Words of Wednesday - Mageborn 1 & 2

Mageborn: The Blacksmith’s Son & Mageborn: The Line of Illeniel

Types: Kindle & Paperback

Premise: Mordecai has always known he was adopted, but what he didn’t know is the he comes from a long line of powerful mages that were slaughtered when he was only a few months old. As he hits his teenage years, he comes into his powers awkwardly and quickly. His life changes over a couple of days and is led down a path so very different than that of a blacksmith’s son. However, with so much power can he reign himself in to be a force of good or will his temper and vengeance get the best of him while he destroys those in his way?

Characters: In the first book, the lists of characters that most of the plot revolves around are a little more than a handful. Each character is unique and will draw you into their perspective. He has his love interest/childhood friend and his two best friends as the most predominant characters throughout the two books so far. Each has their special part to play in the advancement of the story. I love both Rose and Penny’s characters as they are both strong woman in different ways.

Story Development: Not only does Mordecai have to deal with his new powers, but learning he has many enemies, some not expected. Mordecai’s parents broke mage rules to insure he lived even as they died. He also has to handle many issues of loss, whether it be of the village people or of those closer to him, which is something he is unaccustomed to . Most of the advancement in the story is done by forces out of Mordecai’s control, but it is more about how he handles the situation. His sense of humor is nice and repeatedly his defense for certain actions is how hard it is to understand a woman. A lot of it deals with Mordecai’s inner struggles of the kind of person he wants to be and if his death is imminent, does it even matter?

Mordecai struggles so hard to be a good person, but he has difficulty figuring out what a “good” person would do as so many of his situations seem to fall into gray areas.

The second book has Mordecai making more serious decious that involve numerous lives and threats of treason, but also hold hopes of finding out more about his birth parents and just how much power he has. The second book hints that maybe his biological father didn’t actually die, but maybe I am reading too much into some things.

Couldn’t put it down/Could walk away at any time: I liked the story for this one, but the way it is written was a little bothersome in the first book, but by the time I read the second one, I had mostly gotten use to the style of writing. The main character, Mordecai, is written in the first person, with everything being I or me. However, there are at many times perspectives from other characters which are written from a third person perspective. Going back and forth between these was a little confusing at times. Due to this there was some serious consideration as to whether I was going to read the second book. I am glad I did though, as it was worth it.

Overall: They were good books and I will look out for the next one to read. If you have issue with the 1st and then 3rd person writing style, flipping back and forth, these are not the books for you. But otherwise they are definitely worth giving a try.

Star Rating: 4