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btronix's review
5.0
I was a little worried that the book was going to be too small to cover the end of Samir's story well but to my surprise, it covered it all neatly and didn't leave me feeling that the story was rushed/I'd been ripped off.
This is not a stand-alone and the series needs to be read in order
This is not a stand-alone and the series needs to be read in order
kim_brockway_gatehouse's review
4.0
Tough Decisions and Seeing The Bigger Picture
I'm already a fan of Annie's writing style and this urban fantasy series. Magic To The Bone is the 7th book and picks up where the previous story ended. The books in the Twenty-Sided Sorceress series need to be read in order to understand the plotline.
I downloaded the narration by Folly Blaine for my Kindle. However, I ended up listening to most of the story through Audible rather than reading it. I like the way Folly reads the narrative, it's good. The majority of this story is told from Jade Crow's perspective and Folly's performance embodies our protagonist's personality. There are also fly-on-the-wall sections showing us what Harper and Alek are up to. My only niggle, is Folly's limited repertoire - she doesn't have the ability to create distinctive voices. Many of the characters sound the same, which makes it challenging to follow dialogue at times.
This book sees a story thread getting a satisfactory resolution. I enjoyed the watching the unfurling threat, feeling the tension go up a notch. Annie is excellent at writing dynamic fight scenes and this book had its fair share of those to keep my adrenaline pumping. I also liked the soul searching that certain situations forced Jade into.
Magic to the Bone has left me wondering where the story will go from here. After all, there are three more books in the series. I'm hoping that Jade's heritage plays a big part and I'm keen to watch her, her friends and the rest of the townsfolk rebuild their lives.
I'm already a fan of Annie's writing style and this urban fantasy series. Magic To The Bone is the 7th book and picks up where the previous story ended. The books in the Twenty-Sided Sorceress series need to be read in order to understand the plotline.
I downloaded the narration by Folly Blaine for my Kindle. However, I ended up listening to most of the story through Audible rather than reading it. I like the way Folly reads the narrative, it's good. The majority of this story is told from Jade Crow's perspective and Folly's performance embodies our protagonist's personality. There are also fly-on-the-wall sections showing us what Harper and Alek are up to. My only niggle, is Folly's limited repertoire - she doesn't have the ability to create distinctive voices. Many of the characters sound the same, which makes it challenging to follow dialogue at times.
This book sees a story thread getting a satisfactory resolution. I enjoyed the watching the unfurling threat, feeling the tension go up a notch. Annie is excellent at writing dynamic fight scenes and this book had its fair share of those to keep my adrenaline pumping. I also liked the soul searching that certain situations forced Jade into.
Magic to the Bone has left me wondering where the story will go from here. After all, there are three more books in the series. I'm hoping that Jade's heritage plays a big part and I'm keen to watch her, her friends and the rest of the townsfolk rebuild their lives.
kepheus's review
3.0
Pretty anticlimactic and unsatisfactory ending to the Samir saga. Also, as bingeable as these are, a little preamble to remind us where we left off would have been super helpful.
bunnerz's review
3.0
For a final boss battle, I found the actual battle a little anti-climactic. The previous book was a heart-wrencher with the time travelling, but Samir was defeated a little too easily IMO. However, it was still a fast-paced entertaining action-packed read, and I am still continuing to finish the series.
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Ratings - completed series:
#1 Justice Calling: ★★★★☆
#2 Murder of Crows: ★★★★☆
#3 Pack of Lies: ★★★★☆
#4 Hunting Season: ★★★★☆
#5 Heartache: ★★★★☆
#6 Thicker Than Blood: ★★★★☆
#7 Magic to the Bone (this book): ★★★☆☆
#8 Dungeon Crawl: ★★★★☆
#9 River of No Return: ★★★★☆
#10 Balancing the Scales: ★★★★☆
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Ratings - completed series:
#1 Justice Calling: ★★★★☆
#2 Murder of Crows: ★★★★☆
#3 Pack of Lies: ★★★★☆
#4 Hunting Season: ★★★★☆
#5 Heartache: ★★★★☆
#6 Thicker Than Blood: ★★★★☆
#7 Magic to the Bone (this book): ★★★☆☆
#8 Dungeon Crawl: ★★★★☆
#9 River of No Return: ★★★★☆
#10 Balancing the Scales: ★★★★☆
heyt's review
3.0
Okay so I'm kind of glad I read all the installments up to this point in one go. It definitely makes the story feel less broken down into smaller pieces. That said I haven't really felt the shortness of the installments until this one. The epic showdown looms large in this one but I didn't feel all that satisfied by it. Everything happens so fast that I feel like I blinked and I missed what happened and then the installment was over. I still love the characters and the world but I wish there was more to this one.
slc333's review
3.0
3.5 star
Yay we finally reach the conclusion of what has been a three book (granted they were short books) story arc with all the resolution that has been missing.
Yay we finally reach the conclusion of what has been a three book (granted they were short books) story arc with all the resolution that has been missing.
a_h_haga's review
3.0
Finally, I have arrived! Not only because I've been re-reading the whole series now when I got my hands on this book, but also because it's been such a long wait. It's been frustrating seeing the book around on Kindle and such, but not on Audible, I'll admit, but oh well. Here we are!
So, what did I finally think of the book?
Well, it was a lot like the two previous books. Not really with any other plot than beating Samir, and Jade running around doing a lot of damage-control.
These last three books have not been my favorites, I'm sorry to say, because I really do love this world and the characters, but yeah.
Story wise, I had some trouble getting into this book, to be honest. The start was really slow for me - with Jade's training and such. I wish we'd skipped that all together, actually. When she returned, however, things got easier. The flow from the earlier books was mostly back, and it was easy to listen for an hour straight.
Seeing as there's been so much build up to this ending, I was rather disappointed. Sure, these things can drag out, but with this much build up, it was so short and surprisingly boring.
So, yeah. Where does that leave me?
I am, all in all, really glad I read the series. It was interesting and fun, most of the time, and if nothing else, seeing gamers like Jade and her friends, so much like me and my own friends, was a lot of fun!
I am curious as to how someone becomes a profesionall-gamer, though. I'd love to do that for a living!
So, what did I finally think of the book?
Well, it was a lot like the two previous books. Not really with any other plot than beating Samir, and Jade running around doing a lot of damage-control.
These last three books have not been my favorites, I'm sorry to say, because I really do love this world and the characters, but yeah.
Story wise, I had some trouble getting into this book, to be honest. The start was really slow for me - with Jade's training and such. I wish we'd skipped that all together, actually. When she returned, however, things got easier. The flow from the earlier books was mostly back, and it was easy to listen for an hour straight.
Seeing as there's been so much build up to this ending, I was rather disappointed. Sure, these things can drag out, but with this much build up, it was so short and surprisingly boring.
So, yeah. Where does that leave me?
I am, all in all, really glad I read the series. It was interesting and fun, most of the time, and if nothing else, seeing gamers like Jade and her friends, so much like me and my own friends, was a lot of fun!
I am curious as to how someone becomes a profesionall-gamer, though. I'd love to do that for a living!
traditionson's review
5.0
Boss battle mark 2 most definately is the theme for this one. I do love that now the book really has taken on the telling two stories at once. Jade's friends are not just side characters to come in when it is convenient they are doing their own thing. I am glad that was kept in this book. The ending was interesting and I am slightly curious as to how the undercurrent will play out. I know that if this is in gamer style the information given will be useful in the future. I am frustrated that nothing more came of Alec's sister in this book and that she was a side character. However I was still unable to put this down.
vladmech's review
4.0
Another good entry in the series. I'm interested to see where the next book will go after how this one wrapped up.