Fawkes: A Novel

I've been waiting for this book for a long time. Let me tell you, it was worth the wait. This genre is very different from Nadine's debut novel, A Time to Die, but she did a brilliant job in this new genre. The Gunpowder plot is a real historical event, and about 75-80% of the characters were real people. The genre, as dubbed by the author herself, is historical fantasy. The reason for this is because the characters in the book have the ability to control color when they wear their color mask. That obviously can't happen in real life, therefore, it's part fantasy. (Although, that'd be super cool). 

The whole book was very solid. The plot was airtight, the characters were beautiful, and the theme was incredible. Nadine did an incredible job of creating a story that demands to be read as quickly as possible. I love that she included societal issues that are still plaguing us today which were also present during that time period. She is a Christian author, and her Out of Time series was blatantly religious (but not in a bad way). With this book, while still Christian, it wasn't as obvious. This shows a great amount of depth and talent in Nadine's writing. It can be difficult to write both kinds of Christian books. 

As always, her characters were flawed and real. This sounds like a negative thing, but believe me it's not! The personal journey Thomas had to go on was amazing. The one complaint I have is that he seemed too rash. It felt like he didn't think out his decisions, but I would honestly chalk it up to the fact that he's a teenager. Nothing against teens, but they aren't well known for thinking things through ;) The love interest was also an interesting point. Similar to her previous books, the romance wasn't one of the main parts of the plot. In the end, it does have an impact on the ending, but the story is more focused on Thomas and his relationship with his father. WHICH I LOVED!!! There are so few YA books that discuss a teens' relationship with their parents. I really think this needs to change. Teenagers shouldn't be focused on finding their soulmate and the YA books now definitely encourage soulmate finding. 

I'm a huge fan of making inanimate objects or ideas into characters. For example, in The Lord of the Rings the one ring was a character. It didn't speak, but it influenced the actions of other characters. The same can be said of color in Fawkes. Each color is described as having needing to be spoken to in a specific way in order for it to obey you. My absolute favorite color was white. This was the only color that spoke during the book. It's so sassy and sarcastic, and I LOVE IT! I'm not going to say anymore about this because I will spoil things if I do. 

Overall, Fawkes gets a 5 star rating from me. It was such an incredible read, and I walked away feeling challenged by the ideas discussed and entertained by such immaculate writing. Job well done Nadine Brandes.

Wow! Not what I expected, but I loved it!! It's like historical fiction and fantasy all in one! I love learning more about history, and in an interesting way. I had heard of Guy Fawkes and the gunpowder plot, but didn't really know much about it before. It's definitely not all fun and games, and has some sadness, but a person can learn a lot from this story.
Who and what are you listening to? What is truth? Who has the truth? Nadine Brandes has such a neat way of putting things in this story. I
So, what are you waiting for? Go buy a copy for yourself, and start reading! ?

"I wasn't ready to turn to stone." And with that wish, you enter the world of Thomas Fawkes. This genre (historical fantasy) is fast becoming my favorite. I love the way the author weaves the past with elements of magic and imagination. Color magic--a very unusual way of presenting fantasy. You won't find many books with this including the granddaddy--Harry Potter.

As to the actual writing, very crisp and with enough detail to keep the plot going but not bogged down. Characters, for the most part, are believable and likable. This is definitely heading into the media center where I work.

Fawkes takes elements of 17th century England and actual historical events of the Guy Fawkes gunpowder plot and weaves in an ingenious fantasy element.

A plague to add tension to the story and give the main character a strong motivation,

A magic system that keeps things exciting in addition to adding a thought provoking faith-based element.

Best of all the story has characters that are engaging, and that you can really invest in. I love seeing how some of the character interactions develop through this book, especially between Thomas and another significant character that I won't mention. (No spoilers now ;) ) Suffice it to say that the moment when Thomas learns this character's secret is one of the best moments of the book.

Oh, and as an added bonus, check out these pre-order goodies! The mask cards are so cool!

(Disclaimer: I received this free book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

I knew basically nothing about the history of Guy Fawkes until this book. (That being said this is, in no ways, a history textbook. Just going to throw out that warning right here. But if this is what happened, it'd be so amazing - and would make more sense than some things in history do to me). I have, however, always been fascinated by the event - an assassination plot gone wrong? Count me in. And then you throw in magic and I'm sold. Who can I give my money to before I leave?

This book was one I wanted to read from the moment I saw it on Goodreads, for a couple reasons:
1. That cover is GORGEOUS
2. The 17th century England setting intrigued me
3. It sounded like a fantasy novel that's different from most of the fantasy books I've read lately. Don't get me wrong, I love some strong female heroines fighting wars and ruling kingdoms and everything, but every once in a while, you want something different, and Fawkes seemed like it had potential.

The story follows Thomas Fawkes, a 16-year-old boy, after he's expelled from color school for not receiving a mask from his father. In this society, kids receive masks from their parents when they're teenagers, and they can use these masks to control all objects of a certain color—whatever color they happen to bond with most. Thomas has the stone plague, and he hopes to bond with the color gray, in the hopes that he can command the plague away once he has his powers.

However, Thomas's father decides not to grant him a mask because he has the plague, so Thomas sets out for London to try to convince his father otherwise. Once in London, he gets wrapped up in a plot that his father is a part of to blow up the king of England: the king is an Ignitor, a person who believes that everyone should have the power to command all colors, while Thomas's father is part of an older order of people, the Keepers, who believe people should only have access to one color.

As the story progresses, Thomas finds himself in the middle of a ton of conflicts: he has to decide what side of the war he truly believes in, navigate his feelings and potential relationship with the ward of a Baron, and of course, he still has the plague.

Now, there was a lot of stuff that I liked about this book, and a few things that I didn't. We'll start with the things I loved.

First, the premise of the book definitely delivers. Story-wise, this book has to be one of my favorite fantasy reads of 2018, just because the premise was so cool. There's so many different moving parts with the plague, and the budding relationship between Thomas and Emma, and Thomas's conflicted feelings over the Keeper/Ignitor dispute, but they all come together nicely, and each avenue of the plot is exciting in its own way. This is definitely a story of growth as Thomas figures out his beliefs, but it's a super exciting one with so many different plot points. When I was hoping that this book would be different from my usual fantasy reads, I was right, and it was really refreshing to read.

Second, I just adored the setting as much as I had hoped I would. The descriptions of 17th century England were detailed and really brought me into the story. When I got the end of the book and read the author's note, I realized that a TON of this book was actually based on real-life events, with the color powers/fantasy elements added as a fun spin. Looking back, it actually makes sense now why the setting seems so vivid, and that's because you can tell Brandes did her research on the subject and time period. I appreciate even more how she put a fantasy twist on a real historical event.

Now, as for the things I didn't like about this book: the writing itself was subpar. There was SO MUCH telling and not showing that I had to take a lot of breaks while reading this book just because Thomas's narration was so annoying. The book is written in first person, so we hear all of Thomas's thoughts, and all of his thoughts are basically explanations of really simple things that the reader would have already picked up on. Like, there would be a scene where characters were talking and one of them would say "Oh no, if so-and-so does this, that would give the plot away!" and then the next paragraph would be Thomas explaining "Yeah, if so-and-so does this, the king would realize he's in danger and then the plot would be given away. That would be really bad." Like, yes, Thomas, I know. First, you just repeated what the last guy said, and second, we know it would be bad. You don't have to explain that part.

Also, Thomas seemed like, low-key sexist?? Maybe I was reading into it too much, but there were some parts where he'd be thinking about Emma (who is a fabulous character by the way. One of my favorites), and he'd go on a tangent in his head about how women don't need to be protected because they can be strong too and more men need to realize that, but then like 3 seconds later he'd be in awe that Emma is such a strong woman. Maybe sexist isn't the right word for him, but he kinda reminds me of those "nice guys" who think they're superior to every other guy just because they're nice, when really they're low-key jerks because they feel like women owe them just because they've been nice. Maybe that description doesn't make sense, but it did in my head.

Either way, though, the plot of this book was so good that the "tell don't show" writing didn't make me hate it as much as it might have otherwise. I think story-wise, I would have given this book 4-5 stars, but the writing was like 2.5 or 3, which is why I rounded this book to an even 3.5 overall. Plus, this was an ARC that I read, and based on the formatting of the ARC, it looked like a pretty early copy, so I'm holding out some small hope that there was some editing done on the writing between the ARC and final copy.

Overall, I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a refreshing YA fantasy that's different from what's been out there lately. I'd also actually recommend it for historical fiction fans, because even though this is mostly fantasy, the old English setting and the fact that it's based on real events might leave you intrigued. The writing quality could have been better, but if that's not something you're too picky about, I think it's worth a read.

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in now way impacts my review. Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson, the publisher for the chance to read an early copy

It could have been a 5-star read, but as always execution of premise could not be the way I wanted it or probably less confusing.
Times of Guy Fawkes, magic, secret love, power play, a lot of action and complicated connections - what not to love here? Right?
Well - due to lack of good explanations about what each faction can do or what colors of their mask represent (like Brown can do...). That made that read much more confusing than it should have been and disturbed the reading pace as I tried to cover it with my imagination.
Needs that added so readers won't be that confused!

I loved this book. I knew I would like it, the whole premise was something that was so me. I was really excited to start reading it and I had high expectations which were not let down. This is a thrill ride, y'all. Great characters, great storyline. I felt like I was there when I was reading this and I...don't know a better compliment to give an author than that. Just brilliantly written. I can't wait to see what else this author puts out because it will be going on my shelves, for sure. Also, the cover for this book? Beautiful. One of my favorites of the year thus far.

Interesting world build of magic & masks to parallel with the Guy Fawkes conspiracy from history. The unique touches of magic & how politics grew around the same made this a 4-star read.

While engaging on many accounts, I found myself wanting the plot to move along at a better pace. Also found it hard to empathize with most of the characters given the conspiratorial focus of the novel. These issues knocked the book down to 3.5 stars for me.

In short, a good read in a world I'd love to see again to flesh it & its inhabitants out more fully.

Received via Netgalley for review

In the book Fawkes, author Nadine Brandes follows a young man named Thomas Fawkes. Thomas is training for his color mask but will he get it before he turns to stone? Can joining his father’s group of rebels and killing the king stop the stone plague? Who is really behind the plague and who can be trusted?
I would recommend this book! This was an interesting historical fiction book that was fast paced and easy to read. I found the color masks to be a strange concept. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A copy was provided for an honest review by BookLooks - all opinions are 100% my own.

?️ historical fiction + fantasy: I had little to no knowledge of the Gunpowder Plot so I was going into this novel without much background information. With that being said, this book was amazing in delivering enough historical fact to give the reader a fair sense of the plot while twisting certain elements to incorporate fantastical elements.
?️ racism: This novel deals so well with the idea of racism in such a unique fashion. There's this aversion to people with Stone Plague that captures the essence of how people react to people of color and personally, the way the author interwove those two just felt incredibly compelling and powerful.
?️ color magic: I adored the magic system in this world. While I would have like a bit more explanation about the specifics, maybe that's just me wanting to know every aspect of the magic, the basic gist is that you can control everything that fits within the Color you have bonded with (more or less).
?️ white light: There are hints of religious appeal with the "character" of White Light - Keepers fear its immense power and Ignitors crave it, but as the source of all colors, White Light simply wants to connect with the people. The character progression of Thomas in particular was incredibly powerful as he began to form his own answers rather than following with the preconceived biases of the present sides.

More reviews posted at Le Petit Photograph

Wow! I had high expectations for this book, but I have to say Fawkes met and exceeded all my expectations. It blew me away. The theme was so masterful and clever, a couple times my mouth just dropped open and I started shaking my head and saying, "Brilliant, just brilliant."
Next, the world-building was so precise and imaginative, I felt like I was there. Reading late into the night, I forgot where I was, and when I looked up I was like, oh yeah, I'm still here in my little row house in the ghetto.
I can't think of anything I didn't like about this book. It made me wince and laugh and shake my head in wonder and jump up and leave the room for a snack cause it was so gory it made my stomach turn. (Okay, so not really gory. It's just that vivid writing plus vivid reader imagination equals...fun!) It changed me from a suspicious 'I-don't-care-for-fantasy' kind of reader into a reader wondering if maybe I should try writing fantasy.
I've already lent it to a friend. What I really want to do is go out and buy copies for all the teens I know, because I'm just so thrilled that I've found a book for teens that is wholesome, well-written, and chock full of meaning.
We need more books like this! Read it, share it, support clean teen fiction so we can see more of it!

I had seen a lot of Booktubers get excited about this book during BookCon this past June, so I was excited to read the book for myself.

Overall, I quite liked this book. The novel does a really good job of mixing actual history with fictional elements. It was hard to put the book down because the author did a fantastic job of hooking me in. Thomas and Emma are lovely characters to root for.

Definite recommendation for fans of historical fiction.

TODAY IS THE DAAAAY!

Fawkes has officially stepped out into the world to touch readers with hope and heart in this #historicalfantasy!

This riveting tale is filled with the gunpowder plot, color magic and stone plagues, a young man just trying to be accepted by his father—and a young woman hiding far more than her face behind a mask. Fawkes is a delightful, unique and memorable read that whisks you away to shadowy streets of London and a harrowing adventure bathed in mist and mystery.

Don't miss this page-turner!

It makes me very happy to read a well-written historical fantasy like this one, especially one that contains dark magic and a plague that turns people to stone. This is colorfully imagined, including the color system for magic. Plus, there are masks. It's hard to go wrong with masks and magic. Really easy to fall into and Thomas is an excellent hero.

While semi slow to start, the end of the story more than made up for the slowness to begin. Brandes does a good job taking a well known story and staying true while also adding an element of magic and a thread of a beautiful lesson. I really enjoyed this one! Emma was my favorite character. *I received a copy of this from Netgalley *

Like many other MCs, Thomas Fawkes is an idealist, albeit an extremely honest with himself idealist. He admits to being a coward and many other things besides. This honesty made me like him all the more; although, he's definitely no hero. If he had tried to hide it, I would have scoffed and the story would have lost a little something for me. As it was, the story was slow moving and pretty boring in my view. Keepers and Igniters are similar to modern-day religion with opposing views that are irreconcilable. Catholics versus Protestants many years ago is what comes to mind. This society had one way of thinking versus the other, which is pretty normal in most storylines, but this particular one was dangerous. If you were a Keeper, you had a death wish.

"The very topic of White Light has caused Igniters to hunt down and murder Keepers. Wouldn't you be wary if you weren't an Igniter?"

Thomas doesn't have strong family ties as his mother died when he was young and his father was away working on some plot. Now, Thomas is looking for answers to his Keeper background and upbringing after being raised and schooled among Igniters. Why is White Light so taboo among Keepers, while, for Igniters, it brings freedom of power and allows more power than Keepers seem to be comfortable with? White Light is the source of all power, so Keepers believe it must be locked down and ignored. Does speaking to White Light really make people power hungry or is that simply a personal trait that is not really correlated with being an Igniter? Do Keepers, or anyone really, fully understand White Light? Or is White Light truly bad? These are all questions Thomas sets out to answer for himself.

Then Emma, a girl from Thomas' school, turns up in London and kind of throws a spanner into his plans. She pushes him to ask more questions and a colleague of the plot demands they 'seek the source'. She's an Igniter, but has something she's hiding. He doesn't know whether he can trust her or not, but still allows himself to get close to her, as it allows him access to information necessary to the plot.

"My culture had affected my way of thinking without my consent,How many other things had it shaped without my knowing it? It made me want to examine things - to seek the heart of matters. Of skin color, of Keepers, of Igniters, of White Light, of all my assumptions."

If you're involved in a plot that will change the way your society works in the long run, do you still stand up for what you know to be right in your day to day life? Or do you let that go so as not to draw attention to yourself and keep yourself free for the bigger picture?

A few times throughout the novel, Thomas enacts some heroic act - usually in relation to Emma. But I want to know - is he doing it to impress her or rather because her conviction give him the strength to be less than cowardly? I feel like it's a bit of both, really. He's like any young boy, wanting the attention of the pretty girl from school, but being also involved in such a huge plot, he has other things on his mind, as well. He wants to be brave and stand up for what he believes, the trouble is he's a coward who doesn't know what to believe yet.

“The resignation in my voice sickened me, but I clung to my knowledge of the Gunpowder Plot. It would change this. I would change this.”

All in all, I struggled to finish this book. I very nearly DNF'ed it, but was so close to the end that I forced myself on. The last 10% got better and then had a terrible ending. I wouldn't recommend this to very many people simply because I found it boring. The historical aspect was slightly interesting, but the characters that made up the story ruined the plot for me entirely. I didn't find them relatable or interesting, so I just could not get into the story. I found myself avoiding the book at quite a few points.

Oh my gosh, this book was great. I loved the magic and the setting and the history. I know some people aren’t liking Thomas, but I understood how he felt and what he was up against. My favorite character was Emma, though. I wanted her in the story more and I wish there was a sequel!

This is every ya/fantasy lover's dream book. This has action, espionage, history, and a bit of romance. I enjoyed it and I think any one who loves this genre will enjoy it as well.
*I was given this book by Thomas Nelson publishers through netgalley. This is my honest opinion

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Original, moving, fun, despite the seriousness of the subject matter. I cared for the characters deeply and I was fully immersed in their story. I would gladly follow this author through the tales she tells.

Interesting world build of magic & masks to parallel with the Guy Fawkes conspiracy from history. The unique touches of magic & how politics grew around the same made this a 4-star read.

While engaging on many accounts, I found myself wanting the plot to move along at a better pace. Also found it hard to empathize with most of the characters given the conspiratorial focus of the novel. These issues knocked the book down to 3.5 stars for me.

In short, a good read in a world I'd love to see again to flesh it & its inhabitants out more fully.

Received via Netgalley for review

In the book Fawkes, author Nadine Brandes follows a young man named Thomas Fawkes. Thomas is training for his color mask but will he get it before he turns to stone? Can joining his father’s group of rebels and killing the king stop the stone plague? Who is really behind the plague and who can be trusted?
I would recommend this book! This was an interesting historical fiction book that was fast paced and easy to read. I found the color masks to be a strange concept. I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A copy was provided for an honest review by BookLooks - all opinions are 100% my own.

?️ historical fiction + fantasy: I had little to no knowledge of the Gunpowder Plot so I was going into this novel without much background information. With that being said, this book was amazing in delivering enough historical fact to give the reader a fair sense of the plot while twisting certain elements to incorporate fantastical elements.
?️ racism: This novel deals so well with the idea of racism in such a unique fashion. There's this aversion to people with Stone Plague that captures the essence of how people react to people of color and personally, the way the author interwove those two just felt incredibly compelling and powerful.
?️ color magic: I adored the magic system in this world. While I would have like a bit more explanation about the specifics, maybe that's just me wanting to know every aspect of the magic, the basic gist is that you can control everything that fits within the Color you have bonded with (more or less).
?️ white light: There are hints of religious appeal with the "character" of White Light - Keepers fear its immense power and Ignitors crave it, but as the source of all colors, White Light simply wants to connect with the people. The character progression of Thomas in particular was incredibly powerful as he began to form his own answers rather than following with the preconceived biases of the present sides.

More reviews posted at Le Petit Photograph

Wow! I had high expectations for this book, but I have to say Fawkes met and exceeded all my expectations. It blew me away. The theme was so masterful and clever, a couple times my mouth just dropped open and I started shaking my head and saying, "Brilliant, just brilliant."
Next, the world-building was so precise and imaginative, I felt like I was there. Reading late into the night, I forgot where I was, and when I looked up I was like, oh yeah, I'm still here in my little row house in the ghetto.
I can't think of anything I didn't like about this book. It made me wince and laugh and shake my head in wonder and jump up and leave the room for a snack cause it was so gory it made my stomach turn. (Okay, so not really gory. It's just that vivid writing plus vivid reader imagination equals...fun!) It changed me from a suspicious 'I-don't-care-for-fantasy' kind of reader into a reader wondering if maybe I should try writing fantasy.
I've already lent it to a friend. What I really want to do is go out and buy copies for all the teens I know, because I'm just so thrilled that I've found a book for teens that is wholesome, well-written, and chock full of meaning.
We need more books like this! Read it, share it, support clean teen fiction so we can see more of it!

4/5 stars

Such an interesting and unique take on faith and spirituality. I typically don't love Christian fiction because I find it too preachy or cheesy. But I thought this novel was a refreshing addition to the genre.

I loved the character and story if Emma. I think Fawkes did a great job of not just exploring faith, but race, loyalty, and the condition we all have of sometimes just following because that's what we we've been told to do.

I loved the authors note at the end about the importance of listening. I think our world can use much more of that. And this book captured that perfectly.

Definitely recommend for lovers of historical fiction and/or fantasy.

I had seen a lot of Booktubers get excited about this book during BookCon this past June, so I was excited to read the book for myself.

Overall, I quite liked this book. The novel does a really good job of mixing actual history with fictional elements. It was hard to put the book down because the author did a fantastic job of hooking me in. Thomas and Emma are lovely characters to root for.

Definite recommendation for fans of historical fiction.

I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild, I was not required to give a favorable review. This was a wonderful historical ya novel. I love how it was written to give such graphic visualization of the time that it was written. This is the first book I have read from Nadine and look for to reading other books from her. I plan on sharing this with my 15 old niece I think she will enjoy it as much as I did.

TODAY IS THE DAAAAY!

Fawkes has officially stepped out into the world to touch readers with hope and heart in this #historicalfantasy!

This riveting tale is filled with the gunpowder plot, color magic and stone plagues, a young man just trying to be accepted by his father—and a young woman hiding far more than her face behind a mask. Fawkes is a delightful, unique and memorable read that whisks you away to shadowy streets of London and a harrowing adventure bathed in mist and mystery.

Don't miss this page-turner!

— I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. —
3.5/5 Stars. In this story, English society is divided into Keepers and Igniters - groups fighting for supremacy under King James I. The struggle is reminiscent of the religious disputes historically going on at the time, and allegorises these in a way that will likely render them more understandable to today’s young people. Set in the middle of this is Guy Fawkes’ gunpowder plot - only in this version, Guy has a son, Thomas, who is fighting both for his father’s approval as well as finding his place in this society. Until he realizes things might not be as clear cut as he thought...

It makes me very happy to read a well-written historical fantasy like this one, especially one that contains dark magic and a plague that turns people to stone. This is colorfully imagined, including the color system for magic. Plus, there are masks. It's hard to go wrong with masks and magic. Really easy to fall into and Thomas is an excellent hero.

While semi slow to start, the end of the story more than made up for the slowness to begin. Brandes does a good job taking a well known story and staying true while also adding an element of magic and a thread of a beautiful lesson. I really enjoyed this one! Emma was my favorite character. *I received a copy of this from Netgalley *

Like many other MCs, Thomas Fawkes is an idealist, albeit an extremely honest with himself idealist. He admits to being a coward and many other things besides. This honesty made me like him all the more; although, he's definitely no hero. If he had tried to hide it, I would have scoffed and the story would have lost a little something for me. As it was, the story was slow moving and pretty boring in my view. Keepers and Igniters are similar to modern-day religion with opposing views that are irreconcilable. Catholics versus Protestants many years ago is what comes to mind. This society had one way of thinking versus the other, which is pretty normal in most storylines, but this particular one was dangerous. If you were a Keeper, you had a death wish.

"The very topic of White Light has caused Igniters to hunt down and murder Keepers. Wouldn't you be wary if you weren't an Igniter?"

Thomas doesn't have strong family ties as his mother died when he was young and his father was away working on some plot. Now, Thomas is looking for answers to his Keeper background and upbringing after being raised and schooled among Igniters. Why is White Light so taboo among Keepers, while, for Igniters, it brings freedom of power and allows more power than Keepers seem to be comfortable with? White Light is the source of all power, so Keepers believe it must be locked down and ignored. Does speaking to White Light really make people power hungry or is that simply a personal trait that is not really correlated with being an Igniter? Do Keepers, or anyone really, fully understand White Light? Or is White Light truly bad? These are all questions Thomas sets out to answer for himself.

Then Emma, a girl from Thomas' school, turns up in London and kind of throws a spanner into his plans. She pushes him to ask more questions and a colleague of the plot demands they 'seek the source'. She's an Igniter, but has something she's hiding. He doesn't know whether he can trust her or not, but still allows himself to get close to her, as it allows him access to information necessary to the plot.

"My culture had affected my way of thinking without my consent,How many other things had it shaped without my knowing it? It made me want to examine things - to seek the heart of matters. Of skin color, of Keepers, of Igniters, of White Light, of all my assumptions."

If you're involved in a plot that will change the way your society works in the long run, do you still stand up for what you know to be right in your day to day life? Or do you let that go so as not to draw attention to yourself and keep yourself free for the bigger picture?

A few times throughout the novel, Thomas enacts some heroic act - usually in relation to Emma. But I want to know - is he doing it to impress her or rather because her conviction give him the strength to be less than cowardly? I feel like it's a bit of both, really. He's like any young boy, wanting the attention of the pretty girl from school, but being also involved in such a huge plot, he has other things on his mind, as well. He wants to be brave and stand up for what he believes, the trouble is he's a coward who doesn't know what to believe yet.

“The resignation in my voice sickened me, but I clung to my knowledge of the Gunpowder Plot. It would change this. I would change this.”

All in all, I struggled to finish this book. I very nearly DNF'ed it, but was so close to the end that I forced myself on. The last 10% got better and then had a terrible ending. I wouldn't recommend this to very many people simply because I found it boring. The historical aspect was slightly interesting, but the characters that made up the story ruined the plot for me entirely. I didn't find them relatable or interesting, so I just could not get into the story. I found myself avoiding the book at quite a few points.

I really enjoyed this take on the gunpowder plot and Guy Fawkes. This fictional story deals with a character who is Fawkes son. The magical element that is involved adds a great twist. Well written story by Nadine Brandes. I love her other books as well. I look forward to reading more from her in the future.

Oh my gosh, this book was great. I loved the magic and the setting and the history. I know some people aren’t liking Thomas, but I understood how he felt and what he was up against. My favorite character was Emma, though. I wanted her in the story more and I wish there was a sequel!

This is every ya/fantasy lover's dream book. This has action, espionage, history, and a bit of romance. I enjoyed it and I think any one who loves this genre will enjoy it as well.
*I was given this book by Thomas Nelson publishers through netgalley. This is my honest opinion

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Original, moving, fun, despite the seriousness of the subject matter. I cared for the characters deeply and I was fully immersed in their story. I would gladly follow this author through the tales she tells.

Overall this was a good book. I enjoyed reading it and it was easy to get sucked in. I thought the idea of "color magic" was something different in the YA fantasy/historical fiction genre. Also interesting to read about Guy Fawkes.

This story is beautiful and funny and magical. The historical side is well done. Thomas goes through a lot of growing from the epic first line that begins his story to the ending where I turned the page, wishing we could journey together a little longer.

Fawkes was amazing! I don't read much retold history--this might actually be one of the first books of this style that I've read. But I loved it so much. The characters and theme and color power and ending. It's one of my new favorite books.

Looking for your next read? This is seriously one of the best books I have read this year! Not only is the writing gripping, the story is intriguing and the characters came alive for me from the beginning of the book. They are intense and complicated while being relatable. This is historical, but Mrs. Brandes draws many parallels to current issues. There was also a spiritual aspect for me, almost reminiscent of C.S. Lewis. I highly recommend checking this out!

Fawkes is a adventurous tale woven with so much love. The characters grow stronger page by page, and I loved White Light's playfulness. It was fresh and fun. I appreciated Thomas's willingness to change and learn, you do not often find that in modern stories.

Fawkes was an incredible historical fantasy with great world building, a beautiful magic system, and strong characters. A great mix of both fact and fiction! Nadine weaves strong truths throughout her story that will get you thinking and linger with you after you've finished the book.

While I have nothing but respect for the staggering amount of effort required to write and publish a book, I genuinely could not find a single positive part of my reading experience to counterbalance the negative. For my review I've chosen to highlight the three most egregious shortcomings in Fawkes; I struggled with other parts of the story and writing, but these points were by far the most taxing:

THOMAS IS PRETTY AWFUL, ACTUALLY

Simplistic and self-centered to a fault, Thomas is one of the least compelling protagonists I've encountered. He exhibits a concern for very little beyond curing his own case of the stone plague: not the principles behind his father's plot, the rampant executions of Keepers, or even the personal struggles of his schoolmate Emma. For a story based on a notable event in a long string of injustices and violence spurred by religious differences, Thomas' self-serving viewpoint obscures the grander elements at work in the time period in favor of his own, often immature, preoccupations.

There are also several moments where he behaves like a Good Guy™️ towards Emma. For example: "I followed, though not invited. If she told me to leave, I would respect that. But I wanted her to know that I was with her. For her. [...] She was acting as though she wanted me to leave. Maybe I should."

He tells himself he'll leave if she wants him to, then plows ahead after clearly recognizing signs she doesn't want him there. This isn't romantic (especially considering his wishy-washy feelings towards Emma for most of the novel)—it's just creepy. Thomas felt like a poor choice for a first-person POV from nearly the beginning, which seriously hampered the story overall. There are revelations about Emma that suggest she would be a much better character to experience this particular time period through, yet she remains secondary to Thomas and his dithering.

INCONSISTENT TONE

Historical fiction can be tricky to find a tone for. Most modern readers won't want to deal with older forms of English, making total accuracy a very restricting choice. But you also want to avoid a wholly contemporary vernacular because eventually you're going to use words or phrases completely inappropriate to the setting. Brandes tries to have it both ways. Characters will answer with "aye" and "nay" when asked a question, yet White Light speaks to Thomas like a 21st century teenager. This presumably ancient and unknowable entity says things like, "Doesn't that make me sound awesome?" and "Not to toot my own horn." The anachronisms were striking enough to immediately pull me out of the story and created an uneven reading experience throughout the book.

MORE TALKING THAN ACTION

If only more things would happen, it might distract from some of the other shortcomings in Fawkes. Yet Thomas has very little to do with the plot's momentum until the final act. Since the book is written from his perspective, that means the reader spends a lot of time hearing about moments that affect neither the outcome of the Gunpowder Plot nor Thomas' development, of which there is little. Coming in at well over 400 pages, Fawkes is long on words but short on events.

If only one—or perhaps even two—of these significant problems cropped up in Fawkes, it may have still been able to work for me. It has a gorgeous cover to draw the reader in and a unique historical event to base a fantasy around. The early 17th century is a rich period of English history and the conflicts between Protestants and Catholics, on which the fictional feud between Keepers and Igniters is based, provide plenty of material to examine and interpret through new eyes. This source material feels squandered on an unsympathetic, unengaging, and unchanging protagonist upstaged by a far more compelling supporting character. Trapped between spreading a message and simply entertaining, the uneven tone and poor characterization in Fawkes ultimately put it beyond salvaging for me.

It's always so hard for me to put down a book in my DNF pile. I know every author puts their heart and soul into their work with the hope that readers will love their story as much as they do. And, to me, books are precious and special doorways to another world, another century, another universe and I treasure them for this.

With that said, I still have to say that Fawkes was not one of those books. The overall idea for the story is interesting: take the legend of Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 and add a magical world to it's narrative. Trade the political sides and religious intolerance that spurred the historic event for feuding magical color powers and a fatal virus. Add a young voice to the narrative; make him the son of Guy Fawkes, a son who wants to impress his absentee father. Have the young son trying to hide the fact he has contracted this virus as it slowly turns his body to stone. Also, have him hear the call of a mysterious voice that might be related to an evil source of color magic.

I wanted to like this book so much. The ideas behind the story were clever and solid but it was the execution that brought it down. The young man, Thomas, on the most important night of education at his university is unable to take his Color Test in order to earn his Color Power; all due to his father's absence. He is forced to leave the school in disgrace by page 16. At that point I was already disenchanted with Thomas and his constant whining. The author paints him with no true heartbreak or anger or fear, only whining. I wanted this boy to be spitting mad and looking for blood but his character is not that strong. He does head to London to find his father and force him to help earn his Color Power.

When he finally meets up with his father, the relationship is understandably strained. But within a manner of six pages and single sentence paragraphs, Guy Fawkes trusts a kid he hasn't seen since he was a toddler and invites him to join in their plot to dethrone the king. The plot is simple but the basis behind it is confusing; I never did understand who were the Keepers and who were the Igniters, the two magic factions that blame one another for the plague.

The dialogue is stilted, the writing doesn't flow and I found myself putting down the book and walking away for days at a time.The story was more juvenile than I expected so perhaps the intended readers are more middle level and not young adult as I expected. Finally, at page 97, I put it in my DNF pile. Perhaps it picks up after where I left off, but I was ready to move on to another book.

Reviewed by my 14yo daughter: I don't love this book. I found myself a little confused about what the hubbub was for. It seemed that there was supposedly a huge, world-shifting conflict, but there was really not anything at stake. My first impression of the magic system was "Warbreaker," but as the story went on, it was more "Rainbow Bright." There was no complexity or depth, and there was some unexplained tabu against an individual wanting more than one "power." For me, the most interesting and compelling characters were the ones that were supposed to be the antagonists. I didn't relate to the "hero" at all. After about half way through I just couldn't anymore. I mean, there *are* those sorts of stories that take a while to get into, or that tie up a lot of complications in the end - but this wasn't like that. I just didn't move me, I didn't feel the connection with the main point of conflict, and I didn't really care about the characters. I read 2-3 books per week, more than half fantasy, so please don't think I don't know a good book when I read it. This just didn't float my boat.