Magic Dark, Magic Divine (ARC)

⭐⭐⭐

Release Date: November 15, 2021

Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romance

Blurb: 

Falling asleep for almost 300 years was never part of Pennrae's plan. 

Of course, when you're a mercenary with magical abilities and defy a spellbinding prophecy...bad stuff happens. 

Now, magic is long gone from the world. So Penn works as a karate instructor, trying very hard to dodge her hot, flirty, and super annoying colleague, Callan. All is well until a JIgori - a nightmarish magic-eating monster- shows up at a New York City street fair, forcing Penn to use her Shaper magic, which allows her to transform wood and metal into deadly weapons. 

Now, the Jigori's master has her scent, and their eye on steeling her 300 years of life. If they succeed, Penn succumbs to centuries of sleep again, and magic will be unleashed on a completely unprepared world. 

And to add to her ridiculously complicated life, something isn't quite right with Callan. Which she could figure out if it weren't for that evil, apocalyptic plot she's trying to stop. But Penn may not have a choice - Callan could be the secret weapon she needs to save the world...

Review: 

The concept of this book caught my attention right away as a Fantasy fan. A world full of magic, Shapers, Diviners and Temporals, very unique to this story. 

I loved both Pennrae and Callan and how they met while in a Taekwondo Martial Arts gym. Another thing I really liked about this story was Ashe, who in all honesty, might be my magical spirit animal. Even as Pennrae's familiar, Ashe held her own. She was loyal and didn't take any crap! In the Fantasy world, there's always that one thing that sets a story apart, for Magic Dark, Magic Divine, it was the Cephis. Having a protector the size of a doll with divine magic was just perfect. 

I was excited to get started, however It took a while to grab my attention and I felt that some of the chapters were too long winded. It's possible that the journey from future to the past and one place to another confused me, causing me to lose interest at times. There was a lot happening in this first book and I feel like it took away from what could have been a great start to this series. Having the glossary was helpful, but I was on information overload and couldn't enjoy the book the way it's meant to be enjoyed. I wanted to love it, but just couldn't get into it. I gave it 3 stars for the potential, concept and characters. 

Magic Dark, Magic Divine

A.J. Locke