Started out well, and I thought it was going to be both well-edited and fairly original. Sadly, in the end it was neither. Enjoyable enough, but not quite worthy of four stars (I did originally err on the side of generosity, but decided on reflection to give it three). Firstly, it's based much too closely on Harry Potter, up to and including points for an end-of-year prize and childish bickering (if anything, the HP kids are more mature than these characters - "mature YA" in the blurb apparently...

A fun read and a good start of a promising story. I do have my gripe with this one but they are more than balanced out by the good points. All the 'going forward' happening - everything does it, even the dreamcatcher. I didn't notice them going backward or sideways a lot, did we need to specifically note that they were going forward a lot?It's a good thing I'm an HP fan and am not irritated by parallels happening. Actually, some stuff is an improvement on the HP line.More to follow.Good stuff:Q:...

Harley Merlin and the Secret CovenBy: Bella ForrestNarrated by: Amanda RonconiTerrific read about magic, coven for mystics, creatures, a mystery, touch of romance, action, good characters and plot, and what makes a family. An orphan has some powers and is noticed by a warlock. Invited to a coven and given a month to decide to stay or not. This story takes place in just over a week and there is a lot!The narration was great!

An older, female Harry PotterSeveral other reviewers, as well as the book’s description, have compared Harley Merlin to Harry Potter, and the comparisons are apt—a magical society/school that humans are unaware of; bureaucratic elements; forces of evil; an orphaned main character with an opaque family history. But Bella Forrest has created her own magical world, filled with delightful characters and rules that I found great fun to explore. I look forward to reading more books in this series!

That's a couple of hours I'm never getting back. Started out nicely but went downhill faster than a rollercoaster ride. DNF and won't bother. "The next Harry Potter" my arse. Thank u, next.

An interesting new world of witchcraft and wizardry! This book has a bit of a nostalgic feel for the fans of Harry Potter, in that there are secret institutions of magical people hidden in enchanted pockets of the world. It is much more mature and dark than any children's books, though.One thing Bella Forrest is the Queen, Grand Master, and Ultimate Ruler of is creating a full cast of characters who band together and exhibit the true definition of friendship, love and loyalty. Already, we can se...

All the reviews called this the girl version of Harry Potter. This was nothing like Harry Potter. It felt nothing like it. However, I knew going into it that it wasn't going to be, so I didn't have those expectations. Besides the extreme lie in advertising, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I decided to read this book because I love Bella Forrest's other series (you know, the guilty pleasure vampire one ;) ) But this one felt very different. It felt more YA and more mature. I haven't read Forrest'...

Thank you, next!Characters act like they are 12 years old, I can’t even finish this book. Yes, it’s that annoying! DNF @ 42%

What I liked:Wade - one of the main characters, I could connect with him as a person easily enough and liked him. Storyline and Plot - I liked the overall arc, despite the slight "chosen one" feeling it gave. Pace - Perfect.What I didn't like:The Writing Style - After about 50% into the book it stopped bothering me because the plot was engaging but it seriously bothered me until then. It's clumsy and lazy. Sometimes the writer would preempt something that the book might be critiqued upon, case i...

I am, by all measures, an adult. I also happen to like YA fiction.This book is not Harry Potter. It is not even close to Harry Potter. The language and vocabulary sounds like a frustrated 8th grader wrote it. It has a trope on every page. Most 30 year olds do not have "Did not!-Did too!" arguments. To have this occur in the world the author has created is jarring at best and laughable at worst.Stick to the in-flight magazine, and don't bother with this book.

Just no...This book seemed like it was going to be awesome and the high ratings made me believe I had picked a winner. I was wrong. I didn’t like it, but I’m not sure if it’s because of my idiosyncrasies,rather than the author’s writing style, the plot or the characters that tanked this for me. Let me explain. The book moves really slow (at least to me). More so in the first part of the book. I expected more action, less talk. I’m not sure I really like or want to root for Harley or Wade for tha...

2.75 Silver StarsI wanted to read about a magic school with a heroine, in modern world (our world) so I decided it's time for this one. (& it also gave me Linsey Hall's long continued series (many books!) vibes, with heroine & Magic & School setting, which I haven't read yet (so I don't really know if they have same vibes! but I'll let you know when I'll read them), but I'd like to)I liked it, in an ordinary sort of way, good for passing time, no possibility of reread.(the cover is beautiful tho...

While the overall storyline is entertaining enough, I felt like I was reading something written by a high schooler. I am always skeptical of authors that churn out too many books too soon, it’s often an indicator of sloppy work and poor development. For a book about an empath, the range of emotions expressed was limited. The author seems to be in desperate need of a thesaurus (i.e. too many chuckles and smirks). There are also grammatical errors and odd phrasing throughout, for example the cover...

Reading this one was wow!Very different from other magic books that I've read. I just love the world that was created by Bella. Can't wait to read.

Harley Merlin and the Secret Coven. Where do I start? I picked it up in the first place because I heard it compares favorably to Harry Potter. It is an entertaining story and it does indeed remind me of Harry Potter. And Harley is 19 when we meet her, which is nice in that it makes me feel less like I’m reading a children’s book.I’m not sold on it, though. The biggest issue for me is that the book reads not like an inspired fan’s attempt to create a new magical world, but like a calculated attem...

A disappointment. 🤨 the 📖 begins well enough but as it progressed it suffered from slow pacing & uninteresting characters. 1 Subpar Star DNF 25%

I got to 30% and had a suspicion. The setup seemed kind of fragile with lots of titanic forces in stress, not least having the coven sanctuary sitting on a powder keg. And I figured that either Forrest is unaware of her own setup or things were going to explode and that was integral to the plot. Which twigged me onto a feeling I had that I was reading outside of the genre I expected (UF with YA flavor). So I explored a bit. Okay, I read the cover copy of later books in the series. And found that...

I read this book as it had been compared to Harry Potter in reviews. I grew up with Harry Potter and those books have shaped my childhood. While the Harley Merlin series was an enjoyable, quick read, it has nothing on Harry Potter. I found that the author focused on the outer appearance and as with almost all teen novels nowadays they could all be found on runways in real life and the main character has two gorgeous guys vying for her attention. Instead of carving out characters that are not car...

I usually don’t write reviews, but I really didn’t like this book.This book doesn’t have anything to do with the next Harry Potter, as it is advertised, but definitely “borrows” one too many concepts and ideas from Harry Potter and is incredibly predictable.- The orphan that does not know that she belong a to a magical world - Magic school / coven to learn about this new exciting world - The beast master / Hagrid character - The hagrid character being convicted even though he was innocent - The

I did like the premise of this story- we have Harley, a orphan who has Magical powers of her own, but has never meet anyone like her- until a chance encounter with a warlock and a gargoyle make her realize she’s not as alone as she thought. So like I said interesting premise, but it was another ‘speshul girl’ story where Harley is not only Elemental ( can control all of the elements) but telekinetic as well as an empathetic. So yeah really rare- but oh no, her power isn’t what everyone hoped, a...