Digital Reads Reviews

Happy Publication Day!!

Quite a fun read it with two main characters who were initially antagonists until they found a common foe who was taking advantage of the magical situation.

Grace Marchant had had her magic drained off in her childhood, and all she remembered was being left on the doorstep of the Academy from where she trained to become a great commander who would hunt down Mageborn, people having magic so that magic could be leeched or made to bow down.

Bastien was the cousin to the king who drained the Mageborn of their magic and conducted experiments to help them, or so he thought. The main leads had their duties cut out until someone began killing the Mageborns, and both were forced to work together to find out the truth. Secrets, plotting of an insane mind, and need for more power were all exposed down the line.

Having read a few books by author Jessica Thorne, I was quite excited by the beginning of this story. Rules of magic were clear. The attraction between the main characters was kept subtle. I loved how the two joined forces and worked not only against the power hungry people of the Kingdom but also the deep coil of dark power inside Bastien that was destroying him one cell at a time.

The story went through its adventure, and the wicked minds of folks kept me hooked to the story. The action scenes and the political treachery moved the story forward. The mid section slowed down, and the prose could have been more interesting. Luckily, the last few chapters more than made up for it. The ending was a shocker which had me reveling in joy at the sheer power that was unleashed. It was quite a secret that was kept hidden in the entire book.

Overall, quite an interesting read over tea and biscuits.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

A dark and addictive fantasy read for fans of Graceling and Sarah J. Maas. The life of an orphan soldier becomes entwined with that of the mysterious heir to the throne, whose very presence draws out the secret magic living inside her: a magic that breaks every law she is duty-bound to uphold…

The room is small and dark. Row upon row of jars line the shelves, each one sealed with blood-red wax. The seal’s mark is a twisted circle of briar with gleaming, gold-tipped thorns. And in each jar a flicker of forbidden magic dances… beautiful, but deadly.

Sold to the Crown in the aftermath of the Last Great War, Grace Marchant has never known her parents. Now, she trains as an elite soldier tracking down mageborn – those born with an ancient and long-outlawed magic – and destroying them if they don’t surrender their power to the Crown.

The mageborn who submit are collared, then handed over to the King’s cousin and heir: the elusive Bastien Larelwynn, Lord of Thorns, locked away in his shadowy workshop deep inside the castle. What becomes of them is hard to say – the Lord of Thorns keeps his secrets close.

Grace has always fought the voice inside her that questions whether the law is truly just – but when her closest friend is next on Bastien’s list, Grace’s loyalties are tested to the limit. Confronting Bastien – searching his strangely compelling obsidian-black eyes for answers – Grace is shocked to feel herself begin to change, to show the first signs of the wild magic she so fears.

Only the Lord of Thorns has the power to save her and the rest of the mageborn – if he doesn’t destroy them all first…

Publication Date: February 2020