Review – The Bronze Key (Magisterium, Book 3) by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 256 pages
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Release Date: August 30, 2016
ISBN-13: 978-0545522311
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Magisterium series
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Students at the Magisterium are supposed to be safe. Under the watchful eyes of the mages, they are taught to use magic to bring order to a chaotic world.

But now the chaos is fighting back. Call, Tamara, and Aaron should be worrying about things like pop quizzes and magic contests. Instead, after the shocking death of one of their classmates, they must track down a sinister killer… and risk their own lives in the process.

As Call, Tamara, and Aaron discover, magic can only be as good as the person who wields it. In evil hands, it has the capacity to do immeasurable harm, unless it is stopped in time.

In this striking third book of Magisterium, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare present us with a school where anything, good or evil, can happen, and the only way to unlock the truth is to risk everything to find it.”

This is the third book in the Magisterium series which is planned to have five books in it. This was an excellent continuation of the Magisterium series, I really enjoyed this book a lot. This has been a well done middle grade fantasy series which both me and my 9 year old son enjoy.

We see a lot more of Call and Aaron wielding their Makar talents in this book and learn a lot more about Chaos magic. Call isn’t questioning his evilness quite as much but is still struggling with the idea that he is the soul of an evil mage reborn.

Much of the story is focused on Call, Aaron, and Tamara trying to track down a spy in the school…a spy who may also be a murderer. Some interesting secrets are revealed about Call’s past and Aaron is struggling with what it means to be a Makar.

Overall this is a quick and fun read and I enjoyed it a lot. These characters are fun and engaging and the story takes some unexpected turns throughout. I think fans of middle grade fantasy will enjoy this series a lot. I love the elemental magic in it and how well the writing flows. I am looking forward to see what happens in book four.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge