It has been nearly a year since Skylar discovered she had magic, that she was descended from a race from another place whose rebellion spilled over into our world. With the threat gone and the portal closed, things could only get better. Except that the world is now cut off from the foreign magical source, and what's left is poisoning Skyler. Determined to heal the world and find others who might be suffering like her, Skyler and her companions find themselves drawn to a lost foreigner, an Elrul named Enwyn, to find help.
But someone else is looking for Enwyn. Her twin brother, Embreal. He wants Enwyn's remaining magic for his own purposes, and he's groomed another young woman, Cassandra, to act as his tool in claiming her. he and Cassandra will stop at nothing to reopen the portal and claim the world for their own.
That's my summary. Here's the one I pulled from amazon
On a quest for domination, evil sorcerers from another land tore apart the barriers between our worlds, and the release of magical energy burned the Earth. Ten years later, a young woman named Skylar took control of the magic and used it to stop the sorcerers and seal the rift. Earth was saved.
Or so it seemed.
Now a new threat rises. Though the rift was closed, sorcerers from that distant land still lin in our world, and the greatest of them, Embreal, has vowed to open a new rift. Helping him is Cassandra, - a dark reflection of Skylar - who is devoted to him heart and soul. Will Skylar's magic be enough to stop them? And, when she finally comes face to face with Cassandra, will she user her power against someone she so easily could have become?
Style
You can check out my comments on Macumber's writing style here.
My Thoughts
I was a little underwhelmed with the first book of this series, A Minor Magic, when I first listened to it last year. I gave it 3 stars. I did go back and give it another listen before diving into A Broken Magic, and I liked it much better the second time around. I would definitely give it 4 stars now. With that grounding, I approached this book with a clear palate, avoiding prejudices I originally had against the first book.
It was better than the first. From the get-go. I see a lot of what I call "Second Book Stigma" where the second book of a series (especially trilogies) pales in comparison to the first. Macumber did a spectacular job with A Broken Magic, and I am ready for the next book in the series. There has to be one, after this ending!
Macumber branched out more with the characters in this book, giving us multiple point-of-view characters so we got to get into Cassandra's head as well as a few other characters besides Skylar. It was well done, and each POV character had his or her own distinct ways of seeing the world. Macumber's characterization has always been great (I've read a few of his other books, too), and he just keeps getting better. I look forward to seeing where things take Skylar and Nathan next!
Would I Recommend This Book? Sure! Macumber writes cleanly, and this book keeps driving forward. his characters are real and present themselves that way, whether or not you ever actually get to see things from their POV. And he's really given an ending to grab the reader for the next book. I'm ready for it. I give A Broken Magic a uniformed 4 of 5 stars.
For more on the author, visit http://www.justinmacumber.com/
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