‘she took the pen and signed her name with a mark. Her blood scrawled across the page’.

Palace of fires ‘initiate’ by Bill Bennett

‘who are you?’ she called after him. He turned back to her and smiled with eyes that were no longer summer blue. They were now bottomless, limitless, timeless black.’

Palace of fires ‘initiate’ by Bill Bennett

This book is a new take on the witch’s genre tumbled together with Satan. The style of This book is for teens and young adults. Short and easy to understand chapters. Only 374 pages in this book a quick read.

The story opens to the year 1693 with Jennette Maguire, only 16 years old her family is sick and dying from starvation and disease. Jennette is standing in one of her families dying crops giving up, and she is greeted by Satan himself, where he convinces her to sign a contract with blood. This is the prologue for the basis of the story. I loved the way Bill Bennett wrote the preface, filled with magic and mysticism.

Bill Bennett is an Australian author and filmmaker with thirty years of experience behind him the palace of fires trilogy is his first book series. His first book initiate has a great prologue but when he introduces the protagonist lily is one of the biggest let down because he uses a mirror to explain how lily looks. Bill Bennett’s background this method was a surprise because as writers, we are taught not to use this method of introducing the looks of the main character using a mirror.

Bill Bennett’s beginning was rough on this book but it became a good read. Taking us on a journey with the main character Lily Lennox through a world she never knew existed of black and white magic. This is the first book of a trilogy and will be worth the read.

Book review by Amanda Gray.