This was one of the best dystopian I've read in a while! The bisexual representation found in Noam was really good as well as the romance. I wouldn't say the plot twist was umpredictable but it was still very good.

I did really want to like this, but in the end I was very disappointed. The pacing was very slow throughout, and I also wasn’t a fan of any of the characters. Noam just wasn’t compelling enough to carry the book. I also felt like the story’s resolution came way too easy.

P.S. once again, this is a YA romance where the characters can’t be bothered to communicate with each other 🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

I was provided an e-arc from netgalley to read and review

I unfortunately missed the opportunity to read

Firstly, I want to say, OMG I have been missing out! The Fever King was quite an experience to read mainly because of how it is written. Like, I could see the plot twists and the reveals coming much earlier than Noam realizes it, and yet it did not dampen my enjoyment of the book one bit, because Lee unfurls the story so well, the journey towards those reveals is as much impactful as the reveal itself. But I am getting ahead of myself - because I couldn't stop gushing about the thing that I liked about her writing - so let's get back to what it's about.

The plot is from the point of view of Noam, living in 22nd century Carolinia (which is a kingdom-then-country made of some US states together), and who is the son of undocumented immigrants from Atlantia (another such country made from an amalgamation of US states), who had fled to Carolinia decades ago because their native country had an outbreak of a viral magic. Carolinia is the only country that allowed and protected witchings, and was created by Calix Lehrer, who was crowned king, and then abdicated to allow for a democratic state. He's been kicking around since then (which makes him 123 now) and has retained his youth through use of his own magic, which he is very proficient at. He himself was a survivor of the initial genocide that killed many witchings and their families, and has been the minister of defense since his abdication. Noam, now a witching is under his command, and while he abhors the government for doing nothing to save refugee and immigrant families from the outbreaks, he realizes he can do more good from within the government. When Lehrer offers to teach him his magic and help with undermining the current chancellor, who has implemented draconian immigration laws, Noam accepts and partners with him.

Noam's characterization as the son of immigrants, an activist, a hacker and technopath, and a carer for his now-dead father all factor in how he approaches his mentorship under Lehrer. Unlike the other students at Level IV, the barracks for the five witching cadets in Durham, he is new and not as academically learned. Additionally, Dara, Lehrer's ward and a prodigy seems to be initially at odds with him, and Noam isn't able to figure out if the animosity is because Dara himself hates Lehrer or he doesn't like Noam being his mentee. Noam's wary of Lehrer's motives for mentoring him, but he accepts that having a historical hero and a powerful man as his ally would help in his fight for immigrant rights. Lehrer, for his part, seems shady from the start, because (a) he is charming AF and (b) he has had over a 100 years as a career politician and you can't trust someone with that capacity of manipulation. And sure, we see him grooming Noam to his ideals, see him subtly inspiring loyalty in him, giving him a fatherly figure to lean on. Additionally, having transcripts and letters and diary entries relating to Calix's youth gives us a view of him, and tells us a bit about his backstory as well. Meanwhile, Noam is also attracted to Dara, but seeing that Dara doesn't exactly disapprove of the current chancellor and won't explain why he hates Lehrer, theirs is a tense relationship with a kinda slow burn romance. Noam takes a while to catch on to some things, and maybe I shook my head at his naivete like Dara, but yeah, when it came to Calix, I see why Noam went along with some things, especially at the end.

The plot tackles issues of immigration laws head on, discusses the privilege of being born in a safer place, and very much mirrors contemporary immigration issues. Additionally, it delves into activism, and how different people have different approaches and ideas about what will institute change. For example, Noam's one conflict with his uncle-like figure Brennan is how much they push back against authority - Noam is for drastic and maybe even violent means if it gets them results, while Brennan advocates for diplomacy and peaceful protests, which Noam feels inadequate in the face of bigoted sentiments. The other thing that the plot discusses is abuse and trauma and how many forms in can take and how differently it can shape different people, especially the major characters of Noam, Dara and Calix. The ending was heartbreaking, and considering the trap that Noam has walked into, I am quite anxious about what the sequel will bring.

DNF @10% 5th March

I requested this over on NetGalley when I first joined it thinking it sounded interesting and am only now, about a year later, getting around to it - which shows how interested in it I actually was 😂

I started thinking this was going to be really interesting but I just couldn’t get into it at all. For a summary that sounds really interesting the execution was quite poor and boring.

Not one I’ll be bothering with again

I ended up not finishing this book, as I realized after a deeper look at the book that it was not up my alley. Thank you though for the opportunity.

This book is about so many different things. It’s so good once you totally get into it and the characters are so amazingly fleshed out. I could not put it down. It has one of the slowest burn romances but oh so worth it!

This book ended up being a lot darker then I expected it to be but that isnt a bad thing. A very diverse story with interesting characters and a well written m/m romance.

One of the best books I have read in a while. Amazing writing, great plot and increduble romance. I loved it. Read this book!!!

This book was awesome! It's an interesting blend of tech magic that I really enjoyed reading about. Definitely a book to read if you're looking for an adventure.

There was a lot going on in this book, some of which I found fascinating but ultimately, it felt a little rushed to me.

The Positives: I thought the basic idea of Feverwake was really good - magic as a sickness which manifests through a virus. I also enjoyed the training elements of the narrative and thought that there was some important social commentary about the treatment of refugees in western society.

The Negatives: The plot felt really rushed to me and I found it a little jarring. I also thought that Noam behaved in ways that didn't ring true and I found the plot pretty predictable.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I had a hard time getting into this story at the beginning because it was very political. It takes place in the future, where the United States is divided up into separate countries. There were protests from the refugees who were being deported from the countries. There was also a virus going around that either killed people, or, for a few, gave them a magic power.

Once the story went from the broad political story to a plot about the main characters, I really enjoyed it. I couldn’t tell who was lying and what side people were on. It was especially tricky because some characters were telepathic, so they knew when others were lying to them.

This was an exciting story. I really enjoyed it!

Thank you Skyscape for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3.5 stars.

I went into this book with low expectations, but I was pleasantly surprised by how captivated the story made me. The dynamic between Noam and Dara, how their relationship grew and the way they interacted was one of my favorite parts of the book. I also really loved how complex most of the characters were. This is not a book of black and white, most of the characters are grey and I love it!!

Noam is a great main character, and I loved being present in his mind as he went through the changes that he did. Watching him learn more about the magic he suddenly inhabits and watching how it changes him as a person was awesome. He is a very analytical character who muddles things over, but it was never an annoying thing to have to read. The magic system is also interesting, albeit a tad confusing. There are some “rules” to it, but it annoyed me a bit that it wasn’t more clear how it actually works. But that might be something we figure out later in the series, I hope!

Speaking of later in the series, I really want to read book 2 right now!! I’m worried about the characters I suddenly found myself fond of and I want to know what happens next plot-wise. The plot took a sudden turn and I didn’t see it coming, which is another reason this was a good read. Plot twists are my favorites, and this one was very enjoyable. I also love how it kind of did a 180 afterwards and ended at a completely different place from what I was expecting!

Overall this was a very enjoyable read. The reason I “only” gave it 3.5 stars is that I struggled getting into it a bit and some of the side characters were so little present that I kept forgetting who they were. I also kept mixing up characters because of different names being used. And some of the flashbacks (or whatever I can call it) just left me awfully confused, I still don’t quite know what they had to do with anything. But I would definitely recommend this book! Especially if you are into futuristic stories of magic and political intrigue!

I didn’t love this book the first time I read it, and I’m SO glad I gave it a second chance, because I absolutely loved it this time around. It might very well be the most diverse dystopian I’ve read, and all of the mystery and the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I’m so glad I have an eARC of the sequel to read, because I honestly can’t deal with this cliffhanger.

Though it took me longer than I would have liked to read this (I went through a phase where I couldn't read dystopian books after reading so many for a class) it was a good book, one that kept you in its grasp and making you want to pick it back up. Though there were hints that nothing was as it seemed, the book did it in a way that really left the reader just as unsure as Noam is, but you can sense that something isn't right. Noam as a character is an interesting one, one that you don't normally see in these books. He wants to achieve something good, but he himself isn't always seen as 'good' in how he reacts to people, giving him layers of character that many books don't bother with. The same can be said about Dara, who ends up playing a large role in the book along with being a love interest.

I personally loved the way the powers in this book works. There has to be basic knowledge of the science behind the power to make it work, which is something a lot of books don't do. It really leaves the reader blown away with the amount of detail needed to understand things along with ways that bypass it as well. There was more than once where I was left saying 'woah' over how the science played into it, which was extremely interesting.

The plot has a lot of to do with an issue we see every day now with immigration. It's timely and echoes a lot of the current political issues we see and hear daily. But it does so in a way as if to say 'no matter, this doesn't change'. After all, this is all placed so far into our future and yet this issue is the same. Same can be said about the virus mimicking a lot of the AID's epidemic. There are a lot of layers to this that reflects our past, present, and future.

The only reason it wasn't five stars was the fact there's a LOT of trauma in this book that sort of blindsides you. A lot of which Dara is the victim of. It wasn't done in a bad way, but there were parts that almost felt unneeded. But it did make sense for his character, even if it the reader is left with a bad taste in their mouth.

All in all I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to start reading the second book.

**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.**

Title The Fever King (Feverwake #1)

Author Victoria Lee

Description from Amazon

In the former United States, sixteen-year-old Noam Álvaro wakes up in a hospital bed, the sole survivor of the viral magic that killed his family and made him a technopath. His ability to control technology attracts the attention of the minister of defense and thrusts him into the magical elite of the nation of Carolinia.

The son of undocumented immigrants, Noam has spent his life fighting for the rights of refugees fleeing magical outbreaks—refugees Carolinia routinely deports with vicious efficiency. Sensing a way to make change, Noam accepts the minister’s offer to teach him the science behind his magic, secretly planning to use it against the government. But then he meets the minister’s son—cruel, dangerous, and achingly beautiful—and the way forward becomes less clear.

Caught between his purpose and his heart, Noam must decide who he can trust and how far he’s willing to go in pursuit of the greater good.

Initial Thoughts

This is another book that’s been in my NetGalley queue for a while now. (Upwards of six months while.) Anyway, when I first joined NetGalley I went on a mad applying frenzy. Anything and everything that sounded remotely interesting got a request from my account. This book sounded cool, but sci-fi and futuristic settings are not my normal cup of tea. In the spirit of closing out 2019 [pause for dramatic effect because I can’t believe I’m talking about the end of the year two thousand and nineteen], I wanted to read and review everything I have outstanding. And, more importantly, I found this in audiobook form from Scribd last week.

Some Things I Liked

Male main character. I don’t normally read books where the main or narrating character is male. I have no issues with it – it’s just different for me. So much YA is written from a female POV so this was a nice change. Furthermore, it was different to listen to an audiobook read entirely by a man.
The magic system. I thought the magic system was interesting and well done. I liked the combination of magic and technology in abilities like “technopathy”. I also liked that magic didn’t overwhelm the storyline. It was more about the political climate and the magic was secondary.
Villains. I have to admit, I really liked the villains in this story. Mostly because they were so ambiguous. You really aren’t sure who the villains are. Think President Snow and President Coin from The Hunger Games. Who’s the real bad guy? We’re fighting to choose the lesser of the evils here and I thought that was an interesting concept.
Some Things I Wasn’t Crazy About

Too much going on. I thought there were too many things going on this book. There are a lot of themes and, in my opinion, this is a politically charged novel riddled with sentiments reflected in today’s society. I’m not a fan of politics. I don’t like reading about it and I thought this book felt a bit too familiar in that regard.
Trigger content. There are a lot of dark themes in this book that some readers might not be comfortable reading. For example, a graphic depiction of suicide, rape, and sexual assault. I don’t enjoy reading about subject matter like that. I read for my own amusement. If I wanted to read about awful things, I could watch the news. But that’s just me. I didn’t like that about this book.

Series Value

I probably won’t read the next book in this series unless I receive it on NetGalley. This isn’t a series I’d buy for myself and I’m not really interested or hooked enough on the story to continue on my own.

Final Thoughts

This book was ok. I liked the characters, I thought it had a lot of themes (possibly too many), and it was thought provoking due to the timeline and similarities to the world today. I didn’t love it but I was glad I gave it a chance.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Recommendations for Further Reading

Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte – if you enjoyed the blend of fantasy and sci-fi in The Fever King, give this book a try.
The Glass Spare by Lauren DeStefano – again, if you liked the blend of sci-fi and fantasy and you enjoy themes of political intrigue, check out this duology by Lauren DeStefano.
The Beholder by Anna Bright – if you liked the idea of alternate American history, give this book a try. They have totally different stories and themes, but if you liked the history aspect in The Fever King, you’ll definitely enjoy this one.

I found myself drawn into this story despite myself - sometimes I tire of the teen dystopia genre but this was a fresh take. I was impressed by the idea of magic as a virus and the change in society that resulted. With a likeable protagonist, a dash of romance and the fate of the future in the balance etc. it was a very enjoyable read. Will definitely read the sequel.

Was not a big fan of this book. A virus is spreading across North America and those who survive it are called "witchings" who develop a variety of magic powers due to the virus. Really great message about immigration and refugee crisis but otherwise it fell really flat for me.

This book has a lot of diversity, including a bisexual, Jewish, latinx main character, but that's all it's got going for it.

3]
I would not say I enjoyed this book, but at the same time, I did not not enjoy it. The book honestly made no sense, but I found that it was really easier to read,d and I did want to continue reading it. There is no plot, AT ALL. I thought the last book I had read had no plot, but compared to this one, it had the most intricate storyline ever. The characters were also, meh. All they do is drink, the entire time, and talk about nonsense. But I never found myself not liking the book, which is weird, but probably has to do with how short the book is since it wasn't long enough to make me feel like I was wasting my time.
Also after looking at other reviews, there seems to be a consensus that you should not start with this as your first Murakami book, which is exactly what I did so. (less) [edit]

This was a great YA post-apocalyptic-type read. Interesting magical premise and unique characters kept the pages turning. Give this to fans of Marie Lu or Holly Black.