This is the second book of the Mages of the Wheel series though there's an earlier book that sets up book 1. It's a bit different from the first two which involved a lot of politics. This is more of an action story as our protagonists Aylen and Bashir are a spy and a soldier respectively. Aylen works for Makram and Bashir is commander of the guard for the Sultana Naime. We met both of them in the earlier book, but this part of the series focuses on them. They are both strong and clever. Aylen is an Air Mage and Bashir is an Earth mage, but at first, their orders put them in conflict with each other.
This is a good series, in a Middle Eastern fantasy setting, but I admit that this one was not as interesting to me as the first two books. Endless fighting and action, however well written, isn't enough of a plot to entertain me. Also, one of the things I liked about the first two books is how balanced both the hero and heroine are. The magic system is about balance but the couples were equally complementary to each other in other respects. Here, Aylen is stronger both magically and as a person. He's more of a steady type as an Earth Mage should be, but it felt like she was saving him just a bit too much without equal parity on his part.
I enjoyed it though and I like how the overall plot is moving so Naime can build her circle. I'm ready to read the next book. ( )