Book Review: High Summons

High Summons is the debut novel for Eli Celata, a fellow Clean Reads author. It's a fun read about Jon Blythe, a college student who knows he is gifted in magic but believes he can't find his purpose in life and wants to further explore magic in hopes he'll find that purpose.

He meets up with Jordan, who agrees to teach him more about the ways of magic, which leads to Jon joining Jordan in demon hunting. Jon learns quickly that it's more than he bargained for, as his ventures into the world of magic lead him and Jordan on a quest throughout the city of Rochester. Meanwhile, Jon struggles with his father leaving him at a young age and not being there for him to train him in the ways of magic.

I liked Eli's portraly of Jon Blythe and his struggles with his expectations about magic and demon hunting, where he not only has to learn why Jordan will only teach him so much at a time, but overcome his struggles with how to live a normal college life, knowing the dangers he must face... especially when he wants to spend time with his friends when more demons become aware of Jon's presence. And he must learn the answers as to why his father left him at a young age and why his mother didn't talk to him more about the things Jon could do.

The magical action is good and so was the world building. There were passages that left me confused, though, and points when the dialogue was lackluster. At those times, it made it difficult to follow the plot along.

But Eli's work in developing characters is what made the book work for me. Not only did I enjoy learning more about Jon Blythe, but about what makes Jordan tick, too. I am interested to see how their paths develop in future books.

Recommended read.