Fantasia Reviews Undercover Magic

Undercover Magic by Linsey Hall
Genre – Urban Fantasy
12/1/2017
Ages 16+

About the Book – A Fast Paced Urban Fantasy

“In a world of controlled magic, I’m an Unknown. Deadly power, little control. I’m only alive because I pay a Blood Sorcerer to keep me hidden. But when he comes to collect on the debt I can’t pay, one of his goons slams me with a deadly curse. Suddenly, I’m out of options and out of time.

When I’m given a rare chance to join the elite Undercover Protectorate and train at their academy to become an investigator, I have a way to hunt the cure for the curse. They have resources I don’t. Easy, since I’m broke.

Seems like a good plan, right? At least, until they tell me Cade will be joining me on my hunt for the Blood Sorcerer. He’s an actual Celtic war god–and the hottest guy I’ve ever seen. The catch? I can’t let him know that I’m an Unknown, or I’m out on my ass and deader than Hades.” – Publisher’s Blurb

The Review – Undercover Magic Starts Strong

Whenever we read a book, we ask ourselves a few questions. Do we like it? Why do we love it? Have we seen anything like it before? While we enjoyed Undercover Magic, it strained our ability to disbelieve at times. It wasn’t the beautiful, magical world that caused us grief, but some of the plot elements that felt forced or implausible. Also, we find ourselves torn because we can’t tell who the target audience for this book is. It has the hallmarks of a YA, but much of the language and many of the descriptions feel like they are intended for an older audience. What do you have then? A vivid world, with an angsty heroine, and an inconsistent tone.

One of our most significant issues with the book is that we never really feel like we get to know Cade well enough. This could be because of Bree’s narration. After all, Undercover Magic is her story. As well, we fell like Cade causes Bree to feel a bit less-than-awesome at times. It isn’t all of the story, but it happens enough that it draws a bit away from how good Bree is.

There is much to love

Bree is a strong female protagonist, and we love her. She brings back a lot of the life and credibility that parts of the story lack. She is exciting and likable, and since she is our narrator, she needs to be likable. Miss Hall’s writing also leaves little to be desired. We only wish a handful of plot points were developed a little further. We are left feeling like we don’t know enough about Bree’s world to fully grasp all of the events. That said, maybe that is intentional. We are certainly intrigued enough to keep reading, so we give Miss Hall credit for that too.

The Review – A-

Undercover Magic flies. Each page seems to turn quicker than the last, and before you know it, it is over. It takes a certain skill to manage that. The language is a bit coarse, so we wouldn’t recommend this book to younger readers. The story is solid, even if the plot is a little tired. Bree carries it, even when Cade seems to hold it back at times. All said, if your an adult who love fast-paced urban fantasies, then Miss Hall’s book is undoubtedly for you.

Do you want to read Undercover Magic? You can find it here.