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The Vampire's Mage #1
Magic Hunter
Alternative cover edition of ASIN B01FTR0H92. ASIN moved to latest edition as per guidelines.
Rosalind lives for the hunt. Now she might die for it.
Rosalind’s mission is simple: hunt demons and mages. As a member of the Brotherhood, she’s dedicated to protecting the world from dark magic. Someone’s got to stop the supernatural bloodlust—plus, hunting’s a hell of a lot more exciting than her computer science classes.
Everything's going to plan until she meets Caine, a mage in league with the demons. He’s scary as hell and just as sexy. Worse, he's brought her a warning: rumors are spreading that Rosalind is a mage, too.
Now, the Hunters have chosen their next target—and it’s her.
To save her own life, Rosalind must form an uneasy alliance with Caine. But what if the rumors about her are true? If she can’t figure out who to trust, and fast, she’ll be exiled to the realm of the very demons she once hunted.
Rosalind lives for the hunt. Now she might die for it.
Rosalind’s mission is simple: hunt demons and mages. As a member of the Brotherhood, she’s dedicated to protecting the world from dark magic. Someone’s got to stop the supernatural bloodlust—plus, hunting’s a hell of a lot more exciting than her computer science classes.
Everything's going to plan until she meets Caine, a mage in league with the demons. He’s scary as hell and just as sexy. Worse, he's brought her a warning: rumors are spreading that Rosalind is a mage, too.
Now, the Hunters have chosen their next target—and it’s her.
To save her own life, Rosalind must form an uneasy alliance with Caine. But what if the rumors about her are true? If she can’t figure out who to trust, and fast, she’ll be exiled to the realm of the very demons she once hunted.
246 pages, ebook
First published May 20, 2016
2288 people are currently reading
3622 people want to read
About the author
C.N. Crawford
80 books8,761 followersTo get sneak peaks at the next book, sales, and news about releases, Sign up here.
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C.N. Crawford are Wall Street Journal bestselling authors of romantasy books, including books with fae, demons, and magical academies.
We write fantasy romance, urban fantasy, and portal romance. Our books often include trials, banter, and enemies to lovers stories.
CN Crawford’s books are perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, K.F. Breene, and Laura Thalassa.
Note: We are actually two people--a former biologist (Nick) and a former school psychologist (Christine).
To join C.N. Crawford's fan group and chat to the authors, Click here.
To stalk on instagram, Click here.
For a free standalone novel, Sign up here.
C.N. Crawford are Wall Street Journal bestselling authors of romantasy books, including books with fae, demons, and magical academies.
We write fantasy romance, urban fantasy, and portal romance. Our books often include trials, banter, and enemies to lovers stories.
CN Crawford’s books are perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas, Jennifer L. Armentrout, K.F. Breene, and Laura Thalassa.
Note: We are actually two people--a former biologist (Nick) and a former school psychologist (Christine).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 284 reviews
March 15, 2019
Magic Hunter by C. N. Crawford and narrated by Laurel Schroeder is a good fantasy with the Guardians fighting the camps and mages. Our main goal who is a Guardian ends up being chased by her own people and saved by a mage. She then needs to find out why. Good story but I really got tired of the game's attitude. I really liked the mage through.
The narrator was ok, good reading of the book but not a great performance of the book.
The narrator was ok, good reading of the book but not a great performance of the book.
September 28, 2016
3.5 stars
It was easy to become immersed in the world and the characters. I loved Caine! The attraction with him and Rosalind was instant, but it's a slow burning romance which is how I like it. The basics of the plot weren't very original. Rosalind was a hunter who believed everyone with magic was evil. She discovered but was reluctant to believe that everything she had been told wasn't true. It's the details in the plot that make it interesting. I would have given this 4 stars, but Rosalind really got on my nerves by the end of the book. Most of the time her intentions were good, but she put her life in danger one too many times. She persisted to be a know it all despite repeatedly being proven wrong.
It was easy to become immersed in the world and the characters. I loved Caine! The attraction with him and Rosalind was instant, but it's a slow burning romance which is how I like it. The basics of the plot weren't very original. Rosalind was a hunter who believed everyone with magic was evil. She discovered but was reluctant to believe that everything she had been told wasn't true. It's the details in the plot that make it interesting. I would have given this 4 stars, but Rosalind really got on my nerves by the end of the book. Most of the time her intentions were good, but she put her life in danger one too many times. She persisted to be a know it all despite repeatedly being proven wrong.
June 14, 2016
Im in the minority here on this book. While i enjoyed the writing style of this and loved the side characters, i cant stand the heroine. She is one of those leads jumps into everything half-cocked and clueless that frankly i hoped she'd die. Fortunately for her the male lead had healing powers or she would have died at least 20x over. Shes juvenile and hypocritical and one thing i cant stand is a hypocrite. I loved the world and that it took place in the boston area but ugh i dont know if i can endure another novel of idiocy to try the second when it does come out.
June 21, 2016
4.5 stars!
Magic Hunter is a story about an ex-Hunter who is actually a mage. I am not going to go deep into that as it contains a lot of spoilers. I was enthralled from the first word to the last.
This book was totally amazing even though I found the start to be a bit slow but after a couple of chapter, this book was fire. Literally.
I fell in love with all the characters in this book though I did find Rosalind a bit annoying at times. Caine was hot as hell. I loved his cockiness. Aurora and Tammi are goals. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to come out whenever.
The romance between Caine and Ros will be epic! I just cannot wait to learn more about Miranda.
Magic Hunter is a story about an ex-Hunter who is actually a mage. I am not going to go deep into that as it contains a lot of spoilers. I was enthralled from the first word to the last.
This book was totally amazing even though I found the start to be a bit slow but after a couple of chapter, this book was fire. Literally.
I fell in love with all the characters in this book though I did find Rosalind a bit annoying at times. Caine was hot as hell. I loved his cockiness. Aurora and Tammi are goals. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to come out whenever.
The romance between Caine and Ros will be epic! I just cannot wait to learn more about Miranda.
April 24, 2017
3.3
The protagonist in this is pretty annoying, well OK, pretty much more than annoying throughout the novel. She procrastinates a lot, is as thick as a whale omelette, and doesn't even consider other's who appear to be better informed than her. I understand she's been brainwashed and perhaps that could have been reinforced in an informed manner by the author by considering the effects of thorough brainwashing and what symptoms are displayed by an individual, which might have stopped her looking completely and utterly stupid.
The supporting characters are more credible and have more complex personalities thus making them both more likable and more sensible. The fight segments are OK, other than she is like a superhero than a realistic character. Eg. After being shot in the shoulder, the stomach, and the ankle, she keeps on keeping on like the Duracell bunny. I mean, really?
After all this whining, I will actually go on to the next novel.
The protagonist in this is pretty annoying, well OK, pretty much more than annoying throughout the novel. She procrastinates a lot, is as thick as a whale omelette, and doesn't even consider other's who appear to be better informed than her. I understand she's been brainwashed and perhaps that could have been reinforced in an informed manner by the author by considering the effects of thorough brainwashing and what symptoms are displayed by an individual, which might have stopped her looking completely and utterly stupid.
The supporting characters are more credible and have more complex personalities thus making them both more likable and more sensible. The fight segments are OK, other than she is like a superhero than a realistic character. Eg. After being shot in the shoulder, the stomach, and the ankle, she keeps on keeping on like the Duracell bunny. I mean, really?
After all this whining, I will actually go on to the next novel.
March 22, 2017
SPOILER FREE REVIEW!
I am happy to say that I loved this book, and immediately fell in love with both Rosalind and Cain.
That being said if you are looking for an urban fantasy, or a paranormal book that shows people not to believe everything they are told right away and that there are always two sides to a story; while also including a battle between the paranormal community, and hunters then give this book a shot. That is not all this story is about. This book is also about redemption, righting wrongs, but at the same time saving people who don't deserve to be treated badly. It is a fight for justice! Throw in a little comedy here and there along with a somewhat romantic connection, and you have yourself a winner.
The reason I like Rosalind is because she tries to find the good in just about everything, although when it comes to losing what she knows best she in the end realises that maybe leaving that part of her life behind is a lot better for her; instead of feeding into endless lies she chooses truth instead. Note, it can be really hard for someone to leave behind all that they have known for years of their life which is why I am glad that it was made out to be that way, because it made the story so much more realistic for me, because it wasn't all dandelions and candy bars. It was actually raw and real for me. For me that was perfect, because not only do I crave time away from real life to indulge in a good book, but I also crave for the book to become completely believable and real in my mind as well, and this book did exactly that.
This book does have some extreme violence, but no extreme sexual situations in it.
November 11, 2016
Not my jam at all, a pathetic protagonist and a silly story. Nothing to like imo, one star only to rate.
December 16, 2017
DNF at 60%. Frustrated beyond redemption.
I started the book hoping for a kick ass heroine and a big world filled with interesting characters but everything was damned to hell at 20% of the book. I can’t figure out if there was even a plot at the 60% mark of the book.
There isn’t much build-up on the world. On the first 10 mins of the audiobook, the story is already at a point where all demons are bad blah blah and what not. The book expects us think demons/vamps are bad because Rosline thinks and hears so.
The only redeeming factor of this book is Caine. He is smart, funny and sarcastic at times. However, everything is ruined with Rosline’s horrible thoughts and comments. It felt as if I were in the head of a 12 year old girl.
Rosline is part of the brotherhood which practises aren’t so moral. Rosline is basically lied to her entire life on how the brotherhood is “good” and is the saviour of mankind blah blah. When she is hunted by them, she learns the truth on the bad practises of the brotherhood.
The first 60% of the book is basically like this:
“Oh my soul belongs to the brotherhood even though I am what they hate! I must return to them to see if they can forgive me for being a witch! Caine is so nice to me but he is a demon so I must hate him! Oh wait I must be nice to him……Ah but he is a demon so yes I must tell him that he is immoral!” – this is where I stopped giving a f---k. Too much whining and meandering thoughts.
Even faced with all the truth and facts, she still wants to return to the brotherhood expecting unicorns to rain from the sky; and that they will accept her back. I lost count how many times Caine and the other characters have pointed it out to Rosline of the consequences of returning to brotherhood. Stop making the readers go through this insanity!
90% of the good moments are ruined by the mean and nasty words form her mouth. Rosline is a bitch to be honest. A hurtful and immature bitch.
I started the book hoping for a kick ass heroine and a big world filled with interesting characters but everything was damned to hell at 20% of the book. I can’t figure out if there was even a plot at the 60% mark of the book.
There isn’t much build-up on the world. On the first 10 mins of the audiobook, the story is already at a point where all demons are bad blah blah and what not. The book expects us think demons/vamps are bad because Rosline thinks and hears so.
The only redeeming factor of this book is Caine. He is smart, funny and sarcastic at times. However, everything is ruined with Rosline’s horrible thoughts and comments. It felt as if I were in the head of a 12 year old girl.
Rosline is part of the brotherhood which practises aren’t so moral. Rosline is basically lied to her entire life on how the brotherhood is “good” and is the saviour of mankind blah blah. When she is hunted by them, she learns the truth on the bad practises of the brotherhood.
The first 60% of the book is basically like this:
“Oh my soul belongs to the brotherhood even though I am what they hate! I must return to them to see if they can forgive me for being a witch! Caine is so nice to me but he is a demon so I must hate him! Oh wait I must be nice to him……Ah but he is a demon so yes I must tell him that he is immoral!” – this is where I stopped giving a f---k. Too much whining and meandering thoughts.
Even faced with all the truth and facts, she still wants to return to the brotherhood expecting unicorns to rain from the sky; and that they will accept her back. I lost count how many times Caine and the other characters have pointed it out to Rosline of the consequences of returning to brotherhood. Stop making the readers go through this insanity!
90% of the good moments are ruined by the mean and nasty words form her mouth. Rosline is a bitch to be honest. A hurtful and immature bitch.
May 22, 2016
i've been trying to find a good young adult fiction lately and i can't seem to find one because almost every book now is the same, something seems to be so great with the girl, the guy protects her, then the story focuses more on their love story than the problem.
but this book is different, after a long time i finally found a book that i find different with the other books available now
it's full of action,almost every page has an action scene and fighting on it which has always excited me to turn to the next page. the author was able to use short, simple yet effective words to describe every move and emotion so you won't get bored reading.
i like the flirting part. didn't have to put them to bed to tell that they're actually attracted to each other.
i like the twists as well.
i like that Rosalind was not the only special person, but there are 3 of them.
I also like that Rosalind's character is strong, though she had to be saved several times, she fought and i like it.
it's a very good book I would recommend it to those who like a little bit of romance yet a story jam packed of action :D
but this book is different, after a long time i finally found a book that i find different with the other books available now
it's full of action,almost every page has an action scene and fighting on it which has always excited me to turn to the next page. the author was able to use short, simple yet effective words to describe every move and emotion so you won't get bored reading.
i like the flirting part. didn't have to put them to bed to tell that they're actually attracted to each other.
i like the twists as well.
i like that Rosalind was not the only special person, but there are 3 of them.
I also like that Rosalind's character is strong, though she had to be saved several times, she fought and i like it.
it's a very good book I would recommend it to those who like a little bit of romance yet a story jam packed of action :D
August 16, 2017
So I will not lie, I did not like the protagonist Rosalind in this book, however I went against my norm and read the 2nd and 3rd books and I liked her so much better. The reason I continued was because of Caine, Tammy, and Aurora plus I think the world in general was interesting. As far as Ros goes she was very naïve (which wasn't really her fault, I guess), stupidly impulsive, and just plain ole slow (just no common sense) at some points. However Caine was mysterious, smart and sexy, Aurora was hilarious and insightful, and Tammy was brutally honest and quick on her feet and that is what kept me reading.
February 7, 2017
I tried I really did. The h just drove me crazy. She did stupid stuff then acted like a child. On the few occasions that I thought deserved a little freak out she wasn't allowed. The story idea wasn't a bad one but the characters were too immature for me. The story doesn't resolve so you'll need to read the other books to find out. As for me I'll be using my imagination. I can't take another book.
May 21, 2017
Blah blah blah
DNF I got to chapter 6 and called it quits. The writing is choppy and I felt like the main character acted like a teenager and her emotions yo-yoed all over the place. It was an interesting new take on paranormals, but was poorly executed. The writing flat lined.
DNF I got to chapter 6 and called it quits. The writing is choppy and I felt like the main character acted like a teenager and her emotions yo-yoed all over the place. It was an interesting new take on paranormals, but was poorly executed. The writing flat lined.
November 25, 2017
She believes herself to be a hunter, hunting demons to protect humans. But then she learns that she is a Mage, a powerful witch. Now the hunters are after her. Everything she ever knew, her whole life, is changed.
December 22, 2020
DNF at 20%
This is one of those decisions I made for my sanity. 20% in and the FMC would have died exactly 4 times from her own utter stupidity. I thought I had handed off my TSTL award but damn I was wrong.
Her thought process read like a child and bless my heart I could not keep up with the contradictions.
A hunter who can’t hunt for shit and quite frankly has no other use to the brotherhood than fixing security systems. But then she doesn’t want a desk job. She devotes her life to training to become a hunter because she believes in the cause but is whining about not being able to go partying on Friday nights. Said Friday night would have been the joy of any hunter’s life, since there was a monster on campus trying to kill people... and you know... keeping humans safe from monsters is their life mission. She is such a skilled and trained fighter and yet, not only does she hesitate, no, she panics and forgets all her training when in danger.
20% is not long enough to have 4 near-death experiences and that much stupidity in the same character, without calling into question, well everything.
This is one of those decisions I made for my sanity. 20% in and the FMC would have died exactly 4 times from her own utter stupidity. I thought I had handed off my TSTL award but damn I was wrong.
Her thought process read like a child and bless my heart I could not keep up with the contradictions.
A hunter who can’t hunt for shit and quite frankly has no other use to the brotherhood than fixing security systems. But then she doesn’t want a desk job. She devotes her life to training to become a hunter because she believes in the cause but is whining about not being able to go partying on Friday nights. Said Friday night would have been the joy of any hunter’s life, since there was a monster on campus trying to kill people... and you know... keeping humans safe from monsters is their life mission. She is such a skilled and trained fighter and yet, not only does she hesitate, no, she panics and forgets all her training when in danger.
20% is not long enough to have 4 near-death experiences and that much stupidity in the same character, without calling into question, well everything.
April 16, 2018
Love a good supernatural story and this one fits the bill, nicely. Cain is fascinating (and hot) and I really like Rosalind.
April 8, 2022
3.5/5⭐️ Spice rating: 1/5🌶
This was a quick and fun read!! It’s not my favorite C.N Crawford book but I still enjoyed it.
I really like Caine because hmmm he’s hot, powerful and grumpy what’s not to like? But Rosalind is kind of annoying tbh she NEVER listens to anyone and she constantly makes bad decisions 🥲 I hope she gets better in the next books!
This was a quick and fun read!! It’s not my favorite C.N Crawford book but I still enjoyed it.
I really like Caine because hmmm he’s hot, powerful and grumpy what’s not to like? But Rosalind is kind of annoying tbh she NEVER listens to anyone and she constantly makes bad decisions 🥲 I hope she gets better in the next books!
May 27, 2016
I’ve been a huge fan of C.N. Crawford since I first reviewed The Witching Elm (The Memento Mori Series #1) for the Lovers of Paranormal group on Goodreads. Only pages into that first book I knew that I’d found my new favourite authors. Several books and novellas later, a new series begins with Magic Hunter, and I am once again enthralled. Set in modern day Salem, apparently a few years after the Boston Massacre that took place in The Memento Mori Series, this novel references events from the previous series. While there is common world building with Maremount, Mather Academy, the redcaps and the quasi-government sanctioned Blodrial cult, Magic Hunter leaps into a different direction from The Memento Mori.
Introduced to Rosalind as a young college student swept up in the Brotherhood as a demon hunter for the cult of Blodrial, the reader begins to have sympathy with the Brotherhood cause. For those familiar with The Memento Series, such as myself, it is easy to second guess their ulterior motives and core mandate. But I’ll admit, upon first meeting Rosalind and her former boyfriend/guardian Josiah I did question whether everything I thought I knew about the Brotherhood was true. For a fleeting moment, they seemed sincere, rather than the brain-washing, blood thirsty sociopaths they truly are. Rosalind is special, her past is filled with many, many secrets, most of which she is completely unaware of. Upon meeting Caine, an incubus demon and leader of the Vampire Lord’s army, Rosalind’s life is turned upside down. On the run from the Brotherhood, and powerful demons she has managed to offend, everything Rosalind thought she knew about her life is shattered. Slowly, sketchy memories of her life with her parents, before being sent to live with a member of the Brotherhood, become clear. She shares her body and mind with a very powerful sorceress – a fact which the Brotherhood will kill her for, the Vampire Lord wants to exploit her for, and she herself in only just learning about. Tied to Caine through a past in Maremount, and the Vampire Lord’s bidding, Rosalind pieces together her past, solidifies friendships and must re-evaluate her preconceived notions of what is truly good and evil.
As with all of C.N. Crawford’s books, the imagery is outstanding. Abduxiel Mansion in the middle the cemetery spikes my gothic-creepy interest. The Vampire Lord’s domain in Lilinor turns out to be an actual court in a magical “other” plane, similar to Maremount’s tie to modern and Puritan Boston. My heart raced as I read the scene in the Salem woods when Caine removes Rosalind’s iron ring and the sorceress within Rosalind has free reign. I could almost smell the mossy scent of the forest, rich, damp soil, natural decay, and view the woods through a heightened sense of vision both beautiful and fear-inspiring. The action scenes throughout the story are top drawer, original and well described. What I have come to expect from a C.N. Crawford story -- the unexpected. You never see the plot twist coming, never expect it, and when you finally swallow and realize what has just happened, you are left trying to extrapolate what this new revelation could mean in terms of the greater secrets and mysteries that your head had already been spinning trying to figure out.
I can’t get enough.
My only difficulty/criticism with the novel is that I had a struggle trying to figure out what a mage and demon were in terms of my knowledge of Maremount from The Memento Mori Series. I wasn’t sure if this was just another term for a Philosopher, or an entirely different category of magic user.
Can easily be read as a stand-alone, but the experience is much richer if The Memento Mori Series has been read. I received my copy from the authors in return for an honest review.
Introduced to Rosalind as a young college student swept up in the Brotherhood as a demon hunter for the cult of Blodrial, the reader begins to have sympathy with the Brotherhood cause. For those familiar with The Memento Series, such as myself, it is easy to second guess their ulterior motives and core mandate. But I’ll admit, upon first meeting Rosalind and her former boyfriend/guardian Josiah I did question whether everything I thought I knew about the Brotherhood was true. For a fleeting moment, they seemed sincere, rather than the brain-washing, blood thirsty sociopaths they truly are. Rosalind is special, her past is filled with many, many secrets, most of which she is completely unaware of. Upon meeting Caine, an incubus demon and leader of the Vampire Lord’s army, Rosalind’s life is turned upside down. On the run from the Brotherhood, and powerful demons she has managed to offend, everything Rosalind thought she knew about her life is shattered. Slowly, sketchy memories of her life with her parents, before being sent to live with a member of the Brotherhood, become clear. She shares her body and mind with a very powerful sorceress – a fact which the Brotherhood will kill her for, the Vampire Lord wants to exploit her for, and she herself in only just learning about. Tied to Caine through a past in Maremount, and the Vampire Lord’s bidding, Rosalind pieces together her past, solidifies friendships and must re-evaluate her preconceived notions of what is truly good and evil.
As with all of C.N. Crawford’s books, the imagery is outstanding. Abduxiel Mansion in the middle the cemetery spikes my gothic-creepy interest. The Vampire Lord’s domain in Lilinor turns out to be an actual court in a magical “other” plane, similar to Maremount’s tie to modern and Puritan Boston. My heart raced as I read the scene in the Salem woods when Caine removes Rosalind’s iron ring and the sorceress within Rosalind has free reign. I could almost smell the mossy scent of the forest, rich, damp soil, natural decay, and view the woods through a heightened sense of vision both beautiful and fear-inspiring. The action scenes throughout the story are top drawer, original and well described. What I have come to expect from a C.N. Crawford story -- the unexpected. You never see the plot twist coming, never expect it, and when you finally swallow and realize what has just happened, you are left trying to extrapolate what this new revelation could mean in terms of the greater secrets and mysteries that your head had already been spinning trying to figure out.
I can’t get enough.
My only difficulty/criticism with the novel is that I had a struggle trying to figure out what a mage and demon were in terms of my knowledge of Maremount from The Memento Mori Series. I wasn’t sure if this was just another term for a Philosopher, or an entirely different category of magic user.
Can easily be read as a stand-alone, but the experience is much richer if The Memento Mori Series has been read. I received my copy from the authors in return for an honest review.
May 16, 2017
Note to self: Do not follow the series. The h is annoying AF
July 5, 2017
Rosalind started off being kind of annoying and naive in the beginning, but she grows a lot throughout the story. She realizes things are not as black and white as she thought. Character growth is good, dialogue between Rosalind and Caine is entertaining, and there is action. There is a spark of romance between Rosalind and Caine, and I'm hoping it develops more in the next book.
Summary:
Good character growth
Lots of action
Fun banter/dialogue
Summary:
Good character growth
Lots of action
Fun banter/dialogue
October 4, 2021
Rosalind has been a member of the brotherhood, a team of demon hunters, since she was 5. She meets Caine, a mage who tells her she isn’t human. When the brotherhood turn against her she’s forced to team up with him to protect herself.
Action packed with a sassy heroine and hot guy, what more could you want? I have read a few of CN Crawfords series now and love them all! Can’t wait to continue
Action packed with a sassy heroine and hot guy, what more could you want? I have read a few of CN Crawfords series now and love them all! Can’t wait to continue
April 2, 2025
Well, I liked the story line. I like how the foundations of the series is setting up. Most of the characters are spot on HOWEVER Rosalind is the most annoying whiny ass woman. She whined, complained, pouted, emotionally inept, uncontrolled, child. I get all those behaviors at first due to circumstances but damn, get a grip!
This is the third series I’ve read by this author. I
Looked through her profile of books and this little old to be an early series in her writing career. Obviously there has been significant growth in her ability to develop strong characters. Hopefully this series improves. I already read one author who tends to have a bunch of whiners. I can’t do another one:
This is the third series I’ve read by this author. I
Looked through her profile of books and this little old to be an early series in her writing career. Obviously there has been significant growth in her ability to develop strong characters. Hopefully this series improves. I already read one author who tends to have a bunch of whiners. I can’t do another one:
March 31, 2019
Started off being very confused and had to re-read to get the plot.. but once it got going I loved it! Aroura is hilariously fabulous, hope there is a lot more of her in the second book!!
February 22, 2024
I’m usually a fan of this author, however…. The FMC was absolutely insufferable. Truly the most annoying character I’ve ever met.
February 21, 2017
In a world where the things that go bump in the night are hardly a secret, the demons are quite happy to gnaw on a cashier or two, right in the middle of a busy market filled with screaming witnesses and fleeing pedestrians. Rosalind's cynical enough to know that her role in helping to keep them at bay, in protecting students of Thorndike (Massachusetts) from being slaughtered, doesn't bestow her any bragging rights. It certainly isn't conducive to picking up or flirting with the peers she's meant to be protecting. Especially when drenched and cold and searching out any lingering traces, whilst they instead get to spend their Friday nights with booze and djs, dancing with a roof over their heads. Unsurprisingly, it set her apart from those peers, but not in the ways most people her age typically wanted.
Besides that she didn't however consider them as her true peers. Her less than glamorous nightly study in demon killing for the Brotherhood remains her one true life goal, but it won't be if anymore are killed on her watch, or if she fails any more assignments. So goes the saying, three strikes and your out, for which you couldn't help but wonder if the people who adhere to that rule are secreted fans of baseball. Having the Guardian overseer (Josiah) who also happens to be your ex- isn't exactly the sort of relationship breaker that makes a split up easy to move on from, especially when said Guardian called off the relationship in order to stick to the rules that dictate Guardian-Novice romances as taboo.
With the rare and advanced tracking abilities of not only feeling nearby presences of magical auras, like every other hunter, she also sees and scents them at a far greater distance too. But in just the past month at Thorndike alone, every precaution hadn't managed to prevent the two latest student deaths. The coming out by the supernatural world five years ago, had unseen and unfortunate consequences, the most salient byproduct herein was that the predators who prey on humans no longer cared enough to do it with the utmost discretion. Where the predators had once been forced through their own policing to keep their feeding to the dark, thus limiting the presence of their prey and therefore a reduction in the number of deaths, the brazen killers not restricted to movements in the dark are now killing with impunity from their own kind.
In environmental conditions where the killers murder indiscriminately, the Brotherhood have been able to put themselves forward in the best possible light. Through their own coming out the secret order could now promote steadfast dedication that begins being perceived as humankind's saviour and protector; with a blanket over the transparency of their operations, the requisite healthy suspicion of a group once considered to be no more than a well funded and organised cult, fails to bring them to popular culpability. The Brotherhood isn't infallible but it recruits very specifically and only permit recruits so many mistakes of any kind, after which you could expect to be waving goodbye to the motto of “Lux in tenebris lucet” (Light shines in the darkness). Thus we arrive at the greatest fear Rosalind presently has in her life. That if anything more should go wrong then life as she planned and knows it, will cease to exist.
Was it really that shallow to want to keep the perks of being cashed up, having really nice boots, and access to an array of cool lethal gadgets? She didn't need reminding of just what is at stake (no pun intended). Rosalind's birth parents were drained dry by vampires in a night of murder she could never manage to recall. Her failures thus far have originated every time in the hesitation sparked by the human guise she sees in the eyes of the demons she was intending to kill. Despite her training and repeated exposure to the things she's ordered to kill, Rosalind thus far hasn't actually killed anything. As she neared the current greatest threat of the night, a red cap demon dripping human blood from it's maw and it's hat, hence the name given to these sorts of demons, she inows its not specifically her skills that'll lead to failure whilst the said demon is gearing up for it's next slaughter.
She couldn't help but daydream again of staying in and playing beer pong with the sort of hot guy that helps moving on from what can no longer be. Irrespective of antecedents, training and guidelines, though, Rosalind feels that hunting is coded into her blood. Why else would she be equipped with abilities that permit her to track what no other hunter can do so nearly as well. With her quarry so near that he'd hear a single misstep, she guessed she'd soon find out once and for all, whether it is the right life for her. Not knowing what you're truly capable of is a sure path to an early grave, something that'd be her next bedfellow should a repeat of her failures revisit her tonight. She knows she can be made to kill when no other choice remains. Its the carrying out of these requirements when its not in self defense that troubles her most.
Fate or otherwise, Rosalind's night would become a pitcher's dream of the curveball making it her third strike. Furthermore, shock after shock was shortly to amalgamate in the new most feared experience of her life. Whilst Rosalind was preparing for, and undertaking the chores of this night, not very well as it so happens, someone else was getting set to possibly hunt her. With another epic failure, this one resulting in the demon having his teeth embedded in her neck, Rosalind's obsessive thoughts were amazingly still on the eventual debriefing that'd she her fired before she really ever got started. If only she knew then of what her final lessons for the day would become, it'd be a resounding yes to the use of red plastic cups and ping-pong balls, lubricating the lowering of social inhibitions that preceded some clean making out, paving the way to forgetting further a relationship that wasn't meant to be.
Success would've seen a shift to the next grading, with it's accompanying chalice pendant that signifies a new rank. Had she eventually makde it all the way through her training, and whilst still alive, her path as a Hunter for the Brotherhood could've led to becoming a Guardian; thereby overseeing her own group of trainees and hunters. But as it turns out, the Brotherhood weren't the only group out this night with the capacity to take on the denizens of the dark, or for that matter, the Brotherhood's hunters as well. The Shadow Mages are an ancient group with as much history and who are in direct contention and a share in an ages past grudge. One that its likely neither side can remember why or who started it. Admittedly, whatever Rosalind knows of the organisation, if it can even be referred to as such, she mostly only knows through third hand experience and propaganda she'd been hearing for as long as she remembers being alive.
Outmatched because of her hesitation, and too inexperienced to react in the necessary ways, with the sort of speed and grace that only comes from sufficient enough practice, the sort she witnesses from the shadow mage whilst clamping her hand over the holes left in her neck from the red cap's bite; who now lays gurgl8ng at her feet and missing his heart. Whilst her saviour had killed what she could not in little more than a blink of her eyes, he's truly what's delegated by her order as being among the greatest threats to date. Consolidating this information about a man who just saved your life, in some ways helped her to see her way past the arguments of the Brotherhood, ones that call for capture and return to headquarters for interrogation of any and all shadow mages regardless of ilk But no amount of training could ever have prepared her for the faintest, unidentifiable subconscious recognition embedded within her psyche. This was however an encounter she'd already come to realise was not by chance.
The thing that scares her most about this is that he made none of the professed hostile moves toward her, leaving her unable to react solely on dogma in lieu of what she can perceive of her own accord. He'd done more than killing the red cap, he'd also healed a wound that would've likely led to her death. Enticingly she can also see it is evident in his eyes that he knew more her biggest puzzles than she does herself. Furthermore, he shows recognition of the ring that'd become her lucky charm, one she never removed regardless of where she was or what she was doing. His cryptic clue given with curiosity in his eyes, he states “That’s how you stay sane”. That puzzle grows via his expectation that something far different from what she expects would occur should she opt to follow his request to remove the ring, covertly remarking that he only wanted to see what happens. What was one more thing to join her total bewilderment that this night had wrought. If your whole world was about to be rocked would you opt to have it all happen in a single night.
There's few things more infuriating or intimidating than encountering strangers who seem to know more about you than you yourself are aware of. Nothing in her experience of the Brotherhood could've prepared her for the stranger's omen that the Brotherhood wanted "to watch the world burn, and (her along) with it.” Upon asking him why the Brotherhood would come for one of their own, he told her she wasn't one of theirs, and that once they cottoned on to what she truly is, something that'll happen very soon, then her peers and colleagues would fast become her antagonists and hunters. As she lowered the weapon she was trained to use against shadow mages, portrayed in ways by the Brotherhood that had not the slightest similarities to what she took from this meeting, the beguiling man slunk back into the shadows from whence he'd come.
With natural writing styles and excellent content, the entertainment and enjoyment factors of books are pretty assured, as they are herein. Either factor alone isn't really ever enough to keep intrigue powering the captivation of readers who fail to register just how long its been since they grabbed a comfy chair, their favourite drink and snack, and opened their book in the place they favour for their escape from reality. Just as having fun and stimulating plans turns a holiday into a break that's always too short and gone too quickly, being bored and unorganised turns the same holiday into the ones from hell that never end: picking up the right book with the correct ingredients is a sure way to wondering where the last hours went, and having another night without enough sleep. This is my experience of Magic Hunter, a book that must make it onto your TBR list.
Rosalind's world sets the scene of what happens when you have the right type of management that is well established at promoting dogmatic following of the propaganda written to warp the reality outlooks of not just its own personnel, but also the world at large. The Brotherhood's upper echelons have invested in practices that effectively skew the efforts by its agents to suit their needs, whilst concurrently allowing those same people to believe that what they're doing is not only justified, but is also the right thing to do. With the correct balance the people seeking to do the right things are capable of overlooking their behaviours which aren't the right thing to do. Add into that mix a society at large who believe them to be their guardian angels and protectors, creating the ultimate of situations where hero worship breeds, and you have the recipe for any number of attrocities being committed in the name of what's good and righteous. It doesn't require conspiracy theorists to see through the trees in order to reveal the forest, it just requires people with open minds and blinkers removed from their perception.
Such whistleblowers, for lack of a better word with the capacity to encompass the principles at the core of the issue, are often more zealously hunted than the so-called enemies for which an organisation is instituted. In the real worlds of the book's readers, in mimicry of the book's principles, there's numerous matching examples from the present to right the way back through their histories. The capacities of people who ache for the feeling of having places where they fit in, and having self worth in their achievements, to be manipulated in ways that fail to be registered for what they are has undoubtedly baffled hindsight analysts given the privilege of being objective whilst examining the wider scopes not afforded to the subjective experiences of those involved in the actual events, rather than the examination of the events. The subjective operators show the very real influences of human nature being a great deal more complicated because they do not have the benefits of being objective vacuums; instead, people experience any number of emotions that don't lend themselves to rational observations, for whilst they are influenced by cognitions they aren't responsible to them alone.
Ingenuity in the construction of the lore of The Vampire's Mage brings unique and varied concepts welcome in the miasma found throughout urban fantasy worlds that are now well and truly explored. Whilst far from a prerequisite for creating storylines in the rapidly expanding genre, it is nonetheless nice to encounter signature pieces in the ways that set authors' hard work apart from the rest of the field. Several of the staple components of storylines within the encompassing genre of fantasy have been reimagined into hitherto unseen ways; at least that is, by this reader who has read over five hundred books across the various subgenres like the aforementioned urban fantasy above.
The semi-cliched ways that have been turned into completely humorous sketches of an uncultured interpretation of the cultural manifestations help to transform some of the other staples that aren't uniquely rewritten. All-in-all the two different techniques work well together to create a new take on the content therein. One character in particular does extremely well at interpreting her species in an avant-garde chic manner that juggles between jawdropping OMG and giggly I'm-trying-to-keep-a-straight-face, with the coinciding emotions that accompany each expression.
The same ingenuity applied to the fictional world at large is also applied to the characters themselves. In Rosalind there exists a synergy of elements that would truly be spectacular if you could choose to have it for yourself. Its not completely picturesque or without cost, as no true elements are either all or nothing in the real world. With every choice there comes the benefits and costs, neither being completely positive or negative either. Her path to changing her life goals, although primarily driven by the need to react to situations that contradict her every conditioned response, is a great map of some of the most baffling questions still roaming the existential perceptions of what it is to be living beings. Her faults are laid bare for both the other characters of the book and for the readers of this installment of the series.
I know I'll need to read the rest coming and currently available, and that I'll also be seriously considering the two other series by the authors that I know to exist. Sometimes, in addition to outstanding content, or in the exception of okay content, sometimes you just click well with the storytelling styles of authors well matched to your tastes. That is how I see the Crawford partnership of Christine and Nick, and sometimes you come to realise that following certain authors instead of trying to blurb your way through podles of books to find the right sort of story is an often redundant waste of time when you already know how well some books are written.
Besides that she didn't however consider them as her true peers. Her less than glamorous nightly study in demon killing for the Brotherhood remains her one true life goal, but it won't be if anymore are killed on her watch, or if she fails any more assignments. So goes the saying, three strikes and your out, for which you couldn't help but wonder if the people who adhere to that rule are secreted fans of baseball. Having the Guardian overseer (Josiah) who also happens to be your ex- isn't exactly the sort of relationship breaker that makes a split up easy to move on from, especially when said Guardian called off the relationship in order to stick to the rules that dictate Guardian-Novice romances as taboo.
With the rare and advanced tracking abilities of not only feeling nearby presences of magical auras, like every other hunter, she also sees and scents them at a far greater distance too. But in just the past month at Thorndike alone, every precaution hadn't managed to prevent the two latest student deaths. The coming out by the supernatural world five years ago, had unseen and unfortunate consequences, the most salient byproduct herein was that the predators who prey on humans no longer cared enough to do it with the utmost discretion. Where the predators had once been forced through their own policing to keep their feeding to the dark, thus limiting the presence of their prey and therefore a reduction in the number of deaths, the brazen killers not restricted to movements in the dark are now killing with impunity from their own kind.
In environmental conditions where the killers murder indiscriminately, the Brotherhood have been able to put themselves forward in the best possible light. Through their own coming out the secret order could now promote steadfast dedication that begins being perceived as humankind's saviour and protector; with a blanket over the transparency of their operations, the requisite healthy suspicion of a group once considered to be no more than a well funded and organised cult, fails to bring them to popular culpability. The Brotherhood isn't infallible but it recruits very specifically and only permit recruits so many mistakes of any kind, after which you could expect to be waving goodbye to the motto of “Lux in tenebris lucet” (Light shines in the darkness). Thus we arrive at the greatest fear Rosalind presently has in her life. That if anything more should go wrong then life as she planned and knows it, will cease to exist.
Was it really that shallow to want to keep the perks of being cashed up, having really nice boots, and access to an array of cool lethal gadgets? She didn't need reminding of just what is at stake (no pun intended). Rosalind's birth parents were drained dry by vampires in a night of murder she could never manage to recall. Her failures thus far have originated every time in the hesitation sparked by the human guise she sees in the eyes of the demons she was intending to kill. Despite her training and repeated exposure to the things she's ordered to kill, Rosalind thus far hasn't actually killed anything. As she neared the current greatest threat of the night, a red cap demon dripping human blood from it's maw and it's hat, hence the name given to these sorts of demons, she inows its not specifically her skills that'll lead to failure whilst the said demon is gearing up for it's next slaughter.
She couldn't help but daydream again of staying in and playing beer pong with the sort of hot guy that helps moving on from what can no longer be. Irrespective of antecedents, training and guidelines, though, Rosalind feels that hunting is coded into her blood. Why else would she be equipped with abilities that permit her to track what no other hunter can do so nearly as well. With her quarry so near that he'd hear a single misstep, she guessed she'd soon find out once and for all, whether it is the right life for her. Not knowing what you're truly capable of is a sure path to an early grave, something that'd be her next bedfellow should a repeat of her failures revisit her tonight. She knows she can be made to kill when no other choice remains. Its the carrying out of these requirements when its not in self defense that troubles her most.
Fate or otherwise, Rosalind's night would become a pitcher's dream of the curveball making it her third strike. Furthermore, shock after shock was shortly to amalgamate in the new most feared experience of her life. Whilst Rosalind was preparing for, and undertaking the chores of this night, not very well as it so happens, someone else was getting set to possibly hunt her. With another epic failure, this one resulting in the demon having his teeth embedded in her neck, Rosalind's obsessive thoughts were amazingly still on the eventual debriefing that'd she her fired before she really ever got started. If only she knew then of what her final lessons for the day would become, it'd be a resounding yes to the use of red plastic cups and ping-pong balls, lubricating the lowering of social inhibitions that preceded some clean making out, paving the way to forgetting further a relationship that wasn't meant to be.
Success would've seen a shift to the next grading, with it's accompanying chalice pendant that signifies a new rank. Had she eventually makde it all the way through her training, and whilst still alive, her path as a Hunter for the Brotherhood could've led to becoming a Guardian; thereby overseeing her own group of trainees and hunters. But as it turns out, the Brotherhood weren't the only group out this night with the capacity to take on the denizens of the dark, or for that matter, the Brotherhood's hunters as well. The Shadow Mages are an ancient group with as much history and who are in direct contention and a share in an ages past grudge. One that its likely neither side can remember why or who started it. Admittedly, whatever Rosalind knows of the organisation, if it can even be referred to as such, she mostly only knows through third hand experience and propaganda she'd been hearing for as long as she remembers being alive.
Outmatched because of her hesitation, and too inexperienced to react in the necessary ways, with the sort of speed and grace that only comes from sufficient enough practice, the sort she witnesses from the shadow mage whilst clamping her hand over the holes left in her neck from the red cap's bite; who now lays gurgl8ng at her feet and missing his heart. Whilst her saviour had killed what she could not in little more than a blink of her eyes, he's truly what's delegated by her order as being among the greatest threats to date. Consolidating this information about a man who just saved your life, in some ways helped her to see her way past the arguments of the Brotherhood, ones that call for capture and return to headquarters for interrogation of any and all shadow mages regardless of ilk But no amount of training could ever have prepared her for the faintest, unidentifiable subconscious recognition embedded within her psyche. This was however an encounter she'd already come to realise was not by chance.
The thing that scares her most about this is that he made none of the professed hostile moves toward her, leaving her unable to react solely on dogma in lieu of what she can perceive of her own accord. He'd done more than killing the red cap, he'd also healed a wound that would've likely led to her death. Enticingly she can also see it is evident in his eyes that he knew more her biggest puzzles than she does herself. Furthermore, he shows recognition of the ring that'd become her lucky charm, one she never removed regardless of where she was or what she was doing. His cryptic clue given with curiosity in his eyes, he states “That’s how you stay sane”. That puzzle grows via his expectation that something far different from what she expects would occur should she opt to follow his request to remove the ring, covertly remarking that he only wanted to see what happens. What was one more thing to join her total bewilderment that this night had wrought. If your whole world was about to be rocked would you opt to have it all happen in a single night.
There's few things more infuriating or intimidating than encountering strangers who seem to know more about you than you yourself are aware of. Nothing in her experience of the Brotherhood could've prepared her for the stranger's omen that the Brotherhood wanted "to watch the world burn, and (her along) with it.” Upon asking him why the Brotherhood would come for one of their own, he told her she wasn't one of theirs, and that once they cottoned on to what she truly is, something that'll happen very soon, then her peers and colleagues would fast become her antagonists and hunters. As she lowered the weapon she was trained to use against shadow mages, portrayed in ways by the Brotherhood that had not the slightest similarities to what she took from this meeting, the beguiling man slunk back into the shadows from whence he'd come.
With natural writing styles and excellent content, the entertainment and enjoyment factors of books are pretty assured, as they are herein. Either factor alone isn't really ever enough to keep intrigue powering the captivation of readers who fail to register just how long its been since they grabbed a comfy chair, their favourite drink and snack, and opened their book in the place they favour for their escape from reality. Just as having fun and stimulating plans turns a holiday into a break that's always too short and gone too quickly, being bored and unorganised turns the same holiday into the ones from hell that never end: picking up the right book with the correct ingredients is a sure way to wondering where the last hours went, and having another night without enough sleep. This is my experience of Magic Hunter, a book that must make it onto your TBR list.
Rosalind's world sets the scene of what happens when you have the right type of management that is well established at promoting dogmatic following of the propaganda written to warp the reality outlooks of not just its own personnel, but also the world at large. The Brotherhood's upper echelons have invested in practices that effectively skew the efforts by its agents to suit their needs, whilst concurrently allowing those same people to believe that what they're doing is not only justified, but is also the right thing to do. With the correct balance the people seeking to do the right things are capable of overlooking their behaviours which aren't the right thing to do. Add into that mix a society at large who believe them to be their guardian angels and protectors, creating the ultimate of situations where hero worship breeds, and you have the recipe for any number of attrocities being committed in the name of what's good and righteous. It doesn't require conspiracy theorists to see through the trees in order to reveal the forest, it just requires people with open minds and blinkers removed from their perception.
Such whistleblowers, for lack of a better word with the capacity to encompass the principles at the core of the issue, are often more zealously hunted than the so-called enemies for which an organisation is instituted. In the real worlds of the book's readers, in mimicry of the book's principles, there's numerous matching examples from the present to right the way back through their histories. The capacities of people who ache for the feeling of having places where they fit in, and having self worth in their achievements, to be manipulated in ways that fail to be registered for what they are has undoubtedly baffled hindsight analysts given the privilege of being objective whilst examining the wider scopes not afforded to the subjective experiences of those involved in the actual events, rather than the examination of the events. The subjective operators show the very real influences of human nature being a great deal more complicated because they do not have the benefits of being objective vacuums; instead, people experience any number of emotions that don't lend themselves to rational observations, for whilst they are influenced by cognitions they aren't responsible to them alone.
Ingenuity in the construction of the lore of The Vampire's Mage brings unique and varied concepts welcome in the miasma found throughout urban fantasy worlds that are now well and truly explored. Whilst far from a prerequisite for creating storylines in the rapidly expanding genre, it is nonetheless nice to encounter signature pieces in the ways that set authors' hard work apart from the rest of the field. Several of the staple components of storylines within the encompassing genre of fantasy have been reimagined into hitherto unseen ways; at least that is, by this reader who has read over five hundred books across the various subgenres like the aforementioned urban fantasy above.
The semi-cliched ways that have been turned into completely humorous sketches of an uncultured interpretation of the cultural manifestations help to transform some of the other staples that aren't uniquely rewritten. All-in-all the two different techniques work well together to create a new take on the content therein. One character in particular does extremely well at interpreting her species in an avant-garde chic manner that juggles between jawdropping OMG and giggly I'm-trying-to-keep-a-straight-face, with the coinciding emotions that accompany each expression.
The same ingenuity applied to the fictional world at large is also applied to the characters themselves. In Rosalind there exists a synergy of elements that would truly be spectacular if you could choose to have it for yourself. Its not completely picturesque or without cost, as no true elements are either all or nothing in the real world. With every choice there comes the benefits and costs, neither being completely positive or negative either. Her path to changing her life goals, although primarily driven by the need to react to situations that contradict her every conditioned response, is a great map of some of the most baffling questions still roaming the existential perceptions of what it is to be living beings. Her faults are laid bare for both the other characters of the book and for the readers of this installment of the series.
I know I'll need to read the rest coming and currently available, and that I'll also be seriously considering the two other series by the authors that I know to exist. Sometimes, in addition to outstanding content, or in the exception of okay content, sometimes you just click well with the storytelling styles of authors well matched to your tastes. That is how I see the Crawford partnership of Christine and Nick, and sometimes you come to realise that following certain authors instead of trying to blurb your way through podles of books to find the right sort of story is an often redundant waste of time when you already know how well some books are written.
December 16, 2018
I finished the book, but that was with a lot of skimming. My biggest complaint was the main character, Rosalind. She did everything half-cocked, would not listen to anyone about anything, despite the fact she was given multiple chances to, and then whined about it all. I get that she's young (college-aged), but she was written much more juvenile than a twenty-something college student. Her emotions were all over the place and she was frankly just an irritating, self-important hypocrite. She was so irritating that I actually hoped she would die.
Second, there is little to no world building. It's set in Boston, but we're given little information about the various factions (vampires, demons, mages, the Brotherhood) or the apparent alternative universes. Apparently magic is done by speaking Angelic, but there was no real explanation as to why. And let's be honest, "the Brotherhood" (such a lame name for an anti non-human group) was clearly a Big Brother-esque group with supremacist overtones.
Finally, the character development is non-existent. Not only does Rosalind go from rah-rah brotherhood/bad demons to bad brotherhood/yay demons seemingly overnight, but the other characters weren't developed either. And clearly there's a backstory somewhere about but we're barely given anything on it other than something happened at some point for some unknown reason.
Will not be reading the second book in this series. 1.5 stars only because I finished it.
Second, there is little to no world building. It's set in Boston, but we're given little information about the various factions (vampires, demons, mages, the Brotherhood) or the apparent alternative universes. Apparently magic is done by speaking Angelic, but there was no real explanation as to why. And let's be honest, "the Brotherhood" (such a lame name for an anti non-human group) was clearly a Big Brother-esque group with supremacist overtones.
Finally, the character development is non-existent. Not only does Rosalind go from rah-rah brotherhood/bad demons to bad brotherhood/yay demons seemingly overnight, but the other characters weren't developed either. And clearly there's a backstory somewhere about but we're barely given anything on it other than something happened at some point for some unknown reason.
Will not be reading the second book in this series. 1.5 stars only because I finished it.
July 4, 2017
I'm going to start with a disclaimer - I like these lightweight supernatural romances. They're the junkfood of reading, but I still like them. And I can handle a fair amount of angst and should-I-shouldn't-I from the protagonist (I read the Anita Blake books by Laurell K Hamilton and I don't hate the protagonist). But this book.. no. Just - no.
I actually abandoned 'Magic Hunter' partway through because I disliked the main character so much. She's the worst kind of Twilight wannabe, whiny and self-important and pretty enough to apparently get away with no real character development. It's a shame, because the world behind the story looked really interesting and the love interest seemed plausibly intriguing. Even the antagonists seemed reasonable - a bit of anti-magic cultist action with white supremacist overtones and a certain level of Big Brother style media control has a lot of potential here. But for me, the protagonist was awful.
I would come back and try to read this again if it went through some heavy editing first to put a decent main character in place.
I actually abandoned 'Magic Hunter' partway through because I disliked the main character so much. She's the worst kind of Twilight wannabe, whiny and self-important and pretty enough to apparently get away with no real character development. It's a shame, because the world behind the story looked really interesting and the love interest seemed plausibly intriguing. Even the antagonists seemed reasonable - a bit of anti-magic cultist action with white supremacist overtones and a certain level of Big Brother style media control has a lot of potential here. But for me, the protagonist was awful.
I would come back and try to read this again if it went through some heavy editing first to put a decent main character in place.
August 7, 2016
I received Magic Hunter as a review copy. The gifting did not determine the review/rating, which reflects my honest opinion. I'm on the fence about this one. I really enjoyed the storyline and most of the characters, but I found the main protagonist to be immature and reckless- barely worth building a book around. But, while I found Roselind to be weak, her character was balanced by Caine (great character development) and the villain (unnamed, as I don't want to spoil the surprise). I have hopes that Roselind will mature into a worthy, kick butt character for book two- the groundwork is certainly there-- so I'll round this up to four stars due to the plot and promise of a stronger second book.
August 31, 2016
I loved to book ^^. Actually i read the infernal magic first then magic hunter series. But i really loved it. The story paces a little slow at the beginning but after few chapters; you are really into it.I couldn't drop it after the Lilinor part. Main character development is good. I really like how rosalind becomes full fledged warrior. Also i loved the supportive characters. Another point that i i loved about story; the belief systems and gods are same in both infernal magic and magic hunter. So when you read the other book; you already feel like you are part of the world. So i strongly recommend you to read. Second book is much more exciting and you will enjoy it if you like books like shadowhunter series
June 21, 2016
I love CN Crawford's writing style. This book was just as much of a page turner as their Witching Elm series. In Magic Hunter you get pulled into the story quickly. I found myself caring for the main characters and wanted to see their paths intertwine. The main character Rosalind is very real. It is nice to see that their is room in the series for her character to grow and change as that can be the most enjoyable part of a book. This book is fast-paced and action packed and filled with a lot of subtle dark humor. It really sets a mood and I find the imagery to be vivid and beautiful. I could not put the book down and I am excited to see how the story unfolds.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 284 reviews