Welcome Back, Booklovers! All year I've been craving a fantasy series with a Black cast that has stakes but still is able to bring the whimsy. And I wanted it to be set in a world similar to ours instead of a fantasy world inspired by Africa. So I was excited when I heard of an NYC set urban fantasy romance releasing in the fall. Luckily I was able to get an advanced copy from Entangled Publishing for review. And so Magic Dark Magic Divine kicks of the Warrior of the Divine Sword series by A.J. Locke.
Penn was asleep for almost 300 years and the world has changed drastically since her heyday of the magic-era. Since magic seems to be long gone Penn has been keeping a low profile as a karate instructor. But just because magic is gone doesn't mean the world has completely forgotten about it. There's even a company that offers DNA testing to help connect your family tree through your ancestors that had magical abilities. Penn's friend Gideon runs a shop selling magic era inspired items. There are five classes of talent magic which include tamers, temporals, conjurers, diviners, and shapers.
The story opens with them attending a magic-era inspired fair. At the fair Penn feels real magic and she can tell it's not her own. What was supposed to be a fake fire conjuring demonstration turns into a deadly real one. Penn uses her Shaper magic to fend off an attack from a creature who feeds off magic. Soon Penn discovers magic isn't long gone like she thought.
If that wasn't complicated enough Penn has to deal with growing feelings for one of her fellow karate instructors Callan.
I saw a review that said that magical creatures in this book gave them darker Pokémon for adults vibes and I agree. That's exactly how they felt! Ashe in her true form is this large foxlike doglike mix with two tails. There's really cool water creatures that are basically like floating coral beds and gazelle like creatures the size of an elephant with jewel toned eyes that are used for transport. A glossary of characters included makes it easy to keep creatures and other characters straight.
I really enjoy a romantic element in my fantasy stories when it's done well. Sometimes it's hard to find that balance and I thought this book did a good job making me root for Penn and Callan by giving their relationship just enough focus but also making sure to never loose sight of the danger at hand. From their first encounter I felt like I had been following their relationship for awhile. So it didn't seem too fast to me to watch them progress from rivals to lovers over the course of a few days.
Fast-paced and engaging with just the right amounts of showing and telling when necessary, I look forward to reading book 2 in this series and seeing how everything develops within this world.
Enjoyed the review.
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