Melissa Caruso’s novel The Tethered Mage is an engaging YA fantasy that has a little bit for everyone. There’s incredible world building, an intricate magic system, and lots of political intrigue. There’s also forbidden love, plenty of action scenes, and a wonderful cast of characters, with badass females leading the way.

The novel is set in the world of Eruvia, primarily in the city of Raverra. Raverra is significant in that the governing body of Eruvia, the Empire, is seated there. The cities of Eruvia live in relative peace, although that peace is dictated primarily by the fact that Raverra controls the majority of the rare magic that exists in their world and can therefore weaponize it at any moment if any kind of civil war were to break out.

The system of magic in Eruvia is quite intriguing, especially in the sense that those who have the magical powers don’t have free will to use their magic as they choose. Because those who possess this rare magic are “mage-marked” by a colored ring around their irises, they are identified at an early age, taken away from their families, and conscripted into service for the Raverran Empire as what are called “Falcons.” The magic of these Falcons is unpredictable and often destructive, so the Raverrans take their control of the Falcons even further by using a bracelet called a “jess” to suppress the magic. Whoever places the jess on a Falcon’s wrist becomes bound to that Falcon, and thus becomes a “Falconer.” Each Falconer is then able to control his or her falcon’s magic using special words that unleash or suppress it. The Falcons themselves are little more than tools of the Empire.

When The Tethered Mage opens, Lady Amalia Cornaro, scholar and heir to one of the seats in Raverra’s governing council, is on her way to purchase a rare book when she encounters a young woman named Zaira, who is being accosted by a group of rough looking men. Amalia looks to intervene but before she can do anything, Zaira suddenly turns into the equivalent of a human blow torch and starts going after her attackers with a wall of fire. Recognizing the signs of warlock magic, a Falconer appears on the scene and seeing Amalia, hands her a jess and implores her to put it on Zaira to suppress her magic before she burns down the entire city. Desperate to save Raverra, Amalia readily agrees and slaps the jess on Zaira, only to fully appreciate the consequences of her actions afterwards. She is now bound to Zaira for life and is in control of her fire power.

Chaos ensues because no one on the ruling council is supposed to function as a Falconer, as having control over a Falcon’s magic could be perceived as an unfair advantage. The problem is that once the jess bond has been established, there’s no way to undo it. Amalia is also the sole heir to her family’s council seat, so she has no choice but to be both Falconer and council person when her time comes. What was already a political tightrope walk just got even more complicated. One wrong move and that tenuous peace between cities could go right out the window, especially if others feel threatened by this new fire power Amalia has inadvertently given to the Empire.

What does this mean for Amalia? For her future? For Zaira’s future? The two women are destined to stay tethered together until death, whether they get along or not, and Zaira is no trusting young child like the typical Falcons who come in for training. Will Amalia be able to break through Zaira’s initial defenses and mistrust or are they destined to barely tolerate each other?


LIKES

Zaira was actually my favorite character in The Tethered Mage. She has spent her life living on the streets as a thief and up until the moment Amalia straps the jess on her, has managed to hide the fact that she is mage-marked and actually a rare Fire Warlock. She is furious at Amalia for trapping her into serving the Empire against her will and goes out of her way to be difficult. She’s street smart, feisty, and truly has no filter, which makes for some comical scenarios since Amalia has to take her everywhere she goes, even to court. I also liked Zaira’s perspective on the laws in Raverra when it comes to the mage-marked. All of those who were taken as children seem to just accept it for what it is and are used to it, but as an adult being forced into service, Zaira is quick to point out just how unfair it all is, that her life is basically over now aside from serving the Empire.

In addition to Zaira, there are many other fantastic female characters that I also liked. Lady Amalia of course is fascinating to watch as she attempts to juggle all of the roles she is forced to play throughout the story. I also enjoyed watching her try to figure out how to break through Zaira’s thorny exterior so they can at least tolerate each other now that they are stuck with each other.

Lady Amalia’s mother, the Contessa, is another fabulous character. She is one of the most powerful people in Raverra and she is someone you do not want to cross.

In addition to these wonderfully drawn characters, I also thought the system of magic, which I’ve already described above, was very well thought out by the author. I loved the intricacies of the magic itself – the way some of the powers are more destructive as with fire and storm warlocks, while other magical abilities have more to do with science and alchemy. I also enjoyed the exploration of the ethics of Raverra with respect to the control of the magic. Who are they to decide that a person shouldn’t be in control of their own magic and that they have to serve the Empire?

There’s also a budding romance in The Tethered Mage and I liked how the author handled it. It was subtle and didn’t overshadow the rest of the story, and it was also more interesting than the typical romance: 1) because it’s a forbidden romance because the couple is unevenly matched in terms of social standing, and 2) because the one who forbids it is the Contessa and as I’ve already mentioned, she is not someone you want to cross, if at all possible.

DISLIKES/ISSUES

One issue I had with The Tethered Mage was the heavy emphasis on politics and political discussions, particularly in the middle of the book. I could see this aspect of the book being what will either make or break this story for some readers. I personally love politics and reading about who may be plotting against who, and what they’re going to do about it, etc. But even as much as I enjoy that kind of plot development, I started to get tired of all of the sitting around discussing and wanted them to just do something. I had a moment where I thought about giving up on the book, but I pushed through since I had been enjoying it so much prior to the lull in the action, and thankfully, the action picked back up soon after.

FINAL THOUGHTS

With its fascinating cast of characters, incredible world building, intricate magic system, and its emphasis on political intrigue, The Tethered Mage is the perfect introduction to Melissa Caruso’s Swords and Fire series. I look forward to reading the next installment when it becomes available.

RATING: 4 STARS

[Disclaimer: I received a free e-copy of this book from NetGalley for review purposes.]

I'll be a little generous with my stars, since the end of this book was much better than the beginning. I would rate it 3.5 if I had the choice, but 4 is not a stretch. It's not one of my favorites, but once the story got going, it was a pretty good ride.

Amalia is the heir to her mother's seat on the Council of Nine, which essentially "rules" Raverra, their city (I think it was just a city within the Empire, to be honest I didn't quite get all the relationships here). She would rather bury her nose in books (normally my kind of girl) than be a political leader, but here she is. One morning she's out picking up a rare book from one of her connections, when she sees a girl about her age in trouble with a bunch of men. These men are obviously trying to kidnap the girl, claiming she's an indentured servant and still has time left on her contract. Amalia steps in, but the girl says she's got this, and sets the men on fire. Then she sets the area around her on fire. She is completely out of control, the fire is spreading, and Amalia has no idea what to do when suddenly, a man shows up and tells her "Hey, put this bracelet on the girl's wrist and it'll all be cool." So she does, and the fire goes out, the girl passes out, and Amalia is suddenly bound to this girl for life. The girl, Zaira, is now Amalia's Falcon, and Amalia is Zaira's Falconer. The Falconer is charged with keeping the Falcon's magical powers under wraps so that she can't use them, with a set of release and binding words. Admittedly, I was pretty grossed out by the whole thing. It's essentially conscription into an army as soon as the "mage mark" shows up, which is usually in early childhood. The Falcon becomes a soldier, bound to the Falconer, and only allowed to leave their special home (which is an island, by the way) when the Falconer lets them, and only when accompanied by them. It feels like slavery. And Zaira is none too happy about being forced into Falconhood when she wakes up.

Amalia is a pretty wet noodle of a character for a good chunk of the book. It's once we hit the middle point in the book that we see more of a character progression. In the beginning she acts like a teenager with a semi-regal attitude. By the end, she's definitely more regal and interesting. But boy was getting there difficult.

To be honest, I wish this had been told from Zaira's point of view. The political manipulation we get when we hear Amalia's first-person narrative can be pretty boring, and sometimes interesting, but I think Zaira is probably the smarter of the two (at least she has more common sense), and would have made for a more compelling story. As it is, she's practically reduced to a background character. Amalia can go wherever the heck she pleases, while Zaira is at her mercy.

The author did a good job of showing how terrible the whole situation is, especially for Zaira, who never wanted to be caught in the first place. There is a lot of resistance, and even at the end it's not 100% certain as to where Zaira's loyalty lies. The tentative friendship (if you can call it that) at the end of the book is very shaky and seems like it could break at any time. And I'm sure that's where the author was going with it. I just wish I'd had Zaira's side of it all without the cloud of Amalia's judgment.

There is also some instalove, which I called from the first time we meet Lieutenant Verdi (no spoilers here, Amalia's blushing within five minutes of meeting him). I don't quite understand what made him fall for her (or even her fall for him, he's pretty bad at protecting anyone, if you ask me. Frankly, he's a pretty wet noodle himself). He's sweet, and I assume handsome, and of course Amalia is beautiful, and so is Zaira, and so is pretty much every other good character in the book. But I really just wasn't feeling the romance here.

This review is turning out more negative than I expected. OK, let's get to the good!

Like I said up there, I really enjoyed the character progression we saw from Amalia. She grows a spine, grows a personality, and grows into her role in the political battlefield. She learns how to be more covert, she puts her regal-ness to use, and she gets the job done more effectively than I would have expected.

Zaira is also a plus, although she acts pretty much the way I would have anticipated she would. There's really no point in forcing a fire warlock to the battle front if you know she isn't willing to burn shit down. But admittedly, I enjoyed her slight warming to Amalia, even though it's clear Zaira carries all the sense in the relationship.

Once I got to the halfway point, the story started picking up. The twists and turns that the plot took were mostly foreshadowed enough that I could figure out what was going to happen. The only one that surprised me was /SPOILER/ Ignazio. The rest I sort of saw coming. That didn't mean they weren't good, because it really was a very convoluted plot, and I wasn't quite sure where the author was going to take it.

Prince Ruven felt like a tropey evil witchlord, full of all the venom, malice, and plain sociopathy you'd expect from a villain. I know that in book 2, Raverra is trying to deal with a threat from Ruven's country, but I couldn't quite figure out how he was connected with the plot that was the main thread. Maybe he wasn't actually connected in the true sense of what was going on, but only in the fact that his presence could help sew discord, which would in turn help fuel the war he wants with Raverra/the Empire. I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find out.

Overall this was a good read. It took a while to get going for me. I wasn't thrilled with Amalia as a main character, but I admit that she did go through a great transformation by the end. I think there was some pretty strong writing, although getting a sense of place and time was a little difficult. I enjoyed it as a fantasy, but wish there had been a little more explanation of the magic system and how it worked. A little bit of extra worldbuilding would not have been amiss either, although at almost 500 pages, it was already running a little heavy. I really love long books and love that this wasn't split into two (YA fantasy has really ruined the art of the long novel, TBH) just to cater to short attention spans. And I'm glad that I didn't cave in to my short attention span and abandon the read. Pick it up, check it out, and see if it's for you.

I didn’t make it past Chapter 4. I was so bored with this book.

In the Serene Empire, those who possess strong magic develop a mage mark that shows itself as a colored ring around the iris of the eye. Those who begin to show the mark are taken to live in the Mews and are known as Falcons. The person who tethers their magic with a jess is the Falconer. Once the bond between the Falconer and Falcon is formed, there is no breaking it. The Mews was formed with the idea of protection, of keeping safe those with a lot of magic from being used against their will.

Not everyone sees it this way, however. Zaira has been hiding her magic her whole life not wanting to be, what she considers, imprisoned. When she inadvertently releases her fire magic during a confrontation, and with no other option as her magic runs rampant, Lady Amalia Cornaro jesses her.

The Cornaro name holds a lot of power within the Empire, and now having the magics of a Fire Warlock at their disposal some say they have too much power. Tensions arise between Ardence and Raverra, as Ardence wants to leave the Empire. Zaira and Amalia will need to work together in order to avoid a war that someone is determined to bring to fruition.

At its heart, The Tethered Mage is about the questioning sense of loyalty and trust. Not only viewed from the sense of upheaval between Ardence and Raverra, but most notably between Amalia and Zaira.

Zaira’s magic is primarily a weapon. If things escalate to the point of war, Amalia will be called to unleash Zaira’s power, which in turn could kill hundreds of innocents. Disobeying orders calls her loyalty into question, but following those orders makes Zaira lose trust in Amalia. It’s complicated and, at times, confusing, but that’s the point. War is messy. Politics is messy. Melissa Caruso does a great job in conveying this throughout.

I loved that readers get to go through the trenches along with Amalia as she tries to stop war from happening, and to stop herself from being the trigger, and Zaira from being the weapon. Amalia is slated to take over her mother’s spot on the Council of Nine, the ruling body of the Empire, so I supposed you could say this is kind of her training. She makes mistakes along the way for sure, but she’s an intelligent young woman, who takes up her mother’s mantle with much aplomb and does the best that she can given the circumstances, and by the end her character matures exponentially. I am very interested to see where she goes from here. One of the only negatives I could say is that it seemed a little too convenient how much people were willing to talk to Amalia, given who her mother is, I would have pegged her for a spy from the beginning, but that’s just me.

While all the characters were certainly noteworthy, the magics / world created were downright awesome. We’ve only scratched the surface in what we’ve seen so far with Zaira’s being the most explored magic, but there’s also artifice and alchemy branches of the Falcons that I look forward to discovering more about.

In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled -- taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army. 

Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.

Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations.

But fate has bound the heir and the mage. And as war looms on the horizon, a single spark could turn their city into a pyre. (via Goodreads)
I received an eARC of The Tethered Mage from Netgalley, courtesy of publisher Orbit Books, in exchange for an honest review.


MUCH WARLOCK. VERY WAR.  (okay I'm done.)
I liked this book! However, I have a sort of funny confession to make. For like the first 20% of this book, every time the Doge, a very important figure in this story, is mentioned.... I THOUGHT OF THE DOGE MEME. If you don't know the doge meme, you can find out about it here. 

Once I got past my silly association, I really liked the story. It kept pleasantly surprising me. I loved how different the two main characters are. As you can see in the blurb, Zaira and Amalia are very different people and the story uses that to it's advantage. I love how unapologetically sexual Zaira is, and how much Amalia genuinely believes in her family. I want more about Ciardha in the next book. Please?

There were a few times that I questioned why certain things were being focused on in the narrative, but it all pulled together pretty well at the end. I think it could have been a little bit tighter, but it worked well for me overall.

There's a ton of political intrigue in The Tethered Mage, which kept tugging at my neural pathways until I realized what it reminded me of - a less queer, more in depth and slightly less magical The Traitor's Tunnel (review HERE).

I was intrigued by the world, and I would definitely pick up the next book in the series. I'm very interested to see what comes next for Raverra! If this sounds like your kind of story, check it out on Amazon or Indiebound!

The Tethered Mage, by author Melissa Caruso, is the first installment in the authors Swords and Fire Trilogy. The Tethered Mage caught my attention with it's beautiful world building; which reminded me so much of Venice, Italy. The story is deep in court intrigue & magic, has a twisty story plot with plenty of action, and a friendship that grows out of two very different engaging characters in Lady Amalia Cornaro and Zaira, the mage with the ability to wield fire. The Serene Empire of Raverra is a place that has seen 50 years of peace after a 3 year war with the neighboring Witch Lords of Vaskander.

One of the reasons the peace has lasted so long are magical users called falcons. Falcons aka mages, are those who are born with mage marks in their eyes. Some of these mages have unimaginable powers of pure destruction. Children who show any signs of being mage marked are quickly gobbled up by the ruling government and sent to a place called the Mews to learn to control their powers. All of the falcons are assigned a person who is called a Falconer. Falconers exist to control magic and those who use magic. With a jess, the magic is bound, with a word from a Falconer, the magic is unleashed.

Lady Amalia is the daughter and heir of one of the most powerful people in all of Raverra-La Contessa Lissandra Cornaro. She is not only bright, but bold as well. As she is returning home with a copy of a much sought after book, she runs into a waif of a girl being harassed by several men. After the waif unleashes her fire magic that nearly burns down the city and everyone with it, Amalia is encouraged by Lieutenant Marcello Verdi to put a magic halting artifact called a jess on the girls wrist thus restraining the girls powers. Marcello may have not only broken the law, but given the powerful Court of Nines a weapon of mass destruction. 

One could definitely say that things do not get off to a good start between the waif girl named Zaira and Amalia. Why should they? Amalia is not only her mothers heir, but has also been to university. She has seen places like Arden and is comfortable being among powerful people. She is also a creative inventor which we see bits and pieces throughout the story. Meanwhile, Zaira's life has been one challenge after another while living on the streets, and hiding her powers. In this world, Zaira has no rights of her own now that she has been discovered as a fire mage. Oh sure, they claim the mages will be treated like kings and queens, but what they don't tell you goes a long way in understanding Falcon/Falconer relationship. 

Zaira and Amalia are now forever linked together whether they like it or not. In the end, it takes a whole lot of twists, and turns, and actions to bring the two women together. This relationship also includes Marcello since he finds that he is enamored with Amalia, as well as his sister who is a bright spot in this story. The unlikely relationship between Amalia and Zaira is key to this story, but the underlying issue is where Amalia's relationship with her own mother ends up. Nobody can stand in the same room with La Contessa without being a bit intimidated, but Amalia more than holds her own when the chips are on the table.

I will definitely be waiting for the sequel called The Defiant Heir (April 19, 2018).

I received a copy through Netgalley. I give this 4.5 stars
The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso is a solid read.
We meet Amalia Cornaro, the Coranaro heir, her mother La Contessa is one of the ruling minds on the Council of Nine in the Serene City of Raverra. She knows what is expected of her as an heir to the Council of Nine, loyalty to the family first, her feelings on a forever back burner, second only to the Serene City and the council it's self and the word of Doge who rules the council.
Let me say firstly that the world building is fantastic, and so well thought out.

Amalia is a strong independent woman although born without any powers, is more into the study and theory of magic, spending her days tracking down rare books. Out one night she crossed paths with another young woman. A mage marked woman, a warlock with the explosive, dangerous power of fire, who's spent her life trying to avoid being conscripted into the army.
Mage marked individuals are considered property of the government, taken straight into the army's protection as children, or as soon as their power's manifest. They are called Falcons, and are given a Falconer whose lifelong bond with tether them together, holding the responsibility of releasing their power with a jess, a bracelet constructed of Artifice (magic crafted objects, made by other mage marked individuals called Artificer.)
Their path's collide, and they end up forever linked by a small wire jess.
Zaira, considers The Mews (the government area that houses and protects the Falcons) a gilded cage. The power that she's had since childhood, both a gift and a curse. It can protect her, but also steal those she get's closest to. Zaira's fire is called balefire it's power grows wild with each life it takes, and soon she loses control and becomes consumed by it, swallowing everything in it's wake, it is the most dangerous magic to possess. Only the word of her Falconer can call her back and snuff out her power.

In order to avoid being used as a weapon against enemies of the Serene City, Amalia and Zaira must learn to work together, trust in each other. In the midst of a rebellion, finding out who the real enemy will take everything the two of them possesses, they must both use all their skills to stop it before it's too late or an entire city will be at the mercy of Zaira's fire, and she will be helpless to stop herself. And her Falconer will have will have no choice but to release her power on the city of Ardence.

The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso was a fantastic read! Please give it a chance.

I recieved a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. I did enjoy the book, but I think it suffered from the first book syndrome. The concept of this book was great and I loved how the person who tethered the mages power was the only one who could release it. While the concept was good I felt that this book was a little slow to take off. I know authors get better with each book they write and I am looking forward to see how this author improves on the series. I loved Amalia and Zaira and I thought the forbidden love angle was cute. This book is full of world building and political intrigue which may make up for its slower start. If you are a fantasy lover or a YA lover this book is for you. I can't wait to see where the characters go next and want to see more by this author.

The Tethered Mage is full of politics and intrigue, plots and deceptions, magic and determination. The setting gives the feel of a collection of Italianate city-states in structure with different rulers over different cities coming into conflict with a potential rebellion on the horizon as the general backdrop to the story.

Amalia Cornaro is the daughter of one of the Council of Nine, intended to take her mother's place on the council eventually, her whole life thus far has been surrounded by the intrigues of court. She would much rather have her nose in a book, puzzling out artificing projects and remaining blissfully unaware of the Council's working, though she knows that is not to be. She likes to travel the city incognito, and it is during one such escapade that in trying to do a good deed, she accidentally links herself and Zaira together forever in a way that neither expected or wanted.

Zaira is difficult and uncooperative from the very beginning. Amalia tries to make the best of a bad situation, but despairs that Zaira may never come around to the partnership they need to have. Even so she continues to try and find ways to make Zaira's life better and earn her trust. It is this unlikely pairing of personalities that drives the development of Amalia's character. She is an heiress that has never wanted for any luxury, and has taken the Falcon/Falconer relationship for granted as part of life, though she had no thought of being one herself. When confronted by someone who feels trapped and compelled against their will to accept this magical and physical binding, rather than being grateful to be raised in circumstance, it is confusing for her and she must alter her world view. This willingness and desire to understand and accommodate is what made Amalia an attractive character to me. She matures through the story from a daughter who follows her Mother's every order, to a strong young woman who will be capable of taking her place on the council some day, making her own decisions and standing firm for what she believes in.

There were some side characters that I hope we see more of in future books, I always enjoy when the secondary characters engender that interest in me. This was a very satisfying historical feeling fantasy that I'm looking forward to continuing in the next book due out next year, The Defiant Heir.

c/p from Goodreads

I received an ARC of this book via netgalley. I DNF'd it at 35%.

I tried to give this book as much of a fair chance as I could, ultimately I found the experience too irritating to continue which is why I DNF'd it. first book of this year I've had to do that with but it wasn't worth putting myself in a reading slump which i could tell was going to happen if i forced myself to read the whole thing.

My principle issue with this story is that the blurb&title led me to believe the focus would be on Zaira the tethered mage, the slave or subjugated figure struggling against the oppressive regime she's enslaved by. Instead, we get a first person narrative from one of the most privileged characters in the empire (with a stereotypical side order of bookworm + not like other girls + disapointment to her powerful family tropes) who not only captures and enslaves Zaira against her will, but is repeatedly disapointed that people aren't more grateful for what she did. Amalia's inner monologue spent an insultingly long time justifying the slavery system in her world (at many points gaslighting the fact it even is slavery) without any hints from the author that this was going to be something the character would have to confront.

I know i only read 35%, but when you write a first person single narration expecting me to empathize with a slave holder, you better know what the fuck you're doing and you better give me clear signs early on that this isn't just going to be a "happy slave we gave you a better life of service" narrative, which is the impression i got.

I have a long, comprehensive video review of my thoughts on these issues over on youtube (https://youtu.be/esI5PHnNrs4).

tl;dr socially, The Mews/Falconers/Falcons have the exact same structure as The Fulcrum/Orogenes/Guardians from Jemisin's The Broken Earth w/o any of the nuance or challenging of problematic systems. Not my cup of tea.

I first came across this book back in July when it was mentioned by a fellow book blogger and I was immediately taken in by both the cover and the setting of a 17th-century inspired fantasy Venice. The content of The Tethered Mage was just as enticing as I hoped and introduced an alluring new fantasy world and magic system.

This book starts off with action that throws you right into the basics of the current state of magic and politics in Eruvia. If you're confused, just hang on because all will be explained. Lady Amalia Cornaro, soon to inherit her mother's place in the all-powerful Council of Nine--rulers of the Raverran Empire--ends up unexpectedly attached to a previously unknown mage known as Zaira. The two end up in what is known as a Falcon/Falconer relationship in which an individual mage's magic is controlled by a non-mage, which is all the detail I'll give regarding the setup of this story (if you don't already know, I'm a firm believer in finding out the details for yourself--it's a much better experience that way).

As mentioned, we the readers are thrown right into the middle of the magical and political machinations of this world, and I found myself a bit lost in some of the beginning discussions among the Raverran elite. Fortunately, the most important information that you need to know for the plot is mentioned again later in a more elaborate and understandable manner.

Amalia herself is rather stubborn, but this seems to be a common trait among book protagonists and I didn't find it to be too overbearing for once. In the end, I came to appreciate Amalia's tenacity and willingness to do what she feels is right, whether or not it is what she is 'supposed' to do, despite her follow-the-rules personality. Zaira, unlike Amalia, is much more rebellious and is unafraid to speak her mind. Honestly, I didn't much like Zaira's character in the beginning, but she quickly grew on me and became one of my favorite characters. I also loved her dog. Amalia's mother is also one of those characters that you don't necessarily like, but she sort of grows on you by the end. Also, I found Prince Ruven to be a particularly intriguing character whom I look forward to reading more about in the second book.

The world-building of this new fantasy was well-done and has made me interested to continue the series and find out more about it. What intrigued me the most was the fact that individuals with magic are used as the 'army' and the those without magic are the ones in charge and able to control those without it. I found it to be quite a nice change from the situation of many other fantasy worlds in which the noble/elite usually have more of the magical power and abilities. I thought that Caruso did a good job portraying both sides of the scenario, with Amalia coming from the powerful side and Zaira coming from the magic end. This division allows the reader to see how Zaira viewed her position and felt as if she were forced to be a slave to the elite and is not pleased with being made to use her powers for their wishes, whereas Amalia has only ever known the opinion that this is a positive relationship for both mages and non-mages alike. I appreciated this dichotomy and how it contributed to the overall storyline and development arc of the characters. It was also interest to read from a protagonist's view who doesn't have magical powers.

For those wondering, there is a small romantic subplot, but it isn't overdone nor does it take away from the plot.

Overall, I've given The Tethered Mage four stars! I had a great time reading it and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves some good fantasy.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started reading this book. I have read so many fantasy YA books over the years that I was worried it would be more of the same. I was pleasantly surprised to find a fresh take on the YA fantasy drama. The characters were likeable and well developed. And the plot was well thought out and engaging. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

While I liked a lot of the disparate elements to this book--the complex relationships between magic users and their "falconers," a protagonist who is a magic scholar who can't do magic, the myriad conniving elements plotting various schemes--overall this one fell flat for me. It felt like it took a long time for me to wade through. I was nearly as exasperated by Amalia's bumbling naivete as her "falcon," the street-smart Zaira, and the syrupy sweet romance between Amalia and the perhaps even more disgustingly naive Marcello (who for reasons completely obscure somehow managed to become second in command at his military station??? ??? ???) did not appeal to me at all.

My favorite character was Amalia's mom's maid, who is a dashing spy lady (and possibly in a secret relationship with her powerful mom?). But despite being the heir to one of the most powerful people in her country, and nearly being assassinated multiple times, Amalia somehow completely misses the totally obvious clues about her badassery and is completely flummoxed at the end when Dashing Spy Lady (I forget her name, oops) rides to the rescue. Oh, Amalia. She is just so clueless that I couldn't enjoy her as a protagonist, and will likely not be picking up book two as a result.

4.5 Wine Glass ARC #Review of The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso
*Review will go live on 10/23/2017 @ 8pm EST

Melissa Caruso dazzles with her debut release The Tethered Mage, first in the Swords and Fire trilogy!

Amalia Cornaro is the heir to one of the nine reigning seats of the Empire, in her home city of Reverran, but she'd much prefer to spend her days buried in books and alchemy then political intrigue. When she finds herself unintentionally tethered to a fire mage though and thrown into the center of a potential civil war, Amalia must carefully navigate the the gully of deceit lest the Empire be set aflame....

The Tethered Mage was an enchanting story immersed in fantasy. Set in an almost Victorian era Italy, readers are drawn into the city of Reverran. With it's sweeping streets and temperate canals, this vibrant jewel of the Empire is easily brought to life on the pages through Caruso's magnetic writing. From the onset, readers are thrust into the action with an out of control mage threatening to burn the city to ashes. We're then swept into the magic and mayhem of the story as Amalia steps into the role she was destined for, and another she never imaged, as she tries to keep the empire from self-destructing while earning the trust of the wary, Zaira.

Based on today's bird falconry, the concept of falcons, mage-marked warlocks with powers that range from an affinity with machinery to controlling the weather, being tethered to falconers, a person in the imperial army who has the ability to leash and unleash their mage's powers, was definitely a unique premises. Zaira never chose to be a falcon, just as Amalia never chose to be her falconer. But while Amalia accepts her new role, Zaira refuses to. Zaira's character was sarcastic, distrusting, and volatile throughout the majority of the story. While her sarcasm and whit oft times lent humor to the tale, her character was stagnant until the very end which left me disliking her for a majority of the book. Her complete opposite was Amalia. I adored her character, though she was too trusting and naive at times, the showed exceptional growth with each new page. The handsome and honorable Lieutenant Marcello Verdi added a touch of slow-burning and taboo romance to the story. While his relationship with Amalia doesn't progress very far in the physical sense due to social restrictions, their yearning to have more was palpable from the pages. Many dreamy sighs were had while reading scenes centered around these two. Between these three characters though, the dialogue was continuously entertaining. While The Tethered Mage is a character driven story, with magic at it's center, there are currents of political drama that propels the story forward. I was kept guessing throughout the many plot twists and the ending was brilliant.

The Tethered Mage is essentially a coming of age story with characters that straddle the line of young adult and adult. Unless I'm mistaken, the ages of Amalia and Zaira are never given, but you get the feel that they're in their late teens. Riddled with intrigue and with a gentle touch of angst and longing, I was captivated from start to finish. The integration of magic and falconry works beautifully, the prose flow freely, and the characterization is gripping. I can't wait to read more from the Swords and Fire trilogy, and am eagerly anticipating The Defiant Heir. Will Amalia and Marcella ever have a future? Will the the prince of Vaskandar, Lord Ruthven, use his stolen knowledge to bring destruction to the Empire? Will Zaira ever except her fate and learn control? I'm looking forward to finding out!

​The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso felt magical from the moment I saw that beautiful cover. I was cautiously optimistic with the premise and love discovering new up and coming authors, hopeful that they’ll present something new that will completely sweep me away.

There was something magical about this and I was quite swept away, but not for the reasons I anticipated. Sure, the world building was great and the characters were strong and interesting, but for once, I was mostly smitten with the growing relationship in the book as opposed to the rest of the elements. The relationship, that is, between the Falconer and her Falcon; Heiress Lady Amalia Cornaro and street smart Zaira.

This wasn’t a romantic relationship, but one could argue it was almost more complicated. Amalia unintentionally caging care-free Zaira and creating a bond between two people who can’t and won’t be tied down. Two people who don’t at all trust each other, but are forced to put their lives and interests in the other’s hands. I loved this blossoming relationship and it was a real treat to see the focus of a book be about trust and friendship and that kind of bond, as opposed to romantic. There was romance though, of course, but it wasn’t love at first sight, it wasn’t overbearing and it actually worked really well to compliment the other story lines.

There’s a lot happening here, different locations, different people, all with different agendas. And yet not a lot actually does happen. It’s a lot of talk and character building and leading up to something significant, but we have a ways to get there before that happens. Sometimes I felt a little dragged down by the politics of it all, but the general story and direction it was headed was interesting enough to keep me reading. There also ended up being a whole lot of random finger pointing, leaving me not knowing who to trust or believe, which was a nice touch.

The writing is strong and the story never loses it’s momentum or destination, despite all the political tones and messaging throughout. It does leave things open for a sequel, but it also nicely wraps up this first part, leaving the reader with a sense of satisfaction and hope, as well as a desire to find out what comes next.

I quite enjoyed the characters, they didn’t solely fit one cliche you expect to find in books like this and the women in here were fierce and strongly independent, which I applaud. I found this genuinely a strong read, very smart and definitely something worth pushing through the political aspects if you’re one who finds that a little dragging. I look forward to seeing what gets set on fire in the sequel.

The Tethered Mage was a very enjoyable read with an interesting magic system.

Individuals in this world develop a tell tale mage-mark (a ring on their iris) as they develop their magical ability. There are different types of abilities that may manifest and some display at a younger age than others. But regardless of ability, if a child displays the mage-mark, they must be enlisted as a Falcon. A “jess” is put on their arm to control their magic. The person who places the jess on the Falcon becomes their Falconer with the ability to turn on or suppress their magical abilities with a word. While the intent is to help the Falcons maintain control (because once they lose control, there is no turning back, they become consumed in their magic), it can also be seen as a way to control those with magical abilities and use them for the empire’s purposes. They become tools for the military. Naturally, this will create some dissent.

The story focuses on a pair of women joined together in an unlikely Falconer/Falcon relationship, something neither of them wanted or expected in their life.

Zaira is a fire warlock, one of the most dangerous and destructive types of mage. She is also unusual in that her mage mark was more subtle and she managed to go undetected until adulthood. The drama around integrating her as a Falcon, where she has to submit to certain rules and expectations is too much for a woman who has lived on her own, accountable to no one but herself. She takes “fiercely independent” to an all new level, and will not be “tamed” easily.

Amalia was raised as the heir to the most powerful woman in the empire and has lived a life of luxury. She has her own set of challenges after she by chance happened to be the one person who could place a jess on Zaira before her fire could threaten lives. Due to who her mother is, and her position as heir, she has the challenge of not appearing to belong or report to the Falcons, but also do her part as Falconer to Zaira.

The two women are quite different in so many ways, with starkly different backgrounds. Zaira has been a loner, lived on the streets and speaks her mind with no concern about appearances or etiquette. Amalia has been raised to be a master politician and has lived a life of luxury. One thing they do have in common is determination and strength of character. I enjoyed them both quite a bit.

There is definitely a romance in this, while at times it may have gotten a bit more wistful than I might have liked, overall, I did enjoy it. There is also a good bit of intrigue. Arden is on the verge of rebellion and determining who is pulling the strings and why is part of the fun of the book. Amalia has to figure out who can be trusted and what the motivations are for some of the events that are threatening to trigger a civil war, especially at a time when a hostile country is moving troops to their border.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one. Enough that if the next book was available, I would have wanted it right away. It had a great balance of characters, intrigue and magic and just left me wanting to read more.

I received this book from NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review.

I was hooked!

Sometimes, with a new fantasy series, there's so much to keep track of and so much that is unexplained and to find out later, that it's exhausting to read - while it may ultimately be worthwhile, it just isn't fun.

This book is different.

While the world building is intense, it all makes sense right from the start. Bits and pieces throughout add to the picture, but I was able to enjoy the story immediately, while gradually adding to my overall picture of the world involved. The whole world situation is complex and well fleshed out, but it all made sense immediately and then incrementally increased. Not to dwell on this, but I am not always in the mood for a massive puzzle, while trying to convince myself that by the end it should all make sense. With this book, I was able to enjoy the story.

The characters made sense - I could generally see a reason why they acted the way they did. I love that, since I hate feeling that a character is acting completely randomly, just for plot purposes. And, the important characters were interesting and likable (those that SHOULD be likable). I quite quickly began to care about the 3 main characters, what would happen to them, and how they would resolve their situations.

And, the secondary characters who were important to the story also made sense. While I didn't always like what they did, I could understand why they did it.

This was a terrific book - it's what I call a "just one more chapter" book. "I know I need to get to bed, but just one more chapter first." I enjoyed it thoroughly, and am eagerly awaiting book 2 in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a digital ARC of "The Tethered Mage" by Melissa Caruso. This book has an interesting plot line but the writing felt a bit drawn out. There was a large amount of detail that made the book move a bit slow. The plot kept me engaged though. I think readers of high fantasy and detailed world building will enjoy this novel.

DNF at 60%
This to me was supposed to be a book about friendship in the unlikeliest of places and a fiery magic that knew no bounds. And it was, partly. However I did not expect the political plot to be so heavy. I'm not one for historical/political driven books and The Tethered Mage unfortunately did not hold my interest.
What I will say, however--It's not a BAD book, but it should have emphasized the political plot in the book synopsis. Otherwise, the characters were endearing. Amalia and Zaira both had their good points and flaws and I would have liked to read more of small chats and escapades--something light hearted I guess that "HE WANTS TO RULE." "NO THEM" type of thing. Lastly, Marcello was swoony and I think readers who enjoy detailed dramas would really enjoy the Tethered Mage. Strongly recommend to those readers! Not to mention the writing was beautiful, it just wasn't my type of plot.

A tale of two stories... that's what The Tethered Mage is like. By the end of the first half I was questioning the wisdom of asking for this book from Netgalley. By the end of the book, I was considering book 2.

Zaira and Amalia are a study in contrasts. But then again, so are their love interests. And our resident antagonists were no slouches. From the moment Amalia uses a jess on Zaira and locks her magic, it's clear there is a problem. The imagery of the falcon and falconer is important since it's clear what is being done. Zaira is being taken, claimed for the empire, and her will and wishes be damned. It's not a comfortable beginning to the book and from there it went downhill.

Amalia is about as naive as you can get, despite certain interesting events in her childhood. As her mother's heir and heir to probably the most influential house in Raverra, I was expecting a bit more from her. Her naivete seems to mostly spring from her lack of interest in politics and her incredibly sheltered upbringing. But honestly, Amalia's pretty blasted oblivious to things that are obvious to the rest of us.

Zaira, on the other hand, has had a hard life and is very cynical with an even harder outer shell. She's not interested in being a weapon for the empire and refuses to play the game to a large degree. Her recalcitrance hides a slowly softening heart toward the idiot girl who locked her fire. Zaira is a breath of fresh air and definitely knows a lot more about life than Amalia. The foils between them could not be more obvious.

This foil between them and the way the Falconers handle the situation as well as the way the Doge and Amalia's mother (La Contessa) handle the situation make for a long and slow beginning to this book. If I had just picked this up for myself and not from Netgalley, I would have dropped the book.

At long last though, the two young girls are plunged into treacherous times. Marcello Verdi (second in command of the Falconers) and Domenic (friend to Amalia) were interesting characters who fill out the main cast as important players and love interests. And so they head off to Ardence to either stop a war or create a war and who knows all the other little reasons. Political intrigue, "right and wrong", murderous antagonists, and snakes in the grass all populate the pages of the second half.

And, of course, decisions have to be made... fateful and irrevocable decisions.

This book has a very Italian feel to it and it straddles the fantasy and steampunk styles. It's definitely a YA book. I'm giving 3 stars because I am so on the fence about this book. That first half was interminable but by the end, I was quite curious how things would end up between our two couples and curious as to how Amalia would handle the very delicate situations she faced. Her worldview was definitely shattered in this book.