The Tethered Mage (Swords and Fire #1)
In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled -- taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army.
Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.
Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage.
War looms on the horizon. A single spark could turn their city into a pyre.
The Tethered Mage is the first novel in a spellbinding new fantasy series.
Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.
Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage.
War looms on the horizon. A single spark could turn their city into a pyre.
The Tethered Mage is the first novel in a spellbinding new fantasy series.
What I thought:
I started this book during the terrible reading slump of Winter, 2017. I couldn't get into it, but I figured it was the slump's fault, so I set it aside. Fast-forward to Spring, 2018 and I'm so glad I picked this back up because I really enjoyed it.
I loved the beginning. Lots of action and the world-building was well done. There is a lot to this new world but it was deftly woven into the story. I adored Amalia's character. Zaira, I was less crazy about. In her defense, she was there against her will, so her angst was justifiable, but she came off sort of like Max from Two Broke Girls, except not funny. I would have liked a lot more levity there to break up the tension. I did, however, find her growing on me by the end of the book, so, shrugs, I guess I'll forgive her.
There is romance, but it's not the main focus. Act II felt slow to me, which is why I initially put this down. I think it could've been maybe a hundred pages lighter and not suffered at all. I like big books, like a lot, but some of the scenes felt like they weren't pulling their weight to move the plot forward. Also, some of Amalia's actions had me shaking my head a little, and the ensuing action that followed those questionable decisions felt too contrived as a result.
That said, the intrigue and espionage of this story was really good. I love that it kept me guessing. Sometimes the villains felt a little over-the-top. For all the talk of how ruthless the Empire is, one of the bad guys (no spoilers) sure got away with a lot, and I kept wondering how this person was still alive, but I enjoyed how the story played out and I'm excited for the next one. I want more romance and I think I'm going to enjoy Zaira (and her love life) even more in THE DEFIANT HEIR. ;)
Rating: **** (4 stars)
*I received an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.
Happy Reading,
Chelly
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RATING SCALE:
5* = OMFG loved it. Will read it again. Touch my book and I will cut you.
4* = Really good. Highly recommend. Miiiight reread. Maybe. Don't touch my book.
3* = Good. I liked it. Go ahead and touch it.
2* = Not for me, finished but struggled. Didn't connect. Here, have a book.
1* = DNF. Couldn't do it.
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Click on the cover to link to Goodreads and leave your book recs in my comments. Comments make me smile. :)
Oh, yeah, and find me on twitter: @ChellyPike
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