Review: Marked by Magic (The Baine Chronicles Book 4) by Jasmine Walt

Marked by Magic by Jasmine Walt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Another Great Installment

This series goes from strength to strength. I love Sunaya’s character and how she is conflicted about her heritage, but still tries to help those that reject her because of it.

Tensions in the city have ramped up significantly, and Sunaya has to return to the palace for her own safety. Her life has been threatened, but she wants to know what’s happening in her beloved city, so goes out under magical disguise. Her encounters with humans, shifters and mages, whilst in disguise, reveal a lot of secrets that help her work with the Chief Mage. She is trying to fight for the rights of humans and shifters against the entrenched opinions of the Mage Council.

At the same time as trying to protect the city, she is trying to control herself. She is in heat and is desperate to avoid having sex with anyone other than Iannis, but at the same time is unwilling to settle for something other than a full relationship with him. It’s a difficult path to tread for a shifter in heat, but it seems she might be getting some help from a mystical source.

This is such a good series, with well rounded and fascinating characters. It’s got a well paced plot, with fun twists along the way. The romance is not the main focus of the series, or even this book, but it is more significant in this particular book after the tension has climbed slowly over the last few books between Sunaya and Iannis. The sex is not overly explicit and the romance aspect is the focus of the relationship.

I highly recommend you read this series if you enjoy either fantasy or urban fantasy. If you do, then this could well be a series you would enjoy.

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Review: Torture (Terraway Series Book 3) by Mary E Twomey

Torture by Mary E. Twomey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Aptly Named Book

The book starts out with the torture of October in Terraway. After she is freed through the efforts of the council, she returns Topside to recover, with her equally tortured Von and Mason. Throughout the whole book we are shown the aftermath of October’s trip to Terraway and the impact of isolation and starvation on her psyche.

The relationship she has with those around her seem very shaky in this book. They seem to teeter between growing close or being blasted further apart. Of course it doesn’t help that both Mason and Von were also tortured and that they weren’t the most stable of souls to start off with. These shaky relationships dredge up some difficult feelings from the past as well as the present and October’s emotions are hit hard. Being stuck for the rest of her life, with her two Reapers, makes it hard to find an even keel when they upset her.

It also doesn’t help that October is being visited in her dreams by a beautiful man who seems to be more than a figment of her imagination, if only she could recognise it.

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Review: Hunted by Magic (The Baine Chronicles Book 3) by Jasmine Walt

Hunted by Magic by Jasmine Walt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Excellent Plot

The third book in this series builds seamlessly on to the first two. The tension is ratcheted higher between all three races with the disappearance of the Chief Mage. Iannis didn’t reach the Convention being held in the capital and there is no trace of how and where he disappeared in a vast area that was flown over by dirigible.

After his disappearance his council decide to take the opportunity to take advantage of his absence. Sonaya is threatened with arrest and forbidden from seeking out Iannis. Of course this does not stop her, especially with the charm that links them to help her find him. She calls on help from her allies and sets off to find her Master.

There is a lot of action in this book, as there was in previous ones, but it also covers some character progression and history. In particular we find out more about Fenris and Iannis, their friendship and their history. We also look at Iannis’ deeper motivations and feelings. There are tidbits of hints about Mage history and culture that are dropped casually through this book too, which is always of interest.

I really enjoyed this book and the tension has been cranked exponentially for what comes next in a city that has been betrayed by it’s ruling class.

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Review: Weakened Mountains (Artemis University Series Book 4) by Erin R Flynn

Weakened Mountains by Erin R Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Enjoyable and Entertaining Read

Tamsin is due to start her second semester at Artemis Academy and she has a lot to get through before it starts. Her responsibilities seem to increase every time she turns around and trying to do it all whilst trying to hide her nature isn’t easy.

When she returns to Artemis she is attacked by someone she thought was a friend and carries the wound of that misjudgement as well as the attack.

Tamsin faces many challenges in this book but there is no ‘great big bad’ that she has to deal with. It’s lots of little issues that crop up, that are important just not a single driving impetuous to the plot. However all these little things add up to show who Tamsin is and the challenges she faces as she learns more about herself as the last fae.

This series is tremendously enjoyable and I love how Tamsin fights against injustice and prejudiced behaviour, whilst rewarding the good guys. She’s an unusual character and I love how she finds out that some of her more interesting character traits are due to her fae nature.

A highly entertaining and enjoyable book, but you need to read the rest of the series first.

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Review: Surviving Plagues (Artemis University Series Book 3) by Erin R Flynn

Surviving Plagues by Erin R. Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fun and Easy Reading

This author is very good at giving her female lead characters something to fight against. With Tamsin she is fighting against the corruption inherent in system that does not hold the rich and the powerful accountable, whilst suppressing those without wealth or power, by giving them no avenue to hold their leaders to account.

Since day one in the supernatural world, Tamsin has been fighting a battle for fairness, that seems to be part of her fairy nature. With all the leaders of the supernatural world wanting to have Tamsin declare her race so they can have her power for themselves, she is fighting on multiple fronts to protect herself and the people she cares about, especially when someone decides to launch the biblical plagues against the school until she reveals her race.

At the same time as dealing with serious subjects such as racial and sexual equality and fighting against corruption, Tamsin still gets to have fun, going on dates and getting hot and bothered with her lovers.

This book also sees Tamsin’s secret opened to more and more people, making her fearful for her safety, but she hasn’t been let down yet.

This book is a fun read and despite it’s sometimes serious topics it’s not angsty in any way. I recommend this series, but you need to start at the beginning to understand this book at all.

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