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Brightmoon #4
The Magic Mines of Asharim
A stand-alone epic fantasy set in the Brightmoon world… Allandra has big her magic is out of control, and she’s running from justice, desperate to find a place to hide away. Perhaps the mysterious mines of Asharim can provide a safe haven. The mines contain dangers of their own - but also magical creatures that provide Allandra with the first glimmer of hope. If she can learn to control them, perhaps she can pull off a sensational feat, and restore her people to their rightful place in the world, after centuries of humiliation. But with two armies on her trail and few friends, she’ll need all her ingenuity and courage to succeed, and she’ll only get one chance. If she fails, her people’s hopes of freedom will be lost forever.
480 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 25, 2015
28 people are currently reading
519 people want to read
About the author
Pauline M. Ross
11 books362 followersI live in the beautiful Highlands of Scotland with my husband. I like chocolate, whisky, my Kindle, massed pipe bands, long leisurely lunches, chocolate, going places in my campervan, eating pizza in Italy, summer nights that never get dark, wood fires in winter, chocolate, the view from the study window looking out over the Moray Firth and the Black Isle to the mountains beyond. And chocolate. I dislike driving on motorways, cooking, shopping, hospitals.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 14, 2015
I had received an ARC of this book from the author. For the record I made loud squeeing noises when that happened.
This is a great book. it falls into postapocalyptic fantasy like all of the Brightmoon series which by itself is a fairly unique genre.
Things I love about this book:
The story. I know I won't get an info dumping which means I may be confused for a while but will get everything explained as time goes on. Allandra is fleeing her past, but turns that into first revenge and then something more.
The protagonist. She's not always likeable, but I never hate her. She's often selfish, but she's called out on it. She's very human to me, rather than perfect.
The supporting characters -varied and also very human.
"Alternative" approaches to sexuality and relationships are given equal standing to married couples. Individual characters may disapprove but the societies as a whole have a lot of acceptance.
I highly recommend all of these books!
This is a great book. it falls into postapocalyptic fantasy like all of the Brightmoon series which by itself is a fairly unique genre.
Things I love about this book:
The story. I know I won't get an info dumping which means I may be confused for a while but will get everything explained as time goes on. Allandra is fleeing her past, but turns that into first revenge and then something more.
The protagonist. She's not always likeable, but I never hate her. She's often selfish, but she's called out on it. She's very human to me, rather than perfect.
The supporting characters -varied and also very human.
"Alternative" approaches to sexuality and relationships are given equal standing to married couples. Individual characters may disapprove but the societies as a whole have a lot of acceptance.
I highly recommend all of these books!
February 6, 2016
I give this book four out of five stars for it’s witty and flawed heroine, the authors talent in creating a foreign yet relatable world, and lovely new creatures who are more than just part of the setting.
Things I liked about the book:
1) The magic and fantastical creatures, especially the flickers. They played an important role in the story and they added a great deal to the setting. I liked how the heroine came into some of her magic abilities during the course of the book and it was a natural process. Some of my favorite displays of magic came when the heroine fled the mines. What actively created new tunnels and walls, or watched her in the shadows of an underground city? It was fun to think about the underground room with the reflecting floor and guessing which of the characters was right about what it housed. I could not understand why extinct mages had trapped an entire race of people’s sexual desire; it’s a different concept and added a lot of tension for part of the story.
2) This is a stand-alone novel. In a sea of series books that comprise most of the Fantasy genre, here’s one you can pick up and be happy the story is all contained inside one cover.
3) There is tremendous world building in this book, and it was nice to see how the tensions between the cultures collided and intertwined with the plot. I especially enjoyed the time spent in the mines, and the magic city around the mine. The journey along the canals and the journey up to the lake were well done.
What I thought could have been better:
1) The overuse of narrative exposition. I’m usually lenient on epic fantasy when it comes to exposition narrative and the descriptions of places, however the narrative used in this work tended to override action being shown or oddly there was one instance where it cut it off. I really enjoyed parts of the story, and because of this I paid attention to where my interest waned. The key culprit was always the author telling me and not showing me the action. The author has a talent in providing a picture of where each scene takes place. This level of detail combined with exposition narratives really made parts of the book feel too long. There were things described that were entirely irrelevant and added little value to the story. One example is characters walking down a hallway to bed; nothing happens between the characters and nothing-unexpected takes place during the walk. This little walk was a page and a half of nothing important to the story. It's the kind of thing where if nothing happens, or if the location has no impact on the character or the story, then it needs to be cut or summarized.
2) My own views about sex are reflected in my negative opinion of the heroine, and the outcome of the story. There’s a lot of sex in this novel, don’t worry all you haters of sex in books it’s not graphic. It’s also not the prolific amounts of sex that bother me. I disliked the way the heroine treated those who became attached to her because of the sexual relationships she started. She pursued sex with Hyi when she knew she didn’t love him, and I hate how she compromised her self worth with Zak. I’m still reflecting on all the ways sex influenced the action in this book, which I consider a good thing. This book has given me something to think about, but even though I’m thinking about it, I can’t help the way I baulked and was disappointed with the ending. There’s this big emotional journey, so much material spent on the relationships and heartbreak, but in the end it’s all tied up in one neat little scene. One scene, just one, and the heroine’s off skipping down halls all happy and cool being a third wheel. I felt so cheated by this. I think I would have been happier if she ended up alone. Really, based on her actions, this would have been the more realistic ending. As a side note, if the sex were more graphic, this book could be launched as an erotic romance, a very twisted erotic romance. With so much of the book focused on the heroine’s relationships and her ability to read others emotions, turning this into an erotic romance is not a stretch, and that stuff sells.
3) The heroine’s goals seem inconsistent. At the front of the book she’s hiding. Then her lot changes and suddenly she’s embracing a danger she had taken great care to avoid. Then her focus shifts and she’s out to save her homeland, which her internal thoughts claim were her long-term goals all along, and I’m scratching my head thinking I didn’t remember any of that. Then she doesn’t care if she survives or if she’s conveniently elevated into an entirely new job. This inconsistency, and hiding the protagonists “grand plan” bothered me and seemed silly. As a reader I want to root for the protagonist, but it was hard in this book when I didn’t always know or was confused about what to root for.
Overall I think the strengths of the book out weighs its weaknesses. It’s a fantastic journey and the parts well done were really well done.
*Special note for those sensitive or opposed to reading about rape and sexual violence. There is a difficult scene where the heroine is chained up, beaten, and raped multiple times while also witnessing the rape of a child.
I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Things I liked about the book:
1) The magic and fantastical creatures, especially the flickers. They played an important role in the story and they added a great deal to the setting. I liked how the heroine came into some of her magic abilities during the course of the book and it was a natural process. Some of my favorite displays of magic came when the heroine fled the mines. What actively created new tunnels and walls, or watched her in the shadows of an underground city? It was fun to think about the underground room with the reflecting floor and guessing which of the characters was right about what it housed. I could not understand why extinct mages had trapped an entire race of people’s sexual desire; it’s a different concept and added a lot of tension for part of the story.
2) This is a stand-alone novel. In a sea of series books that comprise most of the Fantasy genre, here’s one you can pick up and be happy the story is all contained inside one cover.
3) There is tremendous world building in this book, and it was nice to see how the tensions between the cultures collided and intertwined with the plot. I especially enjoyed the time spent in the mines, and the magic city around the mine. The journey along the canals and the journey up to the lake were well done.
What I thought could have been better:
1) The overuse of narrative exposition. I’m usually lenient on epic fantasy when it comes to exposition narrative and the descriptions of places, however the narrative used in this work tended to override action being shown or oddly there was one instance where it cut it off. I really enjoyed parts of the story, and because of this I paid attention to where my interest waned. The key culprit was always the author telling me and not showing me the action. The author has a talent in providing a picture of where each scene takes place. This level of detail combined with exposition narratives really made parts of the book feel too long. There were things described that were entirely irrelevant and added little value to the story. One example is characters walking down a hallway to bed; nothing happens between the characters and nothing-unexpected takes place during the walk. This little walk was a page and a half of nothing important to the story. It's the kind of thing where if nothing happens, or if the location has no impact on the character or the story, then it needs to be cut or summarized.
2) My own views about sex are reflected in my negative opinion of the heroine, and the outcome of the story. There’s a lot of sex in this novel, don’t worry all you haters of sex in books it’s not graphic. It’s also not the prolific amounts of sex that bother me. I disliked the way the heroine treated those who became attached to her because of the sexual relationships she started. She pursued sex with Hyi when she knew she didn’t love him, and I hate how she compromised her self worth with Zak. I’m still reflecting on all the ways sex influenced the action in this book, which I consider a good thing. This book has given me something to think about, but even though I’m thinking about it, I can’t help the way I baulked and was disappointed with the ending. There’s this big emotional journey, so much material spent on the relationships and heartbreak, but in the end it’s all tied up in one neat little scene. One scene, just one, and the heroine’s off skipping down halls all happy and cool being a third wheel. I felt so cheated by this. I think I would have been happier if she ended up alone. Really, based on her actions, this would have been the more realistic ending. As a side note, if the sex were more graphic, this book could be launched as an erotic romance, a very twisted erotic romance. With so much of the book focused on the heroine’s relationships and her ability to read others emotions, turning this into an erotic romance is not a stretch, and that stuff sells.
3) The heroine’s goals seem inconsistent. At the front of the book she’s hiding. Then her lot changes and suddenly she’s embracing a danger she had taken great care to avoid. Then her focus shifts and she’s out to save her homeland, which her internal thoughts claim were her long-term goals all along, and I’m scratching my head thinking I didn’t remember any of that. Then she doesn’t care if she survives or if she’s conveniently elevated into an entirely new job. This inconsistency, and hiding the protagonists “grand plan” bothered me and seemed silly. As a reader I want to root for the protagonist, but it was hard in this book when I didn’t always know or was confused about what to root for.
Overall I think the strengths of the book out weighs its weaknesses. It’s a fantastic journey and the parts well done were really well done.
*Special note for those sensitive or opposed to reading about rape and sexual violence. There is a difficult scene where the heroine is chained up, beaten, and raped multiple times while also witnessing the rape of a child.
I received an ARC of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
September 20, 2017
Excellent Series
I love this series as each book is a new story, with old friends appearing frequently. Each book has been my favorite while reading it! They are great stories with everything a good fantasy story should have.
I love this series as each book is a new story, with old friends appearing frequently. Each book has been my favorite while reading it! They are great stories with everything a good fantasy story should have.
April 30, 2022
I just didn’t like them
I get into a story when I like the characters. And I like a good healthy falling-in-love story. I just couldn’t get into this one; never liked any of them. Not a bad story otherwise, though?
I get into a story when I like the characters. And I like a good healthy falling-in-love story. I just couldn’t get into this one; never liked any of them. Not a bad story otherwise, though?
March 17, 2017
This was fascinating. I love how each book slowly provides a larger insight to the whole world and to magic. I only wish they had gone more in depth with the flickers and their abilities and maybe even the whole process of the Hurk warriors would have been cool as I feel that they kind of hinted to it.
May 19, 2016
Another stand-alone installment in the Brightmoon Annals. The Magic Mines of Asharim follows Allandra, on the run after a terrible, tragic magical accident, as she takes refuge as a worker at the mine at Asharim, where instead of ore, the product being mined is magic. Then her fate catches up with her again; on the run once more, she finds herself with the opportunity and power to restore an Empire.
As with all of Ms. Ross's books, Magic Mines is filled with fascinating world-building, well-rounded (if not always entirely likeable) characters, and an original magic system. I was engrossed in Allandra's story; though she has a tendency to be somewhat selfish and self-centered, I really cared about what happened to her, and was glad to see her do some growing during the course of the story. The other main characters, Xando and Zak, also pulled me into caring about what happened to them.
There's also a strong romantic thread, but, as is common in Ms. Ross's books, the romantic and sexual mores aren't exactly conventional.
Magic Mines does seem like two different books; it starts out with the mines, then we leave them behind, do some traveling, and end up with a quest to restore a fallen Empire. There are a lot of secrets and conflicts hinted at in the mines section that I would have liked to delve more deeply into before we went off on the next part of the adventure; hopefully these will be addressed in future Brightmoon novels. But the whole thing is so much fun and so engagingly written I didn't have too much trouble with the shifting gears.
And I seriously want a Flicker of my own :-D
Highly recommended for readers who enjoy intelligent, original fantasy for adults with a good dose of romance.
As with all of Ms. Ross's books, Magic Mines is filled with fascinating world-building, well-rounded (if not always entirely likeable) characters, and an original magic system. I was engrossed in Allandra's story; though she has a tendency to be somewhat selfish and self-centered, I really cared about what happened to her, and was glad to see her do some growing during the course of the story. The other main characters, Xando and Zak, also pulled me into caring about what happened to them.
There's also a strong romantic thread, but, as is common in Ms. Ross's books, the romantic and sexual mores aren't exactly conventional.
Magic Mines does seem like two different books; it starts out with the mines, then we leave them behind, do some traveling, and end up with a quest to restore a fallen Empire. There are a lot of secrets and conflicts hinted at in the mines section that I would have liked to delve more deeply into before we went off on the next part of the adventure; hopefully these will be addressed in future Brightmoon novels. But the whole thing is so much fun and so engagingly written I didn't have too much trouble with the shifting gears.
And I seriously want a Flicker of my own :-D
Highly recommended for readers who enjoy intelligent, original fantasy for adults with a good dose of romance.
April 19, 2016
Such many twists and turns
Secrets are revealed when Allsndra becomes a thrower and has to escape the mines to be trained. And her desire to restore the empire has a glimmer of hope.
Secrets are revealed when Allsndra becomes a thrower and has to escape the mines to be trained. And her desire to restore the empire has a glimmer of hope.
March 14, 2016
I'm quite enjoying this world and can't wait to read more!
August 21, 2017
3.5*
I will forgive a book a lot if it leaves me feeling satisfied at the end. Inversely if the ending annoys me then I find fault with the whole thing. I found this with rock which I perhaps should forgive because after some time has passed I mostly remember the wonderful parts. and maybe after time I will be less annoyed with The Magic Mines of Asharim. But right now I'm still bothered that despite so much to like the ending left me cold.
This 4th book of the Brightmoon series is pretty much stand alone. One of the characters is of race that was in the first book but nothing that occurred in that book was really necessary to enjoying this one. The narrator is Allandra, a high born woman from Mesanthia. She has a connection that makes living a normal life difficult. When we first meet her she is heading into the mines of Asharim. The mine contains flickers. I adored the flickers. Ms. Ross manages to keep these creatures from being cutesy and still make me care about them. Which makes me wonder why she so often fails in imbuing her main character with enough emotion to make me care for them.
As usual the world building was very good. There is a lot of exposition which I am not a fan of but it did not bother me too often. The politics were interesting. The journey pretty good. I would have liked a map of the Brightmoon world. There is a partial map on the author's site but it does not have the area in this book as of yet.
What failed for me completely was the romance. Perhaps best to call it the relationship between MCs as it was barely romantic. Once again we have a heroine who has awful taste in men and becomes stupid around the one she loves. I was irritated with her choice of man throughout the book. The ending was ridiculous and felt like a cop-out. I don't need to like every character. And sometimes people are doormats. But I think that there was room to imbue the MCs of this story with more warmth and depth of character. Perhaps more dialogue and less self sacrificing love for someone who treats their partner like shit.
I will forgive a book a lot if it leaves me feeling satisfied at the end. Inversely if the ending annoys me then I find fault with the whole thing. I found this with rock which I perhaps should forgive because after some time has passed I mostly remember the wonderful parts. and maybe after time I will be less annoyed with The Magic Mines of Asharim. But right now I'm still bothered that despite so much to like the ending left me cold.
This 4th book of the Brightmoon series is pretty much stand alone. One of the characters is of race that was in the first book but nothing that occurred in that book was really necessary to enjoying this one. The narrator is Allandra, a high born woman from Mesanthia. She has a connection that makes living a normal life difficult. When we first meet her she is heading into the mines of Asharim. The mine contains flickers. I adored the flickers. Ms. Ross manages to keep these creatures from being cutesy and still make me care about them. Which makes me wonder why she so often fails in imbuing her main character with enough emotion to make me care for them.
As usual the world building was very good. There is a lot of exposition which I am not a fan of but it did not bother me too often. The politics were interesting. The journey pretty good. I would have liked a map of the Brightmoon world. There is a partial map on the author's site but it does not have the area in this book as of yet.
What failed for me completely was the romance. Perhaps best to call it the relationship between MCs as it was barely romantic. Once again we have a heroine who has awful taste in men and becomes stupid around the one she loves. I was irritated with her choice of man throughout the book. The ending was ridiculous and felt like a cop-out. I don't need to like every character. And sometimes people are doormats. But I think that there was room to imbue the MCs of this story with more warmth and depth of character. Perhaps more dialogue and less self sacrificing love for someone who treats their partner like shit.
April 14, 2017
Not my favorite of the series...
The main character got on my nerves more often than not. She acts like a petulant child in most situations. The weird relationship aspects fell flat for me too. However, I enjoyed reading about the flickers and all the different landscapes and people. I will definitely be interested in reading more about the mines and all the secret refuges inside.
The main character got on my nerves more often than not. She acts like a petulant child in most situations. The weird relationship aspects fell flat for me too. However, I enjoyed reading about the flickers and all the different landscapes and people. I will definitely be interested in reading more about the mines and all the secret refuges inside.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews