This really is my kind of book, I like post-apocalyptic and fantasy story lines and this had it, and Areenna was a very strong character. The plot was fast pacing and flowed very well.
I would have marked this book a 5 star because I do like the genre and it all worked really well and kept me hooked, however I found the names such as Llawnroc Nosaj and Neaveah kept stopping me in my tracks as they are words spelt backwards,they just did go through my head easily at all.

Over all a great book and written well. ( )

I love the cover for the amazing adventure I had with Areena and Mikaal. The world David created is vividly detailed, filled with creatures, magic, evil, love and hope. Taking place in the future, sparks of our possible reality mesh seamlessly with the magical world. The danger is not over, but this adventure finished with a happy ending. I am curious about their next adventure, and hope to be there for it.

See more at http://www.fundinmental.com ( )

I LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK!! I was skeptical about trying a new to me author, but took the chance anyway and NOW I can't wait to read book 2. From three thousand in the future, a lone man returns to Earth to have escaped the mass destruction on it to be chosen to save it against a massive evil that wants to destroy all that is good and to kill anyone not bowing to its will. With only two untrained teenagers will they survive and mankind with it? ( )

Born to Magic presents a very different world from our own, where magic has a logic given to women, and a pre-industrial America has well-defined rules and laws governing kingdoms, kings and queens. But it wasn’t always so. These kingdoms warred incessantly before the new leader arrived and changed everything. Of course, the reader asks what happened before that – how did America become a land of kingdoms? And for this, the author presents intriguing hints that provide enough information without ever giving too much.

Author David Wind presents a fascinating future history very naturally in this tale, blending magic and science with touches of sociology and present day danger. He pulls the reader in with well-timed mystery and revelation, amuses with nicely futuristic words and idioms, and adds a fascinating dual sense of dangers past and present.

As the first book in the series, Born to Magic introduces an captivating culture, peopled with enjoyable characters. The magical Areena and the man she might learn to love make convincing protagonists that readers easily learn to care about. Hints of Star Wars blend with Shannara perhaps, and the result is nicely individual, futuristic, fascinating, and very well-told. Highly recommended.

Disclosure: I was given a free ecopy and I offer my honest review. ( )

My original Born to Magi audiobook review and many others can be found at Audiobook Reviewer.

This is a post-apocalyptic and a fantasy story all in one. The year is 5271 and the world as we know it has been destroyed by nuclear war and while the human race has survived it is more like medieval times, with castles, keeps, Kings, Queens and High Kings. Men are stronger and women can do magic. The radiation has caused many changes in plants and animals of the world. I’m having a hard time coming up with anything more descriptive without giving spoilers, while a bit frustrating, learning as the characters do makes the story more compelling (at least to me it does).

I enjoyed this story, even though at times it seemed to drag a bit, it kept my interest. The world building was good and you did not have a big info dump at the beginning, information is doled out as the story progresses. While not the same, the theme of this story reminded me a lot of The Golden Compass/His Dark Materials series….different worlds, ages but the theme of Good versus Evil and an young man and woman journeying together to fight it….an oversimplification of the plot but you get the idea. The scary part to me is how this reflects so much of what is going on in the world today. The dark circle wants to conquer and enslave all if Neveah and the Dark Circle of 5271 are from the same terrorist group that launched the nuclear war…they use dark sorceresses to cause strife, disharmony…if they can get the kingdoms of Neveah to go to war with each other, the negative energy from this will make them more powerful.

Helene McCardle does an excellent job narrating, while some of the male characters were not quite as easy to distinguish, all the female characters were very distinct. I do think that this story is one hat would do well as either a graphic novel or just in general a full cast narration.

As usual, the most frustrating part is that the adventure is not yet over but the audio for the next book is not yet available….while I could pick up the e-book, this story really works well as an audio so I will wait to continue until it is out.

Audiobook provided for review by the author. ( )