Love and Arithmancy continues the Liam Wren series by KJ Cartmell starring Liam Wren, from his first year at Hogwarts, in about 2004, up to (as of this writing) his sixth year.  Surrounding our eminently likable hero Liam is a wide cast of other characters, students (new to us readers, of course) and professors (some of whom are also new).  I am reminded of the vast 'army' of life-size terra cotta soldiers unearthed by archaeologists at the tomb of China's first emperor -- each soldier statue is said to bear a unique face as if modeled from an individual human being.  KJ Cartmell's cast of characters is like that -- each one has his or her distinct personality, such that it makes the reader feel as if he/she knows these characters as real friends and acquaintances, with all their strengths and weaknesses and their increasing maturity as they move through their adolescent years.

Because KJ Cartmell's series is set at a school, he also includes a gratifyingly large number of glimpses into the workings of the classes because, after all, classes are what occupies the student's attention throughout much of the day.  Do you know what Arithmancy is?  Any idea at all?  The author of our source material gives us no clue, other than Hermione's statement, somewhere in the seven books, that Arithmancy is a practical subject to study.  KJ Cartmell is the master of figuring out, revealing, and explaining to us all what Arithmancy is.  No, it's not just another branch of mathematics; mastering Arithmancy won't help you with calculus.  We see Arithmancy in action for the first time in this story, and it is further described and utilized in subsequent stories in this series.

The series really needs to be read in order, starting with Liam Wren and the Dragon Wand.  They're not stand-alone stories.  A host of issues are interwoven throughout the stories, from the light-hearted (cracking the secret recipe for a killer acne cream) to the frightening (utilization of hitherto-unknown Dark Magic).  KJ is good about updating his stories regularly, so we are never left hanging for very long!  A fun and enjoyable series!