Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

Title: The Iron Trial
Author: Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Series: Magisterium #1
Pages: 295
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Summary: From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare comes a riveting new series that defies what you think you know about the world of magic. From two bestselling superstars, a dazzling and magical middle-grade collaboration centering on the students of the Magisterium, an academy for those with a propensity toward magic. In this first book, a new student comes to the Magisterium against his will -- is it because he is destined to be a powerful magician, or is the truth more twisted than that? It's a journey that will thrill you, surprise you, and make you wonder about the clear-cut distinction usually made between good and evil.
Review: I received an ARC copy of this book at BEA 2014 and it was one of the books I got that I was most excited for. The Iron Trial is technically a middle grade novel but it read like people of any age would enjoy it. The Iron Trial did not disappoint, I fell in love with this world and the characters. The pacing was perfect and there was just enough action and mystery to keep me interested. I flew through this novel in a few short hours and was left craving the next in the series, sadly The Iron Trial has just been released so i may be waiting awhile.  I love these characters! Poor Callum, he will have some tough decisions to make in the future and I can't wait to find out what he decides. He is a pretty awesome character. I also really enjoy Aaron and Tamara. They seem to all have secrets and I can't wait to find them out haha. Plus with that ending I need to know what will happen to our hero. I would recommend this novel to fantasy lovers.

About this author

Holly Black is a best-selling author of contemporary fantasy novels for kids, teens, and adults. She is the author of the Modern Faerie Tale series (Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside), The Spiderwick Chronicles (with Tony DiTerlizzi), and The Good Neighbors graphic novels (with Ted Naifeh) The Poison Eaters and Other Stories, a collection of short fiction, and The Curse Worker series (White Cat, Red Glove, and Black Heart). She is also the co-editor of three anthologies, Geektastic (with Cecil Castellucci), Zombies vs. Unicorns (with Justine Larbalestier), and Welcome to Bordertown (with Ellen Kushner). Her most recent works are the middle grade novel, Doll Bones, and the dark fantasy stand-alone, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.

About this author

Hello Goodreadsers. Here's my official bio: "Cassandra Clare was born overseas and spent her early years traveling around the world with her family and several trunks of fantasy books. Cassandra worked for several years as an entertainment journalist for the Hollywood Reporter before turning her attention to fiction. She is the author of City of Bones, the first book in the Mortal Instruments trilogy and a New York Times bestseller. Cassandra lives with her fiance and their two cats in Massachusetts."