The Warrior Heir Series by Cinda Williams Chima

From www.cindachima.com:

The Warrior Heir

One March day, Jack Swift, a high school student in a small college town, forgets to take the medicine he’s taken daily since he was an infant. There ensues a cascade of events that puts him in mortal danger.

Jack discovers he carries a secret within him that has made him a target of the ruthless wizards of the Red and White Rose. Jack is a Warrior Heir, the last of a dying breed, sought after by the Roses to fight in the tournaments that are used to allocate power among the Wizard Houses. Unknown to him, Jack has lived all his life surrounded by members of the Magical Guilds: wizards, enchanters, soothsayers, and sorcerers. They are determined to save him from the Roses.

With the aid of his aunt, a beautiful enchanter, Jack desperately tries to acquire the skills that might save his life. Jack and his friends, Will and Fitch, unearth a magical sword from a cemetery and fight off the wizards who would take it from them. Jack begins training with the dark and dangerous Leander Hastings, a wizard with a mysterious past.

Meanwhile, Jack is torn between his attraction to Ellen Stephenson, a new student at Trinity High School, and Leesha Middleton, his former girlfriend, who decides she wants him back.

Discovered and besieged by treachery at home, he flees to the Lake District of England. There he is confronted by the greatest challenge of all.

The Wizard Heir

Sixteen year old wizard Seph McCauley has spent the past 3 years bouncing from one exclusive private school to another. Orphaned as a baby, Seph was raised by Genevieve LeClerc, the sorcerer owner of a Toronto bed and breakfast. LeClerc tried to protect Seph from the treacherous world of wizardry by keeping him away from others of his kind.

But now LeClerc is dead, leaving Seph on his own and without the training he needs to control his growing power. He prowls the illegal clubs of Toronto’s warehouse district, plagued by magical accidents that are increasing in frequency and severity. Worse, he’s beginning to realize that the stories he’s been told about his parents’ life and death are fabrications—that the people he most trusted have been lying to him.

After causing a tragic fire at an after-hours party, Seph is sent to the Havens, a secluded boys’ school on the coast of Maine. At first, it seems like the answer to his prayers. Gregory Leicester, the headmaster, promises to train Seph in magic and enroll him in the mysterious order of wizards known as the Alumni. But the dream quickly turns into a nightmare as Seph learns there is a price to be paid for knowledge.

Everyone around him is keeping secrets: Jason Haley, a fellow student who’s been told to stay away from Seph; the enchanter Linda Downey, who knew his parents; the rogue wizard Leander Hastings, and the warriors Jack Swift and Ellen Stephenson. Seph finds himself at the center of a war that he may not survive.

The Dragon Heir

For centuries, wizards have avoided making war on each other for fear of waking the legendary dragon that sleeps at Raven’s Ghyll. But it is a new age. The patriarch Nicodemus Snowbeard is rapidly failing. The Wizard Houses of the Red and White Rose have united against Claude D’Orsay, Master of Games and keeper of the Dragonhold. D’Orsay and his sadistic son Devereaux seem poised to seize control of all of the magical guilds. But everything changes during a raid on the Ghyll, when the magical stone called the Dragonheart is stolen. It is rumored to be both a deadly weapon and the source of power for all the magical guilds.

In Britain and in Trinity, Jason Haley battles his own demons as he seeks revenge against those who murdered his father. Seph McCauley assumes more and more responsibility as he struggles to keep the Roses at bay. The warriors Jack Swift and Ellen Stephenson train for a battle that they hope never comes, while their Anaweir friends Will and Fitch contribute their technical knowledge to the defense of the Sanctuary.

Over Seph’s objections, the moody and mysterious Madison Moss has gone home to the hills she loves and hates. She sees in the coming battle the destruction of everything she cares about. But it is becoming increasingly clear that Madison may hold the key to the survival of the Sanctuary at Trinity, if the Weirguilds can win her support before she’s found and taken by the other side.

Our Review: The Warrior Heir Series:

"I read all day; eating was a burden, I had no desire for food; sleep was a burden when the night came, for I preferred reading to sleep." (G.B.H.) A series that is similar to both the Harry Potter series and the Fablehaven series, yet also comparable to Lord of the Rings. Tom Clancy couldn't have done better!! Cinda Williams Chima creates a series that holds its own. It is intriguing for both the male and female gender and suitable for young teens and older. Once you start reading these, you'll be addicted and become a lazy couch potato. At the end, however, you'll go into your dad's workshop, fashion a sword and armor and attempt to relieve the vivid fantasy in your backyard. For our young single female readers, your heart will become entwined in the story as you wish you can have this kind of fantasy become a reality. Each book holds a new twist that you do not expect that satisfies, unknowingly, your reader's curiosity. So this is what you need to do when all is said and done, come to the library and check them out! If you don't want to wait long to read a good series, than it is definitely worth purchasing for your home library!! Enjoy!