Review: Enchanter's Echo

"The keep-out spell awoke at her approach. The enchanted mesh of vines and branches that blocked the entrance to Rallis Territory's forbidden forest vibrated in welcome as its creator returned..."

Welcome to Book Two in the Mayflower Mages series. (See my review of Syphon's Song: Mayflower Mages Book One.)

Picking up shortly after the events in book one left off. Our heroine is an enchanter mage (one of several new breeds of mages that author Anise Rae introduces us to) living on her own terms on the wrong side of the Republic tracks (known as the Drainpipe).

When we meet Aurora Firenze, she's on the backside of a long-term vow to one of the founding families (the Noble family) and she's not in a rush to find herself avowed to the service of another family, no matter how deep her bond with Edmund Rallis is. (Remember him from Syphon's Song?)

Much like her previous book, Rae is writing a romance with so much more. We've got a case of sabotage on the Rallis family (and their entire territory) and an entire cast of suspects to choose from. And while they're trying to save Rallis (and Edmund himself), our hero and heroine are on a crash course to falling in love.

I want to take a second here and commend the author. In both of her books now, she's featured a love story that, while complicated, isn't tortured. I really love that and found it so much easier to root for our couple--they were in love and even if one (or both) thought sacrifice was necessary, there was no question (or potential love triangle) to muddy the waters. It was pure and emotional and came across the pages. I dug that!

There's a gentleness to Aurora (compared to the timidity and fear our poor Bronte carried in Syphon's Song) that's sweet and sort of made me want to hug her--or at least invite her over for hot chocolate and Jane Austen movies.

I mentioned in my previous review how much I admired Rae's world building. It was all still here in book two, but in this entry in the series, I was fascinated by the way the vibes (magical auras) ratcheted up the sensuality and tension in the story...almost like a separate character in itself. It made the bonds between Edmund and Aurora that much more layered and was fascinating to imagine.

As if I needed more reasons to love this series, I happened to reach out to the author via social media with a question about review timing. I'm happy to report she's just as lovely as her series and it makes me root for an author and their work even more when they're genuinely nice people.

Rumor has it (okay, she told me) that's she's hard at work on book three, and if you happen to read the acknowledgements, she mentions book three will be Gregor's story (you'll remember him from Syphon's Song.)

Hooray, ya'll!!

Enchanter's Echo was incredibly unique, well written and full of complex characters that you can't help but to root for. The magic was fantastic and really draws you in.

DETAILS

Title: Enchanter's Echo

Series: Mayflower Mages, Book Two

Author: Anise Rae

Publisher: Kensington 

Price: $3.99 (released in February 2015)

Author Website: AniseRae.com

Author Twitter: @aniserae

(I was incredibly lucky to get an advanced review copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.)

Goodreads review available here.

Review: Syphon's Song

"Bronte Casteel had eleven hours, ten minutes and five seconds before her Non-mage pass expired. Her nerves crackled like the groomed pea gravel crunching beneath her old Volvo's tires..."

There's magic...and then there's vibes...

The world of the Republic is ruled by mages of a certain class--known as the founding families (the folks on the first Mayflower ships to arrive).

Bronte has the good luck of being born to one such family, and the bad luck of being born seemingly powerless (a Non). Except she's not powerless--she's one of the most feared, powerful types of mages that haven't been seen in hundreds of years. 

Being outed as syphon in Bronte's world is akin to being outed as a witch in Salem.

Our glimpse into her world starts with a dashing colonel, Vincent, from a rival founding family, the Rallises. They have a history together and Vincent knows exactly what she is because he's the one she draws power from whenever the two are in the same vicinity.

"Syphon's Song" is a lot more than just the pull Vincent and Bronte feel towards each other. There's political intrigue, a terrorist faction of Nons that may or may not be using Bronte to further their destruction, and a fear of the unknown that Bronte must work through if she (and Vincent) are going to survive.

My impressions: This wasn't your typical paranormal romance. Anise Rae took her time when building this world and really layered it with twists and turns that were actually more important to the story than the romance (which was amazing, by the way).

Rae, in my opinion, did a great job immersing us as readers into the magic. Through her well-written descriptions and scenes, we get a feel for what the magic (vibes) in this world feel like, look like and behave. It's really fascinating the way one character's magic interacts with the magic of another and added depth to all of the interpersonal relationships in the book.

Can Bronte open the mage world's eyes to the power syphons really have and the good they can do? Can Vincent stay true to his family while loving the daughter of his rivals?

I wasn't expecting to love this book quite as much as I did...it was a genre that was new to me and I'm kind of an old stodgy curmudgeon when it comes to moving outside my YA world. But I'm glad I did. 

Syphon's Song is an exciting first book to start out a creative new series.

DETAILS

Title: Syphon's Song

Series: Mayflower Mages, Book One

Author: Anise Rae

Publisher: Kensington 

Price: Free

Author Website: AniseRae.com

Author Twitter: @aniserae

Goodreads review available here.