Hello everyone!
Because it really hasn't been THAT long since I last picked up a book from this author, but to me it does feel like it's been a bit. Why?
Well, unfortunately, I had to finish some other ARCs before I could dig deep into this one, and I'm so happy I waited to be able to take my time with it.
It would have been such a shame to rush!
Especially since I really enjoyed the Elemental Bloodlines series, and I mentioned at the end of it that I would be backpedaling to the original which started it all.
As you can see, this is the start ... of everything.
C. L. Carhart really knows her stuff. So you best be prepared for some really witchy business, age gaps, demonic laughter and time travel as we head into Arcane Gateway!
I'll be linking the other series I've reviewed on this blog down at the bottom of the page, where you can always find different link-backs, as per usual.
Now, let's go right into His Name Was Augustin.
This just so happens to be the author's debut novel, so of course knowing this, you have to predict there might be some rough spots along the way, but truth be told I didn't find all that many, if any at all. What I DID find was a compelling story though!
Here's what happens.
Swanie is the only other member of her nuclear family left next to her father, having lost her mother years ago while she was giving birth to her brother Dane, and unfortunately Dane has also passed at this point from cystic fibrosis, leaving behind inconvenient panic attacks for our poor girl who can't even walk into a hospital anymore because of it.
At thirteen, she's desperate to be accepted into the adult world, but instead her father relegates her to her own rooms, although his chief servant - the steward, I suppose? - Hans later takes her out to the grounds and reveals that she's a little bit more than just a regular girl.
She's a witch, you see. An elemental witch, with ice in her veins, and he's going to teach her the ropes of this (it's later revealed this was at the request of her mother, because daddy dearest has squashed anything and everything Teuton right down to nothing because of the fact his wife passed away).
He introduces her to the Leitarla of the city, aka the witch who possesses the spirit of the city's guardian, and a bunch of other girls her own age so that her education can continue on all fronts. This then marks the passage of a few years until she's old enough to be taking roadtrips and driving and whatnot (and since this is Europe I'm going to run with 18), and she takes one final trip before she'll be headed to the States to university.
And, in the words of a scriptwriter somewhere: that's where she finds it. The time travel stone. The Torstein.
This thing is something straight out of legend, having been lost for literal centuries, and initially created with - get this - blood, and a lot of demonic forces went into it, so basically Woutan's always like, watching or something if you use it.
The initial creation was supposed to help the person who made it - Prince Otto - prevent the fall of his Teuton people as well as the city of Muniche, but he failed, and the stone was lost.
Until now.
Swanie first uses it to travel back in time and witness her parents' wedding, but she soon begins to think bigger, wanting other things than just having it sit there pretty - despite the fact that Hans is nowhere near as sanguine about it as she is.
OH did I forget to mention? She's developed a major crush on Hans along the way. As if you didn't see this coming, older mentor, younger charge, it usually happens like this.
Thing is, Hans is absolutely also in that same boat, but he's determined to keep her at arm's length and ensure she meets and marries someone her own age and more appropriate, so that, coupled with the fact that her tenure in America gets a little bit rough (I won't go into details here, but suffice to say the word 'rape' should warn just about anyone), convinces Swanie she needs to hightail it into the past to try and get over everything.
I'm not entirely sure this is the best course of action, but YOLO I suppose ... we'll see how well this works out for her as she obviously also ignores the fact that one of her attackers was seemingly possessed, and that when she DID time travel last time there was this creepy demonic laughter in the darkness.
There's a price that's coming and she'll have to pay it in full, but Swanie's nothing if not determined (I'd read it as pig-headed or stubborn at the moment but, that's me LOL) so she starts planning.
Because this time, she's taking friends along.
Namely, her American cousin Beth (her uncle married an American woman without a drop of magic so the family kicked him out) and later, they add Beth's boyfriend Josh into the mix as well, thinking it might be useful to have a guy along in the 11th century where they're going.
Listen, I'm not saying this is the brightest move Swanie's ever made, but as this IS the first in book in her story (and at the beginning we learn she's writing this down for her son Max, of all people) it's safe to assume she's probably going to learn things as she goes along and grow with them.
Prepared and ready, the trio jump into the past, but because Josh wasn't given exact specifics he's imagining kind of, Lord of the Rings things (EXCITEMENT OVERLOAD when this is happening as the original movie trilogy is filming in New Zealand!!!), so they land in a forest, get attacked by a wandering Romani band, and unfortunately Beth doesn't make it through this encounter.
Now, just a couple of rules for the time-traveling thing, so we're all on the same page:
1 You cannot travel to a time when you were alive, because you can't meet your past self.
2 You cannot and SHOULD NOT change anything in the past, going only to observe.
3 If you die, you'll be violently evicted out of the time you've travelled to and returned to your own.
4 Committing ritual suicide WILL kill you for real.
5 If you travel to the years before the time stone was created, the likelihood of you losing said stone becomes greater.
So as you can see, Beth is fine. Ish. Or should be at least, we don't know for sure yet because Swanie and Josh run for their lives and end up as companions to a girl named Freida, who was a slave for these Romani and ran away from them. During this process, Swanie realizes she doesn't have the stone anymore. Why?
Inconveniently, she decided it would be really smart to travel to a time BEFORE it was made, breaking possibly the most cardinal rule of time travel right off the bat, so now the only hope she and Josh have of getting back is to convince Prince Otto to share the secrets of time travel with them, or to die (not by ritual suicide) and returning that way.
The stone, taking on the properties of the One Ring and gallivanting off, is probably going to make an appearance again at some point, but until then, we leave our heroes at the estate they've landed themselves in, waiting to be allowed entry into the city of Muniche as well as citizenship.
And there you have it!
I have to say I kinda ... prefer this, to the other series? So far?
I live in Europe myself, close to Austria in fact, so while I could focus 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 one cardinal rule of 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!
I live in Europe myself, close to Austria in fact, so while I could focus 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 one cardinal rule of 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!
xx
*image not mine
**I was very VERY generously sent a copy of this book - my opinions are my own
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