I found this book difficult to get into. The plot and characters didn't feel strong enough for me to continue, though I appreciated the premise.

I was not impressed by this book, I found it a little too out there esp at the end and just couldn't settle into it.

A Mage's Power is the first book of the Inquisition trilogy by Casey Wolfe. It's a NA/older YA paranormal romance with a m/m lead. Released 19th July 2018 by NineStar press, it's 270 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.

This book struck me as more of a romance with fantasy/magic (worked in where convenient) than a fantasy with romance. Definitely heavy on the romance. There's nothing wrong with that, but readers looking for straight fantasy and magic with a side order of romance are possibly going to be disappointed.

There's also remarkably little dramatic tension in the book. This was a very low stress sweet novel with a plot that never really placed any of the lead characters in what felt like direct danger. Whatever the bad guys do, the good guys just manage to crush them.

It felt odd to me that techy items like cell phones exist side by side with shapeshifters, incantations, and grimoires. It probably won't bother a lot of readers. It honestly didn't bother me, but it was a noticeable nudge to my suspension of disbelief every time it happened.

The lead characters also do an awful lot of murdering and mayhem causing without much (any?) repercussions. This book also includes a fair bit of insta-love and insta-bonding. Again, that is likely a bonus for a lot of readers.

The writing is even and well done. There is an awful lot of good natured sarcastic banter, so if that's your thing, you'll be over the moon.

This is a clean romance and the naughty bits are implied rather than explicit. There is a fair bit of rough language (multiple uses of 'the F-bomb', as well as more minor bad language). None of it really seems overly gratuitous.

A nice m/m romance, sweet and low drama. It was a little bit on the sarcastic end of the spectrum for my tastes, but I'm not the target audience. This is an undemanding fun read.

Three and a half stars. I liked it well enough to seek out other work by the author and I'm looking forward to see what's in store for Rowan and Shaw.

A gift from Net galley. I really enjoyed this book, it was my first M/M Book and I found the relationship build up was very sweet and sincere. Will definitely read the following books

A complimentary copy was provided in exchange for an honest review.

This started so amazingly!! I was really into the characters and storyline, and then...the instalove / anger over not being told secrets after knowing each other a few hours / trusting each other with deep secrets after a few days (it seemed like days, maybe 2 weeks).

Rowan was super cool, though. I have always wished magic was real, and he has so much of it!!! He has 2 masters in magic, trying to go for 3 to eventually have a masters in all areas. I really liked him overall. And Caleb was too cute!!!! Shaw was a curious one be the was different from Rowan and Caleb. He is a witch, but working undercover to find out what happened to his vampire friend Marcus. This is only one part of the story. There is another part which I don't understand why was part of the story if it wasn't the main villain. Too much was trying to be done with this book by having 2 separate story arcs in it. Have one ARC not two please. Personally I enjoyed the first one more that dealt with Rowan than I did the one that involved rescuing Marcus.

Overall this was ok, but the unrealistic factor at the end just spun waaaay out there for me. It was just too easy for Shaw and Caleb to break in to a super secret facility. They didn't have any trouble. Like that would ever happen!!!!

Get rid of the instalove and the unbelievableness of the ending, this was pretty good. :) 3 stars.

I love it when a book takes me by surprise ;) In the case of A Mage's Power, it wasn't immediate. I honestly wasn't sure about this one at first, but there was a lot of world building involved. Once the story got going though, it was tough to put down.

There was a lot I really liked about this story. There was a unique family/pack connection between Rowan and his best friend Caleb. Speaking of which, I loved Casey Wolfe's approach to the pack mentality. Actually, even though her world building was extensive, everything about it really drew me into A Mage's Power.

The relationship between Shaw and Rowan took some time to build, but that's okay. Trust needed to be built between the two of them. Shaw had some secrets and some preconceived notions about mage's and their use of magic. Rowan had some doubts about the sincerity of anyone who worked for the Inquisition.

As I mentioned, A Mage's Power was hard to put down. The mystery of what was really happening to the missing magicae, the action, the budding romance and the friendship kept the pages turning. It's probably worth mentioning that all the "romance" happened off the page. That didn't bother me either, but it might be a deal breaker to some. Just know that the story and the obvious love between Rowan and Shaw made up for it... at least for me.

I'm really glad that this book is part of a series. Even though A Mage's Power didn't end in a cliff hanger, there is obviously more story to be told and a few other mysteries that weren't totally solved. I can't wait until The Inquisition Trilogy continues.

A Mage's Power immediately caught my eye because of the beautiful cover. So I started wondering, have I ever read a fantasy with primarily mm relationships? No, I haven't. I was so curious when I started reading this book - and I'm not disappointed.

A Mage's Power takes us to a fiction world, to Everstrand, where we're given two POVs - mage Rowan and that-would-be-spoiler Shaw. From the very first page I knew was going to like Rowan better. The author of this book made it good - a character with some dark history, so we're interested in what happened, but of course we have to wait. Shaw wasn't that attractive, but in the end I have to say I liked him too. The best character for me is definitely Rowan's bff Caleb. I'd love to meet him in real life! He made me laugh during the whole book, and when he was with Shaw, it was even better.
Characters are written very good, all of them have their specific place in history and future, so that's only plus for this title.

The bigger problem was with the plot. I didn't understand the way they've fallen in love - like okay, everybody expected, of course, but still the author could describe it more. I was really wondering sometimes if they're already in a relationship or still not, or what had just happened and so on (but I ship them hard anyway). Same goes with the action - this is the only thing I was disappointed with a bit. I was expecting a huge magic war. Or something like that, described ways of magic battles and all of those intrigues, but everything was so quick I just rolled my eyes. There are two plots where we can expect something with huge action, but it comes near the end.
But that, ladies and gentlemen, was really magnifique. I sometimes even forgot how to breathe as I was crossing my fingers for them when the real danger finally came! The end was fabulous and I'm even more excited for the following part. There I hope it's going to continue the same way as this book ended, because that was what I wanted.
Thanks for giving me an opportunity to read this book!

This is a highly enjoyable and fun to read fantasy book.
I loved the plot and the way it mixes modern times technology with a fantasy world.
There could be some more details and world building but it can be developed in the next instalments as I assume this is a series.
I look forward to reading the further instalment in this series.
Recommended!
Many thanks to NineStar Press and Netgalley for this ARC

I loved it and I need the next book in the series now! I knew Shaw was up to something as it was pretty clear to me based on his attraction to Rowen. I did not figure who the black mage was , never even hit my radar. This was a good mystery of trying to find the missing Magicae. I would have liked to have seen the arrest and processing. I love Caleb and am glad he found his mate and maybe the next book will be his & Marcus. What stopped this from being a 5 Star read is that there was not sex on page. I need that connection. It does have to be a ton of it but it needs to be present. I can’t wait for the next book as this kind of ends on a HFN instead a HEA. They have yet to agree on where they are going to live.

This is a delightful beginning to the inquisition trilogy. Casey Wolfe has created a beautiful world with lovely characters.

In the beginning we are introduced to Rowan a nerd on his way to become become a grand master mage. His best friend/ live in dog Caleb is a lovable werewolf who is ultra protective of Rowan and Shaw the hot stuff inquisitor.

Rowan and Caleb become friends with Shaw and thus begins an adventure to save lives.

The world Casey created is beautiful, from afar Everstrand  looks like an ideal place but when you get close you discover it's a lot darker than you think ahem *coughs*  'Murica. There's a scene where Caleb and Rowan are discussing about a political candidate and i wrote down, ''okay this scene reminds me of orange juice in the white house''

The major theme of the book was family Caleb, Rowan and Shaw bonded on different levels. You'll get a warm fuzzy feeling when you read how the characters interact, i know Rowan is the star of the show in this book but Caleb has a special place in my heart. 

 One final thing i appreciated was the writing style let me explain. There were scenes were you would hold your breathe and expect something bad to happen but it didn't why did i appreciate this? She did not try to force an unnecessary plot twist but by my unicorn bottom when the twist happened i screamed.I recommend this book if you love that friendship/family bond.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this book!

Book: A Mage's Power
Published: 16/07/18
Rating: 3.5 stars
Author: Casey Wolfe

Plot: Duel perspective following Rowan and Shaw, this is a fantasy romance novel set in a world not dissimilar from our own. Rowan is a mage who is studying for a Masters and Shaw is an Inquisitor with a hidden agenda. When the two meet they instantly feel a pull towards one another and start a relationship.

I loved the last 20%, so action-packed and gripping, however, I felt like the rest of the story was a little boring, with not enough suspense or action to hold my attention. The relationship between Shaw and Rowan was good if a little rushed, but I didn't feel that spark between them.

The world building was really good and I loved all the magical elements, I also really loved all the side characters.

I will definitely be reading the next book if it involves Caleb and Marcus, I was so intrigued by those characters and I want to know more!

My review will be posted on my blog by the end of the month.

Huge thank you NineStar Press and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book!

It’s taken me a few days to write this review because I honestly didn’t know what to say, in a good way. This is why I always have trouble writing reviews about books that I really enjoy, I have a hard time thinking of anything to say other than just “I LOVED IT!” so these kinds of reviews always end up being very short and probably not helpful to anyone at all lol

Full (spoiler-y) review here: http://wmsreads.tumblr.com/post/176023247507/

A mage and an empath both with their own issue. This one felt light hearted, fast paced and highly enjoyable. Both Ro and Shaw are powerhouses in their own rights. I liked Caleb best so hope he has a story of his own. Would’ve liked to see the whole gang meet. Who knows maybe it’s all to come.

I was given an ARC copy by Netgalley and Ninestar Press. Thank you so much!

First off, let me say I gave this 5 stars on my Goodreads! I’ll try not to gush so much but this book was amazing from start to finish! The fantasy, action and love was just enough to captivate me and make me fall in love.

Rowan and Shaw and even Caleb were such in depth and emotionally perfect characters. You really got the feel of their bond and love for each other. Even Shaw, the newcommer, got accepted into Caleb’s pack.

Rowan, of Rowan, I wish I had a best friend like him. The love he has for Caleb is undeniable. Best friends forever truly means these two.

Now let’s get to the other part of the story. Action! I thought Wolfe did an excellent job creating a story that involved Magicae and Mundane’s. A little bit predictable, but that aside, amazing. She really got into the feelings of all these creatures and expressed love for them.

I was a little hesitant with Shaw and his intentions with Rowan. That is until we find out he’s a witch! Once all of that unfolded, my love for him and Rowan grew even more.

The ending with Caleb and Marcus completely took me by surprise! I guess you kind of hinted at it a few chapters before, but still it was a nice little ending for Caleb.

Now for some parts I didn’t understand/liked. I really wish Wolfe could have shown Rowan getting arrested. Would have giving us some more insight with the Inquisitors. I would have also liked seeing more of the secondary characters; Tate, Ieus,Frey, Quail and Jorah. These people were the ones to help Rowan gain his Masters in Magic.

Overall, I indeed loved this book and feel blessed to be able to review and read such an amazing book. I do hope there will be a second book! Fingers crossed!

A Mage’s Power will be available July 16th 2018