J. D. Evans (1)

I've been eagerly waiting for this series's next book and wasn't disappointed. Ihsan is a water mage and the cousin of the Sultana Naime, who was injured in a fire while young, which damaged his magic, shifting it to ice. He's done his duty for his family and is a crucial figure in the earlier books. When he is caught in the Grand Vizier's latest scheme, he finds himself betrothed to Nesrin, a young commoner masquerading as a noblewoman under duress from the Grand Vizier.
I love the worldbuilding, which is set in a Near Eastern-type country with frequent mention of exotic (to me) food and clothing. There is also a lot of politics as the Grand Vizier tries to bring down the royal family, who are consumed with both external (the Republic is planning a war against them as they hate magic) and internal (a blight is causing famine and a refugee crisis). The characters, both old and new, are fascinating. I love Ihsan's character arc through the books, and Nesrin is exactly what he needs to break down his distrust and melt his icy heart.
I can't wait for the next books and I heartily recommend this series.… (más)

This has been a wonderful series. The setting is unusual, in Tamar, which seems to take influences from Turkey or the Ottoman Empire. I love the references to that culture in clothing, food, etc. And this book finally gave us more about the Republic, which is distinctly Roman in flavor.
The premise is that the Sultana of Tamar wants to find the Charahs, or heads, of each spoke of the Wheel, a different type of magic for each. In the previous books, she's found some of the necessary mages, but now she sends the water mage off to find a missing branch of magic. Amara is powerful though she fears her magic also. She has to go into Republic territory, free slaves, and find more mages to help Tamar in the coming war. Cassian is a criminal, the son of a Republic senator, but has also been helping free slaves. While there's an attraction between the two, Amara has also been promised a betrothal to the Sultana's cousin, an ice mage, mostly for the power such an alliance will bring.
I love the magic system here and the world-building. This is the last book published but I think two or three more should be coming and I can't wait.… (más)

This is the second book of the Mages of the Wheel series though there's an earlier book that sets up book 1. It's a bit different from the first two which involved a lot of politics. This is more of an action story as our protagonists Aylen and Bashir are a spy and a soldier respectively. Aylen works for Makram and Bashir is commander of the guard for the Sultana Naime. We met both of them in the earlier book, but this part of the series focuses on them. They are both strong and clever. Aylen is an Air Mage and Bashir is an Earth mage, but at first, their orders put them in conflict with each other.
This is a good series, in a Middle Eastern fantasy setting, but I admit that this one was not as interesting to me as the first two books. Endless fighting and action, however well written, isn't enough of a plot to entertain me. Also, one of the things I liked about the first two books is how balanced both the hero and heroine are. The magic system is about balance but the couples were equally complementary to each other in other respects. Here, Aylen is stronger both magically and as a person. He's more of a steady type as an Earth Mage should be, but it felt like she was saving him just a bit too much without equal parity on his part.
I enjoyed it though and I like how the overall plot is moving so Naime can build her circle. I'm ready to read the next book.… (más)

This series is just good romance with excellent fantasy. I read the first book and then found this prequel, but I intend to keep going with the series because I love this world. The mid-Eastern feel has me constantly looking up food and clothing which is a nice change from more medieval Europe-based fantasy. The magic system is interesting; the wheel idea is not unique but I like how it's balanced here.
Both Omar and Dilay were familiar to me because of Reign & Ruin, but I loved seeing their character growth here and how the next story came to be. Omar's character arc was particularly good as he learned to come into his power. The writing is fine and the story pacing is good. If you're looking for fantasy that's a little different, this series might be for you.… (más)