Arcane Gateway

His Name Was Augustin #1

by C.L. Carhart

“All of history is open to you now. You need only to choose which era you want to claim as your own.”

Swanie von Thaden has enough magic going on in her life already. Having grown up in a Teutonic world rife with elemental powers, spiritual entities, and mystical traditions, she’s never really integrated into everyday life. Now she’s poised to enter college in a few weeks’ time. There, she’ll need to fit in with normal people who could never fathom the magic she wields. But who would dare to befriend an elemental witch?

During one last summer vacation, Swanie meets a fairy in the forest who leads her to a mysterious relic rumored to harbor the power over time itself. Her plans for a normal life spiral into the ground as she finds herself questioning everything her people hold dear. Now, with the help of her most trusted mentors, she must seek out darker truths than she had ever imagined. Is there more to her people’s history than meets the eye? What sinister forces lurk in the shadows of Teutonic magic?

Trigger warning: This novel contains adult content including rape, profanity, and discussion of suicide.

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal

348 pages, Paperback

Published February 15, 2021

About the author

C.L. Carhart has been writing since the age of 4, dabbling in everything from children’s books, to fantasy, to historical fiction. Eventually, her lifelong interest in European history inspired her to create a mystical other-world based on the Teutonic people groups. Her Teutonic Fantasy Realm is chock full of heart-pounding adventure, dark magic, and swoon-worthy romance.

A book addict, stray cat rescuer, and unashamed metalhead, you can find her plotting out fresh stories deep in the night with a can of diet soda and a fun-sized panther infringing on her progress.

Join her mailing list ➜ https://bf.clcarhart.com/6w57qgfhc9

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Reviews

[Jessica {Litnoob} · Rating 1 out of 5]

—PLEASE NOTE! All of my quotes/highlights are now from my german friend reading my copy of this book via my kindle. While I asked her as I was reading certain questions it felt more genuine if she read it herself being born and raised in Germany if any of this rang true. The review below remains unchanged because I stand behind it 100% but the notes and highlights are all thanks to Denise as an own voices german reviewer.—


The one singular star is for the hoagies, the actual star of this book.

TW: Sexual assault/Rape on page

This book was such a let down. It actually had a premise that might have been interesting but instead it was messy. The “history” bits are mostly made up and after the truth in stuff like outlander that’s such a let down. The language is super cumbersome and there’s a lot of places where basic English would have gotten the point across better then the obscure words the author chooses. The magic system is never explained and as a result just makes no sense, both in how they use it but also why they seem to think they are so special. It’s wildly sexist and their blood purity is very close to blood quantum and Nazi propaganda it’s scary. I don’t know if it’s fully racist or just eugenics light but it’s never checked or challenged in the text how disgusting their outlook on purity is and that really worked against being able to rate this highly at all. Also there’s a ton of slut shaming and no basic knowledge of kink while also being super judgy about it. Over all this was a bad time for me, I didn’t enjoy my time in this world at all and wouldn’t continue on with the story.

Also I’ve asked my German friend to translate some things for me or confirm some things for me and my babes living in Germany right now confirms that I’m not far off the Mark that all of this german representation left much to be be desired. Oh and towards the Begining there was a forced “I can’t take my pills cause they make me fuzzy” thing about medication for anxiety and it was very ableist. It didn’t last long though so I forgot it for a minute there.

I couldn’t make notes in the ebook since my kindle is old AF and it gets stuck doing that so instead I made notes on my phones notepad. I’ll include those below but they are full of spoilers if random with minimal context so if you wanna avoid those then stop the review here and now so you can go in blind and make your own decisions about the book. Also the only thing I genuinely liked in this book won’t matter to 99.8% of readers who aren’t from my tristate areas. But the Sugar Hill Subs moment was fire. That brings back memories as it’s been a minute since I’ve been there for a hoagie.

———————————————


Super super sketchy that she just follows grown men into the woods. Also trusts these old men more then her father.

What she is isn’t properly explained, there’s a lot to be desired with this understanding of this magic system and the community around it. (Also seems hella sexist)

The timelines for her mother and brothers death are inconsistent with her memories of her mother and father dancing, the fact it’s been ten years since he’s thrown any parties, and that she’s only 13.

The age up was good but maybe because when they were kids they made little sense.

Omg her cousin snapping on her dad for loving her mom? What’s wrong with that girl. Imaging asking “why was I born?” In that way. Child deserves a slap.

This festival also doesn’t make any sense.

So many of these references are not well done. They are very german while also being super dated and not explaining them so I have to keep pausing to google. It shouldn’t take someone so far out of the story.

Now they are camping and they have dropped a ton of names, and clearly there’s community cross over but they don’t explain the why and how. Are all german people just a percentage of this tribe? But they don’t know it? Like what’s what?

Seriously, debating a Prada skirt for hiking up to a mountains summit? Also does she even like these people? Why does she only call them “my wealthy friends.”

Not sure what a spiritual frolic is and it seems it won’t be explained to me, this is getting very frustrating.

Also loads of mentions of her doing this at home, her dad just did a 180 and is now totally cool with her doing the thing that killed her mom and brother?

“Your hair looks like countless forms of my favorite color...” this is just one example of language that’s very cumbersome and works against telling them story. Shades would have been better then forms and beyond that it’s already in the text that her hair is shifting shades of blue so why the awkward language?

BDSM isn’t vulgar, and the lack of knowledge for proper whippings here shows.

So they have to sleep with dudes to “improve their blood status”? This feels very icky and like blood quantum which we know is steeped in racism here in the Americas.

Also will they ever explain why birth is so hard?? I mean it’s ok for mere mortals but for them with super powers it’s too much??

The first time the girls jumped bodies they didn’t need to be back by it to like put their soul into it so why is her being downstream now an issue? Before it was close your eyes and breathe and you are home in your body again.

Wait so she wasn’t in spirit form?? What the hell is happening? Why isn’t this magic explained???

Thanking the fae?? No thank you that’s historically a good way to die.

How ironic the author uses abstruse here because I have to google it to realize it’s definition is perfect being abstract and unknown. The language used in this book is so needless, like spice had to be added to the language to make it sound more magical but it just keeps pulling me from the story to google needlessly complex words to mean simple things. Just say blue when you mean blue, no need to be extra with it.

Finally something of interest, time travel. Having to get 25% through the book for something interesting to happen though isn’t a good sign.

Why can’t it be her friend why must it be her Teuton friend? Why can’t it be a book and not a teuton book? Like it’s so gratuitous.

Just say sober!!! No living human has ever said teetotaler. Omg I hate it here.

She’s benign reprimanded for calling her own house? Wtf

Also it would have been helpful 7 chapters ago to note that Bavarian was actually their native tongue.

Why is she “leering” at homie when ten seconds ago they were having a perfectly pleasant conversation??

Ewww is her dad really joking her teen friends would wanna bang him? 🤢

Documentation of their blood line? Holy eugenics batman, that’s racist.

Hans wears white socks with leather sandals, he’s an actual serial killer isn’t he?!?!

At this point I’m done googling. If it’s meant to make sense it will but it’s taking me twice as long to read for the stopping and it’s not worth that time for me.

Just because someone isn’t into you doesn’t make them an asexual, like wtf. Maybe he just isn’t a pedo (though I’m assuming it’s heading that way soon.)

“We want to find a good church here.... I’m here to learn not to lose my dignity.” God I don’t think I could hate these girls more. Slut shaming sex isn’t the flex you think it is Bethy.

“Some of the others think he’s gay because he likes designing comics.” That’s the single dumbest form of homophobia I’ve ever seen in a book.

How does a time traveled body not remain effected by ailments that occurred in history BUT also can effect change in said history. This is inconsistent ramifications and it feels like lazy story telling.

The gratuitous mentions of random mental bands is so annoying. Just say she was listening to music. We don’t need a best of metal from 25 years ago, it’s adding nothing to the story.

Why is homie randomly glowering at her mid conversation? Also we will only be friends, now come and frolic with me while you are in your bathing suit and there’s no beach or lake in sight.

How did she have a whole graduation but she’s back to being a sophomore?! Wtf is this timeline?

This Book is so Christian for being so pro magic, aren’t Christians supposed to be against that sort of thing?

“And metal musicians don’t fudge the notes.” How do you even get pretentious and ignorant about rock music compared to Christian music? Swanie is such an unlikeable character.

Omg why is she mocking this girls french? What a dick. It doesn’t make you quirky Swanie and you are exactly Like other girls 🙄

The mentions of Wawa and hoagies are the only good thing about this whole book at a whopping 66% through.

Again I have to point out a lack of wanting Swanie doesn’t make someone asexual.

Did she really just make the argument for boning that man when she was 14?!?! Is the Christianity what’s fueling these sick ass conversations?? Come home from church and have convos about pedophilia???

Wow, that’s bold rape on the page with no CW

That’s her revenge??? For rape? The fact that she didn’t turn their hearts to literal ice is such a waste.

“Men can masturbate and so can we.” Yeah but you e spent all this time judging your friends who get off so keep your tone down when talking to Beth.

“Not every night, I’m not a sex addict” there we go, there’s the prudish judging Bitch we don’t like.

The priests have done something bad to become black priests and get supernatural powers. You all have supernatural powers. It’s why you freaks do blood purity.

And we are back with Christian purity. Like your people weren’t actually originally colonized by Christian ideals. So weak.

It’s not teutonic time travel it’s just time travel 🙄 this is getting exhausting

I’m worried about herpes but refuse to see a doctor... checks out 🙄

He judged her for knowing german after his daughter reminds him to use English... make it make sense.

She can’t say ass? Or if she’s gonna be coy about her assault just not say butt like she’s four? Nobody needs those details but she keeps giving them unpromted and immaturely.

“It makes me laugh to this day...” you only just found out this day. Wtf does this even mean? Is it a typo?

Wait so the blood transfer is demon work but that’s ok cause it makes girls breedable but others using the “dark magic” is bad? What in the Jesus breeding fetish is this nonsense?

“I’m so worried about Ina.... I’ll check on her in 3-6 months.” 🙄

He doesn’t like to talk about his deathly nut allergy?!?!? Wtf. That’s so dumb, he would rather die by accident then?

Swanie is ok with blood quantum until it’s her friend getting bred, how completely useless of her.

Christian cult has rapey priests, who could have possibly seen that coming?

Oh look her one friend was brain raped but she’s encouraging the other to stick by her priests. Checks out.

Hans isolating her from the old lady. Who can have seen the sketchy priests being sketchy coming?? No one ever could have called that 🙄

You can accept their abuses of you and make it beautiful or pine away your entire life? That’s the old ladies advice? She’s as bad as the rapey priests.

Yes you are a snob like most of your HS classmates swanie. No need to lie to your cousin.

He might wanna partake in the battle?! Did she really just say that dumb shit?

“If they upset you that much I can take them to the Saxon’s and poison their land.” God swanie is the worst.

So they aren’t preparing this boy at all. They are just kidnapping him to the past. Wtf is wrong with these people. How is that not a horrible idea?

Wow their means of persuasion are even worse then I thought. Why is she snapping at this kid when her dumb ass did nothing to prepare him and he is hesitant? They are the worst.

That was the more anticlimactic ending ever. But Atleast it’s over!

[RedBookPanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did I delete my Goodreads account last year? Yes. Did I make a new one just to review this book because it needs all the warnings and the reviews it can get? Also yes.

The first thing I have to say before really starting this review:

Deciding to write about a group of German people who are obsessed with blood purity and make none of the characters be critical of this obsession was definitely an...interesting decision. Making your main character German, grow up in Germany and then just say „Oh guess that means my list of future husbands is pretty slim.“ after she learnt that some of her people do not approve of marrying outside of their group and that blood purity is literally measured in percentages and you’re only allowed to do specific things when your blood is pure enough does not make sense in any way. She should have reacted negatively or at least disturbed in some way.

Even now it is weird to see people talk about how they are „20% Italian“, „40% Scottish“ or whatever else their family research tells them. As soon as the words blood and purity are mentioned in the same sentence, people who grew up in Germany should be on guard because they expect the next words to be r@cist.

But moving on. Spoilers for the whole book from now on.

My second biggest problem with the book (besides the uncomfortable parts about blood purity) is how a lot of basic things about living in Germany were just plain wrong. Were these small things that didn’t have a lot of impact in the story and people outside of Germany probably won’t notice them? Yes.
But I am from Germany and I had to read about them and they always took me out of the story.

Here are some examples:
- The names. The story takes place between the 1980s and 2000, most of the people are born in the early 80s. The names Trudi and Traudl were definitely NOT common during that time. Don’t even get me started on Swanhilde. Yes it is an oldgerman name but it’s also one that is more linked to northern Germany and nordic mythology, not Bavaria. Same thing with von Thaden. This is a place in Schleswig-Holstein. It does not make sense that a Bavarian family, who apparently has been living in Bavaria since forever because they are a good teutonic family to have a name from northern Germany. I’m also still confused about where Swanie got the nickname Dane for her brother when his real name was Anton Gerhard.

- Opening apartment doors from outside without a key. This got mentioned more than once (while visiting Lady Muniche and Hans, if I remember it right) and doesn’t make any sense because our doors aren’t built like that. German apartment doors don’t really have doorknobs. Especially not in the middle of Munich, where Lady Muniches apartment was located.

- Trudi mentions heating up her cafeteria food. Even at private schools this hasn’t really been a thing during the 80s. Most of german school days stopped during lunch time, the latest class mostly stopped at 2pm. Schools with whole days and cafeteria food has only really been a thing in the last 10ish years, at least in Western Germany. (The states in Eastern Germany are a bit different but the story is set in Munich, so it doesn’t matter what Eastern Germany was doing.)

- Mutti and Pappi. Mutti is more a thing in Eastern Germany, Pappi is just wrong, it would be Papa or Papi.

- Pop-Tarts. You can’t even get Pop-Tarts now in any of our supermarkets, so they definitely weren’t available in the 80s/90s.

- Der Weg Teutonisch. If this is supposed to mean The teutonian way then the translation was not correct. Even if it’s supposed to be like that, it just sounds awkward and weird. Der teutinische Weg, Der Weg Teutoniens would have made more sense.

- How Swanie jumps around between schools. She lived with Beth and her family for two years when she was 11ish? I think? And then went back to the US for her tenth grade. This honestly doesn’t make any sense, she should have to repeat at least one year. Even for smaller exchanges schools try and send you during times like school holidays so that you won’t miss that much of your own classes. And when you come back, you still have to make up for the stuff that you missed.

- „he would love to be there for the fall of the Berlin wall, to see the moment when the German people triumphed over Communism“. Nobody talks like that about the fall of the wall. Especially because this talk happens during the 90s. The fall of the wall was not even ten years ago. People were still happy to be able to see their family and friends again, Germany was still getting used to being one country again. Some of the story takes place in the US but this was still the most American thing that happend in the whole book.

And here’s the thing that made me really angry while reading:

- The legal drinking age/age of consent. Both laws are mentioned in the story and are supposed to be 14. This is wrong. The legal drinking age is 16 for beer, wine and sparkling wine. The age for hard alcohol like vodka, rum or similar drinks is 18. You are allowed to drink beer, wine or sparkling wine with the explicit consent of your legal guardian when you are 14 or 15. But that’s an exception, the legal drinking age is still 16.

The age of consent is a bit more complicated but here’s the most important part: The age of consent is 14, if both partners are under 18. Swanie would NOT HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO HAVE SEX WITH HANS WHILE BEING UNDERAGE BECAUSE HE IS 30 YEARS OLDER THAN HER. To pretend that a guy who is in his 40s would have been allowed to have sex with a 14 year old kid is just plain wrong and also disgusting.

With all my criticism about Germany out of the way, let’s move on to more general criticism.

All of the mentioned history in this book, from the Teutons to the fall of Muniche because of the Saxons was just wrong. Yes the Teutons existed, yes they were a germanic tribe, but they did not settle down in Bavaria, they came from Denmark and later probably settled down in Nordfriesland, a part of Northern Germany. While they also supposedly went to Italy and France, there are no signs of them staying in Munich.

Even the mentioned mythology in the story doesn’t really make any sense. Faeries like the Eihalbe are more common in Ireland, Scotland or Scandinavia. Witches and ghosts are most common in German tales, maybe even dwarves, but no faeries.

The magic system doesn’t really make any sense to me. Even if we ignore the time travel for now, why would elemental magic help you with your eyesight? Why is Swanie able to use her ice to be able to see better? Where’s the connection between these things? What’s the difference between black fire, straight fire and yellow fire? Why the fuck would you name one of the elements Föhn (hairdryer). Even if this is the first book in the series and you can’t explain everything in the beginning, at least the elemental magic should make sense.

Now let’s talk about Swanie. I disliked her from the first chapter. She is rude, judgemental, downright mean at times and arrogant. I wouldn’t have a problem with that if any of these flaws were acknowledged in the text.
But instead of any criticism against her we only get to see how she slutshames her friends, only thinks about some of them as „rich friends“ because that’s apparently the most important thing about them (besides them hooking up with a bunch of guys who could be their dads), talks down to people, judges everyone she knows about everything they do (the people they flirt with, the people they hook up with, how good they are at playing instruments, the list goes on and on), is mean to a girl who is a few years younger than her, just to make herself look better and smarter.
(Are people from Paris rude? Yes, just like people from Munich or New York are rude. That’s just how big city people are. But in my personal experience, French people are more likely to be happy that you’re at least trying to speak their language, even when you’re not perfect at it.)

The whole relationship between Hans and Swanie with all their secrets and going behind her fathers back honestly just screams gr00ming. All of this was creepy and uncomfortable to read.

Swanies school friend group did not seem like any of these girls even like each other. There was no real chemistry between any of them. Also, one of them wore white leather shorts and a crop top while they went up to the Zugspitze. Even if you ride the cable car, wearing this outfit was probably the most stupid thing she could have done.

Beth and Swanie talking about asexuality and how Hans may be ace doesn’t really make any sense because asexuality is even know pretty unknown, unless both of them were super involved in the queer community, there is no way they would have known about this specific sexuality.

The on page r@p€ was unnecessary in my opinion. If you had wanted Swanie to be worried about losing the Torstein, the guys could have just stolen it. Besides moving out of the dorm and a few randomly mentioned flashbacks the ass@ult didn’t really have any real impact on the story.

A lot of the technology doesn’t really make any sense for the time period. Spam bots weren’t a thing in the 90s, digital cameras already existed but not in the way they are now, ordering a CD online was not how this worked, getting a CD from Finland should have taken longer than two weeks. All of this could have been avoided if the story took place ten years later or if no specific years were mentioned.

Beth and Swanie not telling Joel anything about their plans until the minute they want to use the Torstein was just plain stupid.

A few last words:

Of course you can argue that a fantasy book about time travel doesn’t have to be historically accurate. But if you already can’t get the present timeline right, at least try and get the history or at least the mythology right. The technology parts made it also pretty obvious that the author probably does not remember the 90s/early 2000s that well. The only mention about Swanies childhood in Germany we got were church visits. The only thing these girls talked about were their teutonic blood, who they want to marry and school. No pop culture (besides all the name dropping of metal bands), no typical things kids played in these years, no mention of anything typical German besides church and food. It just did not feel authentic. And this makes sense, because the author didn't grew up in Germany. But it's also pretty obvious that there wasn't done enough research for the story.

Of course you can write about a culture and a country that’s not your own. But at least do your best and try to be respectful.

[(the.darkandmoody.reader) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1/5- prose sets the tone for a book…

This book is written like it really wants to be literary fiction, but the story itself, is absolutely genre fiction.
••••
Pro tip: thesaurus’ are cool when used appropriately. They aren’t supposed to be a weapon to insult your readers. ALSO FYI, when a reader has to stop and look up definitions, it pulls them out of the story - this is bad. Having to research the history of the Teutons because none is given,and is the crux of the story, all to find out that this history of the Teutonic tribe is wrong, well…. If an author is going to write a real place or people or custom they gotta get it correct.
••••
What is this genre? I don’t know, perhaps Urban Fantasy? It’s for damn sure not any kind of romance. Nope. Not sci-fi, fantasy, time travel. It’s rooted here on earth with some weak magical elements that are never explained or have rules that are explored beyond a random comment about magic has a price. Show me!
••••
And if we are honest there’s zero romance. And why would there be? Not a single character has chemistry with another - not even friendship wise. I’m not a fan of any character in this book. They are all horrible and selfish people. Swanie especially. She is so prejudice, snobby, spoiled brat, reckless. If she doesn’t agree with something it’s automatically wrong and the person doing it is stupid.
••••
I’m going to discuss two parts of this story that bothered me the most: Hans, and the rape. There’s a lot I could talk about but this review would become a book itself.
••••
Hans… good grief. This is a grown man acting like an angsty teenage boy. It takes like 7 years for him to kiss a girl 30 years his junior. LOOK, I don’t have a problem with huge gaps just write it well. They finally kiss, he initiates, then runs away into the forest because he may do wicked things? Please do the wicked things, so SOMETHING can happen in this book. But no, Hans is all dramatic like we should never do that again. I was wrong… too old… employed by your father… shouldn’t have tutored you. We can only be friends. Next breath, but oh hey here’s a super special bday gift and do you want to go fire and ice dance now?

Come on! Pick a lane!

And why is she in a bathing suit in this scene? Why do I need to know he has a Coca Cola shirt on? - it’s bad enough I know he wears socks w leather sandals - He hasn’t talked to her in like a month then just flames up to her balcony all Romeo, O Romeo like without the sweet nothings.
••••
Wow. Graphic on page rape. What does it say about me that I didn’t feel anything toward Swanie? Is that the writing? The author wizzed through the scene but could have spent a lot more time in Swanie’s head giving us emotion instead of “I’ll get them back.,” which mean she’ll go do an ice dance and push the rapist out the window AND punch the dude that stole her rock in the face with her ghost ice fist. Super mature and totally appropriate behavior. Go to the hospital Swanie. Or have daddy fly you back home on a private jet because you’re so above flying commercial.

It’s like her reaction should have been something from the trauma? Physical for one but also way more mental and emotional? She just got sodomized! And she’s asking another guy to get her clean underwear. I get we all process differently but her response was way to passive imo.

5 pages later her cousin is like wow that sucks you got raped, and in the same breath, hey I didn’t know you had a vibrator. I thought you were a virgin. Do you use it after I goto sleep? Maybe I should get one. Do you think about the 50yo guy that you thirst for? SHE WAS JUST ANALLY RAPED like 5 pages ago, which is like 30 minutes earlier in the story!!!!! And the rape and vibrator dialogue was a plot device to talk about the rock that she wants her cousin and totally human boyfriend to time travel with her to Middle Ages.

She calls her father and selectively tells him what happens. He’s the only one that had an appropriate reaction - at first. Cousin Beth enters scene, “did your dad freak out?” WHAT?! Why even ask that question. What are we even doing here?

Dad arrives in the US from Germany, the first thing he says after his daughter ugly cries on him is, “that beast really hurt you.” With no emotion. That’s the line you’re gonna serve? She was just anally raped.

And we circle back to Hans. Swanie flippantly tells him “yeah I was raped, I was on my period so he went in my butt.” He laughed. Why? Because he thinks it’s funny guys run away from menstrual blood… good to know Hans has his red wings. Am I the only one that actually cares that this poor girl was brutally assaulted?
••••
This book is slow. The entire book builds up to Swanie time traveling to the past. We get to learn about clothes she makes. Food they will eat. Joel’s nut allergy. How Swanie thinks the German language today is exactly the same as it was in 1066. When it comes time to travel to the past the book ends. It’s took 340 pages to hit the climax then land on a cliffhanger. Cliffies are cool but the author must wrap up the main plot of the book, that didn’t happen. It’s the subplots that keep threading throughout the series. Wanna know why the main plot didn’t wrap up… there wasn’t one.

I wouldn’t rec this book if you’re looking for a true fantasy/time travel/any kind of romance, that’s not this book.

Will I continue reading the series? Maybe. If I did it would be to see if Swanie matures and what the fantastical elements of the book will be. Just because I don’t like a book in a series doesn’t mean I’ll DNF or stop reading the series. I like to give indie authors, especially, some room to groove if I see potential.

[Reschen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book because I was searching for a fantasy novel set in my home country.
Swanie belongs to an old traditional family based in Munich. Thaden however is a municipality in the far north of Germany, located 900 kilometres to the north of Munich. Swanhilde is an old German name, correct. It was a rather popular name in northern Germany. This leads me to believe that Swanie’s family originated from the North, the book however doesn’t mention it at all. Maybe it is going to be explained during the series? These names left me mildly confused, since culture and tradition differ wildly between the far North and Upper Bavaria.
Pappi. I read this word for the first time. I have never heard someone call their father Pappi. Papi, yes, however that is not a term used in Bavaria. Papa, Vadda, Babba – would be accurate. Assuming the author wants to portray an authentic Bavarian society, which I would assume at this point otherwise it would not make sense to choose Munich as a setting. Mutti is also not common in Bavaria, rather Mama, Mudder, Mudda. Uncle Derek’s Name is to be derived from the German name Dietrich? Or is he from the United States, which coincides with my first assumption that Swanie’s family is not originally from Bavaria. Her brother’s name Dane is also not a German or Bavarian name.
Swanie explicitly mentions that she does not intend to sleep with her father’s guests, which calls her upbringing into question. Why would she assume her father forbids her from going for exactly this reason? A responsible father would be horrified at least worried about this response. His reaction: laugh it off and inform his thirteen-year-old daughter that his guests would certainly try to sleep with her, which leads me to believe that the safety of his daughter is a mere afterthought. He is inviting people into his and his daughter’s home, who would potentially sexually assault his daughter. Even if she was willing, which seems like it, it would be illegal under German law never mind traumatizing. Swanie is a child so inviting people, who have intentions to harm her seems counterintuitive as a parent.
The nanny: Lise. As a motherly figure she is supposed to protect the child she is tasked to care for. Caring for her does not include leaving the door unlocked knowing that Swanie is going to sneak out. Knowing there are intoxicated people around, who want to sleep with a thirteen-year-old girl. Neither her nor Swanie’s father seem to care about her safety.
So during the party Hans leads Swanie out of the house. They are not leaving unnoticed. Why would no one say anything? Hans is a servant, Swanie is not supposed to be there. She is underage and their boss’s daughter, this is clearly inappropriate. Even Swanie thinks about the fact that Hans could hurt her, still there is not the slightest hint of fear. Being able to tell on Hans seems to be enough never mind what kind of pain or assault he is able to inflict on her. A teenager being naïve I can get behind. However, a teenager being aware and fully accepting the possibility of seriously getting hurt just to maybe get a soulful dance? Doesn’t make much sense to me.
German names like Englischer Garten. It is a garden in Munich, a popular beautiful garden full of tourists. Using its original name is okay, if used correctly. Englischer Garten is simply incorrect in the form that it is used, it should be Englischen Garten. Akkusativ. German is a difficult language, if someone wants to use it, take the time to use the term correctly.
The term Ach is used in excess and often incorrectly. Most readers won’t notice, but as a native speaker it irritates and takes me out of the story. I am curious to know if for someone native to the United States for example, doesn’t think that these German terms don’t disrupt the natural flow. Maybe this is specific to everyone fluent in German.
The following morning Swanie just casually walks past some guest, who talks about having sex with a girl in a red dress. Why is a random guy allowed to walk around freely after the party has concluded? Her father forbade Swanie to leave her room in order to keep distance between her and his guests. Preventing this kind of situation falls into the job description of a responsible father. Swanie must be used to those kinds of situations, because it doesn’t bother her. Reminder: She is still thirteen at this point – a child. The couple engaged in foreplay in the library merely get an irritated remark from her. Why does she not care? Why is this normal? She just casually walks by, reads her history book not bothered by them having intercourse. Her only concern is getting in trouble with her father, which again makes me question her upbringing. Why would Swanie get in trouble for her father’s guests indiscretions?
So Hans is in his 40s and he took Swanie, who is barely a teenager at this point, into the darkness of the garden in order to perform a tribal dance. How is this acceptable? No responsible adult would behave like that, however I doubt these kinds of adults exist in Swanies world. Maybe this the reason why she isn’t second-guessing what happened and instead decides to visit him at his home.
“My speech slurred from German to Bayerisch to English.”
Bayerisch is a term that is used in reference to territory not in a linguistic manner. Some linguists are convinced that Bairisch is its own language, some say it’s merely a collection of dialects. Whatever the case maybe it’s all based on German. A Saxon for example doesn’t have to be able to speak Bairisch in order to communicate with a Bavarian. Swanie more likely speaks with a Bavarian dialect. Mittelbairisch since she is from Munich. Most people, who are raised in big cities, have minimal dialects, it’s more common in rural areas. So slurring from perfect German to German with a dialect doesn’t seem like a believable speech pattern.
As someone who grew up in Bavaria going to church every Sunday. We recite the Lord’s Prayer in German not in Bairisch. Again it’s a dialect. The Lord’s Prayer is the same in all of Germany. There are Bavarian versions out there, if you go looking for it. Those are more for fun nothing that would ever find its way into a Catholic Church.
The pills her father gave her… are the pills the psychiatrist prescribed, so she only had them for a year. It specifically mentions her panic attack that caused her to get the pills. This contradicts the first chapter where she mentioned never taking them. There was no mention that her nanny watched her take them for a while. Nonetheless, how were her powers suppressed for so long, when Hans says they show as early as four years old. She is thirteen, surely there had to have been a Harry Potter Moment à la disappearing windows, floating Aunts… It seems unlikely that the pills served a long term purpose since Swanie only took them for a very limited amount of time.
Teuton powers manifest when they’re in mortal danger? Was Swanie in mortal danger during their tribal dance? This all just does not seem to make any sense. As a reader I need logic- especially in fantasy settings. These worlds need to take themselves seriously and adhere to their own rules, if not it’s just confusing and annoying to read, because there is no use in following along. Readers want to understand in order to fully immerse themselves into the world the author is building.
So Hans woke Swanie’s powers and now recommends taking pills in order to suppress those powers. Why did he wake them then? As a priest, he knew what he was doing. He wanted to wake her powers. There needs to be reason, otherwise it’s impossible to develop any kind of character depths.
Blood purity determines status in Teuton society. This hits a little too close to home considering Germany’s history. So every German has to be racist only concentrating on the purity of their Arian blood. Why does this book have to perpetuate this stereotype? The concept isn’t called into question once. It’s accepted and Swanie adapts immediately. She judges people based on their purity seemingly disgusted that someone unworthy somehow joined the message board. Basing a whole society on their purity of blood is fine, just beware of the culture. In Germany this actually means something, and it is NOT accepted anymore. It hasn’t for a long time.
So Swanie’s father knows about Swanie’s encounter with the couple in their library. He knows and he thinks it’s funny. Funny. His daughter is thirteen - she witnessed two strangers having intercourse. This is being treated as an entertaining experience. Swanie doesn’t question her father’s reaction, he doesn’t question himself, it’s accepted – their normal. How is a reader without any explanation accept this as the status quo. If the author truly expects this to be the norm in this world, then please take the time to build a culture based on sexual interaction that disregards children’s safety. This would not be my preferred type of setting, but at least it would make the characters’ behaviour believable.
Hans explains there are only male priests, because male demons usually aren’t homosexual. So they don’t have to sleep with the demon. If Swanie delved into this, she would have to. That is the implication. This only reinforces my previous point, why does everything come back to sex? At this point I feel like the author is preparing the readers for the rest of the series. Less plot, more smut. It’s merely an assumption of mine since I haven’t read past book one.
Trudi and Traudl are Bavarian names. That’s absolutely accurate. The time period doesn’t fit however, those kinds of names were popular during 1930-1940, so they both would have to be older in order for it to be authentic.
There is a leap in time at the start of the fifth Chapter. The reader is presented a summary about Swanie learning to set her spirit free, gaining control of her powers. Why the author chose to skip these experiences I cannot comprehend. She is a Teuton witch: The discovery of her powers, how she masters them, how she has to fight for control and finally succeeds. All of this would have been a great way to develop Swanie’s character, to create some depth. However, all the reader gets is the finished product: Perfect Swanie. She is selfish, arrogant and never suffers the consequences for it.
Beth argues with her father for marrying her mother. So she isn’t fond of her own mother, obviously. If her father had married a Teuton witch, Beth would not exist. Maybe there would be a Teuton child, but Beth would never have been born. Still she is angry at her father for choosing love over elemental powers? He broke tradition, went against his family in order to marry the person he loves. This is believable behaviour. His daughter judging him for it seems like a sign of faulty upbringing. Why is everyone surrounding Swanie (including Swanie) merely focused on money, purity and powers. There is nothing else, no deep connection, relationships a reader roots for.
Swanie turns down having a boyfriend because of the dangers of childbirth. You don’t need to birth a child in order to be in a relationship. Condoms were already available, contraception, the pill .. not having sex right away. Her logic seems faulty. There are women on this planet, who don’t want any children and still choose to be in a relationship. One thing doesn’t exclude the other.
Going back to everything being about sexual interaction. Why is Swanie not disgusted after hearing Ina tell her that she wants to sleep with her father? At this point it doesn’t surprise me anymore, but it is still irritating. Just like the fact that blood purity can be increased through intercourse. Of course that is the only way, additional points for anal… of course. Is there nothing else to this book? Where is the depth? Where is the thought? Where are the characters worth rooting for? Where is the plot that keeps readers going? I am searching desperately for anything that will make me invest in this story.
The main character name-dropping bands and brands serves no purpose. What does the reader get out of knowing she is wearing Doc Martens? Or what genres of bands she likes? It serves no purpose and reads like an author insertion.
There is assisted driving in Germany, you can get your licence at 17 and drive as long as your parents or someone qualified is with you, but that was only established in 2011. So what is the purpose for Swanie to get a car at 17? For it to gather dust? She is legally not allowed to drive.
In my humble opinion the author wastes a lot of potential. I love the setting of how the Torstein was found. Dancing on a lake, danger, overextending herself and a mystical encounter. These ingredients make for a great fantasy setting. It’s just the details. She seems to stumble upon the fairy and the Torstein. Is it fate then? Fate that her friend decided to get drunk so Swanie went alone that night? There could have been much more to this scene. Some background, an ancient settlement she read about, a spell that led her there just a little more.
Not to reiterate a point, however I cannot leave out the fact that Swanie’s father wants to sleep with her girlfriends. Her reaction to it: Parents are off limits. This sounds like a pact, so… there was a need for a pact?
The first time I truly understood and felt what Swanie was feeling was when she wanted to go back in time in order to spend more time with her brother and her mother. It is absolutely believable, and I would have loved more in that direction.
My joy didn’t last long, however. Hans outfit took it from me. Leather sandals, white socks, khakis and a T-Shirt with a picture of the Matterhorn on it. This is the quintessential stereotypical German outfit. Thanks, Hans.
The Torstein is the greatest power that has fallen into Teuton hands for many years. Swanie is still learning, not a powerful witch, priest or anything of the like. This would have been a prime opportunity for conflict, some development. Hans could have taken the stone. Swanie would have had a hard time deciding, if she wants to accept his decision or go against the man she is in love with. This doesn’t happen. Hans encourages Swanie to test this important artefact. Even hands her a priests book with spells and hopes for the best? Is he not supposed to be a powerful priest?
Hans straight out asks Swanie if she wants to lose her virginity because of her choice of dress. I personally hate this argument. No woman is responsible how a man behaves based upon her choice of dress. If a man is unable to control himself, the outfit truly doesn’t matter.
Let’s go back to German history. The fall of the Berlin Wall. No one in Germany and I mean no one would ever describe this event by telling someone the German people triumphed over Communism. No one even cared about Communism. Our country was ripped apart. There was a literal Wall that separated families, friends, lovers. People wanting to cross over were killed, shot and imprisoned. Still they kept on risking their lives in order to reach their families. When the wall fell the whole country rejoiced. Not because we overcame Communism, because we were one again, because we got our country and our people back. This was just one comment in the book, but truth be told it enraged me. This misrepresents the history of my country. Why even comment on that event, if the proper research has obviously not been done?
The sexual assault is a calculated move they were waiting for her. Swanie know this, it is her first thought as soon as she gets pushed into the room. Being frozen from shock and fear I get. Thinking about fighting them knowing she can beat them but is worried about them remembering her elemental powers? So Swanie willingly lets the assault happen, despite the fact that she knows she could have saved herself? When she decides to do it, it’s too late, but she was aware of what was happening, she was focused before.
Swanie confesses the assault to Hans. She got LUCKY because she was on her period, and she was taken from behind? She was violated, she bled, she was hurt, she was traumatized. How can she play it of like that?
Hans laughs that the rapists shy away because of period blood. As if that’s funny? Swanie was violated in the worst kind of way. Since she doesn’t seem to have been affected by it, it’s apparently okay to make a joke out of it. Then they jointly laugh about them not being afraid of poop. … It minimalizes the trauma, the seriousness. This is a crime, a crime that ruins lives.
The whole trip back through time seems more like a school trip than anything else. There is no deeper meaning behind it. Maybe I missed it, but nearly being finished with the book, I am still searching for what exactly the author is working towards. What exactly is supposed to keep the reader motivated?
Swanie and her friends leave for the past, this concludes the plot. However, there was a pronunciation guide that followed. The reason for its existence escapes me never mind the fact that it’s not accurate. To close my defence of Germany: Schnitzel is usually made out of pork if it’s veal it is explicitly mentioned.
There were a lot of summaries, e.g. the year passed in an unremarkable fashion. Maybe cutting out a lot of the day to day and reducing it down to scenes that actually develop characters and further the plot would get rid of a few of those summaries. For example the whole plot set in the United States serves no purpose. There are no consequences of the assault or character development based upon it. So taking these parts out and building up more detail about the elements, her magic, Teuton society maybe a meaningful friendship?
This review is not a personal attack more a plea to take more care, if a story is based on a different culture. I love my country, I love my home and I would have been less critical, if more care had gone into it. Writing a book is a massive undertaking, which always deserves respect, however it also bears responsibility. The responsibility to research, reread, be open to criticism – this is needed to create a believable story and for the author to grow. It’s never easy, but everyone who publishes leaves their work open to discussion.From reading the reviews I know that there are people who enjoyed this book in a genuine manner. I just hope that all the readers know that this is not meant to be authentic. It’s not based in reality, not in Germany in an authentic way. Nothing I wrote is meant as an insult, I just want to ask everyone who is willing to hear it to put a little more effort in understanding different cultures. Germany gets a bad rep (understandably so), but there is no need to perpetuate stereotypes.

[Ella · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay so I'm really not used to reviewing, and this is a long one, sorry in advance! Decided to try something a bit different and took notes as I went along.

First of all, kudos to the author, who did something lots of people talk about but never do--she published a book! That is awesome. On to the rest! I tried to be nice while still addressing the issues I have with it, although I got a bit frustrated lol

***

I was curious about this book; fantasy is my jam and time travel can be so much fun, especially into history. There’s a lot to unpack here. I see it has other 5* ratings, so maybe it’s just not for me…I rarely read indie novels due to the general poor quality of them. This series has pretty covers, though, so in the name of broadening my horizons, I picked it up.

Things I liked:
- Some of the descriptions are nice. Especially the ones centered around nature.
- The set-up/premise is great. Secret history of magic people woven into the real thing? Yes!
- Elemental-type powers, love it.
- Music for time traveling? Yaaasssss!
- The portal is cool.
And...that's about all, unfortunately. Here are the notes I made as I slogged through this story:

- We start with 13 year old Swanie wanting to go to a party her dad is throwing. When he says no she tells him she doesn’t plan on “doing it” with any of his guests, and he says THAT WON’T STOP THEM FROM TRYING. Okay. This sets her dad up as a real piece of work (which is fine, we already have the traumatic backstory thing going). No loving, kind man who cares about his only remaining family is going to invite anyone over that might try to rape or seduce his 13 year old child.

- The nanny hears this conversation. Yet, after distracting Swanie with some food and dancing, she…tells her not to get caught when she goes out. There are grown, drunk adults at this party her own dad knows might want to rape her, and now the nanny is basically telling her “go get it, girl?” Okay… abusive household…

- An old man servant decides to take her outside and do a ‘soul dance.’ Not a single person questions a 13-year-old in her pajamas going outside with this guy. Swanie has a moment of “maybe I shouldn’t” but figures she can get him fired if it goes wrong. Okay…abused kids can view insane situations as normal, makes sense I guess given her dad…

- Her powers are woken up, which is cool, and Old Man Hans says they can enhance her senses. The phrase “my ice” is repeated so much forever after this that it started to get extremely irritating.

- She’s obsessed with blood percentages and how women with high magic %’s have trouble in childbirth. It’s repeatedly mentioned how she probably doesn’t want kids anyway, but also refuses to date a non-magic or low-percentage guy ‘cause…reasons, I guess? Her blood would gain points if she has sex with a high percenter, so I guess that means it goes down if she sleeps with a normie??? I guess?
Oh yeah, and it’s casually dropped in that you get extra points for anal. For shock value, I suppose, because there’s no real reason I can see we even need to know that. Then Swanie cracks a ‘joke’ about a BJ drying out your mouth, which…isn’t how that works, so just shows her inexperience. Maybe that was the point?

- One of Swanie’s friends talks about screwing her dad, and she is not horrified by this, just mildly disgusted at best. I guess a kid who has been abused might react this way? But Swanie never mentions that she has been? At first she’s extremely affected by the death of her mom and brother, having panic attacks, the whole lot, and all that is glossed over too like “oh, got powers now, I’m healed.” O...kay?

- I skimmed quite a bit through some of the opening sections after that. We meet an older lady who teaches about the powers, but totally skip over Swanie learning how to use them and what it means for her, all of that. Instead we teleport to a trip with her friends, too much info about the bands, lake/ice dancing, repeated comments about how slutty said friends are and all the dudes they bang, getting drunk, throwing up, yadda yadda.

- It’s mentioned how they’re not supposed to reveal themselves to anyone, but then also they started a website. Putting things online isn’t the best way to stay secure, even in the past. But OK, moving on.

- Her dad jokes about screwing her friends, so I dislike him more all the time. I don’t like Swanie much either, so I’m confused as to which character we’re supposed to root for and want to follow, if any.

- Swanie has a cat now???

- The author repeats words so much and I’m sorry but that’s a huge pet peeve of mine. I won’t list the hundreds of examples but “If that really is the Torstein, we’ll have to test it.” I shivered with excitement and a touch of fear at the idea of testing it.” Just…for the love of all things holy, stop doing that. Was this beta read or edited at all?

- Becoming part of the past literally changes the past, you’re not an observer if you’re becoming part of it.

- So much build-up that falls flat on its face in a puddle of WTF. We’ve been hearing about the cost of magic, bewwaaaaareeee the coooossttt! Even Old Man Hans is like “yeah this is a dangerous rock and there are rules” yet he doesn’t bat an eye when Swanie pompously declares she’s probably fated to have it and use it anyway. Super powerful artifact that lets you go back in time, sure, let the teenager keep it, what could go wrong?
Then again, Hans doesn’t necessarily seem to have her best interests at heart all the time anyway, so maybe he’s meant to be a trash character.

- Any and all tension sucked immediately out of the time travel rock as we’re told you can just die and reset back to your era. Just don’t get involved in a suicide ritual and you’re fine. I mean, we know Swanie lives and pops out at least one kid since she’s writing this for him (and if I were her kid I wouldn’t want to read about grandpa having sex with my mom’s friends, ijs) but that really makes the stone pretty pointless. Nobody is going to have anything to worry about, despite how much the book keeps trying to convince me that it’s dAnGeRoUs!
Btw, it’s pretty hard to slit your wrists AND THROAT and then expect to jump anywhere.

- Can we just… “For my time left at home – for the U.S. – for my father was in” – assuming “sort out the mysteries of the Torstein before then as FAR as humanly possible” is a typo. It feels like at some point it was decided that "for I was..." and all variations of which sounds pretty, which it can, but not when it's used over and over and over.

- Random line about how the priests are, like, super standoffish and Swanie is lucky Old Man Hans taught her anything at all. I think that’s one of my major problems with this story. We’re just told random stuff that makes no sense, we certainly haven’t been shown OMH keeps to himself. He’s the one who sought her out and rubbed his soul on hers, or whatever. When is he keeping to himself? He’s everywhere.

- There’s an abrupt tone shift where OMH is angry AF about her prancing down the gorge, which is pretty anticlimactic considering she found the rock and she’s fine. I guess Swanie’s overreaction and crying makes sense given that she’s in love with OMH.

- It bothers me her ice pokes into her eyes and doesn’t actually blind her. The whole “elements enhance your senses” thing is fine but I draw the line at icicles in the eyeball.

- OMH does some gawking. Swanie acts like he’s going to literally beat her.

- OMH tells her to be more careful because there are bad people out there too, yet when she asks about self defense, he laughs and says no. What??

- OMH has a key to the back rooms of the church? But they’d changed the locks and he doesn’t have the master? I don’t get it.

- Swanie observes the past, by immediately changing the past. Changing/adding a song at your parent’s wedding is still a change. =/ It’s done so flippantly I can’t imagine there will be consequences for her action(s). (Yep, Hans says lol ur part of the past and isn’t mad at all she created a new memory for him… and therefore CHANGED the PAST omg I almost DNF’d right here.)

- Everybody looked young. So young. They’re really young. We went back in the past and everyone is young. Imagine that. Guess what? Swanie’s dad is young, too. Wow!

- I can already tell the whole “maybe this rock shouldn’t even exist” is faux tension. Maybe some of this might be improved without the prologue telling us ahead of time that Swanie is fine and got a happy ending. And didn't die having a kid. So all her obsessing over it is for nothing.

- Once again, talking about sex with his daughter. I don’t understand. He’s obviously not an abusive father, so wtf is with this crap? A simple “I hope you’ve thought about birth control” or something less gross would be fine.

- If you’re not a tueton, you can’t have good advice.

- Oktoberfest is definitely not just mainly focused on beer; why does this book feel so disrespectful to Germany?

- Sagacious: having or showing keen mental discernment and good judgement, shrewd. Munchie nodded keen mental discernmently? Good judgemently? Just because it’s a big word doesn’t mean it’s the right word.

- Munchie agrees the teenager should keep the rock because… it’s too powerful for their own leaders to have? I guess? It’s unclear why Swanie even asked, since she already declared herself the Chosen One.
Nobody seems to think her travelling back in time is a big deal. So if nobody thinks it’s a big deal, why should I care? 40% into the book and there’s no ‘dark secret’ or anything intriguing. Swanie has rock. Swanie use rock go back in time. Adults encourage Swanie to go wherever she wants. Yippee.

- Swanie would never date a normie. I’m really disliking this girl.

- None of Swanie’s “jokes” are funny. The other characters always laugh, usually uproariously. They’re wrong.

- Swanie brags. All the time. So the whole section where she’s getting to America and talking to Beth is not only boring, but irritating when you do pay attention.

- Beth isn’t pleased to have her dad’s nose, and yelled at him for marrying her mom (which…produced her?? She wouldn’t be here otherwise? Ok…are there any likeable characters in this book?

- Shouldn’t you be registered and such before you get moved into your dorm?

- Well, Swanie, just because Beth is a dirty little mudblood doesn’t mean she can have ANY guy in the world. And you’d have more choices if you weren’t such a blood-snob.

- Being a teuton isn’t all fun and games, there are hardly any BOYS! Not that are pure enough for saintly Swanie, that is. And Beth hasn’t forgiven her dad for marrying the woman he loved? Lord.

- I’ve never seen the word “chortled” so much in my life. I didn’t dislike it before I read this book.

- Oh, now it’s not enough to have a boy with good blood interested in her, he’s an icky broke aspiring artist. Sorry, Swanie, you’re not really a catch yourself.

- On one page, college life isn’t hard. On the next, it’s so strenuous it’s putting dark lines under her eyes and making her frown a lot. The lack of consistency is extremely grating.

- And then we skip the rest of college. There is a God and he is merciful.

- The whole bit about her doubt anyone will try to steal the rock should be foreshadowing, but I’m betting it’s not.

- My ice my ice my ice my ice

- Getting major Bella Swan vibes with the whole “swanie be my model” section. If she’d said “why do you wanna paint me, I’m so clumsy” I wouldn’t have been surprised. Other characters saying Swanie is charming and lovely doesn’t make me believe it since she’s proving otherwise all the time.

- So not even the “supernatural entity” binding lady Munchie has the brain cells to tell this teenager she should probably fork over the rock. And all this time learning about her culture and history and she never wondered who the Keyholder was? Sigh.

- Wait, lady Munchie was married to the last Keyholder, and even though they suspect Rudi is the new one, Munchie isn’t married to him? And now the Keyholder and lady get bound together? Wut??

- Friend comes out as gay and Swanie thinks about what a burden the rock is. Idk why, when she’s barely thought about it and leaves it in a box somewhere.

- “the rich girl’s in love with her Pappi’s accountant” OMH has been referred to as the accountant at least twice now, but he was the head servant, so when did dear old dad decide to trust him with the books?

- Swanie whines inwardly about how hard her life is and how she just wants to be normal, yet she’s never made an attempt to be normal. She wants to frolic with her ice whenever she wants, and does so with 0 consequences so far (except OMH was like, totes super maaad for a second). And then she basically outs Erika to her dad about liking girls. Why is Swanie such a catty bitch? Why does she have any friends when she treats them this way? I hope Erika kicks her in the boob. Spoiler: she doesn’t. Instead she calls Swanie’s dad weird. Because that makes sense in this story.

- Oh, we’re pretending the rock is evil again. That’s nice. But Swanie *has* to use it again, for…some reason. It’d make her a bad Christian, but then, if Jesus didn’t want her to use the bad devil rock, it wouldn’t have worked, right?

- For some reason, dressing like a goth sex doll keeps the “sex fiends” away. I mean, they’d have boned her when she was 13, but ewww, not tHe gOtHiC
OMH thinks it’s hawt. Of course he does.

- They dance, and kiss, and OMH runs away like a little bitch.

- Yeah, her dad would kill OMH, but clients who kiss her with tongue or try to rape her at 13 are totes fine.

- We have to time travel to get over a guy now. That’s…motivation, I guess…?

- Swanie thinks of fairies and they appear. Guessing that’s part of her ice. Otherwise it’s annoyingly convenient. Of course the fairy gives her a seed, HER of ALL people, the CHOSEN ONE! Good grief. The dead people in the past might be able to help quench this love! I can’t even. I’m too far in to DNF, but you tempt me all the time, Swanie.

- So if you die you just respawn, and if you get a nasty illness, it goes away when you come home. This is the most boring time travel I’ve ever read.

- OMG, MARGA FIGURED IT OUT—lol nah jkjk
Actually, it feels unrealistic that anyone would immediately jump to “omg the rock” when even Swanie didn’t tell us about it until it was convenient.

- “Ina had made the wrong choice and we both knew it” well if he’s forcing her then she’s not choosing… but also what?? How do you know she’s picking wealth over happiness? You haven’t asked her. Clearly you’re not that close.

- Multiplying burdens? How many does she even have? The rock, Hans not talking to her (but she makes no effort at all to speak to him HE confronts HER), and…her friend getting married. Gosh. Such burden. Much heavy.

- Friends don’t give friends vibrators. Even with portraying Erika as this annoying drunk, that’s just. No. Maybe at a bachelorette party where sex is the theme, but for a birthday? Stop.

- Swanie is envious of Ina now? Bc she snagged a priest? But you were literally just worrying about how she might’ve been forced?

- Rape scene. I mean… sometimes victims freeze, I get that…but it’s jarring how she just. Is a limp rag and lets them do whatever they want to her, then soon as it’s over (but not before using the word ‘rectum’ far too many times) she’s like whelp, gotta get back at that fool who raped me! Then she falls apart again, then after a second with Minho she’s fine. It tries to be believable, but it just doesn’t quite make it. On the bright side, Swanie suddenly understands lesbians, ‘cause they only like women bc guys act stupid in groups. Obvi.

- The brute the brute the brute the brute did we mention he was a brute, mammoth brute actually

- It’s insanely awkward and insensitive to focus on the vibrator and ask the girl who’s just been raped if she gets off every night. And then wonder about getting her own vibrator. What kind of trash characters ARE these?

- Hey wait, Swanie’s dad is an alcoholic now? You can’t just…you know what, nevermind.

- Her dad could “sneak off” and report the rape all he wants, if she doesn’t press charges it really doesn’t matter.

- “That beast” (you mean brute, Pappi?) “really hurt you, didn’t he?” well, her butt is kinda sore and she hopes it won’t have lesions, but yanno…

- Gosh, so lucky he only went in the butt. The butt is wayyyy better than the front. Silly rapists, scared of a little period blood. Hah hah hah, what a goofy thing to have happen!

- Fonsi thinks Swanie has a solid head on her shoulders, which makes Fonsi an idiot.

- Forgive even unforgiveable wrongs? Really??

- Oh we’re just not going to tell Joel. Wow. You suck. Even though we need everyone to perfectly picture exactly where we’re going. Yeah this makes total sense if you’re an imbecile, or just Swanie.

- The end, finally. I made it!

Summary:
If you like reading fanfiction and are OK with a lower level of quality, you might like this. If you’re in it just for the ride and don’t care about plot or characters, you’ll be okay. At least there are fewer typos and such compared to some fanfiction and other indies.
The amount of teenage angst and the focus on sex really makes me think this is supposed to be YA. That and the sheer, overwhelming amount of attention given to the mundane, which most writers know to skip over since it bores the reader, makes me think it's a fanfic based on another YA story. All in all, 1 star, would not recommend or read again. I'm curious to see if the other books have improved--perhaps this one was an early draft and the others have more time and care put into them. We'll see!

[Elizabeth Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book grabbed my attention and wouldn't let go. From the very first introduction of Teutonic elements to the cliffhanger action on the last page, it was a linguistic delight with a storyline that kept me reading till the wee hours of the morning! I don't read a lot of fantasy, and read even less that involves time travel, but this book seemed to provide a unique and fresh approach to both. The characters are well-developed and relatable, and I would love to know some of them in real life! I also appreciated how the author shared some of the Teutonic history through the main character's memories, rather than simply narrating the events lecture-style.

I'm in love with the whole elemental world the author created for this series. The idea of being able to dance or interact with others in spirit-form, or with the aid of physical elements such as fire and ice, is simply fascinating. Swanie's particular journey, from discovering her own element to learning how to wield it effectively, both with and against others, provides a compelling demonstration of the power and glory of the Teutonic realm. Learning about the different types of elements, their unique manifestations in various individuals, and the different rituals pertaining to Teutonic blood, was all rather fascinating and has given me a world to continuing imagining even after finishing the book.

As for the actual events of the story... what can I say without giving anything away? Lots of intriguing twists and turns, a good balance of action and dialogue, and just enough suspense to keep things moving. I will add a disclaimer that there are some darker scenes, one in particular that should have a trigger warning, written with enough detail to be visualized but also handled in a sensitive and mature manner. It added to the story (and the character development), rather than feeling like an unnecessary insertion.

With that disclaimer in mind, I would highly recommend this book to any lovers of fantasy or paranormal realms. It definitely got my imagination stirring, and I can't wait for the rest of the series to be published!!

[T. Ratcliffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the portrayal of the Teutonic people. The world building is great. This book is a bit of a slow boil so be patient. Highly recommend for women who love fantasy.

[Robert W. Easton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stores involving a hidden society with unique abilities lurking in the modern world. The author has created a wonderfully deep ancient culture, and sells that depth on that page.

[Eisah Eisah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book over a period of weeks and considered for a while what I wanted to say in a review.

To start with so you know what biases I have, this is more along the lines of urban fantasy. I do like fantasy, but I usually go for more high fantasy. I haven't read any of the more recent stuff with vampires, werewolves, fairies / etc in the modern world. I tend to be biased toward fantasy adventure.

This review will also have potential spoilers.

So this book stars Swanie, who learns she has a magical bloodline when she's a teen. Hans, one of her father's employees, turns out to be a Teuton priest, and he first teaches her about her magic. Then he brings her to Lady Muniche where she can learn more about it with some other girls.

She grows up learning extensively about her culture and that the reason her mother and brother died had to do with problems their Teuton magic caused. So their powers can be quite dangerous. And, women with a high percentage of Teuton blood have great difficulty giving birth to children. It becomes potentially fatal for them.

Swanie develops a massive crush on Hans even though he's quite a bit older and works for her father. He, at one point, shows that he has feelings back, but then he runs away worried that he'll do something he regrets.

Throughout the book there is a push and pull about her culture. On one hand, the way they speak about it and the way they extensively research who they'll marry to make sure they have enough Teuton blood is a bit elitist. On the other hand, Swanie is getting very concerned about the patriarchal culture. In particular, she's afraid that one of her friends has been trapped in a loveless marriage to a Teuton priest in order to have his child.

The Teuton priests 'bind' their wives, which seems to be akin to giving someone a love potion. Swanie comes to believe that the priest may have bound her friend right away before marrying her, so that she hardly even had a choice in the matter. She's also concerned about other girls who are falling for the priests. This, of course, begs the question about Hans and why Swanie is so attracted to him, though she hasn't considered this possibility.

During the story she's led by a fairy-like creature to a magical stone with time traveling powers. She first uses this to watch her parents' wedding, because she wants to see her mother again. Then she spends the majority of the rest of the book considering what else to use it for, though she's gotten the sense that there is something evil about it.

Hans, also, suspiciously has information he shouldn't have about it, as well as items that he shouldn't have. For example, when she goes back to watch her mother's wedding, he has the key for the building from decades before, even though they changed the locks shortly after. There is no reason for him to have the key unless he somehow knew that Swanie would need it.

In the end Swanie has determined to take a trip to 1064 to see the fall of her people and try to understand what happened, and she's taking with her two non-Teutons.

Rather than a novel that has one complete story arc, this is more of a novel that leads into the next without a real conclusion of its own.

I enjoyed the world building and the magical elements in the story. The writing worked fine and overall I can see that there are plot points that will be built upon further in the future.

There were a few things that didn't work for me or that I thought could be adjusted. It begins with a prologue of Swanie in the future, and we're told she has a child. Since we already know she has a child, it takes away from any future worries about whether she'll survive childbirth or not.

Probably the biggest one was the time traveling. More specifically, her reason to time travel. She's upset about her relationship status with Hans and she thinks time traveling might get her mind off of it. It's not exactly the first thing I would do if I was upset about my relationship, especially if I was concerned that time traveling was maybe using evil magic. I kind of wanted a more gripping reason that really made me see why Swanie would want to time travel again, whether it was a good idea or not.

I think the last one that got me was how she treated Joel at the end. She decides to time travel with Beth, and they decide to take Beth's boyfriend, Joel, with them because they think having a man will make it easier to get along back then. They plan on taking a two year trip into the past.

Not only isn't Joel asked about this trip, he doesn't even know magic exists. And he needs to imagine the same time and place as them in order for it to work properly. They spent so much time planning their trip in this book, including sewing time appropriate outfits for themselves and Joel, but they tell him that they're going about one minute before they're going to open the time travel gate. I thought that seemed more reckless than either of the characters usually are, and is definitely extremely unfair to Joel. I certainly hope their mistreatment of him here gets addressed.

Beyond that, this is a well-written book with good world building and an interesting setup for the future. I will be reading the second one to see how it goes. I also know the author has plans to tweak the book, so if you read this in the future it's possible some of the things I mention may be changed. If you enjoy romance/time travel/fairy-type fantasy stories, you'll probably like this book.

[Heather Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! I had no idea what I was getting into when I started this book. The beginning is a little slow, not going to lie. But it picks up very well about halfway through. Ms. Carhart has a unique perspective on fantasy, combining elements of magic, music, and Christianity in a way I have never seen before. This book sits well in the fantasy/time-travel genre, but it brings in elements that are less common. It is not your standard, formulaic fantasy novel. I particularly like the incorporation of music, specifically the organ. The book touches on how music can affect the world around it, and I suspect this will be expanded in future books. I love how the parts of the book set in the real world are very down to earth and it seamlessly ties in the fantasy elements into the real world. Ms. Carhart has made a very believable fantasy world that I am excited to see more of! Even in the first book, these characters have made important insights into themselves and are beginning to develop as people. I am excited to see where the story takes them next and what they learn, both about themselves and their world! Ms. Carhart drops just enough hints of plot points to come that I am completely invested in this series. I can't wait to see which of my predictions are correct and which are way off!

Be aware, there are a few adult content scenes. This book is more appropriate for late teens to 20s and up.

[Zana Wilder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arcane Gateway draws you into the world of the heroine Swanie, intertwining modern day in Europe / the US with a darker fantasy world. It's so engaging that I read it in a day! Think modern day fantasy with adult themes and a pinch of slow burn romance. The pace was spot on and the characters develop over a number of years in an intriguing and realistic way.

If you like to get invested in a strong willed heroine and lost in paranormal / fantasy saga then this is the book for you.

I will be looking out for the second book with interest!

[Bowen Greenwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written and researched

A completely fresh and unexpected take on paranormal urban fantasy, Arcane Gateway offers a lot that one doesn’t find anywhere else. No werewolves or vampires, just the Teutonic people, whom the romans called barbarians, and their magical traditions. Slow paced, but with characters who keep you coming back for more.

[Tony Sommer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting story

I have enjoyed all that I have read so far and look forward to reading the next book. I recommend this story

[Amazing Gaming Productions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arcane Gateway is definitely New Adult.

A young Teuton Witch has to find their place in the adult world - in college, at home with her father, with her friends. Not only does she have to figure that out, she’s different - magic, time traveling and so much more.

Who does she trust with that knowledge?

This book was very intriguing. It will have you angry at her adversaries and the a-holes. It will have you crying single silent tears over characters passing into the great beyond.

I give this story a tentative 4 out of 5, since it is a series - a very ambitious undertaking for someone’s debut release - this rating may go up or down, depending how well the other stories go.

[Mayhem-RW]

Swanie looks like a too-young female, but she inherited her mother’s stature and build. She is thirteen but looks even younger as she has not developed the telltale signs of female maturity. And while that may be true, her Teuton blood revealed her elemental power, and her power is ice, while Hans’, her father’s accountant, is dark fire. He was the one who unleashed her power, and for being an older man, he was very handsome. Thus her crush on him commenced, but she thought she kept it to herself. Now eighteen, she is ready to go to the U.S.A. for higher learning, and her crush is still tangible to her, but first, she and her friends did a little tour of Europe. It was at one of these destinations that she found a small blood-red stone. She found it in the most particular way, but as she examined it, she remembered a story about a stone that allowed you to travel in time. Was this the Torstein? She would soon ask Hans once she was back from her pre-college travels.

Let me first say I liked the premise of the story. However, some serious red flags, things of note, and other things raised my attention, such as racism, pedophilia, classism, and sexism. Let us start with blood purity. OoooKay, and this is Germany where the story takes place. Blood purity based on percentages. A party where the father wants the daughter to stay hidden because he is afraid that those he invited may want to rape her, and the surrogate mother tells her that she is leaving the door unlocked, but there are drunks out there that may want to abuse her. Later in life, she is raped, and she gets a modicum of revenge, but overall, it’s no big deal because the raper was afraid of blood and raped her in the rear. Then the way she refers to her friends leaves you wondering just how self-centered the female protagonist is. And, of course, only men can be priests. Not even followers of BDSM have a based on sex who has the dominance. By the way, only having sex with men of pure blood can raise the female’s blood percentage!? Ah, does that mean only those of pure blood, who are the only ones to be priests, can increase the female blood percentages? And is the dance by the gazebo a euphemism for losing her virginity? So her powers may bloom. And yeah! A faithful servant/employee going behind the back of the employer to unleash the powers of the daughter that the father, the employer, had sequestered so long ago!? Then there is the problem with birthing coupled with blood purity. Have they been inbreeding so much to keep the blood pure that they now have to deal with birth defects like the little brother?

I don’t know. Like I said. I liked the story’s premise, and I could have probably overlooked one or two of the problems I had with the story, but it seemed like it was a Hitler youth propaganda recruitment story in the end. I can not, in good conscience, even give this a single star, just in case the author did have nefarious motivations. I give this highly suspicious read zero stars out of five stars. Thank you, GoodReads, for allowing this ability.

[Tanja Glavnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very VERY generously sent a copy of this book - my opinions are my own.

I went into reading this AFTER the author's other series - Elemental Bloodlines - so I suppose I'm doing it backwards, but I also have the advantage of knowing about elemental magic and the world this is set in, so it was easy to immerse myself in it again.

And I have to say I kinda ... prefer this, to the other series? So far?

I live in Europe mysel, close to Austria in fact, so while I could focuse on all the things others complain about in their reviews I'll leave them to it and say just this: it is FICTION. The author clearly states this is a version of the world in which magic exists, so some things will OBVIOUSLY differ from RL.

Setting: I found it amusing to see life at the tail end of the 90s since I experienced it myself, and had fun with all the bands that were mentioned.

The main character: Swanie is an interesting duck whose motivations I don't quite understand yet. At one point she says she HAS to use the time travel stone, but it's never explained WHY. Why does she HAVE TO, after hearing about all the troubles it can cause? She also currently comes across as very contrary and silly, considering she breaks the cardinal rule od time travel the very first time she does it, by changing something in the past just because SHE thinks it would have been better. I feel like - or I hope - she learns to grow from these experiences later on.

The side characters: I like Hans and Beth, but the others aside from the dad are kind of obscure and don't give you much. Hopefully this changes with subsequent books!

The world building: I'm keen to see the author's take on the eleventh century!

The magic: it's elemental magic people. MAGIC. Not everything NEEDS a scientific explanation for you to enjoy a book. Like Swanie I'm interested to see what's changed since the 11th century.

The romance: sue me but, I could see her with Hans. Stranger things have happened in the past but, I'm withholding judgement for now.

Overall: a decent, intriguing entry into a series! It has its rough spots but manages to captivate by giving Swanie the space to show off from the pages.

Now we just have to see how well she does in 1064!

[C.L. Carhart]

His Name Was Augustin series:

1. Arcane Gateway: books2read.com/hnwaag
2. Mystic Passage: books2read.com/hnwamp
3. Astral Fantasia: books2read.com/hnwaaf
4. Cryptic Pathway: books2read.com/hnwacp
5. Lurid Curse: books2read.com/hnwalc
6. Numinous Fortune: books2read.com/hnwanf

Boxed Sets:
His Name Was Augustin Books 1-3: books2read.com/hnwaboxset13
His Name Was Augustin Books 4-6: books2read.com/hnwaboxset46

[carleen bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was hard for me to read because of some different dialect usage but as I got used to it it became easier plus the book ended up being good and leaving me with the want to read the next book👍

[Coco.V]

🎁 FREE on Amazon today (3/19/2022)! 🎁

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A time travel story at its finest. An awesome beginning to a new series. Loved the characters and their journey.

[Jenna Payne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trigger warning: graphic r*pe scene in chapter 25