Review: Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

Title: Fawkes

Author: Nadine Brandes

Series: Standalone

Genre: Historical Fiction/Magic/YA

Publisher: Thomas Nelson 

Publication Date: July 10th, 2018

Edition: Kindle Edition, 352 pages

Source: NetGalley

Purchase/Pre-Order: Amazon US | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | BAM

Synopsis:

     Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father’s plot to assassinate the king of England.

     Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.

But what if death finds him first?

     Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did it. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn’t do something soon, he’ll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot—claiming it will put an end to the plague—Thomas is in.

The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.

     The problem: Doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.

     No matter Thomas’s choice, one thing is clear: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there’s no turning back.

Just like to start off by saying, this is one of my favorite covers ever.

I have to admit, I struggled with about 1/3 of this book. Thomas is not exactly the most likable character out there. For a lot of this book, he is really selfish, petty, childish, and a little insufferable. Sure he might have a reason to have that chip on his shoulder, but he acts as if everybody should thank him for his presence just because of his surname. The other reason I struggled with this book is that all I know about Guy Fawkes and the Gun Powder Plot is from V for Vendetta and the poem. Beyond that nada. 

At around 60% or so things really picked up and I flew through the rest of the book, Thomas was still kind of annoying, but at this point, I was already invested in the book. The magical aspect added to this historical event was never gimmicky, it flowed nicely, and after learning more about how it works also became a really interesting type of magic.