mages

Synopsis:
Magic. Mystery. Mayhem. Fate has come due.

Having defeated the corrupt concubine Soo Hebin, and cast the first witch into a prison she shouldn’t be able to escape easily, Tam thinks some rest is in order.
Sadly, because the Zinferan emperor has it in his mind that Eli should be the heir to his throne, there isn’t much time for that.

With help from Katarina Ashowan and the Ryu family, Tam, Eli, Luca, and Penelope set sail for Dazaria at long last.

Only, leaving Zinfera doesn’t get rid of their troubles for long.

Upon rescuing some mysterious Lobahlans from Zinferan pirates, and learning that the rebellion of the covens is coming to a climax, Tam finds that his new moniker, the devil, is starting to sit a little heavily on his shoulders.

Can he manage to help stop an all-out war from breaking out between witches and humans? Will the First Witch stay banished and leave him and his family alone? And most importantly, can he convince the freedom-loving Eli to agree to marry him?

Discover the epic conclusion in The Ether Witch, Volume 3: The Divining of a Devil—a spellbinding fantasy filled with witches, royal intrigue, magic, and star-crossed romance.

Review:
This book has everything: sass, cats, chickens (you’ll understand when you read it), and our favourite hybrid human-witch family reunited once more. Tamlin has grown so much since the first book in this series, and it is hard to say goodbye–but this book does have an absolutely lovely send off. While so many were always so hard on Tamlin, it is easy to see how he really shaped the younger family members he cared about. Perhaps some may consider him a bit too willing to jump into self sacrifice, but what is a familiar for if not to talk their witch down from making some quite stupid mistakes? Though the ending is bittersweet, there were also some very serious subjects throughout this novel of choice and what people do under pressure for those they love. One is set to dislike Luca’s mother for the way he had been reared, but after hearing how everything transpired, it is hard not to feel a modicum of sympathy for her; as in the real world, nothing in Tam’s life is completely black and white. With everything wrapped up neatly in Epilogue 2 one might have thought that this is our last glimpse into the world of The House Witch… but Epilogue 1 has me thinking that this may not be the last readers see of the Ashowan family. (May the empurror and empurress long reign!)

Star rating: ✯✯✯✯✯

Synopsis:
The wizard Margle the Horrendous takes special pride in never killing his enemies. Instead, he transforms them into various accursed forms and locks them away in his castle. His halls are filled with his collection of fallen heroes and defeated villains, along with a few ordinary folk who were just unfortunate enough to draw Margle’s attention.

It’s Nessy’s duty to tend this castle. It’s a lot of work, but she manages, taking pride in housekeeping talents that keep the castle from collapsing into chaos. But when Margle suddenly dies, everything begins to unravel. Nessy finds herself surrounded by monsters, curses, a door that should never be opened, and one very deadly dark wizardess.

Nessy doesn’t have might or magic on her side; she’s just a kobold: short, furry, and sensible. Her allies aren’t much better: a voice without a body, an angry fruit bat, a monster under her bed, a wizard in a jar (or some of him, anyway), and a one-eyed, one-horned, flying, purple, people eater. It would be smarter to walk away, but taking care of the castle is Nessy’s job, and that’s just what she intends to do.

If only she could find time to polish the silver while beating back the forces of darkness.

Review:
This book was gifted to me for Christmas, so therefore counts towards the paper books read tally. I personally found the book a bit hard to get into, but then it wasn’t a book I would have picked up for myself. This book was interesting in that it dealt with a lot of neat Dungeons and Dragons adjacent creatures/effects. This was definitely a younger age book than I would have expected, though marketed for adults I really think 8+ could read and enjoy this novel. There were a lot of good moments of learning about one’s self and abilities and not being defined by a title you may have gained/have or what you are considered because of the station you were born into in life.

I would recommend this to any young readers into DnD that like adventure.

Star rating: ✯✯✯

Amy S. Brown

Review of The Ether Witch: The Divining of A Devil by Delemhach

Review of Too Many Curses by A. Lee Martinez