoV in the book (as well as the artwork of the characters to indicate a PoV switch), both having unique and distinct voices. Lake plays off as someone wanting to find his place in the world, as he hasn’t been accepted to any of the dozen schools he’s applied to and is overshadowed by his older brother Dev, but once he’s gone, he starts to spiral until he discovers a window to a mysterious and magical world. I do love his growth as he explores the new world, while dealing with his grief, and connecting with the people he’s getting to know, and wanting to prove himself, afraid of being a nobody again. The only thing is I wish he had a bit more character to him, but I get that he’s supposed to be the “average guy” protagonist. While I wasn’t a big fan of Nova at the start (she was a bit too abrasive), I understood her motivations and character arc, and enjoyed her water based insulting nicknames for Lake as they added a bit of humor to the story. Nova’s PoV was in only a handful of chapters, and while it brought an added dimension to the story, I thought she needed to have a few more chapters and possibly introduced a bit earlier than she did, it was almost 1/4th of the way through before she got a PoV chapter. (view spoiler)

The rest of the cast felt developed enough, though I didn’t feel sad for Dev’s death initially, as I didn’t feel like I knew him enough before he was killed to cling onto him, but we learn more about him later on. Maybe if I connected to him before he died, it would have made things better. And while the rest of the magical cast was fleshed out, each with motivations and heartbreaking backstories, I had my occasional issues with figuring out who was who. A couple of characters felt like they faded into the background.

The prose sometimes read clean, but other times did not, as phrases were repeated 2-3 times within a span of a page or so and some of the phrasing was a bit confusing. While I was able to understand the world and the magic, and thought it was very gripping and added a dark mood with everything that was happening, I wish certain aspects were made clearer earlier on, especially on parts of the setting. This book is rather dark, dealing with lots of death, graphic violence (which is why I put it in New Adult), emotional abuse, and it hit me in the heart several times throughout with all the anguish, especially dealing with Dev, though there’s bits of heartwarming and comedic bits to balance it out somewhat. I liked the aspect of the magical vs. non magical creatures, while not exactly new, brought it’s own twist. There’s this mystery aspect that I wasn’t sure how it would play out at first, but by the end of the story, as the pieces of the plot came together, I was hooked to see how it would end, and was enjoyable to get through. Though I wished the pacing was a bit more consistent, as the beginning is a bit slow and it takes a few chapters to really get interesting with the magical aspects, and it sorta goes fast, then slow, then fast again.

Also to note, the formatting is a bit off in spots with incomplete sentences, paragraphs not spaced correctly, so it looked odd in my e-reader where I thought was a scene break wasn’t actually one.

The climax and the cliffhanger ending has me looking forward to what happens next in the series. If I had to rate this, it would be more of a 3.5 than a 3.

*I received a copy from the author in exchange for an honest review* ...more

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Dec 26, 2020 Renee rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, lgbt, arcs

This book was received from the author in exchange for an honest review - This is an advanced copy of the rewrite out in March.

One major thing I noticed throughout this book that kind of caught my eye were a few teeny tiny typoes (mostly shifting point of view to first person by accident) and I can let those go because this is an advanced reading copy, but I just wanted to make note of it just in case it passes to the final version. On that note, let's get into it!

This book hooked me from the be ...more

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Jul 21, 2020 Paige Green rated it really liked it

Disclaimer: I received this ebook from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Sigil

Author: Shakeil Kanish and Larissa Mandeville

Book Series: The Sigil Book 1

Rating: 4.5/5

Diversity: gay Black main charcter

Recommended For...: LGBT, fantasy, urban fantasy, magic

Publication Date: January 27, 2020

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Recommended Age: 16+ (slight violence, slight gore)

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 385

Synopsis: Shakeil Kanish and Larissa Mandeville hit the ground running with The Sigil ...more

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Mar 18, 2020 Kim rated it it was amazing

"Holy sh-" indeed.
I need the second book right now!
On another note: I really like the book!
Both main ptotagonists are so different but it fit right into the book and the story (Can we speak about the character art? I loved it! So beautiful drawn!) Nova's no shit attitude really spoke to me. Also the main characters are diverse (mute, poc, gay, adopted, plus size) and it's really good to read.
At first I head a difficult time to get into the story and get to know Lake, because it seemed like all y ...more

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Dec 19, 2020 Dawn rated it it was amazing

*Please note: This book was still a work in progress at the time of writing this review*

In a time when the world is crying out for more inclusive fiction, "The Sigil" takes the lead by portraying characters (who are too often disrespected in real life) in a way that clearly says "Hey! We're just normal people" in a setting that is anything but normal (except in fiction!). The story is brilliant, and gained lots of smiles, a few tears, and a couple of utterances of "uh oh" from me. The writing is ...more

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Mar 08, 2020 Jacob Rundle rated it it was amazing

I received an e-copy of this novel from Netgalley for a true and honest review. I rate it 5/5. Why do you ask? Well, buckle up...because I'm going to tell you. So, any good story has 3 components: Character/goal, conflict, and stakes, and I feel that Shakeil and Larissa did a fantastic job. The characters were so realistic and relatable. I love seeing a novel with a LGBTQIA+ main character. There were so many ups and downs that the novel held my attention. I WANTED to read the story. I feel that ...more

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Apr 06, 2020 Amanda Sagen rated it liked it

I requested a review copy of this book and here's my honest review.

This was a bit of a slow starter for me and took a bit to really get into it.
I can't quite pinpoint exactly what Lake (m.c) wants other than to get into the magic school, which made it difficult to work out the plot for me.
Overall, it was an ok story, though I'm not sure I will read anymore of the series. ...more

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Aug 10, 2020 Agostina rated it it was ok

Shelves: lgbtq

An ordinary boy who wants to be extraordinary.

The debut novel by Shakeil Kanish and Larissa Mandeville is set in our world where magic is just around the corner. Our protagonist, Lake Smithson, longs to be someone in this world. He finds himself at a school of magic, and does everything in his power to belong there.

I had some problems with the pace of the book. In my opinion, it could do with a bit more conflict in the beginning. The last part was stronger.

According to Amazon, this book is bein ...more

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Dec 04, 2020 Nancy (The Avid Reader) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: read-2020, fantasy, magical-realism, read-december-2020, shakeil-kanish

The Sigil drew me in from the beginning as I watched Lake watch his brother Devlin die right before his eyes. I was in tears, tears were streaming down my face, I mean I couldn’t see the words on the page. The Sigil was so vividly written I could see it all playing out in my head and I could feel what the characters were feeling.

It was like I could see Lake ducking down behind a small freezer peeping over the top and watching as his brother dealt with the robber. I felt as if maybe Devlin could ...more

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Mar 26, 2020 Halo Scot rated it it was amazing

I read this in a day, and I’m a super picky reader with book commitment problems. THAT’S how great THE SIGIL by Shakeil Kanish (@kanish_shakeil) and Larissa Mandeville is. There’s the same addictive energy as The Hunger Games, Harry Potter, and The Magicians. Fans of these series will obsess over this book.

You’ll immediately fall in love with this LGBTQ dark fantasy. The plot is action-packed and blood-soaked with perfect pacing and epic concepts. This book has everything — a school for mages, a ...more

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Feb 16, 2020 Sarah Coleman rated it it was amazing

This was a very interesting read with a very enjoyable gay protagonist. I found myself reading it all in a day and really enjoyed myself. The concept behind this is original and I loved every word. Will definitely be looking forward to the second part.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review

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Apr 22, 2020 Michelle rated it liked it

I feel bad for rating this book when in the front of the arc it's made very clear that this is still a work in progress being edited, because it does feel very unfinished at this stage.

It's not terrible by any means, but the way the novel is written right now feels very messy. Emotional beats don't land like they should, and it's difficult to really build an attachment to the characters because currently they're more of a collection of reactions to things that happen to them, rather than feeling ...more

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Apr 19, 2020 Editing Services by Cynthia Shepp rated it really liked it

I received this book from NetGalley, but the opinions are all my own. Wow... what a unique story! I had no idea going in what I was getting into as the blurb was vague, but I'm so glad I gave it a chance. Lake and Nova were great main characters, definitely not mainstream, which I really appreciated. The magic theme with friendship and betrayal gave it an overall fantasy feel while it still felt modern and relatable. I believe it is a story the average person can say, "Hey, that could be me," an ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 Daniel rated it it was amazing

This has definitely been one of my favorite new books to read in awhile. This is a different take on the world of magic from characters that aren't seen in media much. Shakeil does an amazing job with family dynamics, creating new friendships, dealing with hard times, all from 2 very interesting perspectives, & an ending that will..... Well you will see.

The book came in great condition with no visible damage. Great cover art. Cover & pages feel of good quality. For the price it is beyond worth i ...more

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Aug 17, 2020 Lauren McCarty rated it it was amazing

“I loved him with every ounce of my being! Didn’t you read it in the journal? I did everything I could to help him. I wanted to give him the closure he needed. When he died, I wanted to die…”

This whimsical LGBTQ fantasy novel will captivate you from start to finish. It encompasses a variety of genres; easy to read and addicting to follow. Sci-fi? Check. Romance? Check. Fantasy, thriller, action? Check, check, check. No matter your preference, The Sigil will leave you wanting more.

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Aug 17, 2020 Hannah Brogdon rated it it was amazing

One of the best books I’ve read in a while. From beginning to end it kept me engaged to by the time I finished it I was ready for a sequel!! Definitely recommend to anyone who just loves great characters, story, action, happiness, sadness, joy all the emotions! Haha

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Shut Up & Read: {Read It & Reap 1136} The Sigil: A Novel Part I by Shakeil Kanish	1	6	Jan 10, 2021 08:31AM
Shut Up & Read: {Read It & Reap 1073} The Sigil: A Novel by Shakeil Kanish	1	9	Mar 01, 2020 03:16PM

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About Shakeil Kanish

Shakeil Kanish

23 followers

Shakeil Kanish loves to write, which, considering you’re holding this book, makes perfect sense. The Sigil is his debut novel and he’s super excited about being an openly gay author and getting the chance to write about an openly gay protagonist. He feels it’s something sorely missing from the writing world, and he wants underrepresented kids everywhere to be able to root for a new type of hero. H ...more