Book Review | The Innocent Mage (Kingmaker,Kingbreaker #1) by Karen Miller

I picked this book after I saw most of its negative and very few positive reviews. Still, these negative reviews did not deter me from picking this one up as the premise was interesting and I am a big fan of 'The Chosen One' trope. So, I wanted to form my own opinion on this.

'The Innocent Mage' follows Asher- a fisherman from the far end of the kingdom of Lur. And our story starts when he is leaving his home to find his fortune in the capital city. On his very first day, he meets Prince Gar - King's eldest child and finds himself under Prince's employment as a stable hand. Unknown to him he is also a part of the prophecy which can break or make this Kingdom and Asher is the only thing standing between that line of destruction!

I know it is quite a typical old fantasy plot which we have seen done so many times and this was no different. But still, it was more enjoyable than I thought it would be despite a few issues I had with the book!

What I really liked!

- I loved the friendship between Asher and Prince Gar a lot. There banter and friendship despite the difference in their stations were great and I loved how over the period of time they got comfortable around each other despite their differences.

- I think the character arc of Asher was great, I really like the 'Underdog getting on the top , proving everyone else wrong and finding their place in society' trope a lot and it was nicely done here too.

- It was definitely low on magic but had very rich politically intrigued plotline which I love in my fantasy books!- Really liked Miller's writing and pacing of the book, few might disagree and say this one was very slow paced but it worked fine for me in this book. There were so many possible ways this story could have progressed which did not happen and I, in some parts, really liked it!

What I did not like!

- I would have preferred if we were not told about the prophecy and Asher's involvement in this right from the start, especially in the very first chapter! It made the rest of the plot and what was expected from Asher quite predictable for me.
- We do not have much world building and magic system in this book

Enter the kingdom of Lur, where to use magic unlawfully means death. The Doranen have ruled Lur with magic since arriving as refugees centuries ago. Theirs was a desperate flight to escape the wrath of a powerful mage who started a bitter war in their homeland. To keep Lur safe, the native Olken inhabitants agreed to abandon their own magic. Magic is now forbidden to them, and any who break this law are executed. 

 The total extent of magic is what we can read from the part of synopsis above and nothing more than that and I was a little disappointed!

-I loved Miller's writing but had some trouble in understanding Asher's dialogues initially, as he had an accent, and in few places, it is difficult to grasp exactly what he is saying (like 'nowt' for 'nothing' etc.) completely. But I understood the reason a he is an outsider and shows some differences in dialect and accent, and I quickly got over it.

Also, please be aware that this book ends on a cliffhanger. Actually, I would be calling this the part one of a single book, it kind of ends abruptly!

So, Overall really enjoyed this one and picked the next one immediately! 

MY RATING - 4 Stars!