MAGIC'S DESIGN

Author: Cat Adams ISBN: 9780765359636 2/2009 PARANORMAL Publisher: TOR

TALOS is a magicwielder, born into the mage guild of firecrafters. As an agent of the Overworld Police, he has come from a secret land to protect Earth from magicians intent on enslaving humanity. MILA has always had the gift of healing. But this very modern woman never realized that her skill was born of an ancient magic that only firecraft can fully unlock. TOGETHER, Tal and Mila discover that the source of their power lies in glorious, harmonious unity. But if the Sacred Tree of Life dies, and all the magic in the world is extinguished ... will their newly discovered power matter?

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I was very pleasantly surprised by MAGIC’S DESIGN. It is the first Cat Adams novel I’ve read and while I suspected I’d enjoy reading this book, I never realized just how much I’d like it. Everything about this story is first-rate. My only regret is that it had to end. I could have kept reading!

From the opening I felt compassion for Mila. She is so intent on keeping a home she denies herself any little pleasure, and her desperate hope that the designs she creates will bring enough cash to keep her bills paid is a feeling many can identify with. So from the start she pulled me in. My understanding of her character deepened when she had her first “spell”—the heartbreak and disappointment at the realization that so much of what she worked for would, perhaps, be lost, really made me feel for her. But the plot thickens when a Ukrainian term that basically means the end of the world comes into play. From that point on, Mila is less a victim and more a heroine and the story begins to move forward at a heart-stopping, frenetic pace.

What a ride! Good against the ultimate evil, magic and ancient texts and a whole cast of characters who take these things as part of their daily lives makes MAGIC’S DESIGN sizzle. Tal is an agent who comes to protect the Tree of Life and, naturally, life as we know it.

The best part, I think, about this book is that it is written so expertly that by the time I got to things like the Time of Cessation, Tree spirit and ancient scrolls, I was so firmly in the world that had been created that I fully believed every aspect of the story. I knew that without Tal, Mila would not have known the reason for her spells, nor would she have been united with the hero in their quest to save the world. The world-building is superb and every bit believable.

Cat Adams has a new fan. I loved MAGIC’S DESIGN! One of the most intriguing parts is the ending. It leaves the future open for Tal and Mila… and I sincerely hope they invite readers along on their next adventure! Well done!

Kay James