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I really liked the first one - 'The Innocent Mage' a lot and the way it ended kind of abruptly on a cliffhanger made me really picked this one kind of right away! It was kind of mix of good and bad things for me and quite average as compared to the first part!
My biggest problem with this was the pacing. In the first 70-80% of the book, nothing much of significance happened and last 20% book we had all the revelations. Final showdown for which we had all that buildup throughout the whole two books, was quite underwhelming!
As you can see from the title, you would think that this whole book is about Asher getting to know about his powers and dealing with all the stuff he was clueless about in the first book (but we as a reader know!). But NOTHING like that happened, that part of getting know about himself also happened in the last few chapters which was a massive let down for me!
The only saving grace for this book was its political intrigue and my attachment with these characters from the previous book, otherwise, I would have rated it even less. The ending for some of my favourite characters was quite rough and it really broke my heart!
Even after finishing both books, I did not have a clear grasp of their magic system and the world, hence many things felt unfinished in some ways. But as we have a prequel after released after this explaining how it all started, I guess that will provide us with more explanations and understanding of things. But I am going to take some time before picking the third one and next series by Karen Miller for now!
MY RATING - 3 Stars!
First Book Review - The Innocent Mage
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!
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