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Emma was just a normal sixteen-year-old girl before her twin nearly burned her to death. She learns she has magic and is exiled from her sleepy mining town in the company of an archmage. Their destination: The Tower of the Seven Stars, where they are expected to learn to harness their magic before it destroys them or those around them.

But their journey does not go as planned, for the Cult of Rae, intent on obtaining a powerful world-ending artifact, interrupts their journey, kidnapping them. 

Can Emma and her friends overcome overwhelming odds and stop the Cult of Rae before it’s too late?

285 pages, ebook

Published March 13, 2018

514 people are currently reading
795 people want to read

About the author

Dayne Edmondson

37 books278 followers
Dayne first began writing fantasy at the age of fifteen when he discovered the worlds which fantasy novels could transport him to. Since then, he’s read countless fantasy and science fiction novels from the likes of Robert Jordan, Elizabeth Haydon, Peter F. Hamilton, George R.R. Martin and many others. He has earned a bachelor of business administration from CTU, written a fantasy novel, obtained his customs broker license and started a publishing business.

Dayne lives in southeastern Michigan with his wife and daughter. When he is not working on his Saga of the Seven Stars series and his next novel, you can find him reading, watching television with his wife, biking, walking and playing on the computer or with his daughter.

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5 stars
149 (39%)
4 stars
112 (29%)
3 stars
88 (23%)
2 stars
19 (4%)
1 star
13 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
Profile Image for Carol (StarAngel's Reviews) Allen.
1,692 reviews634 followers
May 13, 2019
4.5 Shadow Stars

I absolutely enjoyed this book especially since it was a free read and now has me hooked on this series.

I would have liked to read the prior series first since there were many characters showing up in this book. Not that the author didn't give us enough information to figure who everyone was and what their importance was. I think I just would have liked to read their backstory. Plus the Prologue helped immensely.

I can't wait to find out what happens next with Emma and Ethan!
Profile Image for Cath.
950 reviews17 followers
March 18, 2018
An interesting story of 16 year old twin brother and sister, Ethan and Emma, who live in the small village of Ironforge. Unfortunately, Ethan’s temper is quick to ignite and when another boy insults his mother, he rushes in to fight him. He is losing badly, but gets more and more enraged until suddenly fire is coming out of his hands. He strikes out at the boy and Emma leaps forward to cool his flames and save the boy.

Turns out both of the twins are Mages, they can do magic, but are completely unprepared and untrained. Their parents decide they need to go to the Tower to be trained properly, before they end up hurting someone, and before they get chased out of the village by the small minded locals.

They start off on the journey, with an old friend of their parents, but matters start to go awry. They get supplies and board in the first few villages on their travels, but their next one leads to an awful site. A young woman, accused of being a witch, is set to be burnt at the stake.

This is the start of a colossal fight against those practising ‘black’ magic and turning the local populations against mages and witches. We watch as our young characters meet with others and have to start trying to control and use their powers. There are powerful artefacts to protect from the black magic army. A big face off is to come!

I was given an ARC copy of this book from the author. It has a great mix of young characters, but also a backstory of the older generation of characters and their history, which has shaped the generations to follow. The mix of action and magic is good and keeps your interest. It was a nice, easy read. I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Profile Image for Megan Rivera.
434 reviews71 followers
August 3, 2020
It was a great book full of magic and wonder and I can’t wait to read more of it.
Profile Image for Bob Morton.
Author 6 books4 followers
March 13, 2018
The author provided me an ARC copy. I am providing an honest review.

Mageborn is a bit away from the normal fare that I read, but one does have to broaden their horizons. It opens with an event from the past that would appear to have an influence on the story as we read it. Other than to introduce younger versions of some of the characters we later meet, it kind of confused me. When we get to the story proper everything started to mesh and the story progressed nicely.

We have a young lady and her brother, Emma and Ethan, who at a later age than normal (16) develop magic, and in the process, scare the town to death. Their parents think that it would be a good idea to send them off for training, even though most children have had training since 10. Off they go for the training, but they are delayed along the way as people who are against them attack and in great numbers.

An interesting feature is that some of the people in the story talk of things the others do not understand. It leads me to believe that somehow they were dropped into this world and are making the best of it.

Characters that are prominent to the story seem to be well developed. This is especially true for Emma as we tend to see the story from her eyes.

It is a YA book but I think anyone who would like fantasy books would enjoy this story. There are large amounts of death in the story, mostly of an impersonal nature, and how it affects the people in the story is a minor point of the story. If deaths are not your cup of tea, then you might not enjoy it. They are not gory, just needed to advance the story. Age range would be teenager to adult as my suggestion. I did enjoy it.
Profile Image for Marie  Reed.
Author 5 books79 followers
February 9, 2020
This is the first book I have read by this author. Even without reading the first trilogy, it was very entertaining and easy to keep up with the plot. There are a lot of things left unexplained that I hope have answers in later books. The author's attempts at hits of romance were mostly unnecessary but the main characters are teenagers so I suppose it would be expected when bringing new groups of teens together. Throwing in advanced technology was unexpected but not a first for this type of magical universe subject and honestly is one of my favorite "collapse of society" types of scifi/fantasy story lines. It is reminiscent of Terry Brooks' Shannara universe without the elves and other magical species.

I am looking forward to continuing with the next two in this series before going back to read the first trilogy to understand the characters from the prologue and the last bit of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Saundra Wright.
2,903 reviews13 followers
March 13, 2018
Set in a beautifully envisioned world, Emma and her twin, Ethan, suddenly "develop" magic at the age of sixteen, much later than most children exibit magical ability if it's present. Having already been ostracized for their mother's ability at the forge, a "male" profession, they are now shunned by a superstitious populace! A teacher arrives to escort the twins to the tower where all mages are trained. As she and her apprentice renew their friendship with the twins parents, the siblings begin to suspect how little they truly know about their parent's past. The stage is set for a journey to the tower, one that should be smooth and a bit exciting for the twins who have never left the town of their birth. The reality if filled with danger from all sides and the untrained students may be called on to help save the teachers before the journey is fair underway! Who will lead if the teachers fall? Who will be called on for help with superstition and prejudice surrounding them? Pick up your copy today and see how Emma and Ethan fare.
478 reviews2 followers
March 8, 2018
This book introduces you to a variety of characters, but it concentrates mainly on one young female and her family. At first you are given the impression of her being just a normal kid, but as the story grabs your attention it’s hard to look away as the depth of her character comes to light. This book has a lot of magical influence with plenitude of mysterious events, that make you question the validity of her family and friends. If you have ever read Emergence by this author, you will find the odd reference to the species, which again is a definite riddle. This storyline is well written and defined, its straight to the point when magic appears but avoidance is the main key. Is this on a different planet? In the future, in the past? Dayne Edmondson has such a creative original imagination that he transfers into incredible Novels. Do I recommend this book, definitely. I look forward to seeing where this series goes.
Profile Image for Liesbeth.
328 reviews8 followers
April 11, 2021
Ethan and Emma after being bullied by the towns children's, come to know they possess magic. Therefore their parents sent them with archmage Alivia back to Tar Ebon to receive training, even though they a bit old to start training.

With other students they make the trip to Tar Ebon, but nothing is going according plan when arch mage Alivia rescue's a girl from being burned at the stake by Bloodcloaks. Now they are on the run, can they escape their pursuers?

From the start the story begins with action and carries it through to the end of the book, a non-stop action story. It is a mix of fantasy with elements seeping from our current modern world. Sometimes I had the feeling that the world Ethan and Emma are living in, is a simulation or another dimension. It is battle between witches/mages against Bloodcloaks and dark mages. And in all a fair read, though sometimes the characters were superficial and liked to have more depth to them.



1 review
August 13, 2019
I read Dayne’s "space opera” trilogy, which was pretty good, and made me to want to learn more about the characters and their backstories.
This book, Mageborn, was a great opening to the Mageborn Saga trilogy. The book flowed nicely. Interesting characters in a compelling story. I was drawn in, and now want to continue with the other two books in this trilogy saga.
Btw, I also just purchased the beginning trilogy of stories, the "shadow" trilogy, because I enjoy Dayne’s writing, and want to learn more about the beginnings of this whole series of books.
But first, I am intending to read the rest of the Mageborn books.
Overall, I am finding that Dayne’s books are well written, interesting, and fun to read. It’s been a while since I’ve found a writer that has interested me enough to read more than one of his/her stories.
Profile Image for Travis.
2,927 reviews49 followers
March 16, 2018
Typical young mage goes for training, gets sidetracked, gets captured, escapes, then finally saves the day. Nothing new here, but it is well told, and it is a good story despite the frequency with which this formula has been used. I recommend it to anyone who likes adventure or magic stories. The magic system is a relative simple one, but that just makes it fit right in to the story with little explanation needed, which is always a good thing. The only major flaw in this one is how easily a novice magic user managed to destroy am ancient artifact that was supposed to be one of the most powerful magic devices in the world. Otherwise it hangs together well, and leaves one with a sense of accomplishment and a complete story, which is missing from so many series firsts.
Profile Image for Elda.
1,203 reviews6 followers
May 27, 2019
Kind of a dry telling of a story but spoken through the eyes of Emma. She and her twin brother were newly awakened mages given the opportunity to join other new mages to learn their skills. They were off to Tar Ebon and the Tower of the Seven Stars, a tower where new Mages go to learn. However, they met with many challenges and somehow managed to prevail. The characters to me seemed one dimensional. I wish there would have been more depth to them. I didn’t have a sense of deep feelings coming off them. The scenes were pretty well described and could picture myself being there. This does seem like a story written for the YA genre and would most likely be interesting to that age group. Overall, I enjoyed the read.
18 reviews
October 31, 2021
Clarke's Law in writing.

To paraphrase, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
This beginning is a solid beginning to this trilogy which follows 'The Shadow Trilogy'. (Another good read.) Taking up with the children of the previous generation's protagonists, 'Mageborn' stands well independently.
Of particular pleasure to this critic, the technological foundations of magic are presented, then dismissed to continue from the characters points' of view. Instead of the mixture becoming a stumbling block, they work together seamlessly to advance the plot and the world which contains it.
Emma and Ethan are understandable and very human.
I look forward to spending the $5 to read the next book in this trilogy.
Profile Image for Melinda.
40 reviews
June 1, 2019
This was an exciting book! I can’t wait to read the next one of the series. I really liked the world that was created for this story. It kept me interested and eager to learn more about it. There was also a lot of twists that I wasn’t expecting. The prologue at the beginning really helped me piece together who was who. I’m still trying to puzzle out exactly who Emma’s dad is but hopefully they’ll spill the beans next book. I definitely recommend this book - you can escape to a fascinating world and enjoy the ride. Once I started, I couldn’t put it down.
170 reviews1 follower
August 7, 2019
Startlingly well written first book in series

I did not read this author's Shadow series, but did not feel the lack either. Newborn is deftly written and entirely engaging. I unintentionally stayed up until after 2:30 in the morning to finish the book. Yes! It is that good. Excellent story. Geared towards young adults, this book will not disappoint. Action is non-stop, the characters are fully fleshed and the details vibrant. Looking forward to reading more of this author's work.
Profile Image for Laura.
722 reviews14 followers
January 24, 2021
I grabbed this book as a freebie, and boy! am I glad I did. I enjoyed how it had flavors of Brandon Sanderson's "Stormlight Archive" (maybe an influence?) while retaining originality.

The world stays consistent within itself; there are hints of a bigger underlying story that I hope to see revealed or developed in future books of this series.

I like that it wasn't 100% predictable but had a few surprises thrown in, and as mentioned before, hints of a heritage of something bigger behind the scenes.
Profile Image for Garth Mailman.
2,538 reviews11 followers
October 21, 2021
Fraternal twins Emma and Ethan at 16 discover they have magical potential when it almost kills them. Is being sent off to magic school an opportunity or a sentence.

This is an unconventional family. Mother is a blacksmith and father a house-husband who minds the store and home-school the twins.

Getting to school proves to be their first adventure. As in the stories of Merlin there are those who persecute those who possess magic equating witches and warlocks with satanic cults that must be burned at the stake. And there are rival mages.

Text needs a further edit.
Profile Image for Linda Thomas.
842 reviews9 followers
December 23, 2021
Emma and Evan are late blooming Mages they didn’t get their powers until sixteen.

Normally mages get their powers at around ten not sixteen. And not such dangerous ones first. Not ones that try to kill them first try. Him for losing his temper and unleashing torrents of fire and her for trying to save everybody by taking it all inside herself to put it out. Their parents contacted the mages at the tower and called in some favors and got the twins accepted there for training. This story is how hard it is to get to school s
1,794 reviews15 followers
April 23, 2022
What a way to discover you are a mage? It was just a teenage tiff - then then whole place just about burned down, but a great save prevented total combustion.

Obviously when the twins wake up it's a completely different future for them. Best to learn how to control the magic so it doesn't cause a disaster again. But that thought is just the beginning of the adventure. School is not that far, but the trip there - well that is this story.

Read on to find out how they handle it, and who they meet on the way. Quite an adventure.
4,493 reviews21 followers
March 15, 2018
Very interesting story that had me from the first chapter. I just had to keep reading to find out what would happen next. Its basically the story of Emma and her journey to the Tower to learn about being a mage. I loved the twists that showed up because of course it was not a simple journey to the Tower but full of danger, magic and enemies. I loved it. Well worth reading and kept me entertained. Cannot wait to see what happens next. It kept me guessing to the end.
Profile Image for Philip Jones.
93 reviews
September 22, 2019
Enjoyed reading!

Enjoyed reading not sure what the targeted audience is supposed to be. Was a fast read kept me interested enough to decide to get the next in the series not my usual read but it's one more on my way to meeting my good reads challenge goal. Amazon prime, kindle unlimited, book bub, book rebel, and good reads member love them all.
I very seldom give give stars on my ratings but this one is close 4.5 plus

Profile Image for Bertha Alicia .
654 reviews57 followers
March 18, 2018
What stars as a fantasy book, ended like a kind of techno-fantasy story.
Twins Emma and Ethan were recruited by the mages of Tar Ebon to be trained, but before they could finish their travel are kidnapped. The story evolves from the tale of two siblings almost totally oblivious of their magical powers to those same siblings being talented mages WITH AI implants!
AWESOME!
791 reviews6 followers
July 14, 2021
Emma and her brother Ethan find out late that they have magical talents and are urged to go to The Tower of Tal Ebon. However their travels are interrupted several times and it is questionable if they will reach their goal. However, they and other recruits as well as a top mage from the towere form a team that make make it possible. Well worth reading.
1,774 reviews9 followers
March 13, 2018
This is a fantastic opening for a new series. I was hooked from the beginning, sucked into this world. Great writing and character work. Never a dull moment. I'm looking forward to the next volume already. I voluntarily received an ARC of this book.
1,140 reviews2 followers
March 17, 2018
Magic

Two young people who are considered strange by their neighbors are to go to the tower to learn about their magic. This is about their adventure getting there. The next book in their journey should be very interesting and I can not wait for it to be published.
12.7k reviews190 followers
March 28, 2018
Emma and her twin need to flee with a mage when her brother almost burns her with magic. They need to learn to control their powers. Obviously things don’t go smoothly for them. Wonderful fast paced first book in this new series. Loved it.
35 reviews
September 26, 2018
Good read

Interesting story that was fairly fast paced and kept me entertained.As the story progressed it got better.I really enjoyed the second half quite a bit,and am curious to see where the next book leads.
Profile Image for K Bodily.
1 review
May 19, 2019
I thought this was a pretty captivating story. There were a few grammatical and continuity issues but nothing that couldn’t be overcome by the story itself. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
4 reviews
May 24, 2019
Great read

Started a little slow but I really enjoyed the read. I tend to rate my books on how anxious I am to get back to them. I couldn't wait to get back to this one. Will probably buy the next installment.Thanks for a good book.
18 reviews
August 7, 2019
Good read!

I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read more of the story! I love when the author is able to make you see the image in the story. I would recommend this book to any fan of genres such as fantasy, sci-fi, and maybe even paranormal. It was a really good read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews

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