All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. To succeed at the Iron Trial and be admitted into the vaunted Magisterium school would bring bad things. But he fails at failing. Only hard work, loyal friends, danger, and a puppy await.

I never thought I’d come to like these books this much, but that’s what I get for underestimating middle-grade literature (one would think I’ve learned my lesson with Percy Jackson, but no). What seemed like a mediocre Harry Potter inspired attempt in middle-grade fantasy, turned out to be a fun and original story with unforgettable characters and amazing adventures. Holly Black and Cassandra Clare combined their writing geniuses, adventurous storytelling, and easygoing character development into a story about magic and friends - a bond that was stronger than anything standing in their way.

What are these books about?
Magisterium is a school for kids who have been gifted with an ability to do magic aka the mages, hidden from the world of non-mages who forget about the Magisterium the moment they leave it. Apprentices enter the Magisterium through the Iron Trial, where they are tested to show their abilities and are then chosen by masters who want to take them in their groups. The educational system in Magisterium is separated in 5 years, starting with the Iron year at the age of twelve and ending it with Gold Year after which they can go to Collegium or search for a job in the mage world.
It has been twelve years since the Enemy of Death has been defeated in the Cold Massacre and his crimes still cast a shadow over the mage world. Constantine Madden was a Makar – a rare kind of mages that have an ability to control the element of chaos, which is among other elements (water, fire, earth, and air), the most powerful one. Even though everyone thinks him long dead, his time might not be over yet.

This review is going to cover the entire series, and I want to rant about some things that have happened in the latest books, so if anyone doesn’t want to get spoiled the good time to stop reading would be now. I’ve enjoyed immensely going through these quests with the trio, but there were few things in the last two books that I have a natural distaste for, and I’m kind of sorry those details left a bitter taste in my mouth.

One thing I will remember the most about these books is the friendship that binds three main characters – Call, Tamara, and Aaron. After five books, I feel like I’ve connected with their characters on a level I rarely reach with any, and especially not middle-grade characters. Black and Clare worked their backstories with precision and determination, developing them in the background of the main plot, but still doing the most amazing job and making me fall in love with the trio of mages. Call, the eternal black sheep, and the underdog, who was poisoned with the soul of Constantine Madden and was denied being a real boy by everyone who knew his secret. He kept fighting for what was right, even when everyone turned against him – but he always had his friends to watch his back. His jealousy of Aaron was one of the most realistic and downcast periods, especially because I could so thoroughly relate to Call, but at the same time couldn’t hate Aaron who was the biggest cinnamon bun ever. The three of them always picked each other up when they fell – they grew up together and made a beautiful friendship they will cherish for the rest of their life. I already miss them and their childish but hilarious humor.

And just when I started truly enjoying these books and thought how everything can only go up from there, the ultimate shit happened. There are two things I cannot stand in fantasy books, and those are parallel universes and bringing back the dead. I can’t complain about them only in few rare cases when authors do it properly with reasonable explanations and not only for the sake of overly dramatic plot twist, but that wasn’t the case with Aaron’s death. From the moment it happened, I knew there was going to be something about the soul-magic and bringing him back, and I can’t possibly think of the worst way to finish his storyline and I’d honestly prefer it if he’d stayed dead. I’m still extremely bitter about another good character ruined with a pathetic attempt in playing with “necromancy” as something positive, and I hope that trend is dead by now.

All in all, 3.5 stars for the entire series – it would have been 4 if it wasn’t for the Aaron incident, but whatever, I can’t ignore how much I actually liked the books and characters in them.