Jay Gregory

As I unexpectedly reached the last page of ‘Maladies that Bind’, the first book in the Wishstone series, I was quite upset – because I really want to know what happens next! Following Lucille and Paige, two fellow students at Clarmont Academy who become friends, felt both like a) a disturbing fantasy story of magic, its users, and those who (ab)use the users, but also b) that of two people struggling in different ways, finding support and caring with each other.

Lucille is smart, but show more struggles to hold more than two runes in her minds-eye without them blurring, a problem that also applies to reading the written word swiftly. From my perspective as the reader this is clearly a form of dyslexia, but in this world that’s not an understood malady – and Lucille struggles to keep up despite being told it’s important (and her awareness that if she doesn’t it may mean her death or permanent brain damage). Paige, on the other hand, does her runes easily, but being from a different land, she’s treated with suspicion and distaste by others. Seeing how these two become friends and support each other, as the rest of the tale starts to unfold, is beautiful – it’s clear that the author has really taken the time to flesh out and deepen these characters.

This series is not set on a version of our Earth, and this is made clear early on, what with the two moons (upon which a religion and various festivals are based), the Wyrd – the many damaged or dangerous places where strange things lurk and death is inevitable – and of course the titular ‘Wishstone’ along with the use the magic itself. While this book is primarily set at Clarmont Academy in the region of Brienelles, the larger world is hinted at in places, and it seems likely there’s be more seen in future stories.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and look forward to re-reading it along with any more set in the Wishstone series. show less

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.


Rather than an epic fantasy, Maladies That Bind would be more appropriately described as something like Malory Towers set in a fantasy world. Apart from the prologue, the rest of the story is told in the PoV of the protagonist, Lucille Nemois, a young mage-in-training struggling with dyslexia and her struggles with juggling studies and friends, as well as the tumultuous period of switching from one friend group to another. As someone show more who grew up being diligent and obedient to a fault, the first few chapters of MTB honestly grated on my nerves. Sincerely, I would strongly encourage readers who do not immediately connect with Lucille to presevere, because the end result is very rewarding. Very quickly, we will be introduced to the fact that Lucille is, in fact, not entirely biligerent. She's struggling in her studies as a result of her dyslexia and falling behind in class. Stuck with friends more interested in sneaking out of their boarding-school-esque academy to have silly fun, and possibly trapped in the teenage need to continue clicking with friends, her behaviour is very much a result of immature coping mechanism — if I don't do well in exams, I'll pretend I don't care; if I feel humiliated by a teacher, I'll not attend that teacher's class.

In comes Paige, a girl from a different country that was bullied her entire life, but a girl that is studious and diligent and interested in helping Lucille excel in her studies. What ensues is a very interesting dynamic where Lucille is forced to balance between her newfound friendship with Paige, who supports her in her studies, and her old group of friends who seem to fail to recognise that she is struggling in her studies and need to spend more time studying instead of goofing around with them. I'll be honest, as a girl who once had to go through that growing up, reading this story hits very close to home, down to the description of Paige, the awkward girl who doesn't seem to quite know what to do with herself, who can come up with sarcastic rebuttals at times but seem completely clueless about what to do at others. Honestly, it feels so strange to have a male author so accurately describe the insecurities of a female character. I both love and hate Lucille's character, and that is how well she is fleshed out — she's not a saint. She's a teenager, and she acts very much like one — too caught up with her own struggles to be able to spare empathy for others. She's a bit selfish and lazy, in the way we are all a bit selfish and lazy deep down inside. The other thing I love about this story is that when depicting Lucille struggling with her studies, it accurately describes her as being tired and drawn-out all the time, spending less and less time engaging in fun activities with her old friends to the point all you read about is her studying and practising. A major pet peeve of mine is when stories try to tell me how 'tired' someone is with studies, how diligent they are etc... and yet also depict them spending so much time engaging in social activities (Hermione Granger, I love you, but I am definitely looking at you).

Here comes the not-so-good bits. Maladies That Bind reads very much like a prologue, much the way one would feel when watching the first movie of Dune without knowing the source material — beautiful world, amazing characters, intriguing plot and a massive build-up that ultimately ends with none of the promised worldly problems being addressed at all. Literally, the entire book revolves around Lucille struggling to master chain-spell for her trials, with the overarching plot being dropped in in bits and pieces from snatches of overheard conversations from the adults. Nothing much happens in book 1 and the story ends after finally introducing to us what is potentially going to be the main plotline for the rest of the series — a search for the titular Wish Stone. It's almost like watching a world event unfold from the POV of a side character.

The other problem with the book is how difficult it is to get into the story at the start. There's a trend where authors are taught 'show, don't tell' with the idea that instead of spending paragraphs explaining things to readers in an info dump session, you should just march on with the story and reveal the details gradually. It works great — if you actually circle back to the point times enough that readers can piece together the big picture relatively fast. Unfortunately for Maladies That Bind, it takes a long time to actually comprehend what's going on and I daresay a lot of things were still left unaddressed till the end. It works for some, probably not for others.

Either way, ultimately, I enjoyed the story. The writing is great, including a very masterful use of third person POV (you only read as much as what the POV character is capable of perceiving and understanding). I'm definitely looking forward to book 2. show less

Continuation directly from the previous book. The end of year Trials are approaching and the new regime has no sympathy for anyone, magical dyslexia or not. If you can't picture 5 runes in your head at once you won't just fail, your magic will be brutally taken from you. So Lucillia has a cunning plan. It's time to flee. All she needs to do is work out how to remove the collar, enchanted by one the country's foremost mages to prevent that, plus evade 100 armed keepers devoted to countering show more any misbehaving mages, not get any of her friends into trouble, and avoid summoning the Wyrd. Easy.

The pacing was almost perfect, a lovely balance between the tension of the friendships, the urgency of the situation and some moments of respite and peace. I think having two very serious battles back to back became overkill (although no-one important dies) but otherwise the pages flew past. The characters developed wonderfully growing into their new challenges and facing the responsibilities of the past actions, whilst maintaining the key differences between them.

The setting was focused entirely on the magic school, not even any excursions to the village so the world-building paused a little from the first book, but now that the Wyrd has taken a greater prominence it needs more explanation in the future books. I'm looking forward to reading them. show less

What I loved most was how the relationships, especially between Lucille and Paige, feel real and heartfelt. Their friendship is tested in ways that make you root for them even more, while the dangers around them keep the tension high. The pacing balances action with moments of reflection, giving the characters room to grow while keeping the story exciting.

Overall, this is a gripping continuation of the Wishstone series. It’s dark, emotional, and full of magic—a perfect read for anyone show more who loves a fantasy world with strong characters and high stakes. show less