BEST BOOK IN SERIES SO FAR: 9 OUT OF 10
Cursed Magic is the 3rd title in our Hunters versus very smart Demon Prince with more allies than we could ever think....
Cursed Magic as a title could very well still be hinting towards Shannon's magical imbalance and the fact she's currently growing in power without being able to control it (Note to self: never put on fancy looking amulets from a magic user), but I'm going to take that title and use it as an excuse for all the expletives I've said out loud while reading.
The good guys are royally [Cursed Magic] if they don't find a way to get ahead of The Game. In the 2nd novel we figured out that memories and feelings of the town had been altered in order to let Shannon flee Spirit Falls without anyone trying to retrieve her.
Cursed Magic goes a little deeper than that and slowly but surely we find out that others, surprising others, have been duped and spelled in a very specific way so that both Magic rulers as well as their security branch would be on unsteady ground, or unknowingly helping the enemy.
Every single time the team of Daryn and Shannon seems to have a lead that same lead fizzles out before their noses. The Demon King's progeny, the one pulling the strings for sure on earth, isn't just very intelligent. He is scary powerful with equally dangerous friends.
Cursed Magic begins to feel like a race against the clock. While our friends are fighting Demons and the Magic Council alike (power corrupts as always! ), a prophecy is apparently close to being lived out, without us knowing little more than that Shannon is obviously a huge part of it.
That same Shannon is still struggling with the discrepancies between her 'outcast' memories, and how the Hunters suddenly feel as a family. Not to mention the fact that she has had zero training and in a time of war isn't the lauded hero of the prophecy but a weak link in need of constant protection.
Her struggles are being felt as a reader without taking away from the always fast paced action. This is done really well, and it shows the writing style of Midlife Demons and Demigods. I'm beginning to understand that Didmon and Crawford aren't the type of writers to focus overmuch on the personal feelings and drama of the main characters - here at least - having you burst into tears or struggle along with the main character while they're coming to terms with their past, present and potential future.
While there's definitely plenty sadness, loss, trauma, as well as joy going on, the authors show us people's inner demons or happiness predominantly through the storyline. Using them as parts of the plot, rather than having more of a literary approach where the development of a person is tantamount.
It means that novels of the MDAD will (always?) be more focused on plot than on personal growth, but it doesn't take away from understanding and forming a bond with characters. It simply goes less deep than other Urban Fantasy series I've read.
My absolute favourite 5 star UF series (F.e. The Hollows, Kate Daniels, Mercy Thompson, Kara Gillian, Dresden Files) are usually relatively complex plot wise: each title has a specific issue to solve while everything else revolving around it is part of the "red thread", the main plot & story that continues as we read. I rarely, if ever, foresee what's about to happen, the magic + magic world is especially interesting and original, and the main characters grow with each experience. These are the type of books that still have me discover new things after a while, evoking similar feelings of anger, sadness, helplessness or joy when rereading. It is whý they get 5 stars.
The Midlife Demons and Demigods series isn't as, let's say, complex. Nor does it have an important issue to solve each book with a continuing main storyline. It is the main plot and story that we go back to each book. Which is also the reason why all novels so far had somewhat of a "cut-off" situation where the book ends quite randomly somewhere during the story. (It is starting to bother me. I am forced to reread at least the last chapter of the previous novel to make sense of the first new chapter again. It is fair warning to everyone who would like to start this series.)
Despite this little blemish and the less complex plot (nb. compared to my fave 5* books) Midlife Demons and Demigods is still worth your dollars/euro/yen/pounds etc. Less complex doesn't mean boring, or bad. At all. This series, as well as the title at hand, keeps surprising me. I've not seen most twists and turns coming, the books are exciting, the world building and magic is good and characters evoke the necessary emotions to immerse yourself in a written world. Cursed Magic is another page turner that has made me eager for more. I don't pull all-nighters for the fun of it!
If I can't have my absolute faves, I still want to read a good book. See a believable blossoming love life, growing friendships and good guys kicking bad guys behinds with cool magic. Without me figuring out to soon what's happening & wíth the tension of wondering. That's what MDAD is about and what Cursed Magic seems to be promising.
At the moment there's not much 'kicking bad guys' to be had though, with said guys looking to be on top of things. This series has a total of seven books and we definitely need the extra four. While we learn a bit with each book, it doesn't seem enough to figure out what on earth is going on just yet.
I'm just as rattled as the people living this story. Scary powerful, but unknown warlocks working against them. Even years and years back, always one step ahead. Altered memories. Spelled Hunters. Unknown traitors. Uncontrollable powers. Never before seen magic. Ghosts rising who shouldn't be able to. Kliona being shady (ier). Strange happenings in Shannon's home. Caleb showing a power that's rare. Dangerous humans walking allover town and last but not least: demons constantly crawling out of the woodwork without warning while the breach map is acting up more than ever.
In other words: what is going on??!! We're teetering on the edge of disaster, thàt is what going on. And that's not even counting the interpersonal relationships between the main Hunters.
The authors know how to sell it. Just like the previous two books Cursed Magic is a page turner. I actually think this is the best so far. We're on a roll now and that train isn't stopping anymore. The book read so easy and had so much constant action -with the few moments of character relaxation always giving us something new and interesting as well - that time flies while reading. It is why I am going to stop opening a MDAD novel just before bed. I need my sleep!
The Midlife world remains an entertaining one, leaving me extra curious and very impatient for the next book.
Maybe not the hard to come by 5 stars, but absolutely a recommendation!
4 stars
9 out of 10.