Absurd humor, adventure, a murderous conspiracy, poisons, a hidden world of magic, and painful memories. The author bakes all of these ingredients together into a tiered cake. How about the balance of flavors? That depends on the reader's palate. Overall, it starts off on the lighthearted absurdist romp side. As the stakes and the emotional themes grow, the undercurrent of dark drama comes forward. The plot is fast-paced and a bit convoluted. That is part of the playfulness in the storytelling. There is worldbuilding and a couple of training montages, but they do not stop the momentum. Since the main magic is based on reliving memories, that is an important way that we get to know the main characters. It works well. This is not a stand alone, but the start of a series. Be prepared for a major cliffhanger. I enjoyed going on this wild ride with Charlie, who gets kidnapped and thrown into this underbelly of magic secret societies. It felt like a rollercoaster trip through Wonderland. Funny, scary, colorful, and weird. Possible triggers for addiction and emotionally abusive relationships.

I've never done acid, but reading this book felt about as close to a bad LSD trip as a square like me is going to get. From all of the new lingo to the odd first-person narration to the immediate need for a willing suspension of all disbelief, this book was a crazy romp through someone's Corey Mariani's fantasy world of conspiracies, supernatural powers, and genuinely weird sh*t.

That's not to say it wasn't enjoyable. I read the whole thing, didn't I? But it was... well, it felt like MY mind was the one being warped, not that of the protagonist. And the whole thing just left me with a strange aftertaste, like maybe I'd licked something weird while I was tripping.

I'll still consider the second book, because it's a fun story, but... wow, man.

This book is a real doozy. It's one that I wasn't sure I was going to be into at first glance, but I loved the cover, and I thought the description was intriguing so I thought I would give it a chance. And man, I'm glad I did. Not just a pretty cover, this book is one that the beginning and the ending are a little confusing, but the middle and the overall plot are just so interesting that I couldn't get enough. A journey of finding yourself, and trying to integrate yourself into a secret society at the same time, while also running for your life and trying your best to stay alive, I think that this book would be perfect for anyone looking for a secret magical life hidden in plain sight.

Following a man named Charlie, his life is honestly a little below average as he struggles to keep his touring business from closing, and the bank from taking his bus. Plus, there's this guy Kayak Brad, who's just the worst all around. Everyone likes him though for some reason, and he keeps convincing everyone that Charlie is actually the worst, and it's really tanking things for him. But then when things are finally starting to look up, a man holds Charlie at gunpoint and forces him to eat his biggest fear food, a cheese danish, causing him to throw it back up immediately. Then he's drugged and kidnapped, and wakes up in a hotel room with a woman he's never met before. The worst part? He can't go twelve feet away from her without feeling like he's been dipped in lava. Turns out that they're bonded for life, and if they can't break the bond within two days, they're stuck like that. This begins an insane adventure, and his strange new life.

This book was one of those where you think you know where things are headed, but then it takes things for an entirely different loop, and you're just like, what just happened? Did I read that right? Also, there are a lot of terms that are a little difficult to remember, but they get easier as time goes on and you get further into the book. Basically Charlie finds out that he and the woman, and everyone after them, are magic users, but not in the usual sense. There are many kinds of magic users, different species but they still look human. The magic they use, they have to use as a bonded pair, travelling through totem objects that hold memories and certain points in time. There's also potions that they have made out of blood and emotions that cure certain diseases, and even huge tapeworms that feed from choices.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters, although I couldn't tell you what they look like, were easy to imagine in my own head. The world they live in is just like our own, except for the magical aspects, but it was just as immersive as any other. And once I started it, I didn't want to put it down. I finished it in around a day, and I didn't regret a minute of it. I'm really interested to see what happens in the next book, seeing as this is the beginning to a series. Something interesting though is that it really gave me Refraction vibes for some reason. I can't even begin to explain why, but I just had that book in the back of my head when I was reading this. Maybe it's the way it was written, maybe it's the characters, maybe it's just the storyline. Either way, I loved that book, and I loved this one too.

(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

this was a great start to the strange totem series, i really enjoyed going on this journey. The characters were great and I really enjoyed the way the author writes.