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Mist Warden #2
Curse Bound
When the world goes crazy, it helps to have a head start.
Mutant science projects, a troubled werewolf, and other magic-related dangers are Jessica’s new normal, but someone has started targeting the students of Coldwater High with powerful curses, and she’s a suspect. A serious mistake forces her to question whether she deserves Drew and Michiru’s loyalty, and with the gatekeeper’s alien influence in her head, she’s not even sure she can trust herself.
Just as Jessica realizes she has also been hit with a lethal curse, a disastrously magical Valentine’s Day leaves her cut off from friends and forces her to put her life in the hands of her worst enemy.
Mutant science projects, a troubled werewolf, and other magic-related dangers are Jessica’s new normal, but someone has started targeting the students of Coldwater High with powerful curses, and she’s a suspect. A serious mistake forces her to question whether she deserves Drew and Michiru’s loyalty, and with the gatekeeper’s alien influence in her head, she’s not even sure she can trust herself.
Just as Jessica realizes she has also been hit with a lethal curse, a disastrously magical Valentine’s Day leaves her cut off from friends and forces her to put her life in the hands of her worst enemy.
- GenresUrban Fantasy
435 pages, ebook
Published February 6, 2016
About the author
Adriaan Brae
8 books15 followersI write a mix of fantasy and science fiction with my co-author (and life partner) Rebecca Brae. We have 2 books published so far (Mist Warden series) and we're finishing up two stand-alone books. We're supposed to be working on Mist Warden book 3 but we adopted a baby instead!
Some of the writers that inspire me today are Lois McMaster Bujold, Sarah Zettel, Tess Sharpe. These authors take on tough questions about what it means to be moral and the destiny of humanity without flinching. They inspire me to be a better person, as well as a better writer.
In just the past few millennia humans have moved from chipping tools out of stones to space exploration and printing replacement organs. Every step on that path was driven by someone's imagination. My goal as an author is to bring back a sense of optimism. The dark side of our natures will always be with us but I’m convinced that humanity has an amazing future ahead.
Some of the writers that inspire me today are Lois McMaster Bujold, Sarah Zettel, Tess Sharpe. These authors take on tough questions about what it means to be moral and the destiny of humanity without flinching. They inspire me to be a better person, as well as a better writer.
In just the past few millennia humans have moved from chipping tools out of stones to space exploration and printing replacement organs. Every step on that path was driven by someone's imagination. My goal as an author is to bring back a sense of optimism. The dark side of our natures will always be with us but I’m convinced that humanity has an amazing future ahead.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 3, 2016
[from my Amazon.com review]
This is young adult, in the true sense of the words. The characters are high school students, and have complicated high school student lives. The emergence of a mysterious and disruptive form of magic into their lives only adds additional layers to an already difficult time.
In that way, there are multiple layers of symbolism throughout the story. The magic definitely forms a metaphor for the changes all young people go through when trying to become their adult selves. The main characters are interesting, diverse, unique, well articulated and believable, and continue their entertaining mutual conflicts from the Chaos Bound: Mist Warden 1. In fact, the conflicts give rise to some heart wrenching scenes especially when [REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS ;-)].
The other layer of symbolism that I enjoyed is the insider/outsider motif - the characters are all outsiders in many ways, whether by race, body type, or social status, and this is heightened by being 'IN" on the dangerous mystery of the strange occurrences in their home town and unable to share it with those who accuse them of stuff.
What is different in book 2 is how fast paced the story is. It seems to jump off the page, and at the end of the book, I realized just how much had happened in only a week or so of story time. The first book maintained its drama by drawing out the story over about four months, giving a sense of frustration from the main characters trying to understand what was happening to them. In Curse Bound, the tension arises as they understand (mostly) what is happening, and are racing to find a solution.
This is young adult, in the true sense of the words. The characters are high school students, and have complicated high school student lives. The emergence of a mysterious and disruptive form of magic into their lives only adds additional layers to an already difficult time.
In that way, there are multiple layers of symbolism throughout the story. The magic definitely forms a metaphor for the changes all young people go through when trying to become their adult selves. The main characters are interesting, diverse, unique, well articulated and believable, and continue their entertaining mutual conflicts from the Chaos Bound: Mist Warden 1. In fact, the conflicts give rise to some heart wrenching scenes especially when [REDACTED DUE TO SPOILERS ;-)].
The other layer of symbolism that I enjoyed is the insider/outsider motif - the characters are all outsiders in many ways, whether by race, body type, or social status, and this is heightened by being 'IN" on the dangerous mystery of the strange occurrences in their home town and unable to share it with those who accuse them of stuff.
What is different in book 2 is how fast paced the story is. It seems to jump off the page, and at the end of the book, I realized just how much had happened in only a week or so of story time. The first book maintained its drama by drawing out the story over about four months, giving a sense of frustration from the main characters trying to understand what was happening to them. In Curse Bound, the tension arises as they understand (mostly) what is happening, and are racing to find a solution.
September 24, 2016
It was fantastic to rejoin these characters for another round of paranormal, intrigue and high school angst. The pace is very brisk, one disaster after another. You won't want to put it down until the end, and even then, you're left wanting the next installment. Congrats my Brae friends, you have another great story on your hands!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews