Fading Into Magic

Fading Into Magic #1

by Vone Savan

After entering a mysterious tent at the annual Augury Carnival where the words: Come Inside and Discover Your Fortune are persuasively written, seventeen-year-old, Madeline Morgan and her best friend, Dara, come face to face with Madame Anca, an ominous fortune teller who portends the girls' futures. For Dara, the experience is superficial. But for Madeline, things are different. Her fortune promises that she will soon find true love. Spurred by Madame Anca's enticing prediction and a coincidental attraction to an elusive new stranger, Madeline starts to believe that true love might actually exist. But love-like most things-isn't always what it seems...and for Madeline, this discovery takes her on a dark and mystical journey that forces her to deal with the illusions of love and her own inner strength.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Magic

276 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 2011

About the author

Vone Savan is a fan of all fiction. Fading Into Magic, the first in a Middle Grade fantasy series was released on October 25th. Soul in Love, a dark paranormal romance, was his debut novel. In his spare time, he enjoys watching Hayao Miyazaki films, playing vintage Final Fantasy video games, and reading on his Kindle Fire.

Reviews

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thanks to Mr. Savan for providing me with a signed ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like Fading Into Magic. I was looking forward to seeing the theme of fate explored, as well as the concept of fantasy fleshed out. However, my expectations were not met.

The writing in this book was simple - there was too much telling and not enough showing. The main character, Madeline, often described how she was feeling but not in a believable way. Sort of like if I were to have a horrible day and only say "this day made me sad. I felt angry because of my math test. When my boyfriend kissed me, I felt disappointed." The prose felt lifeless and did not pull me into the story or into the characters.

I couldn't connect to any of the characters either. I hate to admit how cheesy the romance was - after two dates Maddy and Stefan are already confessing their true love for one another - and how static the background characters were. Sure, Dara had a little spark, but the depth of her relationship with Maddy was never developed beyond just being best friends since Elementary school.

The story reeked of Twilight similarities. Some hot guy comes to the shy and innocent girl's school, they hook up, guy actually has a dark and terrifying secret, the girl accepts it, then there's one final showdown with the bad guys of the book. heck, I predicted that her dad would be kidnapped from the middle of the book. There wasn't much conflict in the book and when there was it was resolved too effortlessly. Also, the magic didn't amaze me like I assumed it would - simply saying spells and having their effects simply acted out didn't appeal to me.

Overall I would recommend this book to a younger audience, probably those from the ages 10-12. Perhaps with a better editor this story could have earned another star, but I am honestly glad to move on to another book.

*cross-posted from my blog the quiet voice.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, many people seem to feel that "reviews" are a place to summarize what they have read. Since the true purpose of a review is to demonstrate whether or not one should read (or not read) something, I will provide no detail regarding the content of the novel. Hopefully future readers will follow suit.

Savan's debut, Soul In Love, was remarkable. Many writers cannot even produce a single novel of merit - and quite rarely, those who write a successful first novel, are able to produce work that comes anywhere near the quality of that which s/he originally created.

The title of Savan's second novel may initially turn you away. Fading Into Magic? What could that even mean? How could there possibly be an entire novel written about "fading into magic"? A few hours later, as you're casually watching TV, the title of Savan's book resurfaces (and clearly has nothing to do with that episode of "Jersey Shore").

As with many novels, at its surface, it may seem unworthy of 200+ pages of writing. But part of the genuine beauty in Savan's writing is that he works in a realm of which many are skeptical: The realm of mystery; A world of fantasy; A universe of possibility that is often so unrealistic that it becomes realistic. Djuna Barnes, in her novel Nightwood states that "no one ever [knows] what [is] truth and what [is] not." Savan pushes the boundaries of Young Adult literature by illustrating this complex notion of reality through magnificent character development and an outstanding plot that leaves me greedy for more. Yes, there is plenty of Young Adult fiction out there - and I've read plenty - but Savan's craft cannot be fairly compared to others. His work is delicate and nuanced in a way that only the most intelligent writers can begin to achieve. For this reason, similar to his first novel, Fading Into Magic will appeal to readers of all ages.

I urge you to read this novel, not merely to verify that some writers truly can consistently develop quality work, but so you can enjoy a brilliant story.

[Maureen Mullis · Rating 4 out of 5]

When 17-year-old Madeline and her best friend Dara seek out a fortune teller at a carnival, they have no idea they are walking into more than a tent hoping to discover what lies ahead. Promised that she will soon fall in love with a handsome stranger, Madeline meets a new boy at school, Stefan, who seems to be everything and more the mysterious fortune teller promised.

As her relationship with Stefan develops, she finds opposition from his twin sister, Catalina, and herself at odds with her friends. But it’s when Stefan introduces her to the secret and compelling world of magic that things really take off. This adventurous Young Adult novel is sure to be a favorite with young readers who are fans of fantasy and adventure.

Vone Savan is an extremely talented writer. I once worked in a high school library, and I can testify that his dialog is spot on for this age group. He brings to life all the angst, drama and joy that high schoolers can have, and the relationships Maddy has with the mysterious Stefan and his family, her father and her friends rang very true to life.

Savan is able to tackle some serious issues along with the fantasy: Maddy’s father’s alcoholism, dealing with the death of her mother, and of course, the topic of your first love. Savan is such good writer and I think he will go far. This book needs a follow up, and I’m sure it will be coming. But I also hope we see other works from this emerging young writer.

[L.A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Article first published as Book Review: Fading Into Magic by Vone Savan on Blogcritics.


The death of a loved one is always difficult to deal with. When you are a young adult and a parent dies, the anguish is twofold. Survivor’s guilt is often the fallout, and the pain of separation colors the fabric of your actions.

In Fading Into Magic by Vone Savan, we follow the exploits of Madeline Morgan and her friends as they try to reconcile the strange occurrences intruding into their lives. Friends forever, Maddy, Dara, Kelsey, and Casper all rely on each other for companionship and honesty. Maddy struggles with life, her mother has died and her father, unable to deal with the pain, has buried himself in alcohol. Having always been a believer in magic, she no longer feels the same. To her, if magic truly existed her mother would not have died. Yet there is still just that little bit of hope, hidden deep within her heart.
Her friends do their best to keep her engaged, and when Dara gets the name of a Fortune Teller, she convinces Maddy they must have their fortunes told. Entering the tent, they immediately feel a strange sense of magic, but brush it off. Madame Anca, the teller, has a heavy accent, and looks more like a witch with her strange claw like hands and fingernails. Her reading or Maddy hints at a love that is soon to find her. Maddy is desperately searching for love so she is hooked immediately. Yet everything about the visit is strange. Dara scoffs at the teller, finding her to be quite strange and Maddy agrees. Yet as she thinks about the reading, she decides she needs to know more. Visiting Madame Anca one more time, she hears the same hope of love, and that small spark of believing begins to unravel again.

The first day of school following this bizarre happenstance, the group meets two new students. Stefan and his twin sister, Catalina Varias, are handsome and mysterious. Yet when Maddy has occasion to interact with Stefan, she is captivated. She begins to wonder about the fortune she received. As Maddy and Stefan get to know one another, the feeling is reciprocated. Has love really found her? Just as she begins to believe her life will change, strange things begin to happen. Her friends begin to act oddly. Then her life and that of her friends and family are threatened by an evil willing to kill them in the name of revenge. What is happening, and how can Maddy keep them all safe?

Savan has written a tale of young love and loss. He has twisted it with bits of magic and lore. His characters are very much like the high school students of today, each with flaws and beliefs, trying to find themselves as the go through the changes that will take them to adulthood. Maddy has a pain that runs deep and Savan has done a great job of bringing to light the guilt that often comes from the death of a parent. His characterization of the different personalities is well done, and you can picture each of the characters upon their reveal.

The story is fun and yet has a taint of evil and revenge. The flow is smooth and easy to follow and the magic spells incorporated throughout the telling are fun. Written in verse with a bit of rhyme they add a touch of charm to the telling.

This would be a great book for the YA reader; it is full of characters, bits of magic and an overall humor that adds to the dynamics. This is a light read and I found the telling to be interesting. It would make a great gift for the holidays for that YA fantasy reader on your list.

This book was gifted as a free Kindle from the author. All opinions are my own based off my reading and understanding of the material.

[Michele at A Belle's Tales · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*

Madeline Morgan is a bright, artistic 17 year old girl who experienced loss at a young age and doesn’t have the most ideal home life. She and her best friend, Dara, visit a mysterious tent at the annual Augury Carnival, where they meet the eccentric Madame Anca. Madame Anca tells the girls some things about their lives that are spot on, and while Dara is skeptical, Madeline can’t help but be intrigued and hopeful that Madame Anca’s promise of true love will come to be. Enter Stefan - the new mysterious and handsome boy who just transferred to Madeline’s school. Will Stefan be her one true love? Or will Stefan introduce her to something much darker...something that brings the past to light, but just might help Madeline find courage as well as self discovery.

Fading into Magic is a modern day fairy tale. While this book is classified as YA, the author mentioned that it might be geared more towards middle graders. I wholeheartedly agree and couldn’t be happier that it is. So many YA books have such mature content that my “tween” isn’t allowed to read them. Fading Into Magic was perfect in that there were no sexual situations or bad language. After reading, I let my daughter read it and she absolutely loves it! There is also a great message for her generation dealing with forgiveness. I applaud Mr. Savan for including that message in his story.

Now, the kiddo and I just need to agree on whose bookshelf the lovely Fading Into Magic will reside.

Thank you to Vone Savan for providing a signed copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Review originally posted at: http://abellestales.blogspot.com/

[Katherine Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fading into Magic works in two dimensions. Told by Maddy, a down-to-earth teenager who is recovering from the death of her mother, the story hints of magic at the county fair where a fortuneteller disappears with her tent. That, within the atmosphere of Maddy’s witty friends, might be dismissed. But this book pulls its threads together like the magic that Maddy learns. First though, she has a well-developed and expressed relationship with the augured boyfriend.

The magic in this story intertwines with the melancholy Maddy feels at home with her drinking dad. I liked its symbolism, the levitation taking off like the first sensations of love. But then it becomes threatening in the hands of her boyfriend Stefan’s female relatives.

Maddy’s parents are implicated with Stefan’s mother and that becomes a plot of revenge. Yet the story retains its two-dimensional effect when Stefan’s sister turns Maddy’s friends against her, possessing her place at school.

The showdown in the last chapters feels a bit too murderous for the Maddy and Stefan that we knew beforehand. I guess I’d have preferred more torment as revenge, in keeping with the real-life dimension. However the ephemeral descriptions of the spells entranced me along with the projected blame in the dialogue. Lost love has the effect of death in one dimension while folklore-like happenings take over the action. In fact, the book becomes chilling, challenging the reader’s attitude towards witchcraft. I found Fading into Magic to be well-written, smoothly constructed, and absorbing to the end.

[ILoveBooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will interest the reader right from the start. Madeline is the main character and the story is told from her point of view; the latter feature makes it much easier to connect with the main character. She is an easy character to connect with; she tends to be inquisitive, smart, and kind.


The secondary characters are just as fun to get to know, particularly Dara. Dara is outgoing, mouthy, and sarcastic; she lends comedic relief to the novel. The love interest, Stefan, is charismatic and a bit of an enigma. His secrets cause problems between Madeline and himself. The reader will have fun predicting the outcome of the unusual and mysterious events. Stefan's sister throws in a curve ball that will have the reader scrambling to guess at the villain once again. The book takes off quickly, after the first few chapters.


The plot contains magic and a fortune teller who is not what she seems. The reader will be drawn into the story quickly and have a hard time putting this book down. The characters serve to make the novel more entertaining, the events are fast-paced, and the ending promises a second novel to this series. This book is highly recommended to young adult/teen readers...or anyone who believes in a little bit of magic.

[Millicent Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this novel. It was very different from his first novel and this one is geared more towards young adult readers. The only drawback I must say is that Savan uses big words that may require younger readers to actually get out a dictionary. My hope is that he has a sequel to this book because he kind of left me hanging at the end! Lol overall this book was very well written and a cant wait for more books by this author, as I have very much enjoyed both the novels he has written so far! :)

[Gi-Gi · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off I'd like to thank Vone Savan for sending me a free signed copy of his book. It was so beautifully written and had me shocked at a lot of the events that took place in the story. I also adored the chemistry between Stefan and Madeline. It's the kind of chemstry I think everyone wants in a relationship also along with the little issues that I think everyone at least once face with their family and friends. I loved it and the ending has me craving for more. Can't wait for the second book.

[✦BookishlyRichie✦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

entertaining, awesome, and fast paced.
Loved it.

-R.D.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read! Fun and adventurous! Would recommend for readers of all genres!

[Clackamas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hard review to write because the book had problems, but I still really liked it.... and I'm NOT the target audience. I put off writing a review because I wanted to see how teen girls felt about it. For that, I took it to work and lent it to the school library at the teen behavioral/drug rehab facility I work at. Many of these kids come from families and backgrounds similar to the main character. So here goes:

Problem: Dialogue felt forced in places. This pulled me put of the story a few times. However, the girls at work said they didn't notice. The one complaint I've read about the dialogue in other reviews is that it didn't seem age-appropriate. I didn't have that issue at all because I listen to the girls at work (age 14-18 mostly) and it sounded like them. That said, when I started this job I had a hard time BELIEVING the girls talked like that to each other, because they use completely different communication skills with adults (as did the main character of this book).

Problem: There is a chemical dependency issue that gets better very quickly and easily. Working in the field I do, this was the most implausible part of the book to me... more unlikely than the magic, even. But when I thought about it, I realized that the story is about the magic of love... and a neglectful parent with a drinking problem suddenly waking up and deciding to love you and be the parent you need is probably the biggest dream that kids from that background have, so the story wouldn't be complete if the main character didn't get that most important dream fulfilled. The teens at work didn't have a problem with how EASY it seemed because they too have that dream and want to believe it's possible.

Problem: The main character's best friendship. There wasn't anything likeable about the best friend to account for the loyalty between them. She is painted as a snot who rags on the main character, but somehow it never damages the friendship. This is excused in the beginning because of how the main character feels about herself, but I really don't understand how they were still friends at the end. I hope that is addressed in the sequel. One girl at work was okay with it, saying "My bff is a b*tch, but she's got my back." but another said, "Eff that. I'd stomp her." (Yes, they talk like that. Lol)

Now for the good stuff:

The main character's relationship with her father felt authentic. So many children of alcoholic or mentally ill parents end up as the caretakers. They resent it, feel guilty about resenting it, stuff their emotions, and just try to stay afloat, enabling the parent while they hope for a change that never comes. Savan illustrated that dynamic accurately.

The main character's relationship with the memory of her mother was so sweet and believable. I found myself wanting to see the paintings and collages that she did of her mother. Savan's tool for helping her finally deal with her grief was elegant and the conversation she has with the memory of her mother was wrenching.

So this story is outwardly about a girl who learns magic to fight people who are trying to harm her, and her budding relationship with a boy. But there is so much more there. I recommend it to paranormal romance folk, teen and pre-teen girls who are fans of the genre in particular. More importantly I recommend it to teens who have dealt with loss of a caretaker through death, depression, or addiction. I'm probably going to leave it at the library at work on long-term loan because it seems to resonate best with those girls.

It's pretty high praise for me to say that I feel like I need to give a book to a particular audience because it might help them. For that reason, despite the problems I listed, I think I have to give this book 4.5 stars, which I will round up because Goodreads still hasn't gtven us half-stars.

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I want to thank Mr. Savan (and the Goodreads giveaway) for signing and sending me a free copy of his book. This is my first win on Goodreads, and I feel bad that I didn't enjoy reading the book. I am truly grateful to have won this book because I wouldn't have actually purchased it on my own. I would rate this book with 1 1/2 stars.

Let me being by saying I really wanted to enjoy this book, but I felt that the book rushed through any important action, which left me not really knowing any characters that I was supposed to connect with. I think the character development in any sequels really needs to be stepped up. I felt many of the situations that Madeline was put into did not fit her age (many of her dialogues/ her relationship with Stefan was above and beyond what would actually happen to a 17 yr. old). The whole situation felt unreal and very rushed. They were professing love after only two dates, and giving in-depth dialogues about their emotions and families. It just didn't feel authentic.

The relationship between Madeline and Dara (or her other two friends) was never actually shown to us in a way that would make us feel they had a true connection. We were given a few tidbits about their childhood together, but the neglectfulness Maddy shows to Dara (and her reaction to it) were not believable.

The relationship between Maddy and her father was also one that wasn't very believable. I don't even think that she would have been allowed to live in such a situation (I'm sure the schools or the town/etc. would have made sure she wasn't being neglected). She was living in a house full of emotional abuse with her father's alcohol abuse and neglect. I just think that Maddy would have been a different kind of character living in such an environment. The only aspect of this that felt genuine was her feelings towards her mother, and her using her mother as inspiration for her art and where she held her views of what love is supposed to be.

Again, I really can't tell which age group this book would be appropriate for, but I am leaning towards a tween group, rather than readers that would be 17 or 18, the main characters age. I feel those readers would be too advanced for the language and style this author uses.

I just was very disappointed with this book, and it took me almost 2 weeks to get myself to finish it. I am a very quick reader and usually fly through books like water...this was very disappointing and I won't be continuing this series, unfortunately. I hope the author slows his pace and gives his readers a less rushed story with actual character development. Even young readers appreciate when they can relate to the characters. This book really just seemed like a small take of Twilight, with magic instead of vampires. Not totally believable and the magic didn't give the effect that I think Savan was hoping it would.

[Sarahdactyl ♥ · Rating 2 out of 5]

♥ Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah

- - -

I originally gave this book just one star, but after sitting on it for a few days I really felt that was unfair, so I moved it up to two. I didn't dislike it. It was definitely okay, but for me - the queen of nit-picking, there were too many things that irked me.

Let's begin with the plot. I think the plot had some really great elements. I thought the idea of the magic was really neat, and described in a wonderful way by the author. It felt magical to read those parts. I also liked the plot twists involving Bianca and Maddy's dad. Very nicely done. I do wish there were more details on that though! I think it would have taken the story to a much deeper level. I didn't like how time sort of skipped ahead half-ish way through the book. I was disappointed. I feel like we missed a crucial part of the developing relationship between Maddy and Stefan. :( It made them "falling in love" seem very rushed and unrealistic.

I have to say, the thing I disliked the most was the characters themselves. I think that Dara AND Maddy were very superficial. Stefan was dull - he didn't have that "swoon factor" for me. His sister was unrealistically a bitch for no reason. Maybe a little more character development would have changed that for me. Most of all though, these characters are in their senior year of high school, so that's what? 17, 18 years old? Ninety-five percent of the time they came across as much much younger than that. Middle school. 12-13 years old. It didn't match up. It irked me to no end, and this is the main reason why I can't give this book a higher rating. It gave the entire book a shallow feel. The way the characters talked/acted/behaved was so off-key with the way that I felt this story was supposed to go. Deep, true love. Magic, intensity. It had the magic part, but the intensity that could have come with the true love was ruined for me by the fact that the characters came across as prepubescents.

Last - I think it could have been longer, thus making room for details, details, details! I just think that, overall, the story needed more - more of what does already have. Magic, fun, love, betrayal, forgiveness & friendship. I really, truly think that if more of the story and its' elements were expanded upon - that this could have been a fantastic read instead of just okay.

I'd recommend this book to readers that are more into middle-grade than YA.

- - -

Thank you very much to the author for sending me an ARC! I appreciate the effort and heart that goes into writing a book.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I want to thank Mr. Savan for being kind enough to send me a copy of this book and for signing it. I’ve agreed to give an honest review in exchange.

I read this book a lot faster then I had anticipated actually. I had planned to finish it the day of release but I actually managed to zip through this one so I had to delay the release of the review. First off I want to say I love the cover, the colors are really pretty and eye catching…and as an added plus the cover actually has relation to the story itself.

I was really intrigued by the short sample that I read before agreeing to review this and was curious to see how it all would turn out. I had my trepidation about the ‘true love’ aspect of course. I assumed that the girl would fall in love with the guy at the very first opportunity given, and that this would go the way of so many other YA books. But alas she doesn’t! There is a time frame between them meeting and their confessions of love, and it’s a believable one. The time skips in the book are easy to follow as well and it doesn’t really feel like you’ve missed anything because Savan did a great job of explaining what had happened in a natural way. The characters are fairly enjoyable as well, and pretty realistic too. I especially enjoyed Maddy’s best friend Dara, who is pretty quick witted at times. The plot has a unique feel to it and I was quite expecting what was delivered, and I my interest has been peaked some more.

I only have two complaints. One is I really wish that some aspect of the story were fleshed out more. For example I would have loved to have more on the relationship between Maddy’s Dad and Bianca, it kind of popped up and though there was some explanation I would have enjoyed more. The other complaint is how short the book is or at least how it feels. While somethings were paced at a believable rate and went along nicely, other things went by too quickly or too suddenly.

I’ll definitely check out the second in the series when it comes out. I’d recommend this to those who enjoy a lighter paranormal fantasy novel, and since there really isn’t anything in the way of mature content this would be great for some younger teens as well.

[Library Lady 📚 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a valiant effort from a new independent author. I was drawn to it because of the wonderful, whimsical cover art. The story itself is engaging, exciting, and fast-paced. It has some romance, some tragedy, some action...all the usual paranormal ingredients.
The main character seemed a little undeveloped, but I still rooted for her. The plot was a little predictible, but I find that's true of almost all YA paranormal romance. The girls in this book seemed more like 10 than 17, though. At the beginning, I kept checking back to make sure I'd done the math right--I don't see 17 year old girls running everywhere and yelling to each other all the time, calling each other 'honey bunny' and stuff like that. I'm not sure the author is very aware of what high school girls are like.

While the plot didn't have any holes or leave anything to be desired, the writing style was very elementary and hard for me to get into. Some of the dialogue was hokey, the inner monologues often sounded like lectures for the reader, and the writing itself was very beginner. It was a good book, and with a professional editor who knew the writing business, it could have been very good. All the adjectives and people yelling things drove me a little nutty, though. I'd recommend a few books on writing for this author, and expect great things from him if he gets his books into industry-standard form.

An intriguing read that I'd recommend for Middle Grade/Young Adult readers of paranormal romance.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book sounded really interesting to me and I was glad to receive it. After reading it and mulling it over for a bit, though, I feel like it had a lot of plusses and minuses for me.

The Good: The plot had dimensions. Madeline wasn't just dealing Stefan and his nonsense, but she was also dealing with a distant and alcoholic father, as well as friends who felt abandoned by her. Madeline had a lot on her plate. Also, the concept for the book on a whole was great. I liked how Madame Anca showed up later in the book (don't want to ruin it!) and how Stefan's sister was a crazy bitch who had more up her sleeve than I originally thought.

The Bad: I felt like the plot was rushed. The chapters didn't really accomplish much on their own, but together they moved the plot too quickly. I also had a problem with the dialogue: sometimes I felt like the high school characters sounded younger than they were supposed to be and dialogue often felt forced.

Overall, it was fast, good read. If you're one of those YA readers who is into magical plot lines, then I think you would really enjoy this book.

PS: I would like to thank the author for sending me this signed copy of his book. Even though I received the book for free, that didn't affect my review.

...more on pandareads.com

[Laura Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a very fun and enjoyable time reading Fading Into Magic, Von Savan’s first installment in his series. I was interested in the story from the beginning and my interest continued to the very end. Fading Into Magic was a wonderful book about many types of love--the love between a high school girlfriend and boyfriend, the love between a father and daughter, between best friends, about regret for a lost love, and grief for a lost loved one. I found the characters were well written and easily imagined as real people with realistic conversations and interactions. The magic scenes were described beautifully and colorfully and were fun to imagine.

Fading Into Magic is a book for Middle-Schoolers, ‘Tweens, and YA. There are no bad words or sexual situations which would preclude these groups from reading and enjoying this book, something you don’t come across often these days. This is a book parents can be comfortable with.

I'm looking forward to the 2nd installment in the series.

I received Fading Into Magic free through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.

[Frederick Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This young adult fantasy revolves around a seventeen-year-old girl whose mother passed away a few years ago and whose father has been in an alcoholic tailspin ever since. When a fortune teller at the local carnival foretells a great love affair in her future, Madeline sees the possibility of happiness which has eluded her for so long. I liked the quick pace of Fading Into Magic, and the author has done a good job creating realistic personas for Madeline and her high school friends, Dara, Kelsey and Caspar.

Also I like the way the relationship develops between Stefan and Madeline. Madeline has sunk so low, this ray of sunshine really kept me engaged. If later events in the story became a tiny bit predictable, it was partly because the book is written for younger readers. I found myself wanting to know more about how the magic works and more about Madeline's father's troubles, too. Even with these quibbles I had to know how the story would end. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

[Darcus Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, let me say that I love the cover of this book. I think it's really pretty and I love the colors. The jacket on this book really soft too. :)

The story-line of the book was pretty good. I liked the idea of it and I enjoyed reading it. I had wanted to read it for quite a while and I finally got the chance to pull it off of my bookshelf.

I only had two real problems with Fading Into Magic. First, it seemed like it went a little fast. It felt rushed in a lot of places that I felt needed more time to really grow and become what they were intended to be.

Second, it seemed like the main character was too leniant when it came to her love interest in the book. They would have an argument and to me, it seemed like she would agree or give up to easily. She was too accepting, in my opinion, of the things that were being thrown at her.

Overall, it wasn't so bad if you could get passed those two problems.

[R.J. Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5 (Rounded to 4)

When she is given a fortune that true love will come her way, Madeline begins to wonder if it does in fact exist sending her on a journey of finding love and self-understanding.

I think Vone Savan has created a great novel that was enjoyable and definitely something interesting! Though, I couldn't connect with Madeline as much as I wanted to and went through it feeling disconnected. I am very picky with MCs only because they are the person you are going to have to stick with throughout the whole novel, so they definitely have to be likeable. Not saying that Madeline wasn't, it's just that, for me, I couldn't warm up to her.

The story itself is very interesting, it was such an intriguing idea and I could see it play in my mind like a movie as I read. I enjoyed FADING INTO MAGIC, and am honored that Vone Savan sent me a copy to review!

*I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!*

EDIT: Totally made a gaffe on the names! Sorry!

[Fallon · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a free copy from the publisher/author. I wanted to like this book more, it has a good-looking cover and a promising premise. However, I just wasn't really feeling it. The story is just so cookie cutter, saccharine and predictable. The writing and structure itself wasn't bad at all and there were parts that were pretty good, mostly at the end. However the ending just tied a pretty bow around everything and that epilogue felt forced and a little unnatural. I think that this would appeal to younger teens/tweens more than older teens/young adults. It has that "love at first sight" aspect that young girls are drawn to. I don't know where the story will go for a series but overall it was merely ok.

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second half of this book was much better than the first. The first half reminded me of Twilight, and I was very glad that it went into another direction. The storyline in general was trite and predictable, and there was something about the writing style got under my skin; however, it was briskly paced and I got through the book without becoming (very) bored. I think the language of the book would best be suited for preteen/young teens, but some of the content in the story was a little mature for that age group.

I would not read the rest of this series, but for what it was, the book itself was alright.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received an Autographed copy from Goodreads First Reads.
Found the book to be a very entertaining, quick read. For those who believe in the power of magic, destiny, and true love. Based around high school seniors, and the new boy in town. Why did the family move to Augury, why so secretive?
After the lose of her Mother, and her Father using alcohol to cope Maddy has lost her belief that life can/will get better....does it? You'll have to read the book.
Once again, greatly appreciated the Autographed copy from Goodreads First Reads.....

[Alyssa Ivy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled with magic and romance, Fading Into Magic is a fast paced and fun read. I enjoyed the magical elements to the story, but it is what it is underneath that sets this book apart. Savan skillfully deals with issues of guilt and loss without hampering the fun and excitement of the story. There were parts of the story that felt rushed, and I wish I had been able to get to know the characters better, but overall it was an enjoyable read. I would recommend Fading Into Magic to middle grade or young YA readers interested in magical stories with some romance.

[Nenette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even after enjoying the Harry Potter and Mockingjay series, I am still wary about new books coming out dealing with fantasy and magic. But I'd say that this book had me again. I would have probably enjoyed it more and rated it higher if I were still within the age range of its intended audience (YA). A nice book with valuable lessons to learn about love and goodness, especially for its young audience.

[Missy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Deffinite young adult read. I think after reading so much scifi i thought it was a simple read and i can tell there will be another but i dont know if i will read it.

[Dave Sullivan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review coming soon.