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Hey ladies and gents!
I hope you’re excited to dive back in today’s chapters after an accidental cliff hanger yesterday!
I love how so many of you were suspicious of Aurora and even think she is behind the poison! That did not even occur to me, but you guys might be absolutely right! I suppose we will have to wait and see!
Today we’re reading chapters 12-17! Shall we?
Please be warned, the following will include spoilers for chapters 1-17 of Nocturna by Maya Motayne. Read only if you’ve finished those chapters!
-!SPOILERS!-
So we left off with Alfie finding Finn sneaking about in her invisibility cloak (still salty she did not leave!). He finds her and freezes her. Man I love their dialogue.
“I wonder if “I came through a pig” is a slang” <— (haha I bet she wishes it would be too)
“Aren’t you supposed to be forgiving and obliging to maidens?”
“You punched me in the face with a stone fist”
“I repeat, forgiving and obliging to ladies.”Â
??
He makes a deal with her that if on occasion she changes him into someone else she can…Â hemhem… borrow the cloak. At this point I’m wondering if he understands he is speaking to a thief. Because I don’t think I’d be seeing an item again if I have lent it to a thief. You know what I mean? Oh Alfie, so trusting.
And then Luka stumbles in, remember he drank the poisoned drink, he collapses and Alfie tries to save him. He has to go into this other realm of magic and none of the normal magic shades is helping him so after some understandable hesitation (I’m thankful for those moments of hesitation, as it shows the character is aware!) he makes a deal with this trapped dark magic in order to save Luka. Love how one of the rings was Palomas too. Will see what happens now! Could this magic be Nocturna! What do you think? Or maybe Nocturna is something that happens after?
Our two characters are bonded with a mutual goal – find the bloody shadow that’s been killing people left and right in search for a host. And boy, did it find a host! Have you figured out who it is?
They find the little boys’ ashes. It must feel excruciating knowing that this is the consequence for choosing life for your friend. Who is Alfie to decide who lives and who dies. But can we blame him for the decision he has made when his friend was in danger? What would you do, truthfully, in that situation? Without knowing too much about what the magic is capable of. Let us know below!
They hide under the invisibility cloak from Paloma which is somehow funny. Like a pair of naughty kids who were sneaking about when their mother showed up.Â
Paloma has this mirror that allows her to speak with a person who has the other half, useful since I assume mobile phones were not a thing yet 🙂 She speaks to another lady who was part of trapping the dark magic and they reveal to our characters hiding behind a bookshelf that there is a body of a god who’s guarded still, that the magic is seeking. They decide to track the magic using the ash of a boy (yikes), Alfie is understandably scared Finn will be outta there once he explains what is happening, but thankfully this is a reckless fearless girl and she’s all in!Â
Oooooh big yikes! The pub scene is not for the faint hearted! Me after entering that place:
Alfie kills a man possessed by magic (a man still? Maybe not?) when the guy is strangling Finn. Then he shifts his propio to black and managed to trap it in his little necklace. They say they’re done. Aw that’s sweet of them to think that.
We leave today with the prince being pulled back by a mysterious force! Who/what do you think that is?
That’s the end of day 3! Hope you’re enjoying the book, things are getting serious!
Yours,
G
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I love how the magic is discribed in colors. I’m curious about that silver one though. I’m still kind of drawn back to the arms statue in the vault. Absolutely loving this tale.
Me Too! I think the arms statue has something to do with Sombra. When poloma was talking to the woman in the mirror, the lady asked if she still has her pieces. So I’m thinking that all kingdoms have a piece of the statue, and that the dark magic has to get the body he’s hosting to find the pieces and put them together to bring back Sombra. That’s my take on it so far.
That’s a really good theory!
Thanks! I’m not usually good with theories but this one seemed probable with the story so far
Omg this was so intense!! I love action in books and was literally living for today’s chapters!!! Can’t wait until tomorrow for more action!
This story is getting more and more interesting! ? That moment with Luka almost dying and Alfie freeing the dark magic was so intense ? poor Alfie, he didn’t know what he let out to the world, poor boy with an earing ? that moment I realized this book is not kidding around. I hope they will be able to somehow beat this dark magic.
My heart can’t handle so much danger and intensity!! These chapters were packed and fast paced!! The dark magic thing looks creepy. Alfie was able to undo the seal BY HIMSELF. What does this tell us about his propio? Is his propio so powerful it can undo a bruxo and dueño seal? Thinking maybe his propio is descended from Luz. His propio is very strange and he is the only one so far that can see other propios.
I am thinking if Finn’s propio is connected to Sombra. Interesting that the dark magic said Finn was almost entirely dark and its why he didn’t use her as a host. Is this because of her character and how dark she was trained to be to survive Ignacio? Or does he mean her magic? Is her magic from dark origins? Maybe her magic and Alfie’s are total opposites and counter each other.
Cant wait for tomorrow!!
Omg I am living for these hypotheses. Hoping they’re right because that would be so cool!! ?
I was wondering about that as well, because after he says she’s too dark, he later says they (Finn and Alfie) are too light.??‍♀️
I LOVED that quote at the beginning of this post too! PERFECT! The magic realm is super interesting, and DUH Alfie the locked chamber is darkness it’s probably the evil god! Who is the darkness’s master I wonder? Hmmm. Obviously the host is her “father” :/ was not expecting quite as much blood and gore but excited to see how more action unfolds in the upcoming chapters!
So Luka is dying and of course Alfie is willing to do what he can to save he’s life. I wanted to scream at him to not release the dark magic. It’s completely black, how could he think that it was a good idea to free it? But fine, Luka is alive but now the black magic is out there and we now know it’s a dark gods magic. The scen in the tavern is terrifying, the blood is everywhere and of course Kol isn’t there. We didn’t get that lucky. And the end … I felt that it was to easy to trap the dark magic and it turns out that it was. I wish Alfie could just go to Paloma and admit his mistake, she know more about it and she could help. But i’m pretty sure he won’t. Excited to see what will happen now.
Ok so I’m pretty sure the guy the dark magic is in is ignatio. It would make it so much more complicated for finn then. Also when is she going to get her magic back!? I feel so bad for her without it!
I love that shes very reckless and acts like she doesnt care while stuff still obviously bothers her.
Also Alfie is gonna be seriously pissed when he finds out she could have just chucked the bottle and they wouldn’t have had to go through this stuff
But I’m living those guys together, their dynamic is so much fun!
Oeh I like this theorie! It would make this very intresting!
I also think that the host is Ignacio and oh boy, this is so much worse than we can even think. His propio being that of cumpulsion makes everything so much harder.
I didn’t expect so much gore in this book, but it makes it exciting, and the reactions are so realistic! I would have noped and left poor Alfie behind.
I think that maybe Finn will be possessed with this dark magic because Ignacio will force her to be a willing host with his propio, and Alfie will remind her that there is always light in the darkest places , like the fable says. It’s just a hunch.
Oh, Alfie. What have you unleashed on this poor, unsuspecting world!? ?
The magic he released was clearly pure evil. I mean, I know he was worried that his friend was dying, but maybe he could have called for a doctor, or a mage, or his parents, or someone!
Instead he releases this super duper evil. No, Alfie. That’s a bad prince!
He should probably just tell someone at this point. I know he’s going to get into a lot of trouble, but why does he think he has to handle everything himself?
I did think it was a little too convenient that the magic decided not to enter Finn or Alfie’s body though. I didn’t stop it trying on several other people in the palace, but it happy left these two alone? ?
So, Luka drank the poison meant for Alfie and nearly died! That means, even though we’re running around trying to stop this evil magic thing, there’s still someone in the castle with a death wish for royals! First Dez, then Alfie. Someone clearly has major plans for the throne. I think Alfie pretty much forgets how much is going on in his chase of this evil entity thing.
I’ve got to admit I’m getting excited for a truly marvellous villain reveal here. Sombra better live up to all this hype. I can hardly wait! ?
That scene at the bar was a lot more detailed than I’ve come to expect in YA books. I loved it. I used to be a big horror reader and that scene really reminded me why I loved them. So dark and unexpected! ?
YAS! Now it’s getting dark and twisted. I love it! Oeh is Alfie getting hit by the dark magic?
I do feel Finn is a Gryffindor and Alfie a Hufflepuf and that’s why everything goes to shit.
They def need some Ravenclaw brains to fix it all ?
I like Finn her sass. She reminds me a bit of Laila Bard from ADSAM. WHICH ME ALL KNOW AND LOVE, RIGHT G? ???
Excited for tomorrows chapters! Def enjoying it way more now! ?
Turns out many characters in this story choose to do things I wish they didn’t. Guess if it wasn’t for their desicions we wouln’t have a story.
I really like the magic system and the villan is getting very intresting as well.
Hope everyone has a good time reading ???
Very intense today! The entire time Alfie was spending with the dark magic all I could think is his favorite story is about this exact thing why can’t he remember it!!!! I think it would have been cool if he did realize the connection and still went through with it to save Luca. Also it’s totally Ignacio that is the big villain right now. Finn said the darkness that came out of the guys in the bar was smaller then the original so it was pretty clear the seal wouldn’t fix everything. I’m so excited to see the fight that happens between Finn and Ignacio! I think the people trying to kill the princes might be more nobles. Also I think the reason Alfie didn’t have a future is because he was missing Finn and their futures are too closely tied to read separately. Dex’s future that his legacy would be everlasting or something like that totally makes sense since he died young and all of the country remembers him fondly. Overall very good story can’t wait for some upcoming villain fights!
Aaaaah…finaaaally !! All I could think about today at work is what’s going to happen next and how will Alfie react to Finn stealing the invisibility cloak…
I really enjoy every second of the interaction between Alfie and Finn, the level of sass and the way they assess each other …its so much fun to read ? I’m pretty sure Alfie is attracted to Finn and the way she handles herself..there are definitely sparks flying between them ( or I’m still caught in the recent fairytales I’ve read and see sparks everywhere lol *blush*blush*)
Don’t really like the fact that Alfie is really credulous and easy to trick..I mean who makes a deal with a thief?! And how he helps the darkness escape that very powerful prison made by a few different bruxo and dueño? He must’ve notice something was wrong there.. even though with Luka’s life on the line and the memories of losing his brother in the same room flooded in his head..probably didn’t care about anything else but saving Luka. (That scene broke my heart..poor Alfie ?)
About him breaking that prison..his proposal seems really powerful and rare, and like someone else said in the comments it might be connected to the God of light…and the darkness in Finn somehow related to Sombra…ying and yang..the begging of magic when light and darkness United to make 1…and how Alfie is missing a piece and that’s why they couldn’t read his future..can Finn be Alfie’s missing piece? ❤
Also, Paloma’s magic was one of the rings, and she’s talking to someone about Sombra and some statue ..she seems a lot more important than I thought can’t wait for her role in this story.
Loooove this book so much…don’t know how long I can stop myself at the chapters for the day…I feel like next time I just wont put it down? so good?
So much going on today, poor Alfie and his impossible choice! Clearly magic that dark was going to be bad, but the thought of losing Luka must have just as bad for him.
I’m hoping we get to see more of the five kingdoms (did they say five?). The legend says Sombre was turned to stone and Paloma and Svana talked about pieces, could the broken statue in the vault be pieces of Sombre? Then the dark magic would need to travel to the other kingdoms to collect all the piece to reassemble its master.
And if Sombre comes back will we get to see the God of Light too? I’m wondering if that’s who the particularly tricky silver ring of magic belonged to.
It’ll be interesting to see how Finn reacts to seeing Ignacio. Before and after she realises he’s been possessed by the dark magic. It’s going to be emotional!
Alfie will have a lot on his plate trying to capture the dark magic and hunt for a poisoner in his palace when they do come back to that.
Can’t wait to read tomorrow’s chapters!
I definitely think that the person who slammed Alfie against the door is the man currently being controlled by the majority of the black magic; and that person would be Ignacio! (Although I kind of hope it isn’t, just seems a little too tidy to pick Finn’s counterpart). Anywho if I’m right, then Finn is about to go through some sh*t!
As for the part about whether we would do the same to save our friend, I’d like to think I’d find another way before having to choose that darkness; it seemed like a bad omen to break his magic teacher’s magical barrier on it, since she is definitely wiser about magic than Alfie.
Ugh, I was really enjoying this book and then something happened. Yesterday I went to add this as currently reading on Goodreads. While on the books page I saw a review that said this is a rip off of ADSOM and I was so against it. Just because this book has elemental magic and a major character that uses magic to travel doesn’t make it a rip off. Then I read today’s chapters. I just couldn’t stop seeing the similarities and it really started to bother me and really ruined how I was feeling about the book. There were just so many similarities in this small section alone! Alfie using dark magic to save Luka (not a blood brother but they treat each other as brothers). The entire use of the dark magic feels like a massive rip off. It’s evil, it destroys “unworthy” hosts, killing them. The host it eventually finds (who I definitely think is Ignatio) is even described as having green eyes. Holland, the first host in ADSOM had a green eye along with his black Antari eye. I really don’t know how to get all this out of my head. I was really enjoying the book until I started seeing all the similarities.
This keeps getting better! And I know there’s more important things going on but the part where they’re in Paloma’s room and they can’t find the cloak really cracked me up?? And yes I think the host is Ignacio ? I also found it cute how they thought they had solved the problem that easy ??‍♀️
I truly enjoyed the part where Alfie killed the man to save Finn! The part at the end of the chapter I’m not sure what’s going to happen but I think it might be Ignacio with the darkness… ??
Can’t wait to see what happens next! ?
I think the magic system is suuuuper cool and unique, I love that once they use the magic, they sort of return it. Kind of like a magical bank or magic-borrowing system. IM INTO IT ? I’m very intrigued by that silver ring around the darkness, and also loving that the story seems to be getting darker ? I’m also loving that we have an anxious prince on our hands. It’s kind of refreshing hearing about his hands shaking and stomach in knots, while also doing what he has to do. “He didn’t try to mask the fear that racked his body. Let at least one person know that fear would not stop him.” ??
I really love how dark this book is already ?
However, I wish Alfie wasn’t so naive. After all his studying, and his travels, and the prospect of becoming king… Surely he should know better than break open a magical prison that was created by so many powerful people, including his own mentor.
And he shouldn’t feel so bad for killing that man in the pub, because honestly how much of the actual man was left anyway once the dark magic had entered the body? Especially with the mention of ribs breaking and such, I kind of assumed that the original person was already dead and the body was just being used as a puppet by the magic.
I hope the next few chapters will have Alfie finally getting some sense and calling in the help of Paloma. I’m not looking forward to discovering a dark magic fuelled Ignacio though :O He seemed bad enough on its own, but now combined with the worst magic in the world? Nope nope nope. Poor Finn.
I have to admit that I was disappointed after the first couple of days. Everyone seemed to love this book so much and I was just not connecting with it.
Wow have things changed! I’m loving it now and I can’t wait to see what happens next!
I’m pretty sure the the host of the dark magic is Ignacio which does not bode well for our main characters. I’m sure he is eventually going to use his compulsion propio on Finn and we are going to be very unhappy with the results.
I’m also pretty sure that the “statue” in the vault is Sombre , well a couple of pieces of him anyway, and that the host will have to collect all of the pieces to bring Sombre back. I can’t help but think “hey dummies, why didn’t you ground him to dust and spread the dust on the winds?” But, alas, then we wouldn’t have a story….
Really love that book so far and I think the force is from the host. And now that I think about it, this mysterious host may be Finn’s “father” because he want to kill a girl and I can feel it’s Finn. Don’t know why though. Ignacio is a psychopath anyway
Oh man were these chapters intense!! I have a couple of theories from these chapters…
1. The man in the grey cloak that the magic found is Ignacio from Finn’s past.
2. The arms that Finn saw in the vault are a piece of the God, Sombra, that has been divided into pieces. Something creepy about those things…
So I’m really happy Luka is alive but oh no, Alfie brought about the end of the world by doing so. I am loving his character at the moment, the fear, the doubt, the shouldering of responsibility (him mourning the boy with the earring was so sweet), and his relationship with Finn is delightful.
Finn is growing on me as well. I like how her character has been developing as the story moves forward and how she joins in with Alfie’s quest simply because she doesn’t want the end of the world. I love it when characters use logic like that.
The magic continues to be awesome and terrifying, I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Well that got really dark and dire (not complaining). Can’t help but shake my head at Alfie’s naivety. Would he have made such a stupid, dangerous decision to unleash the evil thing if he wasn’t already grieving over his brother? Would Luka want to be saved at such a high cost? Also screaming at Alfie when he chose not to seek help from Paloma…. Loving the banter & how opposite but complementary Alfie & Finn are. Loving how fast paced the story is, definitely not bored. Also enjoying how dark and dire it all is. Cannot wait to see how they fix the whole big bad evil entity on the loose problem.