By Bel Banta
Narrated by Samantha Hydeson
Thank you to NetGalley, the audiobook producer and the author for the opportunity to listen to and review this ALC
Politics and court intrigue and a complex magic system that is based on planets and astrological charts. Sign. Me. Up.
Before I get into the review of the story I want to comment on the quality of the audiobook and the narrator, Samantha Hydeson. The narrator’s voice over uses a Recieved Pronunciation accent that works perfectly to capture Bianca and Roland who have grown up in court and would have a posh tone. The entire novel is 3rd person narrative but in Bianca’s point of view, so the voice captures Bianca, but the narrator is able to create a distinct voice for Roland without making it husky or heavy. I think narrating single voice romantic/ spice scenes can be difficult but the narrator manages it very well.
The basic premise in this first book of what will be an epic fantasy romance series is that when the stars and planets align in a specific way and a child is born at the very moment, that child will be born as a magician with magic attuned to the planet they are born under. This makes magicians rare, random and powerful, but not exactly welcomed by their parents. If they are lucky they are found (or sold) to a rich or noble family, and perhaps they will be able to be apprenticed to another magician. Magicians have great power but are also hated and distrusted by others. Every court will have a magician in residence as a council, but does magic rule the king or is the magician at the mercy of their master? Well, it depends. In a world where Mercury magicians can bind words through blood and reading the wrong word can be lethal, or a Moon magician can read memories and the Sun magician can read the truth, there is plotting on top of plotting. And magicians live forever … in theory, but in practice most meet their end through execution.
Bianca and Roland grow up in the court of King Richard under the tutelage of the great Prospero. They had an idyllic childhood learning and playing in the castle and beyond along with their beloved friend Prince Hal. But as the court moves on, Roland and then Bianca are sent away to fulfill duties as magicians, and now, Bianca returns after the sudden death of Prince Hal, the execution of Prospero and a court run by Roland, who has grown into a man she distrusts, if not harbours a lingering hatred, who seems to have stepped into the role that would never have been his except for the deaths of the two people she loved dearly. Is Roland to blame?
And thus begins a complicated plot of betrayal and succession, with Bianca having to work with Roland to uncover the mystery of Hal’s death, while Roland needs to manage the sick king’s lack of an heir and a number of noble families and relatives who would see the king dead and Roland toppled from his seat of power. Bianca and Roland have to trust each other while not ever knowing if they can actually be true to each other, the magician’s powers relies on lies and deceit most of the time.
I love a complicated story and this novel delivers. There is yearning and the story of Prince Hal is heartbreaking, enough to bring the tears at times. Bianca is powerful but not sassy or stupid. She is confident in her powers and yet vulnerable emotionally. I really like Roland as the MMC. He comes across as selfish and arrogant and vain, and he is all those things but also a core vulnerability that is uncovered as the narrative plays out.
This is the first book in a series, although I am not sure how many books are planned. There is a bit of a cliffhanger ending, but not as drastic as some books can be where the action feels like it is just stopped in the middle. The questions posed in the book are mostly answered, but of course, a bigger issue is unveiled and the reader is left with a new set of questions to be answered in the next volume.
I gave this book 4.75 out of 5 in Storygraph.
