My dear bookish friends,
I’m back with another blog tour review for you today, and if you are a fan of urban fantasy then I have the perfect book for you!
A huge thank you as always goes to TheWriteReads as well as the author for my ebook and spot on this tour (none of which influenced my rating in any way).
To find out what exactly I loved about Wild Court, please keep on reading!
About the Book
A secret organisation is losing the battle to maintain the empathy levels that sustain the planet’s protective barriers against the nightmare worlds.
A young aristocrat safeguards a terrible secret, sponsoring an archaeology graduate obsessed with biblical artifacts. An all-knowing orphan worshiped by a cult joins a textbook exemplar of toxic masculinity and an introverted librarian. Together with a retired demon hunter, they’ll face the apocalypse.
My Review
I’m usually not a big fan of urban fantasy, but this one I really liked (which was quite refreshing!). Wild Court is gripping, fast-paced, fun and unique. Samuels is an expert storyteller, and I really liked his personal writing style. It feels like having a conversation with one of your really close friends.
The book is set in London, and I loved the many pop culture references throughout. The characters are certainly one of the things that make this book so special. Ben, our first MC, is a nerdy librarian suffering from high-functioning anxiety, and yet he is sarcastic and funny, and I loved reading his point of view. The book opens with Ben sitting with his friend Jack, a homeless person, who is incredibly smart and witty. I loved this side of Ben, his thinking of the homeless on a daily basis, wanting to help where he can.
Jack leaves Ben with a very cryptic message and an even weirder token – a golden coin that, as it turned out, wasn’t a mere coin at all, but the entrance to a secret underground world that had so far been hidden from Ben – and most of London’s society.
I also liked Ben’s best friend Matt. He reminded me of a funny ‘best friend’s older brother’ type of character, and even though I don’t like swear words in my reads I didn’t mind them from his POV so much – they seemed to just belong to his vocabulary, although they were rather heavily sprinkled throughout (for my taste anyway). He is sarcastic, speaks matter-of-factly and is super funny that way. I loved Ben and Matt’s friendship – contrary to Ben, Matt has outgrown their D&D phase but still likes to read fantasy, even though he seems to stash the books away from people’s eyes (hidden deep under his bed).
The world that opened up before their very eyes one eventful night changes their lives forever, and I think it was particularly well done to get both of the guys’ reactions. When you unexpectantly see with your own eyes that ghosts, demons, monsters really exist, what would you?
What I really liked about this story is that the heroes of this story weren’t superheroes but regular people like you and me. We also get a third perspective in this plot, namely that of archeologist Alice, whose perspective is different and interesting, adding another layer of depth to the story.
The writing is really immersive and once you start the book, you don’t want to stop. Samuels is clearly an expert writer. I loved how Ben and Matt explored the depth of their friendship while having to face the apocalypse and learning that monsters & co are, in fact, very real.
If you are looking for a fun adventure with great friendship and a very unique magical concept you have to read Wild Court!
4.5 stars from me!
Thank you all so much for reading!
xoxo
