Kitty G Books's Reviews > The Exercise of Vital Powers

This was one of the #SPFBO books I read as part of the awards, and I am very, very pleased to have done so. This book is certainly not something I had heard of before, and I hope that more people will go and buy and read this book after I review it, becuase it's well worth a go. I will quickly mention that this book could do with an editor in some parts because it felt a little rough in places, but really that is a minor quibble and I ended up really loving the story in the end so I could bypass the odd sentence structure at times.

This follows the story of Kayden, a young woman who is in training to unlock her magical potential and join The Order. Kayden is a pretty masterful character right from the start, she's snarky, blunt, a bit full of herself, witty and also a slightly broken and tragic character. She's not afraid of stooping to lows and rising to challenges in order to get to her end goal: revenge...

What I found most exciting about this book was that it just kept me reading. I found Kayden dislikable at times, but I always found her very interesting too and she caused quite a conundrum for me in places too. I ended up coming to feel like I understood her by the end of the story, but I still feel like she's a complex character and one who's difficult to fully unravel (this is a good thing imo).

The magic in this world revolves around drawing on lay-lines. There are three different types of magic in the world, and each one is interesting to learn about and explore. However, Kayden is an incredibly fast learner and she quickly surpasses everyone's expectations, leading her headmistress (a powerful lady called Master Fay) to take a keen interest in her...

Overall, this was a super solid read and one I was glued to. I just found this one very easy to connect to and get excited by, and I think that made it a really enjoyable read. Kayden isn't exactly a character I can relate to, but I think Master Fay is, and the potential of this world and (I hope?!) series is brilliant. I think with the benefit of a strong editor too this could be a fantastic book, and I do very much recommend trying it. I gave it 4.5*s overall.