This is the first book by Tamora Pierce that I have read.
I found the story well written with the characters totally engaging.
The pages seemed to fly by. A thoroughly enjoyable fantasy for those who enjoy a bit of magic.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this ebook.

Unfortunately i DNF’d it. I searched and made sure that this was the first in a series, everything i read seem to suggest it was, but i still feel like I have been reading the middle of another story. I was enjoying it for a bit but because I was so confused what was happening, I got bored easily and skimmed the most of what I read. I will pick this up again in the future however.

One thing of note. I don’t know if the author did this to purposefully try and educate young boys who might be reading this, but I for one don’t particularly enjoy reading about a 10 year olds activities with his manhood. That is a conversation that should be had with parents.

Unfortunately I DNF'd this book at 28% - as captivating as the premise sounded I just wasn't able to get into the story. I found the descriptions quite lengthy (often unnecessarily) and found it difficult to really relate to the protagonist.
It might be I just wasn't in the right frame of mind so I will try to read this again some day but for now I am - with a heavy hear - putting it down as a DNF.
From what I did read I'm going to rate this book 2 stars. (Because I have to put a star rating for NetGalley to accept this).

Not my usual type of book but enjoyable nonethless - an easy read and very engaging but perhaps insufficient plot and I found the amount of characters difficult to follow at times. I can see how this would appeal to fans of Harry Potter due to the 'magical school' setting and other elements of the book but I'm not sure I'd pick up a further book in the series.

A powerful and thrilling narrative,, that will keep every reader engaged and excited throughout. A great read.

Tempests and Slaughter was a wonderful read but not for those who need action and adventure in their fantasy reads. The book is super slow and feels very much like a ‘foundation’ book for a series. Since reading it, I have found out that it is written in the same universe of other books by Pierce and Arram is in these books as an adult – so I’m guessing this read might be different for someone who’s read the other books too? However, I’m taking it as a standalone first book in a series.

We follow Arram as he goes to magic school. He grows into a powerful yet kind mage and there’s so much character depth we do see the possibilities for his future, and future books. We see him learn magic, excel, be given challenges by his teachers and attend more advanced lessons. Overall, this gives a really good basis for how good he is by showing the reader rather than the main character be told he’s so powerful.

As with any fantasy magic school, our main character feels like an outcast except for two of his closest friends, Prince Orzone and Varice. Their friendship was focused on a lot, and we do see it change and evolve as they grow up and situations happen. It’s written extremely well and feels true to life in how people react.

Going back to my point about the book being slow, I personally felt like not a lot happened. This book was very character focused and also focused on building magical lore I think. Which for me is great, because I love those high fantasy aspects of depth in the magic system, and understanding the details. However, I do think it could put of other readers who aren’t as interested in character and world building.

Tempests and Slaughter has a large rota of recurring characters throughout the book who have a huge impact on who Arram grows to be. Musenda, one of the gladiators, in particular was a wonderful addition and I can’t wait to see where the storyline goes with that. For those who love character building and world building, this is a book for you just like it was for me.

Already bought a copy and have read it about 6 times. Tamora Pieces revisits her Tortall series and this time we get Numair's story.
I was worried it was going to wreck my favourite childhood series with needless backstory (ahemCursedchildahem) but it was like slipping back into a warm bed. No overt out of character actions other than Numar's youth and lots of 'I remember that' moment. A wonderful story.

I didn't realise that this was a prequel, but it has left me with a taste and desire to follow up on the earlier books.
Tamora has created a wonderful, fantastic world that's just enough feel of ancient Bagdad/Rome/Asia/Mongolia to be both very strange and at the same time recognisable.
The academy attended by the young students is very reminiscent of Hogwarts with its range of strange subjects and professors, all set in a strange land.
The main characters are all well developed, and slowly, slowly Tamora draws you into the life and mentality of her world. Arram Draper is the Harry Potter of the piece and looks all set to save his world. I will try and make the journey with him.

I found this book very enjoyable with a fantastic storyline that had me enthralled all day, I missed an appointment as I was so engrossed in the story

This is slightly more middle grade than the YA I was expecting. It has a lot in common with Harry Potter - a young boy at a magical school learning how to be a wizard but also the writing has the similar quality of easy readability as Rowling's. It's not sophisticated literature but has a rhythm that is seductive and absorbing. While I can see this is a set-up for the trilogy and can appreciate that this is quality fantasy (in terms of the world building, imagination, well rounded characters and, thankfully, the lack of the 'cheese' factor) and that it will appeal to a huge audience, not a great deal actually happens. Andcwhile it is so tightly written that it didn't feel boring, I was aware that what i was reading was just the daily tribulations of a school boy, albeit a magical one, and I longed for a little more real action, unforeseen revelations and genuine intrigue. Very promising for the rest of the trilogy nonetheless if you're of the target age group.

I once owned a book by Tamora Pierce and I never ended up reading it.
Whilst hearing about this book, I got a lot of good reviews on it.
It sooo didn't disappoint, I loved it.

Tamora Pierce was my goddamn childhood, so unsurprisingly, I really liked this book. If you loved Numair, you definitely need to read this - it brings awesome new insight into his relationships with Ozorne and Varice, and really digs into how and why they were all such good friends, once upon a time.

I don't know if this is the best book to introduce readers to Tamora Pierce - probably I'd say the Immortals Quartet is the way to go for that, as it's quicker, snappier and more well contained. BUT I do think Tempests and Slaughter could definitely still work as a intro to Pierce, especially if you're interested in the more esoteric side of magic. Really, you can't go wrong with Tamora Pierce (except the Beka Cooper series... but everything else is great, it doesn't matter TOO much where you start, as long as you do).

Bought a hardcover copy of this one, and will definitely be the sequel when it comes out.

I was really excited to read this book. However, I instantly could not get on with the writing or the characters. It just did not capture me. I am really disappointed. I may try another series by Tamora Pierce but unfortunately this book was not for me.

Another fantastic read from Tamora Pierce. Pacing was good and the plot as always kept me intrigued and wanting to know more. Definitely one we purchased for YA.

Never before have I read anything by Tamora Pierce but I'll be damned if I don't pick up the rest of her books after this.

Knowing nothing about her books or her writing style I went into this book without much expectations. And was more than pleasantly surprised.
I loved the idea of the school of mages and obviously want to be a part of it as well. I found the characters to be well written and absolutely lovable. The setting was well done and the description of their surroundings was just perfect. I could see the school before me, the city and their markets (especially the book stalls), the river and their gods.

If you love well paced fantasy with lovable characters and a truly fascinating religious system this book is for you.

I'm afraid this book wasn't really for me.

I've long heard of Tamora Pierce - though this was the first of her novels that I've read. Perhaps this was my mistake - as I think to enjoy this book as it's intended you really have to already love the universe it's set in already. There's a lot of detail and it takes a very long time for the plot to get going. Once things do start happening it's a much more interesting read.

For me, although there were parts which were really engrossing, my general feeling was that it needed one more round of editing to speed it all up a bit (The amount of time dedicated to school timetables, for example, didn't really feel necessary!). However, I appreciate that I am not really the target audience!

This is a prequel, so if you've read the other books I think you will love this - and the level of detail included around the characters. (I'm certainly going to come back to this once I've read them to see if it changes my mind). There's no doubt that the writing is very good, and the characters are engrossing. It just wasn't quite my cup of tea.

Imagine if you will, a low-peril version of Harry Potter.  That is Tamora Pierce's Tempests and Slaughter (review copy from Harper Voyager).  This is a middle-grade story following three young friends at Carthak's university for magicians.  Arram Draper is young and powerful, but lacks control over his magic.  He is fiercely intelligent, but naive and from a distant island.  Varice is a young woman with a bit more knowledge of how the world works.  Ozorne is a spare heir of the Emperor, being trained in war magic.  I understand that these are characters that play a significant part in the author's other novels.  But as someone who hasn't read any of the other books the beats here are predictable - Arram and Varice will end up together, and Ozorne will end up as Emperor. 

The book follows the schooling of this trio.  There are lots of details of their lessons (Arram's timetable for each term is set out in painstaking detail) and trips out, and some rivalries and fallings out with fellow students.  But it's all pretty ... bland.  All the teachers are sympathetic, including the grumpy ones.  There is little sense of peril or conflict in the book.  Even the ending was underwhelming, and I was left surprised that the book had finished.  Surely there was meant to be something more climactic. 

Underwhelming, inoffensive fluff. 

Goodreads rating: 2*

I was beyond excited to receive this as an ARC because growing up, I absolutely adored Tamora Pierce's books and the Immortals quartet was my introduction to Tortall. If you haven't read any of her books before, you can still read this as it's the backstory to one of the characters in the Wild Magic trilogy who isn't from Tortall.

I both loved and was upset about the different setting - it was great seeing more of the world but I did miss Tortall and all the characters I loved. It was interesting getting to see Arram as a child and Ozorne and I loved a lot of the side characters. We also get to start learning a bit about the Immortals.

Unfortunately, not much really happens in this book. It's literally just Arram going to school and his day to day life. Now, that can be interesting but at times it was just a bit too mundane. One aspect I did like was that it focused a lot on the fact he was a young teenage boy and all the issues that he faced as part of growing up - I think that will really help young boys that read the books, as it's something I've not seen much in YA fiction.

I'll definitely still read the next one because it seems like this book was mostly just laying the groundwork for the next book as there are a lot of things that need resolved. In the end, I came away rather disappointed by this as I was hoping for much more.

As much as I love Tamora Pierce, I would only recommend this to fans of the Immortal Quartet. If you've never read her books, I would highly recommend starting with any other series because this one is definitely not her best work.

“In the ancient halls of the Imperial University of Carthak, a young man has begun his journey to becoming one of most powerful mages the realm has ever known. Arram Draper is the youngest student in his class and has the Gift of unlimited potential for greatness.
At his side are his two best friends: clever Varice, a girl with too often-overlooked, and Ozorne, the `leftover prince' with secret ambitions. Together, these three forge a bond that will one day shape kingdoms.”

I went into this book not knowing anything about the world and having absolutely no expectations, which could affect my feelings about it.

I really enjoyed the magical school setting. We get to follow the characters through a lot of their classes and learn a lot about the magic system. I am also very interested in Egyptian mythology and all the gods in this universe reminded me of it, which I found quite intriguing.

I struggle a bit more with the plot. I could not understand where the story was going and I felt like not much was happening. The structure of a book felt slightly wrong as there was no real plot and the book ended too suddenly for my liking.

I have to admit this was my first Tamora Pierce book. I have heard so many great things about her past books, but never got around to reading them. The reason eludes me right now as I absolutely loved Tempests and Slaughter.

I can't quite put to words how much I loved both the world and the characters of this book. Pierce's world-building is enticing and I couldn't help but think of Arram as a friend and I found myself really invested in his adventures.

I have already read this book twice and I cannot wait for the continuation. This book is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, the Grishaverse and Shades of Magic.