Received from NetGalley for my honest review
Completed 5/10/18
214 page ebook

This book was FUN! Just fun! It was unique too, there's a lot of ways to gain magical abilities but I think this is the first, and only, time that the abilities came from finding a cell phone. Definitely unique and grabbed me from the start.

The characters weren't completely fleshed out, but that was to be expected from a shorter book, but the story was so engaging that it didn't matter to much. It kept my attention and made me want to keep knowing what was going on. The magic was pretty neat and what all happened with it was entertaining. Would definitely read more, if another book comes along.

Recommended for a younger audience, or (like me) adults who like a captivating story, even if it is geared for middle grade.

Setting = A
Plot = A
Conflict = B
Characters = B
Theme = A

This is the writing prompt you never thought would be turned into a book.

Which isn't the worse thing in the world.

This novel is quick witted and I would recommend it to any fan of The Red Shirts, because this is a novel that makes fun of its own genre and owns that. That is what makes this so interesting, not that the plot isn't interesting, or the main character odd and semi annoying at times, but just all of the one liners that keep you going.

If you don't like a lot of geeky references, this novel isn't for you.

My review: This one lost me about halfway through. It started off well and I enjoyed the three main teen characters coming to grips with the mysterious phone they found, but when they got together with a fourth person – I won’t spoil by naming – I didn’t enjoy it as much and it was a slog to get to the end. If this is the start of a series I don’t think I’ll bother continuing.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

My rating: 3/5

I really tried hard to get into this book, I did. But by chapter eight, I just could not get into it at all. Maybe it's just me, I'm not sure.

I loved the title of this book, it's funny and it made me wanted to read it. The story is good and I enjoyed the reading. It's not perfect, there are some things that could have been done better, and I think a younger reader would enjoy this reading more than an adult, too, but if you are in need of a short reading, that would not take more than a couple of hours and that is entertaining, this book it's the right one.
Bryant is a good main character, and his friends are quite good, too. The story is original and I liked it, I liked the idea of a magic cell phone. But some things are a bit approximately, like Bryant's father. We heard of him a lot, and in some parts his important (or we think so, at least) but we never see him. Never.

All in all, I enjoyed the reading and I am satisfied with it, I know that a good middle-grade book, a really good one, can satisfy both adults and young, and this is not the case, but not all the books can be a masterpiece and this one is good enough.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book from Netgalley and this has not influenced this review I am now submitting.

The 'Percy Jackson' series is still going strong, even with all of various spin-offs that slowly curve back to follow back into the main story, and when this book 'How I Magically Messed Up My Life In Four Friggin' Days' was mentioned by another reviewer as very similar, but for slightly older readers I was intrigued to see if this was true. I read up to the second book of the 'The Heroes Of Olympus', and wanted to see if there was another series that I could start and maybe read side-by-side with the works of Rick Riordan. It's good to know that the other reviewer was spot on, and I'm glad that I discovered this while looking through the new books up on Netgalley.

I prefer stories that have a touch of mystery and magic in it, and many times this means that any books that I pick up of either or both of these genres, there is a rendition of 'boy/girl discovers they have powers, and these are unlike what anyone else have ever seen', before the customary fall from grace and sudden redemption. This is especially true in the case of children's books, and there are good ones that are imagined differently but they can be hard to find.

This book is clearly the first book, and that isn't a bad start. The characters are still in the bones stage with small bits of padding at the moment, but there is a change here where there is so much potential from how the author has built that padding on the characters. The main character Bryant Adams does discover he has magic, but the method of how he discovers it and even how it is used by him, holds the interest because it's not following the general formula for such story lines.He only figures out how to use certain spells, is not suddenly able to be proficient in nearly everything, and when faced with problems, the story doesn't completely dissolve into angst. There is angst,this does involve teenagers, but it doesn't overpower everything and force the reader to wade through it, or skip pages, until the story picks up again.

Bryant Adam's companions are noticeably more interesting, but just as the main character isn't a Marty Stu that aggravates the reader with how he could be 'anyone', the sparks that are Elizabeth and Devon don't completely outshine him and make the reader lose interest in whatever Bryant is up to. Elizabeth is given a background mystery that means she won't fall to the wayside just to be saved the entire time, or else fall into the category of 'knows everything', and Devon is a intriguing rogue that has various skills up his sleeve that make him a delight. The two can only grow from what have been shown so far, and there is so much potential.

This also exists within the other characters Bryant comes across, with my favorite (excluding the main character and the other two teenagers) is Lola. I -adore- Lola. I'd normally find her way of speaking aggravating, but somehow she felt real and one I would want to return to the story multiple times. She may be the 'elderly master who knows everything', but she's realistic in her manner and doesn't try to hide -everything- from the main character. The other 'mentor' falls more into the hole of keeping secrets and 'thinks he knows better and so makes decisions without informing the teenagers' and this makes me slightly less invested in him. There is still a very good chance that he will evolve into a character more of his own, considering how the author treated all of the other characters, and I hope this is so.

There is only the beginnings of the world that Bryant is now tangled up in, so it's difficult to ascertain if I feel there has been enough world building. It gives me the slight vibes of the game 'The Wolf Among Us', with the magic users being controlled by ones among them who decide who can be where and what they can do, and many being hidden away. I'm hoping that this will also be rich enough that I don't keep comparing it to that game, but I won't be able to know if this has been sucessfully done unless I continue reading.

I don't think that this would be much of a hardship though, and I am looking forward to the second book coming out within the next couple of years.

Bryant has a bad crush on Elizabeth who is a pixie. Bryant is seventeen and Elizabeth finally notices him. Elizabeth turns to Bryant as she needs to pass a math class or her father will make her quit being involved with the theater. . Bryant’s loyal best friend Devan is a lady killer with a sense of humor. Bryant then picks up a cell phone that had been left behind in a cab.Once Bryant finds the phone fires start all over the city and there is also a huge flower growing in Central Park. A Vampire owned the the cell phone. The cell phone just so happened to have witch spells app on it.and it’s very powerful. Bryant os magical but doesn’t know what any of the spell icons stand for. The gang of Bryant, devon. And Elizabeth have fun running and destroying NYC while running from a lot of evil. The gang also has to figure out how the phone works and reaching a peaceful end. There seems to be a magical war and Bryant and the team are in the middle of it. Bryant has a big heart. It helps that Bryant’s father is wealthy and he has a credit card with a never ending credit limit. This helps the team bounce around even to LA to avoid the bad guys.
I didn’t really care for this story for the most part.I found it drags at times. A lot of the book doesn’t really make sense. It was annoying how Bryant kept denying his magical abilities. I also found it annoying with Elizabeth freaking out all the time. Also some things in the book seemed repetitive. The story left you with a lot of questions at the end. I felt the ending was rushed. I did like the twists and turns and i did chuckle at times while reading this. But this really wasn't for me but I am sure others will enjoy it.

Ever have your phone fall out of your pocket? Ever find someone's cell phone? Ever try and check out what's on that phone? DON'T!

Cabs in New York are a luxury, so when a pale drunk guy stumbles out just as you are hailing one, you don't take the chance of someone snagging it while you return his cell phone to him. But, unlocking the phone and checking it out, not a good plan. And don't play with apps you don't understand either. Bryant learns this the hard way.

This was a cute romp through the Big Apple...lots of action...and a love story to boot. I really enjoyed this book. I am glad I took a chance on it!

Reviewed by Jenn of the GothicMoms Review Team

This book is funny, witty, and cute -- not to mention intense and involving lots of crazy magic and an angry vampire-dude named Eric.

The voice in this book is awesome, and I always love seeing women writing funny, witty male characters -- not because we don't have enough main characters, but because I think people assume women can't write funny, witty books. And that's just not true -- evidenced by this one that I've just read.

I enjoyed every second of this book! It's funny,it's charming,it's magical!

Bryant finds a lost phone and suddenly there are fires springing up all over town, a huge flower growing in central park, he finds out he's a magician and the girl of his dreams has finally noticed him. A fun read.

If you enjoyed Chronicles of Nick by Sherrilyn Kenyon, you will probably enjoy How I Magically Messed Up My Life in Four Freakin' Days as they both feature a snarky, sort of whiny, self aware narrator who wants to be like Deadpool but isn’t quite as cool.

At the beginning, I was not a fan of this book, or Bryant, its narrator/main character. My first impression was that he was a racist dick because made a comment about “old black ladies” watching out for him. That opening chapter really made me think the book drew unnecessary attention to race, and made me want to punch Bryant in the face.

But Bryant grew on me. He made me laugh. I loved the idea of the magic cell phone, and the world was well built. That first chapter was really the only one that had a racist vibe. There were some lines that were a bit too corny, even for this character, but in the end, the plot and the world drew me in. Bryant did grow and change throughout book, and he learned something in the end, which is more than I can say for the leads in Valerian.

Speaking of the end, it wrapped up the main storyline, but left plenty room for a sequel, which I would probably read. However, I never read the second book in the Chronicles of Nick, so maybe I will be content to leave Bryant with one book. Books, like all arts, are subjective, and Bryant’s voice just wasn’t one I connected with. That doesn’t mean it was bad -- just not my cup of tea.

A cute and quick story with a premise that feels familiar (ordinary high school, student, the girl of his dreams, and a magical underbelly in New York City), but is enough to draw you into the comedic shenanigans that can happen when a magical cellphone is involved,

Witty, Imaginative and Action Packed

This book puts a number of clever and often very funny spins on the standard who-knew-I-was-magical-? teen action rom-com, and the result is fast-paced and entertaining.

Our hero, Bryant, is a bit mopey and is almost stupefied by his crush on manic-pixie-dream-girl Elizabeth. It doesn't help that Bryant's absolutely loyal best friend, Devon, is a dreamy lady-killer with a wicked deadpan sense of humor. The book opens slowly, giving us a chance to get to know these three characters and to set up their backstories and the larger New York City background for the adventure. But, once Bryant picks up a cell phone accidentally left behind in a cab by a creepy, pasty, vampirey guy, well, the tale takes off like a rocket.

Right off the bat we learn a good deal about these three characters, all of it good. Bryant isn't a mope. He's smart, insightful, resourceful, and while he's maybe a little angsty, he's also almost ready to get in touch with the hero within. He's the narrator and his running rueful first person commentary, (along the lines of I-can't-really-believe-this is happening to me, but what the heck), is endearing and refreshing. Elizabeth isn't just the pixie dream girl love interest. She's a bit salty, with take charge gumption and impatience with any shilly-shallying. Devon is a stand up guy with a no-nonsense attitude, no smarm, and the style of a wingman on steroids. Together these three make up a funny, smart, take no prisoners team that can handle quips and taglines in between fights with demon things and shadow whatevers.

And they need all of that because the guy who lost his phone wants it back in, like, the worst way. It's sort of an iPhone that has stored within it every evil spell app ever, and it is powerful beyond comprehension. And guess what? It responds to possibly-also-magical Bryant, even though Bryant doesn't know what any of those odd spell icons stand for. The gang has lots of fun almost destroying NYC while running away from cadres of evil guys and figuring out how the phone works and trying to reach an amicable resolution to the what-do-we-do-now question.

The book is well-written. After the first chapter or two it is fast paced, with occasional breathers and a few pauses for comic relief. None of it is plausible and none of it makes a lot of sense, but you can say that about all of the Greek Myths, and they're loads of fun. Actually, when you think about the most popular books that follow those myth arcs, (like, say, "Percy Jackson"), this is a more flippant, looser, brighter and more improvisational variation on that style. It also seems just a touch hipper, older and more ironic than those books, which also helps to distinguish it from the crowd.

So, this goes down in the list as a nice find. Smart, funny and high energy, it was a very entertaining treat. The ending, BTW, felt very sequel friendly, which is a nice thought.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

<i>Every once in a while, I forgot my mom was raised in the Bronx. Watching her calmly pointing a knife at the guy who had tried to kill us without her hand so much as shaking made me appreciate my New York heritage. Truly, we are a species unto ourselves.</i>

HOW I MAGICALLY MESSED UP MY LIFE IN FOUR FREAKIN' DAYS sounded so much like the love child of <i>Percy Jackson</i> and <i>Harry Potter</i> who was then adopted by the <i>Magisterium</i> series. So, it should've been awesome! Modern-day world setting, snarky and unsuspecting chosen one & friends, magical mayhem and a cellphone instead of a wand.

And it was all of that. And yet it just didn't work for me.

"<i>Why didn't you throw it into the river?</i>"
"<b>Because we didn't want it to turn into a remake of the <i>Jumanji</i> movie.</b>"

I didn't find Bryant Adams (.. summer of siiiixtyyyy niiiiine, seriously, I was singing it the whole time) to be a very sympathetic character. I mean, he's seventeen, he's having random jealous tantrums because his best friend is a stud and charismatic, he's freaking out about these new abilities, sure, this all seems pretty acceptable. But I honestly thought this book was middle grade and despite the very YA-ness of it all.. it still felt really middle grade; which made the experience kind of weird. I think I actually would've liked Bryant better if he had been younger.

"<i>Are you alive?</i>"
"<b>No, I'm calling from beyond the grave.</b>"

As for the other characters? Elizabeth was okay. I liked that she was more than just the emptyheaded pretty girl love interest that tagged along. But honestly there's not much else I can say of her. Truly not sure why she bothered to return Bryant's feelings. And, last of our trio, was Devon. I really really liked Bryant's bestie. I'm curious about what was insinuated about his own fate (a word that was way too often used) but to be honest I don't know if I'll ever read on to find out.

"<i>Sometimes the most absurd things in life are the most valid.</i>"
"<b>So a magic cellphone that destroyed my life is the most valid thing in the world? That's great, just great.</b>"

We have a bad guy who might be a good guy, bad ladies who <b>are</b> bad, and a slew of unique and interesting magical aspects and creatures to this very confusing world. I lost track of the the Consortium vs Thaden vs.. the BeVille people.. I don't even know. I got so so lost so many times about the politics and the restrictions on magic and it honestly made me feel dumb. I don't know if it was my boredom that helped to lose me or being lost left me bored. I couldn't tell you.

"<i>Wouldn't it be better for you to, I don't know, warn people they have super magic powers before it turns their lives into flaming death holes?</i>"

There's a lot of interesting in O'Russell's story, a lot of potential, but either it never reached that peak for me.. or it shot straight up, overtaking it, and I could never catch up. But if you like Percy or Harry or the kids from Holly Black and Cassandra Clare's series, you might very well find this perfectly satisfies your love for urban/modern fantasy. Sadly it just didn't work for me.

2 "no one has time to hunt down everyone who might one day produce a spell or two, and the overcrowding would be terrible" stars