Nicely written with a good flow to the story. I like the separations between the types of magic. Mason and Drake were good together. There was a build up to the next book between the two dark warlocks. Entertaining for a YA book. ( )

While I can’t for the life of me explain why it took me so long to sink my teeth into this magically fascinating series, I can tell you that I have wanted to read it for some time. Why? Well, for one thing there is a new magical world to explore that secretly exists in parallel with the reality we know; it has its own rules and some great world building already in book one, yet is quite different in look and feel from other “magical” worlds I have read about. For another thing, the characters sound interesting, conflicted, and in need of some learning and growing. Oh and also, from what I have seen in this first volume, there are likely to be drama, conflict, adventure, and emotional challenges all over the place – even a mysteriously murdered body right at the beginning of the series. What’s not to like?

Mason is an eighteen-year-old warlock, a student at Havenbridge High, and while he is potentially quite powerful, he can’t reveal his true nature to any humans for fear of all warlocks being at risk of extinction just like they were before they went into hiding. His life at school is well organized; he has a group of cronies who cater to his wishes because they subconsciously feel his power. But within the first few pages it all comes apart: a cocky new boy sits at Mason’s table without having been invited, a witch named Miranda informs him there is a dead body on the football field, and this discovery and Mason’s efforts to find out who did it sets in motion a series of events that had me glued to the pages.

Whereas Mason’s personal life is pretty much under control, his magical situation is a different matter. As a warlock, he is gifted with black magic – wizards have gray magic that represents balance and witches have white magic. But he has not come into his personal power yet and that causes all kinds of issues. Aside from the fact that the spells he casts usually backfire on himself, he has some rather unorthodox views about the three types of magic, how all magical beings should interact, and, despite admonishments to “behave” he keeps questioning everything. It makes him the proverbial “black sheep” of his family and I loved that about him.

But all of Mason’s problems fade given the enemy who is coming. Nobody can easily identify the exact nature of the threat, not even the powerful Conclave that rules warlocks, wizards, and witches. Then there is the riddle around Drake, the new boy at school, and who or what he is. Not to mention some of the witches being friendlier than they should be according to the rules, and some odd behavior from the Conclave. More than enough to keep Mason busy – and me guessing. The final reveal of what was happening was bloodcurdling, Mason’s power (once it appears) as unusual as it is scary, and the ending of the book is such that pretty much anything could happen next. Way to keep me in suspense!

If you like magical worlds and figuring out how they work, if you enjoy stories where it isn’t clear who is allied with whom and who or what the bad guys are, and if you’re looking for a read full of mystery, secrets, adventure, discoveries, suspense, and unexpected revelations, then you will probably like this novel as much as I do. I am so glad I can go straight to number two in the series!


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Rainbow Book Reviews. ( )