My Experience with A Cloak of Red by Brenna Gawain

What If Harry Potter and Ginny got expelled from Hogwarts and were forced to join a magical military? New Underrealm author, Brenna Gawain, does something similar to this with A Cloak of Red. And I mean that in the most positive way possible.

After the life-changing events in The Academy Journals trilogy, Theren is a young woman on the run. Promised to a life of servitude to her patron after her time at the Academy for Wizards, she’s desperate to avoid the humiliating life of a court magician. But when she’s caught by the Mystic order, she’s given a way out, and it’s a chance that maybe worst than being reclaimed by her patron: join the Mystic order—the very people who tortured her in the past.

What’s great about this book is the relationship between Theren and Lilith. I love functional relationships in novels. I love dysfunctional relationships too, but those are more common. And Gawain has a fantastic way of writing bright-eyed naivety without making the characters feel stupid or, worse, talking down to the reader.

I personally feel like the plot of this story isn’t as strong as the characters, it still drives along without feeling like the story is dragging. I think it could be an issue of misaligned expectations. Whether I missed the signposts or not, I thought the story was going in one direction, but around the middle of the story, it took a different turn. Still, it gives the sequel a platform for an even grander plot, and that has me excited.

If you’re as deep into Underrealm as I am, this is a must-read. But if you’re simply looking for a starting point for Underrealm, this novel can be that for you as well. You can jump in without any foreknowledge.

And, if you’re an audiobook fan, I actually edited the audiobook for this installment of the series! If you have a few free audible credits and want to support the work I do here, please pick it up!

*Full Disclosure — I work for the publisher, but I wasn't paid to review this book. While this is an honest review, I was involved in the production of the audiobook, and I receive a small royalty for purchases of the audiobook version*