Publisher: Saga Press
Publication Date: September 26, 2017
Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Adult, Urban Fantasy
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
In New York City, magic controls everything. But the power of magic is fading. No one knows what is happening, except for Sydney—a new, rare magician with incredible power that has been unmatched in decades, and she may be the only person who is able to stop the darkness that is weakening the magic. But Sydney doesn’t want to help the system, she wants to destroy it.
Sydney comes from the House of Shadows, which controls the magic with the help of sacrifices from magicians. “
This was a book that was picked for my bookclub on Instagram and I had never heard of it or seen it anywhere. I was VERY surprised when I found I could not put it down! Let me just say, this is highly underrated!
Character. Sydney is a character that I found myself going, “Oh man, I want to be like her.” She can take pain, and I mean A LOT of pain, she is kind, extremely clever, and very powerful. Ian was a good match to her I think. He was all of those things as well. Gray was a super creepy baddie. And Laurant was my favorite! He’s just so sweet and is an honorable character.
World. Howard did an amazing job creating this magical society that operates unseen within our own! She made it seem like it could be real. Like if I just looked hard enough I could find it. I love when authors can make you feel that way! I loved the way her magic system worked. I don’t think there were any details that I wondered about! To use magic there MUST be a sacrifice. Whether or not that comes from your body or someone else.
Plot. Oh mama, that plot. A dark house of magic that releases the most powerful magician ever who only has her own plans to destroy them? Yes. That’s their downfall. They were too prideful in thinking that they manipulated Sydney enough to be loyal. And it backfires. Badly. Plus the whole plot is based in magical games to see who will win control over the magical world. WAY cool.
Final Thoughts. Two minor dislikes. One is the audio book narrator. She spoke very haltingly whenever the characters spoke. She. Talked. Like. There. Were. Periods. In. Between. Words. I got used to it but it was kind of annoying. The other really minor dislike is that I wish the fight scenes lasted longer. HOWEVER, modern, magical games. That right there should make you want to read this. I saw there was going to be a second book and I can’t wait!
Recommend me some underrated fantasy books!
*As always, gorgeous book sleeve is from Love You More Studio! Code: Storied10 to save!*
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Storied Adventures 