The Tethered Mage

This Venetian-inspired debut novel features great characters (including a variety of women), magic, political intrigue, mystery, friendship, and a dash of romantic subplot, but it's the solid worldbuilding that truly sets it apart. The Tethered Mage is one of the most engaging novels I've encountered this year and my favorite debut set in a secondary world so far, and I found it so compulsively readable and exciting that I stayed up until 2:00 AM to finish it.

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Zaira is a fire-mage who can decimate a whole city with her power. Amalia is the heir of Raverra who accidentally becomes the Falconer of Zaria to prevent her from burning down the city. Now, Zaira can only unleash her power when Amalia utters the release word. Zaira is taken to the island of Mews where other Falcons and Falconers reside. Lieutenant Marcello Verdi is a top Falconer and an accomplished soldier at the Mews. Ardence, another state in Eruvia is on the verge of a rebellion provoked by its disgruntled nobility and the covert support of the Witch-Lords of Vaskandar. Most of the story follows the three main characters trying to wade through the conspiracy, find the traitors and prevent the war – basically to stop Zaira from having to burn down Ardence for its rebellion.

The story is enjoyable enough. I liked the growth of Amalia's character from a studious reluctant heir to being able to use her diplomatic skills for good use. Marcello is a loyal soldier who believes the best of his superiors. I especially enjoyed their time together, trying to navigate their attraction in spite of the difference in ranks. There is a lot of courtly intrigue and back stabbing and conspiracies that made for a engaging read. My most problem was with Zaira. Obviously she doesn't like being taken to the Mews against her will but her character is way too angry and rude to even understand the bigger picture. I am sure there will be more to her in the coming books because she is the only fire-mage but I really didn't like her in this. Overall, it's an enjoyable YA fantasy read and hopefully the series will get better.

PS: Thanks you to Orbit Books and Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In Raverra, if a child shows a mage mark, they are taken by the Empire to become a Falcon. They are the protectors of the realm. Some mage marked have escaped notice and want to remain that way.

I loved this book! This is the second book that I have read by this author this year and she is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I love her writing style, the magic she creates and the characters are fabulous.

This is a spoiler-free review
Read on In The Sheets

This is the debut novel of author Melissa Caruso and, while considered “adult” fantasy, I feel it could easily fall under YA as well.

Right out of the gates I was extremely impressed with this book. The Tethered Mage starts off quick with a premise that is extremely unique and original. With it, Melissa poses the question, “What if the government rounded people up with magical abilities at a young in order to control and potentially abuse their power?”. Great question. Totally sounds like something that would happen if magic actually existed.

In the case of The Tethered Mage , they're identified and tethered to a caretaker or “Falconer” who can ensure the power is contained and only unleashed when necessary. Hence the title, “The Tethered Mage”.

Given the premise of the government controlling mages and others with unique abilities, a very large section of the book is dedicated to politics, threats of war, and relationships between different powers. While I found these areas a bit slow, I never once lost interest. As it's a very unique premise and universe, there's a lot of world-building to be done. I think we'll find less of this, and more action/adventure, as the series progresses and all of the world building is out of the way.

Something I really enjoyed about this book, was the character diversity. Our two leads are female powerhouses with very different personalities, there are multiple PoC in a variety of roles throughout the story, we come across a male same-sex couple that's handled quite well, and one of the two female leads is bisexual,.

While I enjoyed the diversity, the lack of using correct terms annoyed me. The words “gay” and “bisexual” do not appear in the book, as is the case with many fantasy books unfortunately. I don't know if it's because in these worlds there are just no words for various sexualities, but I fail to see why magic is more believable than characters knowing or using these specific terms. Representation is important, and I know people appreciate it regardless, but seeing those words in print can do a lot for people struggling with their identity and helping to validate them.

The last third of the book was phenomenal, right back to the pace and action we started the book with. The characters really grow over the course of the story and it made me super excited to see what she has in store for us in book 2.

All in all, I did think it was a great read and I will most definitely be reading the rest of the series. Melissa has developed an incredibly fun, unique and original world, and I can't wait to see what she does with it.