While I normally love fantasy books set in Victorian times, this one didn't have the same appeal. First, I should specify that this was more Venician than Victorian, but it's nearly the same idea in my head.

The beginning was very slow, and I put it down for a while and focused on more exciting reads. After the second half of the book, the pace picked up, and the end was finally more exciting, with all the action going on, and the MC lost her stiffness.

The narrative voice the book is written in slows down the story. It's written to sound more like a noble young lady is speaking, and reflects her stiff upbringing, but I found it hard to connect with that kind of writing, which is what put me off the book for a long while.

If I could split the book in half, and give them separate reviews, I'd say the beginning gets 2 stars, and the end gets 4. I should really round my overall review to 3, but the end was good enough to push it into 3.6-3.7, so I rounded up to 4.

This is a good book, with an interesting magic system & good world building, so if you're willing to skim through the beginning, then I'd recommend it.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A surprisingly wonderful read. I was expecting something a little more generic, but fun, and what I got was way better. Amalia's relationship with her mother is fraught, but still clearly loving. She's clearly privileged and unused to dealing with people of a lower social station, but she truly grows as a character and learns to understand others' PoVs and difficulties. Magic is clearly and cleverly described without being too magic systemy. The relationship between Amalia and Zaira develops realistically and never devolves into petty bitchiness. the whole book is well plotted, and chapters are divided in such a way that it's almost impossible to put the book down. Really looking forward to the next one.

Omg this book was magical! Hooked from page 1! If you enjoy fantasy, this book is for you!

I had the pleasure of reading The Tethered Mage. It is a story about a young woman, Amalia, who unknowingly becomes bonded to a young woman with fire power, Zaira. Needless to say, Zaira is not happy at the loss of her freedom. Amalia is the daughter of the leader of a member state of a larger republic. The story revolves around intrigue, betrayal and also some romance. It reminds me of the work of Kristen Cashore and Leigh Bardugo. High praise indeed! I look forward to the next book!

I loved this book. Excellent strong female characters. Stayed up the whole night to finish it. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Really a great book. One of the best books I've read this year, and I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Honestly it's a DNF for me at 30%. I absolutely hate abandoning a book, but I just can't.

This is a book about a wealthy young woman, who is an heir to a very influential house, literally tethering another young woman who is a mage. The mage is essentially a slave to the empire and the MC sees nothing wrong with this. Not only that, but she bribes her into serving the empire with pretty dresses. Furthermore, the young mage is an orphan who grew up on the streets and yet when she is taken to a ball she somehow has courtly manners....

Whoever compared this to The Wheel of Time was mistaken. Yes The Wheel of Time has the damane and the sul'dam (one controls the other through a collar) yet from the beginning, Jordan makes it a perversion of power, not the norm. This novel sees nothing wrong with enslaving someone through a bracelet and then controlling their power, and for that reason I just cannot bring myself to finish this.

The Tethered Mage by Melissa Caruso posits a world where mages are identified early and "drafted" into the Falcon Army, controlled by a Falconer. Young Zaire has managed to hide her mage-mark and powerful talent for years, but is eventually caught in a situation that changes everything for both Zaire and Amalia Cordaro, who inadvertently becomes Zaire's Falconer. A Falcon's magic is controlled by magical bracelets known as jesses, and only a Falconer unlock the bracelets to release the magic.

Political intrigue, mystery and magic, and two strong female characters. An interesting premise. Did I like it? Yes, but I didn't love it. I'll see what the next in the series holds before firming up my opinion.

Read in June; blog review scheduled for Aug. 3

NetGalley/Orbit Books

Fantasy. Oct. 24, 2017. Print length: 480 pages.

I really enjoyed this novel! I don't normally read epic fantasy but this caught my eye. The political and social intrigue is as exciting and complex as an episode of Game of Thrones. I think this is a great start to a series about corruption, power, war, magic and friendship.