I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Smoke & Summons by Charlie N. Holmberg Series: Numina Trilogy #1
Published by 47North on February 1 2019
Genres: Young adult, Fantasy
Pages: 332
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: An interesting world with lots of potential, Smoke & Summons was a fast-paced story that would have benefited from more cohesive world-building.
I ended up with mixed feelings about Smoke & Summons, despite a solid beginning, but overall I did enjoy this book. Holmberg has created a fascinating world where humans are used as vessels to call forth demons called “numens,” and I think this idea has a lot of potential. But not all the world-building elements made sense, and I had issues with some of the characters, which led to a lower rating than I would have liked to give this book.
Sandis is a slave to a horrible man named Kazen, where she has been forced into becoming a “vessel” for a demon named Ireth, the fire horse. She lives with the other vessels, hidden away below ground, trying to follow the rules and remain as quiet as possible so as not to anger Kazen in any way. Sandis has become somewhat of a favorite of his, and she wants to keep it that way. But she will never get used to the pain and terror that comes when Kazen summons Ireth into her body, to use her as a weapon against those who have wronged him. She keeps her head down, does what she’s told, and she’s kept fed and clothed and more or less comfortable, even more so than she might be on her own in the city of Dresberg.
But one night, Sandis sees something she isn’t supposed to see. One of the other vessels, a boy named Heath, is possessed by a fierce and powerful numen called Kolosos, and in the process he’s violently killed. Terrified for her life, and certain that Kazen will use her as a vessel for Kolosos next, Sandis manages to escape into the city.
Rone is a thief who does odd jobs for hire and takes care of his mother whenever he can. He’s also the lucky owner of an ancient magical artifact called an amarinth, which gives the bearer one minute of protection against death a day, an artifact that Rone knows is extremely valuable. But when his mother is framed for a stolen Noscon headdress and taken to prison, Rone will do anything to get her back, especially since Rone himself is the one who stole the headdress.
Sandis and Rone meet by chance and decide to help each other. Sandis has discovered that she might have a living relative in the city, someone who can help her hide from Kazen, who is bound to come looking for her. And Rone is trying to find a way to get his mother out of prison. But Kazen and his crew of grafters are on the hunt for Sandis, and they will stop at nothing to get her back.
I want to start with the things I really enjoyed about this book. I love the idea of a city that is built on the abandoned ruins of a city that thrived before another religion destroyed it. The city of Dresberg is a very depressing place, full of hopeless people with very little to their names. Its skies are clogged with pollution from the many factories and there is a great divide between the haves and the have-nots. But there are glimmers of magic, like Rone’s amarinth (which by the way is a pretty cool thing to have!). I really wanted to learn more about the old city, and I’m hoping the author explores that backstory more in the next book.
I also really loved the idea of the numens, powerful entities that can only be called by blood magic, and are controlled with special tattoos that are carved into the vessels. One of the interesting things about Sandis is that she’s able to communicate with Ireth to some extent, an ability that she hides from Kazen since she’s not supposed to be able to do that. I really really wanted more interaction between Sandis and Ireth, and I think expanding on that relationship would have made this story stronger.
But some of the world building just didn’t make sense to me. For example, why is it so easy for Sandis to escape? She literally walks out one night, right under the noses of the guards, who do nothing to stop her. Why has it taken her four years to decide to leave, when clearly she could have left whenever she wanted to? We also learn that a vessel has to be perfect—no piercings, scars, and most importantly, vessels must be virgins. When Sandis and Rone get together, wouldn’t having sex be the easiest way to escape from Kazen, who will no longer be able to use her as a vessel when he finds out? I just couldn’t understand why Sandis didn’t think of that, if she’s determined to get away from Kazen for good. Also, the fact that Sandis and Rone are both supposed to be eighteen puzzled me. This reads like a YA fantasy, and both main characters act like young teenagers, so the age the author assigned them felt off. I think the entire story would have worked better if they’d been a few years younger, which also would have accounted for some of their terrible choices.
As for the characters, I didn’t really like Rone much at all. He’s extremely self-centered, thinks he’s god’s gift to women, and doesn’t seem to have much ambition. At the end of the story, he has to make a terrible choice between two things, and let’s just say he disappointed me by making the wrong one.
But despite my criticisms, I am intrigued enough to check out the next book in the series, Myths & Mortals, which comes out in April. And with that cliffhanger ending, I’m anxious to see where Holmberg takes her story.
Big thanks to the publisher and Wunderkind PR for supplying a review copy.
It sounds a bit mixed, Tammy, but the good bits outweighed the not-as-good. Wonderful review, and I hope you enjoy the next in the series!
Thanks Jennifer, I hope it expands on the parts I enjoyed!
I’ve been a bit on the fence about reading this one, and this mixed review doesn’t help sway me to invest the time in it. I think some of the issues you mentioned (like things happening too easily) would definitely not sit well with me either
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Review: Suspicious Minds (Stranger Things #1) by Gwenda Bond
I’d say read it if you have time, the ideas are pretty cool, I just think the execution needed some work.
ha ha!! when is there ever enough time for all the books? 😀
Lisa @TenaciousReader recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – Maybe, Maybe Not TBR
Ah this be the author who has such great concepts and yet her plots and characters irk me. I wasn’t planning on reading this but it solidifies the opinion that she be not the writer for me. Lovely review.
The Captain recently posted…The Captain’s Log- waypoint kangaroo (Curtis C. Chen)
Oh so you’ve read her before? I know her last series was very popular, but boy, it was tough to find a character I really liked in this story.
I read her book the fifth doll. It was not me thing. One of me best friends talked about the paper magician series. The first mate was so intrigued by her comment that the series was “the fluffiest fluff that ever fluffed” that he read some of it. He said the same. Fun concepts but not so great plots. The link to me review of the fith doll be below.
https://thecaptainsquartersblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/21/on-the-horizon-the-fifth-doll-charlie-n-holmberg/
I’m still on the fence about this one. Might try it if it goes on sale. Such a great idea and cover. Thanks for the great review.
Laura Thomas recently posted…Slime Spewing Vampire Velociraptors & Flying Mutant Zombie Rats ~ Reviews and Giveaway
The cover is really cool, and the next book in the series has a great cover as well:-)
Great review Tammy. I think a lot of the things you liked were also things I enjoyed about the book. I do think a couple of the issues you had were in my mind explained by the characters, like her not escaping earlier–i felt like she hadn’t before because she felt obligated to stay and take care of the others but then after what happened she knew she had to run so she finally did. I also would have liked more between her and Ireth, that would have been cool!
I’ll admit the whole ‘vessel must be a virgin’ thing was a little odd to me. (Part of me wonders about the religious aspect of the book, if there is an angle there the author is coming from…the same with Rone’s character. He hates the church and makes poor choices….coincidence?)
Looking forward to see how things shake out in the next book though.
I did read another review that mentioned the strong religious leanings that sort of come through in the story. I don’t know much about the author so I can’t say, but it definitely had some religious conflict going on, with the occult being illegal.
So I don’t know if it’s the cold medicine I’m on or just an unclear head altogether but I’m gonna have to look at the review again in the future. I grabbed this as my free pick for Amazon first last month and now I’m not sure what I got myself into. That being said, 3 1/2 isn’t bad.
It wasn’t bad at all, but it wasn’t perfect either. I guess the more books I read, the pickier I get.
That’s a shame about the worldbuilding, but I agree that it sounds like it has a lot of potential. Thanks for your thoughtful review!
Suzanne @ The Bookish Libra recently posted…Early Reviews: DARK OF THE WEST & COURTING DARKNESS
I really did like so many elements, and I definitely want to see where the story goes next:-)
I just finished this one and I have to agree with a lot of what you wrote here. I did not like Rone at all! So the reason he gets tangled up with Sandis is because he thought he could get into her pants. The reason his mom lands in jail is because of him. This guy just causes his own problems because he IS the problem, yet he’s too self-centered to realize it! Ugh I seriously wanted to punch him but I guess I should save the ranting for my own review 😛 I didn’t like Sandis much either, so naive and innocent. I never felt much chemistry between them because of the power/knowledge imbalance, so I guess I wasn’t too surprised when Rone made that terrible choice you spoke of. He’s just awful.
Yep, you said it! I didn’t really like any of the characters much, the only one I liked was Rone’s uncle or friend, the one who taught Sandis how to fight. Can’t remember his name!
I don’t think this one is for me – the issues you had with the world building are the type of thing that would just prey on my mind and prevent me from enjoying the read.
Lynn 😀
Hey, there are so many other books out there, I know you’ll find some great ones instead:-)
I was looking forward to you review! Ugh I’m a world reader so I don’t like the fact that the world building didn’t make sense! Yup those are all good questions! Glad you are curious enough to continue with the series. Hope it gets better!
Daniela Ark recently posted…Genre and mind bending, what means to be human and gender identity: Reading Beast News January 2019!
Me too! The sequel comes out in only a few months, so we’ll see:-)
Intriguing review! On one side it feels as if this story was originally meant to be more YA-oriented, then the author changed course midway but did not remove some of the typical YA elements (like the bad choices a more mature individual might not make) producing a somewhat confused, and confusing, narrative. Still, if you feel compelled to know what happens next, it means not everything is lost 😉
Thanks for sharing!
Maddalena@Spaceandsorcery recently posted…Review: THE TYRANT’S LAW (The Dagger and the Coin #3), by Daniel Abraham
I feel like it’s written as more of a crossover, but the characters felt really young to me, there really is a huge difference between 16 and 18, in my opinion.
Great review as always, Tammy! It’s a bummer that the worldbuilding didn’t quite gel because that’s probably my favorite thing about reading. I probably would have similar questions to you, but I am glad that the good mostly outweighed the bad and that you’ll be continuing!
Kaleena @ Reader Voracious recently posted…Required Reading: My Experience
Thanks Kaleena, it’s definitely worth continuing the series, I think.
Hm. Lots to think about with this one — but point taken that there’s enough to keep you hooked for the next one.
Great review. I think I’m definitely going to have to try this one, Tammy. 😉