I devoured this book. A fast and fun read that kept me interested thigh the end and anxious fit the next book.

Bound by Magic (The Baine Chronicles #2) by Jasmine Walt continues this awesome series. In this book, shifters are going missing. She is also starting her apprenticeship with the Chef Mage. She also comes close to death, again. It gets very exciting....lots of fun, suspense filled, wonderful read! ( )

I freely chose to review this ARC and I was captured by feisty Sunaya Baine, a half Mage and half Jaguar shifter hybrid, an Enforcer for the Alliance. If only Chief Mage would let her make some coin so that she could keep her apartment and remain independent. With shifters disappearing from Shiftertown she and Inspector Lakin were on a mission to discover why and get them back. Book one had me so intrigued that the end was there before I was ready, and NOW I HAVE TO READ THE NEXT! ( )

This second book in the Baine Chronicles finds Sunaya the unlikely apprentice to Iannis, the chief mage to whom she is more then just physically attracted. Her workload's doubled with a lot of dreary grunt work, on top of finding time for her lessons in controlling her magic, while still finding paying Enforcer jobs so that she can eat and keep a roof over her head (even though Iannis has offered her free room and board at the Palace).
Her new status as a shifter and a mage apprentice has made her new enemies and earned her the distrust of the very people she wants to protect, including her family who threw her out. I still admire Sunaya because her heart's in the right place and her instincts are still spot on as she manages to get involved in several important and dangerous issues plaguing the shifter community. (Although I'll have to admit she's made some real bonehead decisions in this book that puts her at risk.) New friends and old enemies abound as Sunaya races to solve the mystery of the Protectorate before time runs out.
I think that Jasmine Walt's written a solid second novel in this series, and I look forward to her next book since we're left with a cliff hanger at the end of this one. Her characters in this series are complex and believable. As a reader, I was drawn into this world that Ms. Walt has so craftfully created where she weaves this Shifter/Mage/Human society together, creating a world that I could really get into.
Jack Murphy ( )