Review: The Necromancer’s Prison by Alec Whitesell and Craig Bonacorsi

*We received this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Emily Murphy thought the worst thing that would happen to her that day was being late to her college entrance exam. She never expected the exam to get interrupted by a kidnapping of her classmate and the killing of her teacher by mysterious cloaked people. Emily runs toward the danger, determined to save her classmate, Quinn.

Despite getting hurt, Emily is ready to go after whatever took Quinn away. Most students run to protection, but Mason, who has a crush on Emily, goes with her. The two stumble upon a stone cave and find a door in it. Thinking that it could be the only place the captors went, the two open the door and immediately fall into a different universe.  

The creatures almost look like humans, except their skin is translucent and many different colors. Quickly, Emily and Mason realize that these people and Quinn’s captors are aliens. The two are thrown into a world of Tyen, another a planet, where they meet a tynah named Kas who will hopefully help them.

While Emily and Mason try to figure out this new, mysterious world, Quinn sits in a prison cell. She’s not alone. Another girl is with her and the hooded people attach the strange girl to a machine. A bright light flashes and the machine screeches. The girl drops dead and when she does, Quinn discovers the girl’s name and the reason the two of them are linked.

Emily, Mason and Kas go on their dangerous mission, while Quinn tries to stay alive. The group ends up reunited, but faces a different challenge when they are captured by a ruler. The group befriends the ruler’s daughter in hopes to make it home alive, while avoiding the cloaked people. But getting back through the tunnel is more difficult than Emily, Mason and Quinn thought.

The group learns the truth about magic and why the cloaked people are really interested in Emily, not Quinn. The reason is the Necromancer, a God like figure who has been trapped for 15 years. His and Emily’s paths are intertwined. The cloaked people believe Emily is the answer to bring back the Necromancer. Only, if that were to happen, it would mean war.

The Necromancer’s Prison was non-stop action and character driven. We enjoyed how Quinn grew as a person, becoming less stuck up. Also, Emily became less judgmental, realizing Mason was more than just a jock. Mason was easy to like from the beginning. He put everyone else first, no matter the danger it put him in. 

This book was full of surprises. The ending caught us entirely off guard. We don’t want to spoil it, but trust us, it is hard to predict Emily’s journey. Christy gasped when she realized the predicament the group had gotten themselves in. Be careful who you trust! The epilogue gave us enough information to predict a bit of what would happen next. Still, we have no idea how this series will end. 

One problem we had with the story was the introduction to so many names and cities in the alien word. They were introduced quickly and became a bit confusing. Also, we were hoping for a bit more romance between Mason and Emily. We appreciate a good slow-burn romantic story. Yet, there could have been a tad more flirting mixed in between the violence. 

Overall, this book is a fun adventure with magic. We’re excited to see what Whitesell and Bonacorsi have in store for us in the next book. We’re rooting for Emily and Mason!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐