The Black Veins

Read The Black Veins by Ashia Monet

Sixteen-year-old Blythe is one of seven Guardians: magicians powerful enough to cause worldwide panic with a snap of their fingers. But Blythe spends her days pouring latte art at her family’s coffee shop, so why should she care about having apocalyptic abilities?

She’s given a reason when magician anarchists crash into said coffee shop and kidnap her family.

Heartbroken but determined, Blythe knows she can’t save them alone. A war is brewing between two magician governments and tensions are too high. So, she packs up her family’s bright yellow Volkswagen, puts on a playlist, and embarks on a road trip across the United States to enlist the help of six strangers whose abilities are unparalleled—the other Guardians.

The idea is good. The characters are wonderful – or could be wonderful, if the character building was more subtle. I think that’s what I missed the most in this book, subtlety. Characters were predictable, what happened was predictable – unless there was nothing hinting at it because it was there to surprise us, the…