Shame on me, I didn’t know that Amber Benson was also an author! In case you’re not familiar with her name, Benson is a director and actress and she played Tara Maclay on Buffy the Vampire ‘s fourth, fifth, and sixth season. That was what got my attention when it came to The End of Magic.

So how did it fare?

I bought the other books in the series because this one was good. The End of Magic is the third book in the Echo Park Coven series and tells the next chapter in Lyse MacAllister’s life. See, when her grandmother fell ill, Lyse came home to care for her and discovered that she was next in line to lead the Echo Park coven of witches. The first two books deal with her adjusting to her new life, new powers and one heck of a shakeup. This book however has Lyse in a difficult position, she has to lead the fight against a group that is turning the world against the witches who have spent so many generations protecting the world and they’ve already lost a lot of their coven. What ensues is a long, uphill battle for the Echo Park coven and in particular for Lyse.

The End of Magic was an emotion driven read as well as a magic filled one. Benson does a great job of conveying Lyse’s emotions and despair to the audience which kept the book from being just another book about witches. I enjoyed the emotional depth of the lead character Lyse even as she sank further and further into despair. I’m not saying I was happy she was so worried and miserable, just that I loved that she was a realistic character who had to fight and claw her way back to the top and still find a way to protect her coven. That kind of conflict opens up the doorway to some interesting character growth that probably would have had more of an impact on me as a reader had I read the series in order. That said, I was still able to follow along well enough and I connected with Lyse and some of the other characters. What was different for me though was the bouncing from one character’s POV to another. The whole book is told in third person but each chapter focuses on a character’s experiences which could be a little confusing for some. I just had to readjust the way I’m used to reading a story and I was fine. It was interesting to get a better grip on just who these characters were since again, I started the series with this book.

I was surprised how unpredictable the plot was too. There were characters that didn’t make it and there were scenes of angry violence that the author didn’t shy away from. The violence against witches magnified Lyse’s desperation to find a way to save them all and as I reader I felt that desperation like my own.

The one thing I will say is that with all the buildup happening in The End of Magic, the ending was a bit of a letdown. It leaves you kind of wondering what happened after the Big Event, which to be honest wasn’t really a big event, more of an “Aha” moment.

All in all though, there’s a bit of everything in The End of Magic. Witches, magic, a touch of romance, and humor even in the darkest situations.

Here is the link to our review http://kingsriverlife.com/07/08/the-end-of-magic-by-amber-benson/

The End of Magic (An Echo Park Coven Novel) is a wild ride? The characters and story line are well-developed. Lyse and the rest of the coven are trying to restore magic, but a group called the Flood, wants to get ride of witches for good. They have captured the coven and have them in there lab. They must escape and try to stop The Flood. This book will have you wanting more! I really liked this book and series. The pace of the book was steady. I recommend this book to everyone. I give THE END OF MAGIC 5/5 STARS.

Amber Benson's paranormal witch novel The end of Magic confuses the reader by jumping about in time and space; her characters lack depth. Read other series by her for a better experience

The End of Magic is the third installment in author Amber Benson's The Witches of Echo Park series. This story picks up right where The Last Dream Keeper left off. Lyse MacAllister unwittingly became the leader of the Echo Park Coven when her great-aunt Eleanora died. Lyse is a character who has had issues with becoming the leader her coven needs to face the darkness that has threatened their very existence. Others in her group are much more in-tuned with their magic. There is also the question as to who key characters are: Who is the Magician? The Hierophant? The Devil? and The Fool?

The Echo Park Coven stands between the world remaining as it is, and being destroyed by an evil known as The Flood. The Flood, a group of anti-magic users, is a manifestation of darkness that has swept the world, and covens around the globe have found themselves being hunted down and eliminated. Even though Lyse is the most likely candidate to be primary, fellow coven mates Arrabelle, Daniela, Devondra, and Lizbeth all get their fair chance at shining. In fact, Lizbeth is the character who brought magic back to the world in the previous installment.

Each character has major baggage to deal with in this installment. None as much as Devondra who was put through the wringer and spit out. Lyse must try to hold her coven together despite all the losses, despite the discovery of a horrific underground bunker where the Flood experimented on Witches, and despite the fact that police and military are now freely hunting down witches without worrying about Constitutional rights. Witches are considered guilty without any recourse of fighting back. Unless, that is, Lyse finds a way to use her own veritable arsenal of magic that has only been hinted over the course of this series.

I'm going to finish off this review by saying that I was all in with the way this story flows and events happened. That is until the ending. I am not sure what to think honestly. I know that key issues took place before Lyse was even born. I know that these issues drove certain characters into being part of the Flood. I am curious though if that is all we will see of this series? I am not a fan of open ended endings. I like my stories wrapped up and all questions answers. When all is said and done, if you change one thing, don't you pretty much change everything you've written?

In this final installment to the trilogy, magic has been loosed upon the world, with the consequences putting those magically inclined in jeopardy as well as the rest of humanity.

Lyse MacAllister used to be like everyone else, blissfully ignorant of magic. However, that was before her Aunt Eleanora died, leaving her to lead the Echo Park coven. Now she finds herself in the middle of a war with The Flood, anti-magic zealots and at odds with her blood sisters.

To save the world, those she loves, and herself, Lyse must come to terms with her magical abilities and figure out a way to regain the trust of her friends and family.

Overall, I enjoyed this conclusion to the series. The pacing and storytelling were solid and I didn't not feel as if the transitions from chapter to chapter were as choppy as in The Last Dream Keeper. I particularly enjoyed the ending and its impact on the overall story and character.

Benson continues to surprise and delight me as an author. She's truly talented as a writer and generally a pretty cool person. She was kind enough to Skype with our library book club for the release of The Witches of Echo Park (despite being very ill). If you have not read this series or her Calliope Reaper-Jones series, I highly recommend them.

Final rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The End of Magic by Amber Benson is the 3rd and final book in her Witches of Echo Park series. The Witches of Echo Park series is urban fantasy revolving around witches and an evil group trying to destroy all witches and magic. In the last book, Lizbeth, the last dream keeper was able to restore magic, but the end result is The Flood, an evil group that has successfully turned humans against the witches.

The End of Magic picks up soon after the last book, with Lyse, who is now the leader of the Echo Park Coven. Many of the members are hurt, missing, in the dreamlands; with the police and The Flood collecting and killing witches all over the world, Lyse must find a way to get her coven together and stop The Flood.

As I had noted in the previous book, this series shows the POV of the various members of the coven. Lyse is the leader, who has various powers, since she has the ability to harness other peoples powers at touch. Arrabelle (Bell), Devandra (Dev), Daniela (empath) and Lizbeth also have their POV’s during the story line. Eleanora makes an appearance helping them in the dreamlands.

With all the witches separated, Lyse will use her new found powers to move the group to various places to bring all of them together again to fight and stop the evil Flood. What follows is an exciting, at times dark adventure that puts them all in danger, especially in the last 1/3 of the book. Despite mistakes they have all made along the way, their closeness will keep them together determined to stop evil at all costs. At the last stand, Lyse is sent back in time to find a way to stop The Flood before it all began.

Switching to various times, Lyse sees no changes and upon returning to the present, she sees a horrifying sight. Will she be able to go back again to find the right time frame in the past to stop the evil?
Rather than give spoilers, the ending was very exciting, but I would have liked more about what truly happens to our coven, not having to use our imagination. I enjoyed The End of Magic and if you like Urban Fantasy, with witches and magic, I suggest to read the first book in this series.

I had trouble getting into books two and three. I enjoyed book one, so I'll probably try to read these again at a later date.

The end of Magic by Amber Benson is the 3rd book in the series the witches of Echo Park. Lyse is the coven head which she inherited the title from her grandmother. This book is action packed with my twist and turns. They must fight the flood before it's to late. Some romance adventure this book has a little bit of everything. Highly recommend keeps you wanting more. Can't wait for more by this author.

Magical! Amber Benson has created a colorful world of magic and mystery that will suck you in. The characters were full of emotion and depth. I loved how they were all connected. The dream world was amazing. It felt like I was floating every time I experienced it. The story was even paced and full of description. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes magical realism.

I loved the ending to the trilogy. However, I feel the epilogue needed...more. It was nice to see the alternate path Lyse set in motion but it would have been nice to have also fast-forwarded from that time to the "present" to see what that event ended up doing over the long term.