Inspect Warlock In Training (Studies In Demonology, #1) Published By T.J. Nichols File Paper Edition

Building: although a bit much on the side of sustainability or the effects if it's not cared for the story follows the questions of what if the demons are no spawn of hell but inhabitants of a dimension where magic is so powerful that it's visible what if warlocks on the human side can open the void between both worlds and summon the demons to take their magic for their own purpose while the demons can't do the same what if magic is some kind of energy and follows the principles of physic.
T. J. Nichols has some interessting ideas how that is working and throws human ignorance and greed for power into the game as well as some strange demon attempts to get the balance back.
While the human world is a bit too black and white, the demons and their lifestyle comes in all shades,

Interaction: we have power hungry warlocks with a even at the end of the book still open agenda we have a wizzard underground siding with the demons somehow but we don't see the underground fighting against the ruling warlocks and their fake news we have the demons discussing how to save their dying world and try to prevent the worst with blood rituals and sex magic and then we also have a fatherson conflict but that is so far on the backseat that it's nearly wasted.


Romance: seems we're heading into a threesome in the next book or at least a relationship with Angus the warlock and mage in training in the middle of a triangle with the demon Sakka on one side and Terrance, a senior at the warlock college and secret follower of the underground on the other side.
While I could enjoy the world building I had trouble to care about the romance, Angus/ Terrance is too much in the fledgling stages at the end of book one to talk about und Angus/ Sakka is, . . complicated. The age difference is huge and the cultural gap hard to overcome, I'm not rather sure if it isn't more a teacherstudent infatuation while working on the subject of sex magic, Nice worldbuilding. Solid characters. And a happy ending that's also realistic for the scale of the problems being dealt with,

I liked both Angus and Saka, as well as their chemistry, If I had any niggle, it'd be the pacing of the chaptertochapter POV switches didn't always work for me, but it wasn't bad.
It never felt like the story was dragging,

Anyway, if there's ever a sequel, I'd be up for reading it, I loved the world the author created, The demon world was fascinating, Unfortunately the main characters were dry, The emotional interaction was sparse, I hope that changes as the series moves on, .HEARTSI knew this author's first novel would be great, It was magical.



This isn't my first T, J. Nichols all previous works were urban fantasy/ paranormal short stories: sitelink The Vampire's Dinner and sitelink A Wolf's Resistance.
Both works had great world building and paranormal ideas, The same can be said for Warlock in Training, But what I wanted to see is what the author could do with something novel length,

Not disappointed.

Earth has changed, new countries have formed and magic is known, Well I should say warlocks and wizards are real on Earth, or Humanside, The Earth is continuing to change, forget global warming, it's approaching an ice age, Most of the population doesn't know what the cause is for it, Warlocks are believed to be the saviors to stop it, But what they don't want people to know is they're the culprits, Magic exists in Humanside and Demonside, a second world where demons and other paranormal beings live, Demonside is experiencing extreme global warming, the world turning into a desert, water is scarce, Do these changes share something in common

Wizards practice magic without using demons, Warlocks on the other hand drain demons for their magic to be more power, have stronger magic, Wizards are looked down on in the magical society, Warlocks are the upper echelon, theif you will,

Nineteen year old ginger Angus Donohue doesn't want to be a warlock, despite his prestigious warlock family history, His father is forced him to attend warlock college and threatened him not embarrass the family name or him, Angus doesn't even want to summon a demon during a requisite class and tries to fail,

And that's where the magic begins,

Enter demon Saka I amfor him, He chooses Angus despite Angus trying to fail and takes him to Demonside across the void the bridge between the two worlds, Points to the story being dual POV, Both worlds are too interesting not to immerse

yourself in,

The cover is so fitting! Because I think Angus has the potential to be the bridge,

Saka is a demon mage and is trying to help his world, He's smart, calm and wicked with a knife, He shows Angus there is more to life and magic, I couldn't help but imagine Saka something like Hellboy black horns instead, no hair, the similar skin tone


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I always try to find a Hellboy in demons I read about.
LOL

Saka teaches different types of magic: soul, blood and sex, Saka's really great at the last two,

A lot of urban fantasy, tends to have an alpha type as the lead, Not the case in Warlock in Training, Angus is nineteen and reads nineteen unsure of himself, still learning his place in the world, exploring relationships with potential partners, But he's not the typical teenager, Demonside helps open his eyes,

There is a battle between two magical worlds that felt similar to what the political and global feel is right now, Theis ruining both worlds, damn the results as long as they're in power, It's magical politics. People are dying for a cause that does not benefit the greater good, The ones in charge lie to the masses and attacks any form of resistance,

But there is a resistance,


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And it's growing,

The book ends with a cliffhanger of sorts, There are loose threads that need to be answered, Such as who really is in charge Why the harvesting of so much power The suspense is well written,

Before jumping all over this, I feel I should warn potential readers of possible triggers/deal breakers: There are romantic undertones rather than a defined romance.
Both main characters have sex with other people But I feel I should explain demons have different views on 'relationships' monogamy is not the norm, There were brief MF moments.
Also, didn't mind. The moments were a blip on the entire scale of things Cutting is practiced for magical purposes,

How erotic does this get There is on page sex but don't expect pages of a drawn out sex scene, Quite happy about that, it can be a chore to read drawn out pages The relationship between Saka and Angus is still forming, is kinda fluid.
There is another character that has a potential of maybe making this a love/lust triangle, It's not romantic. More as a means to an end but there is potential for deeper feelings, Sex on Demonside can be and is used for ritualistic needs, If you are a reader who needs the one and only, I would say to approach with caution, Because the way the sex, relationship and openness is written fits the characters, And they struggle. But it's secondary to the world building, action and suspense,

I want to rate this all the hearts but I have tiny issues, pretty minor, Technically, the story reads well, But I feel some of the chapters ended in odd spots, I like the fact the chapters aren't overly long but some ended with where it could have just combined with half of the next chapter for better impact.


But I see this book as the foundation for more to come, War is approaching. What side are you on Will the resistance win

Bonus was that this book my favorite paranormal beings: DEMONS!


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And a ginger warlock! It was like it was written just for me.
P

Fans of urban fantasy should definitely check this series out because the world building is tops, The author obvious is an urban fantasy fan and it shows in their work, The first third is mostly building, The other two thirds are fast paced and filled with intrigue, My heart started to crumble in the lastbut the author pulled it through,

I am so there for this series! And I'm definitely a fan of this author after this, It'sout offor me!

Recommended,

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A copy provided for an honest review, .