"Fawkes" by Nadine Brandes

Thomas Fawkes is turning to stone, and the only cure to the Stone Plague is to join his father's plot to assassinate the king of England. Silent wars leave the most carnage. The wars that are never declared, but are carried out in dark alleys with masks and hidden knives. Wars where color power alters the natural rhythm of 17th century London. And when the king calls for peace, no one listens until he finally calls for death.

But what if death finds him first?

Keepers think the Igniters caused the plague. Igniters think the Keepers did it. But all Thomas knows is that the Stone Plague infecting his eye is spreading. And if he doesn't do something soon, he'll be a lifeless statue. So when his Keeper father, Guy Fawkes, invites him to join the Gunpowder Plot - claiming it will put an end to the plague - Thomas is in.

The plan: use 36 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the Igniter King.

The problem: doing so will destroy the family of the girl Thomas loves. But backing out of the plot will send his father and the other plotters to the gallows. To save one, Thomas will lose the other.

No matter Thomas's choice: once the decision is made and the color masks have been put on, there's no turning back.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

*only minor spoilers! It was a struggle to avoid spoilers with this one*

This book started off so strong. The magic system of color power is very unique and interesting. I'll admit, it initially confused me since I haven't encountered something like it before. Honestly, the color power was such a cool fantasy twist to put on historical fiction.

Thomas was fine to start out with, but towards the end I found myself getting fed up with his savior complex. Luckily, Emma was such a wonderful character and she really made this story for me. I absolutely adored her strength as a woman during a period of history where women were not expected to be strong. I liked how she wasn't the typical "strong female character" and was really her own person.

But the main thing about this book was the religious overtones. I didn't realize that Thomas Nelson was a Christian publisher until after reading this book so this one is totally on me. In the latter half of the book, there's some stuff that I got major Christian religious vibes and that just is not my thing. It doesn't mean the book is bad, but it just was not my cup of tea.

Aside from the fact that I didn't like that large aspect of the book, it really was not bad. The writing was good and I liked the magic system. The historical fiction with a fantasy twist is such a cool genre and I would be interested in reading more. However, this book was just not for me.

Rating: 3 stars