50 bajillion stars ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ 5 clearly is not enough.

So I was intrigued though by the whole premise. I was excited to read a dark epic fantasy with some romance! The cover also helped me get sucked into reading this book.

I loved this book so much for so many reasons. It broke my heart into a million pieces and put it all back together again. I laughed, smiled, and gasped in surprise at every step of the way. This book was my spirit animal. It sounds so extra, but I am EXTRA . I hate a lot of books, feel indifferent, but rarely do I love a book to the point where I am like PLEASE READ THIS NOW. I honestly think this is one of my favorite books and hopefully I feel the same way about the rest of the books in the series!

I love the tension between Grace Merchant and Bastien Larelwynn. If I really had to describe or compare, think of Rhysand from A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas. He is the dark broody misunderstood man. However I think Bastien is different. Tall dark and handsome yes, but he is a character I felt a refreshing change from the Alpha males in fantasy romances. BUT GRACE IS NOT FEYRE. Nope. I never liked Feyre.... Grace is strong-willed. She knows what she wants and what is good for her.

I personally felt like I was sucked into a universe where I just needed to know more. I was constantly at the edge of my bed, seat, any possible surface I was reading on.

I loved the world of Rathlynn. I fell in love with Bastien and his dark personality and dangerous past. I understood Grace and her need for order in the middle of chaos and her quick thinking. The whole premise of the world Jessica Thorne was building was amazing.

I would definitely recommend this book! Need a dark fantasy with a tension filled romance and a mystery in a world full of magic and danger thennnnnnnnn READ IT!

Mageborn: (The Hollow King Book 1) by Jessica Thorne, an intriguing book. Starts off really well, felt a tad scattered thru the middle and then it concludes solidly.

Really does pack a punch... I loved every minute of it... filled with action, adventure, and romance and it will have you at the edge of your seat so many times. There were things I never saw coming and I held my breath on numerous occasions... This book has everything a fantasy reader will love... If I could give more than five stars I would. I absolutely loved it..
Thank you so much!!

<I>*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review *</i > 
<b>3 stars </b> 

Grace, an orphan, is part of an elite corps of soldiers, fights corrupt or hollow Mageborn..Bastien is seneschal to the Mageborn, as well as the King's cousin, monitors Mageborn, punishes those who will not submit to the crown.

Overall, this was an alright read. It's engaging, slowly introducing the world initially. But overall, the plot (or lack thereof to fuel the romance aspect) leaves a bit to be desired, and comes off quite cliché . The language is very odd at times, and absolutely full of overwrought metaphors. There definitely could have been more world-building though, and I feel like none of the characters really got to shine much other than Grace and Bastien.

ALSO, the blurb compares it to SJM, which definitely is not a good thing. While this was somewhat entertaining in its own right, it's nothing like her writing, especially in terms of character depth, and comparing the two makes Mageborn look far worse than it is.

I love a lengthy book, but in this case it was too much. This story needs to be put together, take out the excessive descriptions, move along the pace.

“When you chased monsters they tended to notice. They chased you back.”

Mageborn was a pretty good read. My very first from this author. It’s fantasy read set in a magical medieval feeling world. There’s an ailing king, some magical mythology, and sort of a corrupt royal agenda.

I enjoyed the main plot of the story. And I liked most of the characters. These people who sort of edge the line between good and evil. Honestly most of the characters in this book do bad things, but they also have somewhat good intentions, or they are only doing what they believe is the right thing. I mean there are truly bad characters in this story, but it’s difficult at times to weed them out. I enjoyed the heroine, Grace. She’s loyal to the crown and the Academy she fights for, even if she doesn’t always agree with her jobs. She also has secrets and an unexplainable connection with the Lord of Thorns. Bastien is said Lord of Thorns, a mageborn, who is also the heir to the crown as the ailing king has no children. Anyway. I don’t want to give the entire story away, so I’ll just give a few opinions. I think the bones of this story are good. There is so much potential for a GREAT story. Unfortunately, for me, there was just something missing. The writing feels a bit choppy at some points. It feels like you’re expected to know history/background that were never mentioned, and the story moves very slowly until around 50% percent. I’d chalk that up to world building, but it didn’t feel like that was the issue. Anyway. As I said, I did mostly enjoy this story. I’ll most likely pick up the next one, because I am invested in the characters, but I’m hoping that it gets a little heavier of a content edit. I think that would have done wonders for this first book, and could have gained it a higher rating from me.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Grace Marchant is a soldier, trained to track down wild Mageborn, those who possess dangerous magic, who refused to submit to the Crown. In a world where Mageborn are forced to obey to the Crown, collared and used by It, Grace struggles to keep her secret magic hidden. Helped by her team, Ellyn, Daniel and Kai, Grace fights for the Crown, trying not to question her loyalty, but when Kai's magic turns itself on him and his fate is decided by the Lord of Thorns, the heir of the crown Bastien Larelwynn, Grace finds herself conflicted. And when the dying king tasks her to protect him, Bastien and Grace are forced to work together, trying to discover the fate of murdered Mageborn in the city. But the plot is more complex that Grace would have thought and while she fights against her feelings for Bastien and tries to understand how to protect him and discover the truth, Bastien struggles with the same thoughts and emotions. In the meantime, forces rally to try to control Bastien's powers, to use him, to force him and the sake of all the mageborn of the kingdom is at stake.

Mageborn is the first book of The Hollow king saga and it's a complex tale of magic, love, adventure, intrigue and power. While the beginning is slow and, at first, the story couldn't get my full attention, the story then becomes more interesting and fast paced.
Told by two POVs, Grace's and Bastien's, the story follows the main characters, while they trying to uncover a convoluted scheme. Both Grace and Bastien are interesting characters, both of them struggles with their memories and emotions for each other and they are strong and loyal to their people and family.
Grace is a loyal soldier, but she's able to think with her own head, to trust her instinct, magic or other, and to make the right decision. Burdened by her own missing memories and by her power, Grace is stubborn, smart and sarcastic.
Bastien, like Grace, is burdened by his own missing memories and powers, fighting to right the wrongs in his city and kingdom, fighting to protect the mageborn by others' clutches. He's witty, powerful and tormented. Unlike Grace, who found her family in the Academy with her team, Bastien's loneliness and being out of place is acutely written and clear.
Right away Bastien and Grace are attracted to each other, trusting one other in a fight for freedom and survival.
Their relationship is a complicated one, maybe fueled by the magic inside them, bringing them together, binding them. I liked reading their interactions, because they are witty, sarcastic and able to see and understand their own vulnerabilities, while learning to know and love each other.
Interesting are the side characters and the villains in the story. Ellyn is the trusted friend and soldier, Daniel is, maybe, the naive and in love guy, ready to do anything for the people he cared about. I really wished the author would have developed more Ellyn's and Daniel's characters, because I really liked them and I hope the next one will do, because I need to know more about Daniel's family, Misha and Kurt and Ellyn's.
I won't write about the villains, because I don't want to spoiler anyone, but they are interesting, power hungry and dangerous. Seeing Bastien used and manipulated was hard to read and it was interesting the dynamics between Bastien and his cousin Marius and the story about the Hollow King.

Jessica Thorne created a world where the magic is seen as a tool to be used in order to control it, to protect other people, a world where mageborn are captured and collared and where only few protest for their rights to be free. It was interesting reading about all kinds of mageborn exist and how they use their power, like the Flint, Zephyr, Leech and so on.
Written skillfully, Mageborn is a book full of adventure, romance, action and intrigue and I can't wait to know more about Grace's and Bastien's adventure and what will happen to Rathlynn.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy of Mageborn by Jessica Thorne. This book had all of the tropes I typically look for in a YA fantasy. I really enjoyed the aspect of the mysterious but good inside bad boy, and the strong and resilient female MC. This book was a bit darker, somewhat reminding me of the Infernal Devices in regards to hunting down outlawed magics.

However, I do think that this book may need a little bit of editing. There were a lot of things going on all at once, and I had a hard time trying to find connections as to why these things were happening. For example, right in the beginning we have the opening hook where the boy goes to see the Hollow King, I loved that mystery. But then we are introduced to the Lord of Thorns and really not told much about him or his motives for A LONG time! I felt so confused. By Chapter 10 I still had no idea what was going on with him. I found myself skimming a lot.

I think the premise of the book is good, I loved the romance aspect, but it just needs polishing. So much is going on but also not a lot is going on all at once... I think I'll read the finished copy and see if there are any changes.

This book is a crime to fantasy fiction.

I read the summary and I was wary. When people compare a book to another book, it not only seems a bit desperate but gives a bit of false advertisement because you're expecting something with the same gravitas.

This book not only failed to live up to the expectations of 'Graceling' and 'Sarah J. Maas' but needs an editor, a plot, and by god a lack of a love interest.

An editor:

This book had too many strange metaphors and or odd repetitive phrases. If I had to read the word 'Lord of Thorns' , 'he was no longer a boy, he was the Lord of Thorns', 'he became the Lord of Thorns again', ... ALL RIGHT. I get it. He is on a different plane of existence than every one in the book. I heard you the first time, I heard you the second time. This book tells you countless times that the 'Lord of Thorns' is not like everyone else and that he is misunderstood. Unfortunately you get little showing just a lot of telling about him.

400 pages also with nothing really going on? What? Yes. It's true.

Plot:

I very hazily understand this plot, but even still it makes not a lick of sense. Nor does the fantasy aspect. You have this 'Academy' but nobody learns anything and it's just for 'show' to house the characters when they have nothing to do or to give them a title to throw at people.

There is a King and for some strange reason he is in bed/invalid/sick/dying? He has an evil wife that .... nobody seems to care that she is doing openly evil things while she is alive? You have a girl who is apparently this captain of the guard and talks cocky but when faced with danger and or something outside her scope she whines and or complains. She has a group of friends (?) or team-mates she leads who aren't really either friends or team-mates, they just kind of dress the plot to give us reason for the Lord of Thorns and her to hook up.

This book was written just for the sake of getting them together. Honestly. I thought that the first time they met it would be a slow burn but you have her instantly fighting in her head and verbally to get with him - physically, mentally. I had to sit through countless pages of ham-fisted 'will they, won't they' to know that they obviously had a connection with one another because it was spelled out on every single page.

Which brings us to the romance:

This book would have been better with a slow burn. The 'story' and point of the world building was thrown aside just to have them constantly be in the center of each page or each bit of action. The book is told through both their point of views and that was a big fault in my opinion because you have an author who is sacrificing relationship over story and that's not how a book should be written. It should be plot first!

All in all, this book was a very painful read for me and the reviews are a bit shocking. I came into this book without bias, just to read a fantasy that sounded interesting but came away finding something that resembled a B- creative writing story.

I do not recommend this book.

Their magic is stolen. Burned hands on them all at death. Grace has burned hands, but lives. Now a "hunter" of mageborns gone mad, Grace is given the files of the dead mages from her Academy superior. This leads her to the palace and Bastien, the Lord of Thorns. Stolen magic, a deadly secret, and 2 people who will bring each other back as the secret is unraveled. Good thriller. I did not see the twisty coming. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

This is all about magic, it’s use and misuse. During a bloody war hundreds of years ago, a boy makes a pact with a king to separate magic from the ruling monarchy and to keep it under strict control. Grace Marchante is an orphan sold to the crown as a child. She was once mageborn but someone in her past stole her magic and her memories. She was given to the academy to train as a soldier and has risen through the ranks to become one of the guards top soldiers. There is trouble in the city. Mageborn are disappearing and some are being drained of their magic then killed.It’s up to her and the guard to discover what is happening and stop it. The king is dying and his heir Bastien, who is also Mageborn, is Graces chief suspect. People believe he’s a monster and don’t want him as king and someone is trying to kill him. He doesn’t want to be king either . He has large gaps in his memory too and struggles to control his power. The king promotes Grace to Captain and compels her to protect Bastien at all costs. Bastien and Grace team up to investigate what is happening to Mageborn. Meanwhile Graces magic is returning and she’s struggling to keep it hidden. Betrayal seems to be the norm and they both must make sacrifices if they are to save themselves and the city all the while falling in love.
I liked this. The world building was interesting and the characters were well developed. I’m looking forward to reading the next book because there were lots of unanswered questions in the four short epilogues. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Mageborn is the first in a new series from Jessica Thorne, and when I heard it was coming, I just knew I had to read it. Especially as fantasy YA is what I’m really enjoying these days. What I will say, is that it does pander to the usual tropes in these kinds of books, BUT that in no way stopped me enjoying it because I really liked the characters. I love magical world-building, the author has so much scope to get creative with it so it’s always interesting to see how they do it, Mageborn is a really solid start to a series, and leaves enough unanswered so the reader is eager to see what will happen next. Engaging, dark and compelling! Recommended for sure.

This is the first book of a brand new upcoming series The Hollow King which has me very excited! I loved it. I also think the cover is stunning. A brilliant start to this series which already has me asking and wondering...

WHAT HAPPENS NOW? WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

I loved Graces character. She's strong, determined and the boss. She is an amazing character after all she had to face and her relationship with Bastien (the lord of thorns) oooh. Loved them together. A couple that shouldn't be... But are perfect together. True love. The ending left me speechless. Revenge. Lies. Truths. I really need to know what happens next... Major cliffhanger alert. Cue bookhangover.

Brilliantly written and gripping. Highly recommend. I lost myself into their world instead of mine which I enjoyed. A well deserved four stars from me. An upcoming series that could be huge!

This novel was a great read! Magic and mayhem go hand in hand, beginning with a war hundreds of years ago and a boy who wanted to save his people made a deal. Power is everything and there are those who steal it for nefarious purposes. Grace Marchant had her powers stolen from her as a child and lost her memories as a result. However, she powers seem to be returning and she needs to keep them hidden. Grace does her duty and is loyal, but when mageborn are disappearing and bodies are appearing all over the city, it all points to the most powerful mageborn, Bastien Larelwynn, Lord of Thorns, cousin and heir to the king. Bastien has many gaps in his memories, does not want to be king, and trusts the wrong people, but is not the monster people claim him to be. Bastien gets involved with Grace's investigation, curious and concerned about what is happening to the mageborn. Grace and Bastien stumble upon plans that have been years in the making and will have to work together to stop the stealing of magic. Both will be betrayed by those closest to them and have to make sacrifices to protect those they care for. What neither expected, was to fall in love. Looking forward to the next novel in the series!

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, I absolutely loved the cover to this book. This is what caught my attention and made me want to read this book.
Mageborn is the first book of the Hollow King series and it is about an orphan called Grace who is a trained soldier and has to find Mageborns (people with magic) and take them to Bastien Larelwynn who is known as the Lord of Thorns and has a reputation of being dangerous and very mysterious. He is also the heir to the throne of Rathlynn as he is the King’s cousin. If a Mageborn refuses to go to Bastien then Grace and her colleagues have to kill them as they are considered a danger to all. Grace starts to find that she may hold some magic within her and she tries to keep this a secret from everyone.
Grace finds herself having to work with Bastien and the story follows them trying to find out what is happening to a lot of the Mageborn going missing or dying in mysterious circumstances.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it has everything you need, action, romance, suspense and funny moments too. I could not put it down. I really loved Grace’s friends in the story with all the banter they have between each other. I do think however it is a bit slow going at the start but stick with it as it soon picks up and you are gripped.
It was also great to have strong, lead, female character who was the brave hero protecting a man instead of the usual man saves damsel in distress all the time! Grace certainly is no one to mess with!
I cannot wait for the next book in the series already. I need to know what happens next!

3.5 stars


The first thing that drew my attention was the cover. Obviously. Can't remember a flower in the story but still, an awesome cover.
Then the description. A world full of magic, a shadowy workshop deep inside the castle and a complicated romance? Sold.

The overall pace of the story was at times slow and towards the end kind of rushed. Some magical aspects are not explained very well and that leads to confusion at some point.
The supporting characters should have been a little bit more present, or actually more fleshed out so that when something happens to them or because of them, it would have more impact on the reader.

I really liked Grace, the main character. She did her best even though she was waay out of her league. I especially liked that she wasn't a very special snowflake born to save the world. The book gets bonus points for that because it's an overused theme.

The romance, a very important aspect for me in some books, was surprisingly simple here. A little rushed, sure, but I really enjoyed how well they fit together. It was nice.

Bastien was also a pleasant surprise. Not the usual brooding, chilly and rude character that you'd expect in these types of books. And I didn't see coming the twist about his identity.

This first book ended on a somber note but with and obvious hint at a sequel in the epilogue. I will most likely read the next book.
Until then I recommend 'Mageborn' to everyone looking for the next high fantasy romance.

Thorne's novel seems is like your standard late 2010s young adult fantasy story where we follow a group of people part of a, more or less, secretive organisation opposing the ruling class/ruler - in this case a queen who both oppressed mageborns (people with magic) and, as far as I understood it, also steals magic from said oppressed group of individuals. On top of this tyrannical behaviour the queen also stole the throne from one of our main characters.

I can't remember much about the story. I guess it just didn't resonate that well with me, or that I felt like i had read it all before in various forms. Nothing really stood out to me.

"Bastien: 'Apotheosis isn’t worth it if you lose what matters.’
Grace: Apotheosis.Trust him to find a big word she didn’t understand."
Well I agree with Grace on that one I had to look up the word myself!😂

#BookReview: #Mageborn by #JessicaThorne
Grace is an orphan sold to the crown who has been trained as an elite soldier to track down Mageborns– those who are born with forbidden magic– and destroy them if they dont surrender and serve the crown.
The mageborn who submit are collared, then handed over to the King’s cousin and heir: the elusive, shady and dangerous Bastien Larelwynn, Lord of Thorns.
But then Grace herself begins to show the first signs of magic which scares her. Bastien is the only one who can help her and the other mageborn most of who are shunned and enslaved. But ofcourse he has his own problems to deal with. What with the assassination attempts, conspiracy and trauma.

I genuinely enjoyed the book. There is royalty, magic, secrets, romance, curses, hidden identities! One question is answered and even more arise, the need to find those answers kept me glued to the book. The suspense never leaves. There are many funny moments and situations arising from interaction of the characters.
This book does not waste time. Everything happens swiftly, don't worry you wont get lost. Though you may not enjoy the lack of backstories. Why I say this?? Kai, Daniel and other companions of Grace. I want to know more about them. The world building is quite good and it gave a bit of Elizabethan England vibes for some reason.

Its written in POV of Bastien and Grace who are very different from each other and yet so alike. Like yin and yang. Both of them are tortured abused and yet find the the compassion and kindness for others. The romance is raw and heartwarming in spite of being a bit rushed.

There is one issue though, the moments where they save each other and their interaction with the Meagen felt repetitive. So much so that when the penultimate moment arrives it feels like deja vu and isn't as poignant as I hoped.
The epilogue left me with a 100 more questions and which I hope will be answered in the sequel also I suspect Bastien and Grace aren't done with their secrets and neither are the secrets done with them.

The review is posted on goodreads as well

*THANK YOU to Bookouture and Netgalley for graciously providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

That magical extravaganza on the beautiful cover made me stop ,and look more thorough at the synopsis....and after that i was hitting the request buttoon in an instant.
In the aftermath of the Last Great War,that happened long ago, now every mageborn(those born with an ancient and now outlawed magic) should surrender their magical abilities to the Crown,or be destroyed.
Here steps in one of our main characters,named Grace Marchant,an elite soldier tracking down mageborn.
All of a sudden,a lot of mageborns start to disappear,or end up dead with burn marks on their hands...and all of their magic drained.
Her investigation leads her to the famous King’s cousin Bastien Larelwynn...or also known as Lord of Thorns in the whole kingdom of Rathlynn.
Unexpected alliance.... and more unexpected turn of events shake their lives upside down and nothing...or rather no one is what it seems to be...

The whole story is told from two POV's
Grace Marchant - an orphan that can't remember her past,now an elite soldier living in the Academy
I loved her character, she's tough as nails and did what had to be done....not what was easy.
Bastien Larelwynn - the mageborn King’s cousin and his only heir.
Well...to be honest....he got on my last nerves with his foolish decisions and naivety...but i gues that was part of his...charm maybe.
The only thing that was bugging me a little,there were a few chapters i really wished that they were from the oposite POV,so i could see what was going through the mind of the other character.

To wrap it up, that was quite the journey and would love to see what happens in the next book!
And again thank you for the opportunity to read Mageborn!


SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
SPOILER SPOILER Another tiny thing that was hoping to see as the book unfold,was SPOILER SPOILER more about Grace's mage powers and more development in that SPOILER SPOILER aspect. Really curious what she would've done with more mage power on SPOILER SPOILER her hands. SPOLER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER

Mageborn by Jessica Thorne.
A very enjoyable read with some good characters. I liked the story even though it was a little slow. I love anything to do with magic. I loved the cover. 4*.