Review: The Familiars

The Familiars

SUMMARY:
THE FAMILIARS are the magical animal companions to a wizard or witch. When three young wizards-in-training get kidnapped by the evil queen of the land, it is up to their familiars to go a dangerous journey to rescue them. You'll meet Aldwyn, an orphan alley cat pretending to have telekinesis; Skylar, a know-it-all blue jay who can cast illusions; and Gilbert, a hapless tree frog with the ability to see visions of the future in pools of water. See what happens when these three animal assistants -- typically relegated to the background or found sitting quietly on their wizard's shoulders -- go on a heroic adventure of their own!

REVIEW:
I was told to read it by the author, Andrew Jacobson.(Well recommended but whatever!) And now I'm glad I did! Here's a little run-down..
Just a poor ally cat, trying to get the next meal. He gets caught stealing fish and one of the best bounty hunters was after him. Aldwyn thought fast and ran into a near-by store, that turned out to a store that sold familiars. Aldwyn, made the mistake to hide in a cage, for then, a kid, well a young magician, comes along and takes him home. Aldwyn has no powers though.
When they arrive to their home, Aldwyn meets a blue-bird, Skylar and a tree frog, Gilbert. Who are the familiars to Jack's(Aldwyn's new owner) relatives.
But the cruel witch of a queen, comes and kills their mentor. Before their mentor dies, he uses his last bit of magic to put a protective bubble around the kids. When the queen takes the children away, their mentor tells the familiars that they have to go and get them. But they are just familiars..How can they save the day?
They have to go through blizzards and deserts, fighting their way there. When they finally arrive, Aldwyn manages to make the 7-headed dragon fall asleep with the sleeping powder they managed to get.
They are "greeted" by the queen's hare, who turns out to be a shape-shifter and turned the actual nice queen into a hare. Aldwyn, it turns out, actually has powers. He can lift things with his mind.
The familiars manage to save their owners. They get to live in the palace with the queen.
One day, the queen comes to visit them. She tells them that the day their mentor was killed, there had been a prophecy saying that three young wizards would take over the kingdom. It turned out, the three young wizards, were the familiars.
I can't wait until the second book!! It was sooo good! But I found the ending a little predictable.

Rating for book: ♥♥♥♥♥
Rating for cover: ♥♥♥♥♥
Rating for plot: ♥♥♥♥
Rating for characters: ♥♥♥♥♥

Overall rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Challenges:
200+ Reading Challenge
Fall Into Reading Challenge

Reading Level Suggested For Book:
10 and up

I would recommend this book to those who loved The Warrior series and/or Harry Potter. It's very intriguing.

Have you read this book yet?