Sophie Briggs and the Spike of Death: 1 (The School of Roots and Vines) Paperback – 30 Aug. 2022

Not a particularly great start to a series, very 'two dimensional', insipid characters (with very little development), story stops & starts, incongruities abound but, based purely on other series I've enjoyed from the authors I'll give book two a try.

Great start to a new series. Very reminiscent of School of Necessary Magic. I love the characters that Martha creates, they’re so likeable and real.

Congratulations to Martha Carr and Michael Anderle for this amazing series. It’s extremely hard to find such intexresting and exciting authors who not only write intelligently but also provide top rated plots, characters and excitement in the stories. I’m really looking forward to the next book.

This was an interesting book to say the least.There is SO much packed into such a very small space (comparatively), that I found myself wondering, at several points through the book, just where the authors were going with the material. To be honest, I’m not quite sure they’ve made up their minds on that point.The diversity of the cast and the respective talents that each embodies creates what are easily hundreds of potential plot threads. And while the ending is tidy and there aren’t any “messes” left lying about for visitors to see, it still left me with a slightly “unfinished” feeling.Don’t get me wrong, it’s eminently worth reading, I DID give it four stars after all. But when one has been spoiled for so long by the near perfection that comes out of most of the Martha and Mike collaborations, it’s hard to expect or accept anything less. Still, with that much story bubbling in the pot, whatever comes next is guaranteed to be at least as good and probably better.One last comment: Ostensibly this book is set in the same universe as is the “The Warrior” series. If this is still the intent than something has gone terribly wrong, because this world bears no discernible relationship to the world in which those books are in set. OR it may turn out that the cast in “The Warrior” series is just HORRIBLY misinformed and no one apprised the military folks that there exists a secret magical government of some sort alongside the mainstream governments with which we are familiar. It is also possible that this story takes place far in the future at a time when the world has been made aware of magic. Now that I think about that’s probably much more probable.Either way, it’s engaging and intriguing so pick it up and enjoy!

I have always admired Martha Carr and Michael Anderle's stories. This one is well written for middle school and up . Sophie Briggs the School of Roots and Vines was such an excellent book and I am very excited about reading the second book in the series.

Enjoyed this a lot. The characters are interesting and remind me of some of my friends growing up. Will be fun to see what happens as they grow.

I enjoyed reading this book very much and I recommend this book to anyone who like magic and progression type of books in a academic setting.