Mad Magic

Mad Magic, Book 1

By: Nicole Conway

Narrated by: Erin Moon

Mad Magic is a beautifully dark and rich young adult fantasy from Nicole Conway, best-selling author of the Dragonrider Chronicles.

Josie Barton is a high school student living in terror. Invisible creatures torment her everywhere she goes, constantly getting her into trouble at school, and even haunting her apartment. But just when Josie thinks things couldn't get any worse, she meets the guy from across the hall.

Zeph Clemmont is a changeling with enemies in all the worst places, fighting to undo a curse that threatens to end his life. Survival means he will have to swallow his pride and trust Josie with all his darkest secrets.

With the help of a gunslinging shaman and the enigmatic Prince of Nightmares, Zeph and Josie are only a heartbeat away from defeating one of the most diabolical faerie villains their world has ever known.

©2017 Nicole Conway (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great story line

I absolutely loved this story.. except for the main character. I’m ok with young girls.. even young girls trying to learn something new.. but the “apparent” sex scene that doesn’t go into details seemed a little..... grown person forcing younger person into it. Other than that I loved the story

Engaging story

At first I was a bit hesitant since this is teen coming of age mixed with fairies and magical contracts, but I gave it time. Then I was hooked and couldn’t wait to hear what next thing was going to happen. Looking forward into diving into the next book!

Fun and entertaining (but slightly problematic)

So I honestly really enjoyed the book. It’s not mind blowing. The plot is pretty straightforward, and many of the “plot twists” are pretty obvious. However, I’d say that in general it was a diverting listen.

I will say that the part where the narrator breaks the 4th wall dropping out of character to address the reader was odd. She should have just read the text messages in a neutral voice without announcing an upcoming plot twist. Other than that I thought she did a good job with the narration!

I generally liked the characters although some of them were a little bit one dimensional... or maybe less developed than I’d have liked. They were fun/interesting and there was definitely some character development that took place.
Josie spends a bit too much time screaming/crying/and shaking, but she’s mostly a good character. I’m not sure that she’s a super believable high school student... but you could chalk it up to hard life circumstances etc.

Zeph - is a really odd combination of totally thoughtless, immatureand, reckless “bad boy”, and super sensitive emotional wreck. I’m not saying that the two things cannot exist in the same person but it is sometimes a bit of an odd dichotomy. Otherwise he is pretty entertaining.

**potential spoiler alert**

My biggest issue with this book was the relationship between Josie and Zeph. You’re definitely supposed to be pulling for them to hookup... except the book keeps smacking you in the face with the fact that she’s an under age (17 year old) high school student, and he’s an adult. In fact she uses the age disparity to essentially blackmail him into doing what she wants at one point. The “will they or won’t they wait until she’s officially 18” is really kinda yucky and stressful. Plus, I’m not sure that officially waiting until the clock strikes midnight is really the bar we should be setting. Anyway, I would have been WAY more comfortable if they had made her a collage student or something... and not had him in a position of authority in any capacity!! It’s kinda like a cross between an updated version of Daddy-Long-Legs by J. Webster and a slightly less problematic version of Lolita by Nabokov.

Loved it

I was a little leary but definitely worth the read. love the characters and story.

Wow. The narrator just pops in and tells you how she’s gonna read the next part.

This was a little distracting. I’ve never heard that in the middle of a story before. Unless you were watching the princess bride where grandpa and the kid get sidetracked and start talking through the book.