Publication Date: 24th Oct from Orbit
Source: Review Copy
In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled — taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army.
Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.
Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations.
But fate has bound the heir and the mage. And as war looms on the horizon, a single spark could turn their city into a pyre.
Ooh good this one was. That was my attempt at Yoda again. I’m never any good at it but it’s always worth a try.
So The Tethered Mage is a political thriller. Kind of. I’m glad Theresa May doesn’t have access to falcons.
This book has magical mayhem and behind the scenes shenanigans, a brilliantly imagined world and two girls bound to each other by fate and fury. Mostly on Zaira’s part the fury. Which is unfortunate as she possesses the ability to burn the world to the ground so a bit like the hulk you really don’t want to make her angry.
What I loved about this one was, well, all of it. Amalia is a beautifully drawn character, born into duty and expected to eventually do great things. Then she ends up becoming a Falconer through sheer chance and is bound to Zaira, a fire warlock whose power is huge yet lacking in control. To say nobody is that happy about this would be an understatement but with Amalia’s calm intelligence and Zaira’s fast wit and street smarts (also hilarious bouts of sarcasm which keep you smiling) somehow they start building a relationship and trust. Very slowly. Considering there’s the strong possibility a war is about to start they might want to move that along a little…
Gosh I really don’t want to give anything away. The story is strongly character driven, but Melissa Caruso manages to make you see their world in vivid, colourful snapshots. The different empires (or wishful empires) the hierarchy and political landscape all built to perfection through the characters adventures. I loved all of them especially the wickedly dark Lord Ruthven, but what gave the book such huge heart were the relationships between the various people, some trying to start that war some trying to stop it – and especially the growing friendship between our two main protagonists.
The writing is sharp and often ironically funny, sometimes very powerful especially when all hell* (*translation: Zaira) is breaking loose and overall The Tethered Mage is a fantastically readable, incredibly addictive and intelligently plotted fantasy novel, the start of a series that I cannot WAIT to read more of – I loved it, complete and utter escapism of the very best kind. Roll on The Defiant Heir. Can I have it now please?
Highly Recommended.
Happy Reading!
