Winter Trials by K.S. Marsden

This is the first book in the queer fantasy series Northern Witch following sixteen-year-old Mark, who belongs to a family of powerful witches, as he gets to learn about his family heritage and start to practice magic himself. But, as if learning magic and handling normal school stuff isn’t enough, there is also a new distraction to balance, when a new gorgeous guy suddenly starts in Mark’s school.

This first installment in the series, Winter Trials, was something of an introductory novella and was only about 80 pages long. But it was amazing how K.S. Marsden managed to introduce the world building and magical system, and describe the characters to make you root for them so completely on those few pages!

After his sixteenth birthday, Mark’s grandmother Nanna offers to teach him to practice magic and educate him in their family heritage as powerful witches. Growing up knowing about his family’s abilities, Mark is pretty chill about it all and even tells his closest friends Harry and Sarah. But then the new guy in school, Damien, draws his attention and makes for a dangerous distraction. Especially when one of Mark’ first magical practices makes him discover some of Damien’s darker secrets.

This was such a fun, fast-paced and heart-warming book! I especially loved Mark’s sassy grandmother Nanna and how she made all the magic seem natural. I also loved the fun banter between Mark and his friends, and how supportive they were both of Mark being gay and a witch. The romance part felt a bit rushed, but yet authentic and totally swoon-worthy!

All in all, this was a wonderful start to a new adorable queer YA series full of magic, wonderful friendship and family relations, and I can’t wait to continue with the next installment!
​
Thank you BookSirens for the free review copy! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
4 stars

Get your own copy:
Bookshop.org
Amazon
Book Depository

​Author info:
K.S. Marsden