Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston – Review

• Title: Amari and the Night Brothers
• Author: B. B. Alston
• Publisher: Egmont Books on January 21, 2021
• Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
• Pages: 416
• Format: Hardcover, Digital, & Audio
• Rating: 5/5

Many thanks to Dave at The Write Reads Blog Tours, Netgalley, B. B. Alston, and Egmont Books for providing me with a digital ARC copy of Amari and the Night Brothers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

Trigger Warnings: Mild Violence, Bullying

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Amari and the Night Brothers Blurb

Quinton Peters was the golden boy of the Rosewood low-income housing projects, receiving full scholarship offers to two different Ivy League schools. When he mysteriously goes missing, his little sister, 13-year-old Amari Peters, can’t understand why it’s not a bigger deal. Why isn’t his story all over the news? And why do the police automatically assume he was into something illegal?

Then Amari discovers a ticking briefcase in her brother’s old closet. A briefcase meant for her eyes only. There was far more to Quinton, it seems, than she ever knew. He’s left her a nomination for a summer tryout at the secretive Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Amari is certain the answer to finding out what happened to him lies somewhere inside, if only she can get her head around the idea of mermaids, dwarves, yetis and magicians all being real things, something she has to instantly confront when she is given a weredragon as a roommate.

Amari must compete against some of the nation’s wealthiest kids—who’ve known about the supernatural world their whole lives and are able to easily answer questions like which two Great Beasts reside in the Atlantic Ocean and how old is Merlin? Just getting around the Bureau is a lesson alone for Amari with signs like ‘Department of Hidden Places this way, or is it?’ If that all wasn’t enough, every Bureau trainee has a talent enhanced to supernatural levels to help them do their jobs – but Amari is given an illegal ability. As if she needed something else to make her stand out.

With an evil magican threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

Quoted from Goodreads

My Review

The novel, Amari and the Night Brothers, has accomplished something that no other book has been able to do. This story made me fall in love from the first paragraph. My love for this book is so great that it rivals my love of Harry Potter. Harry has been in the number one position since I finished the first book. There has been no other story since that has me ready to stand in line for hours to get my hands on the sequel.

Amari is like no heroine I have ever seen. She is strong and capable, but her life has not been kind, which causes her to doubt herself. When she opens up and decides that she is good enough, the magic flows. I have never been more enamored with a character as I am with Amari.

I did guess who the baddie was very early on, but I kept wishing that I was wrong. And, the truth is, I still think that said baddie can and will redeem themselves. With the love and friendship surrounding this person, I think they will turn out okay in the end.

The world that B. B. Alston has built with Amari is one where I want to visit. The magic is strong, and the Bureau is a place I truly want to see. The mischievous elevator alone would be worth the trip. I can see myself living in this world and want to be part of it very much. I cannot wait to see how the next book goes.

With great enthusiasm, I award Amari and the Night Brothers a full 5 out of 5 stars. If you are looking for a magical world that feels as real as breathing, you need to read this novel. I can’t recommend it enough.

About the Author – B. B. Alston

When not writing, he can be found eating too many sweets and exploring country roads to see where they lead.