Divided loyalties. Stolen magic. Some bonds are made to be broken.
Averine’s biggest regret is thinking she could ever trust her father. On her seventeenth birthday, he forces her to accept a toxic gift. Mage-sickness. Creating a cure will bring him the power he craves, and he’s perfectly willing to risk his daughter to get it.
Trapped inside a Dimension Cell while her life hangs in the balance, Averine continues her alchemy training and hopes for a second chance. The last thing she expects is to receive a visitor. Kellan is a prisoner too, though his circumstances are nothing like hers. After a difficult start, they form a magical bond that will change their lives forever.
Outside of the cell, Xytovia is rebuilding after the long years of segregation. But not everyone believes magicians and cotidians are equal. Averine and Kellan only care about escaping. They don’t know the dangers waiting for them in the real world. Bonds can be exploited. And the consequences can be deadly.
Beyond Androva is a contemporary fantasy series for lower young adult readers. Bound in Magic is the fourth and final book. Beyond Androva is a spin-off from the Legacy of Androva but can be read independently.
I think the concept and settings for this series was so incredibly strong, but the execution could have been stronger. There were some inconsistencies and some things were a bit illogical, but they were easy to look past. I think if these books had taken their concept and plot but had the writing and complexity of an older YA (15-18 ish) style, they would have been PHENOMENAL. The story had so much potential to really dive into but the simplicity kept it a little surface. That being said, it took place in a very interesting and unique setting that was super fun to explore and was overall very enjoyable. I firmly believe if this story had been turned into a more complex YA series, it would have been right up there with some of the current beloved YA fantasies in terms of popularity.