REVIEW Kelcie Murphy and the Race for the Reaper's Key (The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts Book 3) by Erika Lewis

Kelcie Murphy and the Race for the Reaper's Key (The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts Book 3) by Erika Lewis
Rating: 5 Stars
Release Date: September 10, 2024
Format: Audiobook (Personal Library, Libro.fm)
Publisher: Starscape

Check out my review of the first book in the series, Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts

Check out my review of the second book in the series, Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu

Kelcie Murphy and the Race for the Reaper's Key, the final book in the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts series by Erika Lewis, was an amazing close to the series. Building on the events of the previous books, Kelcie, Lexis, and their fiannas are forced into a final confrontation against King Baelor and to stop the Never Ending War once and for all.

The worldbuilding has always been a favorite part of this series. While Winter and Summer are very different on paper, they have lots of similarities (that they would probably not acknowledge). I enjoyed how the author structured the book, with multiple points of view showing the fiannas coming at the problem from different directions and finally meeting up. The dual history was exciting, and all the threads the author has been weaving came together in a really nice bow. The powers each character demonstrates have evolved, and the mythology references have increased (love when I recognize various characters and creatures out of folktales). 

The characters are another highlight. While Lexis and Kelcie have grown up on entirely different paths, they're so similar. Each member of both fiannas has also grown up a lot since the first time we meet them in the books. Swappy's my favorite character on the winter fianna,. and his idea for where they hid was hilarious. Without spoilers, Niall's story arc in this book was the most poignant, and I hope the author writes some sort of accompanying story (i.e. novella, short story, etc.) to let us know how things end up with his future plans.

Overall, an excellent book and an excellent close to the series. Justis Golding did an excellent job bringing all the characters to life with their performance in the audiobook. I highly recommend this series to those enjoy middle grade fantasy inspired by mythology, full of adventure, and very focused on found family.

REVIEW Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts (The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts #1) by Erika Lewis

Hi friends! Welcome to my stop on the tour organized by The Children's Book Review (and in partnership with Erika Lewis) for Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts. Check out my post to learn more about the books, the author, and enter the giveaway!

The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts: Book Giveaway

About the Book Series

The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts

Written by Erika Lewis

A 2023 Teacher Favorites Winner (6th-8th Grade) for the Children's Book Council

Brimming with Celtic mythology, action, and danger, Erika Lewis's Kelcie Murphy and The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts introduces readers to a new kind of magical school and a warrior who must choose with which side of an epic battle her destiny will lie.

The Otherworld is at war. The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts trains warriors. And Kelcie Murphy―a foster child raised in the human world―is dying to attend.

A place at AUA means meeting Scáthach, the legendary trainer of Celtic heroes. It means learning to fight with a sword. It means harnessing her hidden powers and―most importantly―finding out who her parents are, and why they abandoned her in Boston Harbor eight years ago.

When Kelcie tests into the school, she learns that she’s a Saiga, one of the most ancient beings in the Otherworld. Secretive, shunned, and possessed of imposing elemental powers, the Saiga are also kin to the Otherworld's most infamous traitor.

But Kelcie is a survivor, and she’ll do whatever it takes to find her parents and her place in their world. Even if that means making a few enemies.

PURCHASE LINK

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REVIEW Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts (The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts #1) by Erika Lewis

Rating: 4 Stars

Release Date:

Format: Audiobook (Library)

Publisher: Starscape

Check out my review of the second book in the series, Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu!

Erika Lewis’ Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts was an action packed and fun middle grade fantasy read. Brimming with fantastical elements and references to Celtic mythology, Kelcie is thrust into the magical world with no knowledge after living for the past eight years in the human realm. She has to work quickly to catch up to her peers, and make sure that she earns an invitation back to the Academy for her second year (or risk losing her connection to the Otherworld forever). 

Kelcie was a very relatable character. After finding out she’s not a regular human orphan, she’s desperate to know more about her family and why she was sent away. At the same time, she has to learn how to control her immensely strong elemental powers and make friends with her teammates (the members of her ‘Fiana’). There’s a lot of mystery surrounding her heritage, and it was really fun to get to see her bonds with her friends evolve. I especially liked Niall, and how his disability was displayed in the book (Everyone else in the world had an extra hand compared to Niall’s one, which was a notable comment in the book). While there is a magical element to their challenges, at the end of the day the foursome is just a group of kids trying to make it through the school year. You have bullies, you have strict teachers, and you have impossible gym classes (this time compounded by magical powers and weapons). 

The Celtic mythology was a really unique aspect of the book. I loved the world building in the book and how we got to learn about things with Keclie. With listening to the audiobook, it’s really hard to know how certain things are spelled but I had fun looking things up and getting to learn even more tidbits. Scathach was very intense as the sort of ‘headmaster’ for the academy, but she does care about her pupils and is very good at her job. Surprisingly, as compared to other books like the Percy Jackson series, individual gods are not mentioned all that much but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  

Justis Golding did an excellent job bringing the story to life with her performance in the audiobook narration. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy authors like Rick Riordan, Tamora Pierce, or Dhonielle Clayton. After the ending of the book, I’m really excited to see what’s next for Kelcie and her friends in the sequel, Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu.  

About the Author

Erika Lewis is the author of the Kelcie Murphy Series from Starscape, The Color of Dragons from HarperTeen, Game of Shadows from Tor Books, Firebrand from Legendary Comics, and more, many of which have been published around the world.

She grew up in Virginia before going off to Tennessee for school. While at Vanderbilt University, studying Math and Theatre, she spent a semester abroad, visiting haunted ruins and magical forests that would forever spark her imagination and leave behind an insatiable need to travel.

An internship at CNN led to exciting years working in television, developing scripted and reality shows for various studios and networks. Then, one day, Erika knew it was time for her to write on her own, to build fantastical worlds that stayed with her after every return from a trip, and also to play her part in inspiring the next generation of readers and writers.

For more information, visit erikalewis.com

Social Links

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REVIEW Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu (The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts #2) by Erika Lewis

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu (The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts #2) by Erika Lewis
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date:
Format: Audiobook (Personal Library)
Publisher: Starscape

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of the Danu, the second installment in the middle-grade fantasy series by Erika Lewis, was another action packed and fun filled read. After the events of the first book, Kelcie is just becoming comfortable with the pulse elemental powers that had been locked away her entire life, and working with her fianna. However, once she starts the second year of school at the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts, one of her new friends will set into motion events that have the capability to change the lands of summer forever. 

The two point of view characters in this book, Kelcie and Lexis, do a great job of contrasting the opposing sides of this war. Both are young soldiers with similar gifts, and at the end of the day they just want to protect the places they’ve come to call home. Kelcie, on one hand, has had to catch up to her peers and learn to master her powers quickly after spending the last few years in the human world. Lexis, on the other hand, has become very comfortable with her powers after training at Winter’s Academy but has to hide how strong she is to survive as a spy in Summer. Their fiannas also contributed to the action, and I really loved Swappy Toots from Winter. I also was pleasantly surprised by the connection to the final member of the Morrigna. 

This book propels the worldbuilding of the series far more than the first installment did. More beings inspired by Celtic mythology are introduced, and we get to see the land that Summer is training its young soldiers to eventually fight against. Unsurprisingly, the two lands are not dissimilar and are mostly populated by common folk who want nothing to do with the war. The battle scenes in this book were epic, as the group faced things like vampire owls, banshees, and even bodachs (which are essentially boogeymen). 

Overall, this was an excellent read and narrator Justis Golding did another great job with their performance in the audiobook. This book sets up the finale of the series in Kelcie Murphy and the Race for the Reaper’s Key (releasing in September 2024), and I’m really curious to see how things play out for Kelcie and her friends. If you or a mature young reader in your life enjoys books influenced by Celtic mythology, that have hints of first love, and heavy themes of found family, I think you would enjoy this series.