Secrets of Isoria – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Avatar meets House of Anubis meets Percy Jackson in this exciting new YA contemporary fantasy series by debut author Cristina Macari. I LOVE this book! I read it one sitting and need the next book immediately!

Our protagonist is sixteen-year-old Orion Candor who, at the start of the story, is sent to live with an estranged family friend in her late grandmother’s house. Orion has lived a pretty normal life up until this point… except for the occasional, strange powers she keeps hidden that she calls her “wavelengths.” They allow her to sometimes feel and manipulate the wind around her.

Instead of sending her to regular high school, her new guardian Banden whisks Orion to the magical island of Isoria. In this land hidden within our modern world, Orion learns that she comes from a long line of sorcerers. Here, she is introduced to the Isorian magic system based on the four elements: Air, Water, Earth, and Fire.

Incredible world-building

Isoria is a land of sorcerers, enchanters, kings, royal guards, and secret spy organizations. Cristina has put a lot of thought into this amazing new world, and it’s a truly immersive experience. Through Orion, we get to learn more about the history of Isoria and how magic plays a role in the life of sorcerers like herself. Students and teachers at Isoria Academy come from all around the world to learn and train. There are also other hidden schools – which I can’t wait to learn more about in future books.

I thought I had outgrown young adult books about magic schools, but by the end of Secrets of Isoria, I fully wanted to enroll in Isoria Academy. The elemental magic system is so cool! The way that the individual element affinities are divided, as well as how they’re used in battle as weapons. While the magic reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender, a show I love, I especially liked the added aspect of choice. Sorcerers are initially trained in every element and are evaluated at the end of training with the Isorian Element Performance Evaluation (IEPE). The IEPE determines the elements for which a sorcerer shows greatest affinity. But ultimately, students choose the element they’d like to specialize in.

And if you read the book and love the elemental magic system as much as I did, you can visit Cristina Macari’s website and take your own IEPE to find out your magic affinity! (I got Aermage :D)

Spies and secrets

A huge part of what makes a good fantasy for me is well-written suspense, and this book absolutely delivers! The story is fast-paced, and there are so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming (like that last chapter! And that cliffhanger!)

While Orion’s magic training takes up a great deal of this book, the rest of her time is spent being initiated into MISTIC, a secret spy organization to which both Banden and her late grandmother Corinne belong. MISTIC seeks to protect Isoria by gathering intelligence against Isoria’s most feared sorcerer – Cyril Obsidian. The problem is that there is dissent (and potential traitors!) within the organization, and Orion isn’t sure who she can trust. It seems everyone has a different side to the story and a different reason for their actions. It’s hard to be sure who the bad guys are and who’s on her side. She has to rely on her instincts and the clues left behind by her grandmother to uncover secrets that could save Isoria.

“This world was a game, and I had to play not to win but to survive.”

–Orion, p. 195

Speaking of clues, the coded letters Orion and her friends discover in her grandmother’s house got me so excited! I was squealing when she accidentally opened the secret door. The scenes of her gang searching for clues in an old house and using portals to sneak into the library after hours for more leads – it all reminded me of the TV show House of Anubis. In the best way. By the end of this book, I feel like a lot of questions were answered, but now I also have so many more!

A sassy heroine

Orion narrates the story in first-person, and I loved being in her head. Her dry humor and hilarious remarks about the new world she’s been thrust into are super entertaining. She is a teenage heroine with extraordinary powers she still doesn’t know how to fully control. Her insecurities and fears for her loved ones often spill over into a sassy attitude, one that reminds me a lot of Percy Jackson’s. Here are some of my favorite Orion quotes:

“He was right. My ass was most likely going to get kicked.”

“You are not– dying– because– of a stupid– plant!”

“This was going to be harder than I thought. Flirting was not on my list of ‘know-hows.'”

“Had I been an experienced Aermage, I would have electrocuted him to ashes.”

Fiercely loyal, sarcastic, unsure of her place in the world – Orion is an adorably likable heroine whose journey I cannot wait to read more about.

Read Secrets of Isoria if you enjoy:

• Elemental powers 🌊 🔥 🌳 🌪
• Magic schools 🪄
• Mystery and adventure ✨
• Heroines with a sense of humor 👀
• Exploring a new world 🧭
• Enemies-to-lovers romance 🖤
• And plenty of secrets, twists, and betrayal! 🐍