Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Junk Magic by Karen Chance Narrator: Traci Odom
Series: Lia de Croisetts #1
Published by Tantor Audio on September 12, 2023
Genres: Urban Fantasy
Length: 13 hours, 29 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Half werewolf Lia de Croissets is a member of the War Mage Corps, the police branch of the world’s leading magical organization, the Silver Circle. She’s an instructor assigned to train new recruits, a job considered to be significantly tougher than combat—especially right now. There is a war going on in the supernatural world, and the other side has discovered a deadly new tactic.
Popular street drugs have been laced with a potent narcotic known as “fey wine”. An import from Faerie, the wine has been known to bring out latent magical abilities in humans, but this version does much more than that. It is so strong that it is drawing forth dangerous talents that were long ago deliberately weeded out of the magical gene pool.
Someone is making monsters out of regular people and turning them loose on an unsuspecting and very unprepared world. The Corps cannot afford to fight on two fronts at once, so Lia gets a new class: one made up of the only people who might be able to counter these latest threats. It remains to be seen if a group of sullen, disaffected magical outlaws can come together to contain an ancient plague before the whole world gets sick.
After encountering Lia as a minor character in earlier Cassie Palmer series books and as the main character in a few urban fantasy anthology novellas, I was more than primed to see her get her own full-length book. Karen Chance has written some great women action heroines over the years and Lia is one of them.
Junk Magic is a side jaunt off the main Cassie Palmer series and assumes that readers are familiar with the world of those stories though this does begin a wholly different plot path. I think the only crossover character is her partner, Caleb.
Lia is the hard-nosed, half mage, half were who can’t shift and that’s her biggest secret shame. She lets the dangerous supernatural world believe she doesn’t show her were side because she chose to be a mage and getting furry is frowned upon in the Circle. But, in actuality, she walks a perilous line of not admitting this weakness. She’s already a disliked rebel in the were community for having an outcast were as her boyfriend. Cyrus is a good guy and has created a pack of fellow outcasts, mostly young males.
It is one of these males morphing into a monster that launches Lia’s adventure into discovering what and who is behind it. This launch goes into a furious pace of fight scenes, taking care of the young weres who are a numerous menagerie, dealing with more than one big baddie, getting knocked down and picking herself up many times and not a deep breath taken until the end, when, as usual, I was left on overload and wondering what I’d just listened to.
One would think I’d learn. It has been years since I first encountered the Cassie Palmer-Dory Basarab world and I’ve gone on several roller coaster reads or listens that left my head spinning and no clear idea what I just experienced- lots of color, supernatural wonders, fast and furious fights, and a smidge of plotting and intrigue. I’ve got a love-hate, okay nothing so divided in feeling, but something like it when it comes to this writing style. But, I picked this up and got shocked by more of the same stuff. I secretly was hoping for a more coherent plot like those older, shorter pieces featuring Lia.
My love part of it all is just how imaginative Karen Chance can be with a supernatural setting, snappy dialogue, tone of bold adventure, fight action description, and engaging characters. While I’ve been slowly following out of love with Cassie and remain steady in my love of Dorina, I was ready for a new central female figure to emerge and Lia is a sensational urban fantasy heroine.
Will I pick up the next book knowing I’m in for a dizzying lulu ride? Of course I will. I can’t help myself when it comes to Karen Chance’s urban fantasy world.
Narration:
Traci Odom is not a new to me narrator, but new to me for narrating Karen Chance books so I had a good time encountering her voicing Lia’s story and showing her versatility voicing all those parts and the furious, fast-paced plot.
Listen to the clip: HERE
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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How fun!
Yes! A wild ride, for sure.
Oh that sounds like it would be a great read.
You’d get a kick out of this one with all the paranormals and the action, Mary.
Sounds great to me, and after reading your review, I feel I would be up for a rollercoaster ride also. 🙂
Oh yeah, fasten your safety belt and enjoy the ride, Sherry. 🙂
Sounds like a solid start to this spin-off series and I am glad to hear you enjoyed it. I haven’t tried this author, but have heard about her books. The settings and action sounds well done and I like the sound of the main character being half mage and half were, although that’s sounds difficult for her that she cant shift.
The author is so creative with her urban fantasy world and I really loved Lia being a war mage and were too.
Yea. Glad the spinoff works for you. I’ve never read the Cassie Palmer books, but I’ve heard they are really good.
I liked the first half or so of the Cassie Palmer series, but when the love triangle and then whatever this is now that is going on started taking over; I lost interest. But, yes, Lia’s new series has re-sparked my interest.