Tuesday, March 27, 2012

[Review]: "Illicit Magic"

Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer
Publisher: Audacious (May 1, 2011)
Series: Stella Mayweather, 1
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance

Summary (Amazon.com):
More than three hundred years after the most terrifying witch hunts the world has ever known, it's happening again.

Racing from attack by the ruthless Brotherhood in London to the powerful witch council in New York, twenty-four-year-old novice witch Stella has to put her faith in strangers just to stay alive but she might not be any safer in their midst than from the danger she is running from.

Sent to an extraordinary safe house by the sea to learn her craft, Stella finds there is more than one dark secret in her new family: Étoile’s sister is spoken of in fear and sadness; Marc is supposed to be a powerful witch but is missing his magic; where does the owner of their safe house vanish to every day and why does Evan have the eyes of someone not quite human? There is only one secret that someone will do anything to keep quiet, but whose secret is it and will Stella have to pay the price for silence?


Where to Buy*:
More Info:

Other Books in the Series:
Click on the covers to buy from BN.com; the title links to the book's page on the author's website.

Book 2: Unruly Magic
Book 3: Devious Magic


My Review:

Illicit Magic begins the story of Stella Mayweather, who has just found out that she's a witch. As she slowly starts to learn the craft, as well as how to perfect her gifts, she finds herself running from the Brotherhood, a group that is scouring the world, burning witches alive. As if that wasn't enough, while staying at a safe home with other magic weavers, someone close to the group comes after her, ransacking her room and attacking the entire household, all in the hopes of getting hold of Stella. Can Stella learn to control her powers, help solve her parents' murders, protect her new friends, AND figure out what her relationship is with her sexy “teacher”, Evan, before it's too late?


While I liked the story that Illicit Magic told, as well as some of the characters, I felt like there was something missing from the book. I can't put my finger on it, exactly, but whatever it was took a book that could have been a “wow” for me and turned it into only a “meh”. And although “meh” isn't a bad rating, it's obviously not the kind of review that anyone wants to write—and surely not one that an author wants to read! But I have to be honest in my reviews, and, for me at least, this story fell short.


I was a bit annoyed by how some things were repeated over and over again in the book—perhaps not word for word, but still repetitive all the same. I was also a bit put off by the fact that I knew what was happening in the story before even Stella—either she was slow or blind, I'm not sure which, and since this was told from a 1st person POV, that's saying a lot when the reader connects the dots before the heroine!


Yet there were plenty of things I liked about this book. Evan was great, and though I wanted to know more about him (I guess I'll just have to wait for the next two books), he was a pretty good hero. I was happy to see him and Stella get together, though it did take some time (and they have yet to reach a HEA by any means). I really enjoyed how he distracted Stella while he was helping her to practice with her powers. I think that scene was my favorite, both for it's subtle sexiness and slight humor.


3 STARS! A good, quick read, Illicit Magic begins the Stella Mayweather series with a kick! I'm curious to see what happens next (as this one ended with a cliff hanger big enough that I was tempted to throw the book against the wall), although I won't be picking up the sequels right away. While I enjoyed parts of the book, there were still enough flaws and rough patches in the story to take my overall rating of the book down a few notches. Still, this book turned out to be pretty good, and I don't regret reading it one bit. If you're looking for a new series to get behind, one filled with magic and action and even a good dose of romance, then Chafer's books may just be what you need!




~*~*~*~
I received this e-book from Bewitching Book Tours, in addition to joining the blog tour for this author. In exchange, I agreed to give my honest opinion on the novel.
~*~*~*~



Don't forget that Camilla Chafer will be back on March 30th with a guest post!





Enjoy!




Until Next Time,
Photobucket
*TBQ's Book Palace is a member of both the Amazon and Barnes and Nobles affiliates program. By using the links provided to buy products from either website, I receive a very small percentage of the order. To read my full disclosure on the matter, please see this post!

No comments :