Burned by Magic by Jasmine Walt
Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform on December 2nd 2015
Pages: 238
ISBN: 9781519654885
Goodreads

In the city of Solantha, mages rule absolute, with shifters considered second-class citizens and humans something in between. No one outside the mage families are allowed to have magic, and anyone born with it must agree to have it stripped from them to avoid execution. Sunaya Baine, a shifter-mage hybrid, has managed to keep her unruly magic under wraps for the last twenty-four years. But while chasing down a shifter-hunting serial killer, she loses control of her magic in front of witnesses, drawing the attention of the dangerous and enigmatic Chief Mage. Locked up in the Chief Mage's castle and reduced to little more than a lab rat, Sunaya resists his attempts to analyze and control her at every turn. But she soon realizes that to regain her freedom and catch the killer, she must overcome her hatred of mages and win the most powerful mage in the city to her side.

Karen’s Review

My ‘go to’ genres are paranormal, fantasy and urban fantasy. I adore authors with unique world building and great emotional depth of characters in a realm of the author’s creation.  So when I was looking for a new read I came upon, Burned by Magic by Jasmine Walt.  I had seen the cover several times in my book hunting, but my gaze drifted over it as the book cover made me think it was a graphic novel.  Well I saw it again and it was a Kindle Unlimited, so I clicked it; thinking I might find a gem, as the blurb for the book is impressive.

“The first book in the hot new adult fantasy series readers are comparing to Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs.”

“Wow” I thought, I really need to read this book.   Unfortunately, the reviewer who is quoted and I disagree, on the comparison with  series being Andrews and Briggs’ quality.

The first quarter of the book is a great set up to a fantasy mystery with Enforcer Sunaya, who is a panther shifter, needing to track down her mentors killer in a world divided by magic. I was so onboard with this and hoping for a great book ahead.  In this book world those having magic have the power and those who don’t have magic don’t rule.   Then about a quarter of away into the book,  a phonograph needle in my brain made that horrid scratching sound, and the next half of the book is a lot of talk, no action and all taking place in the magic quarter, where the magic users, mages live without tech; having taken Sunaya prisoner. Here is the set up for Sunaya becoming  a prisoner, non claimed magic users are forbidden, and Sunaya’s unknown daddy was a mage and she is called a hybrid.  She has kept this under wraps for the first twenty four years of her life. The author hints as to why they are forbidden, something about unchecked magic; but it is never explained.   If a magic user has a baby they have to CLAIM the offspring, in order for them to be safe. If they are not claimed, by the magical parent then they are stripped of magic and/or executed.  Hmmmm…… stripping of the magic can and does leave people vegetables.  Then again magic can also crop up in humans who have no magical background.  So I was confused by how magic works in this world, it seemed to have a mind of it’s own.  Then after the talking/being a prisoner phase of the book, the last quarter of the book has Sunaya is back on the hunt for her mentors killer.

There is no emotional depth of these characters and the story falls flat.  The author does have some talent in crafting a story but she failed to pull me into this one.  I felt no connection between the main characters and I was bored throughout most of the book.

The minor characters in this tale are flat, and appear as little more than talking heads.  The author does not even bother describing the physical attributes of the minor characters.  She does an okay  job of rounding out the core characters personalities, but her lack of descriptive quality of these characters show a lack of crafting a full story.  As an author I imagine Ms. Walt’s sees this world in detail but those details she understands are not transferred to the page in either the characters descriptions or the descriptions of the surroundings after the female protagonist Sunaya arrives at the palace. The characters first person descriptive dialogue of her surroundings is uneven, and stilted.   After reading this book I still don’t know what Sunaya and several other characters even look like.  How as a reader am I supposed to empathize with a character if the author does not give me the frame work of her characters, especially the main character.

In closing I will say the author has glimmers of talent in crafting a story, but this  novel is uneven and lacking in quality of the authors used in the blurb. The author really adds too much into the mix of her book. I wish the book would have focused on the shifter murders and let the world  reveal itself as the protagonist interacted with it, instead of the endless whining and telling of the character.