The Mage-Lord's Legacy

The Constellation Saga #2

by Kay MacLeod

“They need six Urns, Archer, and they have four. Only two stand between your world and mine.”
Unsure whether to trust information from a Tenebri mage, the Constellations race to stop the invasion of their world. Every decision could result in fatal consequences. Do they gather the lost Urns, find the remaining members of their team, or split their focus and possibly lose everything?
As usual, no-one seems to agree and it’s up to Kitty to prevent her allies from falling apart. But with her own demons from the past, devastating betrayals, and the distraction of forbidden love, it might take more than she has to offer.

Genres: Fantasy

380 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 9, 2018

About the author

Authentic characters, innovative abilities, serious snark!

Kay MacLeod is a fantasy addict from Nottinghamshire in England. She loves magical worlds and spends much more time in them than that boring real one.

If Kay isn’t writing, or thinking about writing, she’ll be immersed in reading, gaming, playing bass at church, or painting miniatures. She grew up addicted to Terry Pratchett books, Magic: The Gathering, and lording it over her fellow nerds as the DM in Dungeons & Dragons games. Fortunately, this gave her plenty of storytelling practice and made her grateful that all the characters do as they’re told now other people aren’t controlling them.

Kay’s gaming experience shines through in her works, from the Pokemon-inspired Maiyamon books to her epic fantasy, which readers say has a hint of a Dragon Age tale.

With character development at the heart of each story, they’re backed up by distinctive magic systems and a dash of sarcastic humour that gives Kay MacLeod her unique voice.

Reviews

[J.S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh. My. STARS!!! This deserves all of them.

No second book syndrome here, that's for damn sure.
Such an intense thrill ride (perhaps even more so than HoP), the Constellations really coming into their own in all their fantastically flawed glory, and I F'n adored every excruciatingly beautiful moment of the K/ A slow burn even as it killed me 😍

The Tenebri have stepped up their game, and even with the powerful boost of new teammates and surprising allies, the Constellations discover themselves in the direst of straits - it proves enough of a struggle to not turn on each other, nevermind knitting tight in defense of their world.

I admit, I was initially worried about new characters worming in and diluting the cast, but I needn't have been; Malik and River brilliantly amped up the spice! And the characters I already loved from HoP leveled up like the absolute legends they are to carve themselves out an even bigger space in my heart. Kitty maintains her reign as a heroine of inspiring substance, Asher will forever be my adored king, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Serena et al that much better.

Misdirection + Betrayal + Humour + The tenderest touch of romance and heartbreak = One nail-bitten but immensely satisfied reader!

Huge thanks to Kay MacLeod for gifting me this ARC.

Not sure how I'll survive the wait until my next AGF (Asher Grey Fix.) The Juggler's all mine. Fight me.

[Jennie Rosenblum · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderful continuation of the Constellation’s story. The book picks up with Kitty and her “team” trying to get more Urns – but the Tenebri have other plans. All the favorites are back with a few nice additions. The best character being River! She added a good amount of sass and attitude to the story as well as spicing up some of the relationship angles!

This author does a nice job of keeping the reader going and encouraging you to be involved with the story. Her tidbits of storyline surprises that she weaves in as well as simultaneous happenings made for a beguiling read.

[Cecily Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another page-turning installment in this brilliant fantasy series. This moves along at a fast clip, with the action running alongside character development in an engaging balance that kept me wanting more. Yes, the story is entertaining, but really, this storytelling shines through the characters, who are so wholly believable in their emotional journeys and relationships that is it hard to let them go when the book comes to an end (just like book one!).

The Constellations are truly a family, but working together isn't always easy, and as they learn, plan, and fight together, they become closer with their understanding of each other. Kitty and Asher are my favorites, and Asher's sarcasm had me laughing out loud so many times, in contrast to the seriousness of The Constallations' mandate to fight evil and endure the consequences of battle - which prove devastating in this volume.

Warning - yes, another cliffhanger, but that just means we can look forward to more!

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Kindle Copy for Review

Kitty story continues as she learns more about her power. That it comes with a price that she may or not be willing to make.

She must keep everyone on the same page as they look for the urns as different views are in the mix. Throw in her own demons that will keep her on her toes as she tries to deal with everything. Will she be keep things under control?

[Connie Huddleston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Earlier this year (see https://bit.ly/2A0x83H), I read Kay MacLeod's Heirs of Power. Very recently, I revisited this series and read The Mage-Lord's Legacy. In both books, MacLeod creates a realistic fantasy world threatened by evil and defended mostly by a group of special teens and adults with powers inherited from one of their parents.

Visually descriptive and full of battle scenes, mysticism, and plot twists, I found these fantasy books to be well worth my time. I even purchased the first for my 16-year-old grandson. I would not be surprised if his 12 year old brother doesn't read it as well.

At times, MacLeod's writing is much like reading the action of a fantasy role-playing game, a true draw for teens. I highly recommend this series to adults looking for books for their upper middle-grade to teen children. I'm well above both levels and enjoyed the books as well. Give them a try!

[EG · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heart-racing sequel with twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Kay MacLeod has done it again. The war for Lucidia escalates and the Tenebri grow closer to collecting the urns needed to open the portals and invade their new host planet. The constellations find themselves pushed to their limits to find the urns and remaining constellations in order to prevent the destruction of their home.

The Mage-Lord's Legacy is the second book in the Constellation Saga, falling right back into action where book one, Heirs of Power, left off. Kitty Fairlow finds herself growing stronger in her skills as The Archer and forming closer bonds with her fellow constellations. In the midst of her mission to save the world, Kitty also finds herself faced with an unexpected, and forbidden, love interest.

The Mage-Lord's Legacy is packed with an excellent balance of action and personal story-lines. Kitty's steamy love interest is perfectly addressed, flows well, and does not detract from the main plot. In addition, MacLeod does a fantastic job bringing the lands of Lucidia and Tenebria come to life with vibrant descriptions.

This heart-racing novel, filled with new revelations, strong action, and unexpected twists will keep you on the edge of your seat as the constellations race to save the planet and people they love.

**I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily choose to review it.

[S.K. Wee · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing continuation of the Constellations story. Kitty has left behind everything she knew and loved for her new role as Archer, a powerful embodiment of one of the Lucidian Constellations. Along with several others, who were also heirs of certain Lucidian powers, they journey into dangerous territories attempting to locate the Thaedric Urns before the evil Tenebri do. The Tenebri not only want the urns so they can build a portal into their world but we learn of another ancient artifact, one which supposedly will eliminate the danger of the urns. There’s great action scenes and many new and troubling revelations around every corner as Kitty and the gang attempt to find the last two constellations while battling friend and enemy alike.
This is a fantastic world, with some great relatable characters, which are flawed and realistic. The book was so well-written that I found it extremely difficult to put down. I highly recommend this series and anxiously await the next installment.

[Prakash Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

An action packed novel:
Along with twists and turns, Kitty grown in her skills. Kay successfully balanced the storyline between Kitty's mission to save the planet, and her love interest.

The Mage-Lord's Legacy is well connected with the book one, "Heirs of Power". The novel is full of unexpected twists and actions, which keeps the reader engaged and appeals to read in a single sitting.

"Now she was going to leave and seduce another man, a plan of Damien’s to protect a world that wasn’t even their own." ....... And you can't put the book until you finish it.

As always, I would love to read more in this series (The Constellation Saga).

[Dora Ilieva · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Mage-Lord's Legacy is the second book in the Constellation Saga series. It sees the characters from the first book continue to fight for the preservation of their world. Episodes of blood, gore and danger are intertwined with moments of human emotions such as love, loyalty and self-doubt. To me, the most interesting part of the story was the constellations' foray into the land of their enemies - the world of Tenebria (both Tenebria and Lucidia are aptly chosen by the author for their symbolic meaning). Contrary to my expectations, the inhabitants of Tenebria are not wholly evil; their world not entirely grotesque. The novel ends in a cliffhanger leaving some questions unanswered which makes me hope that the author is planning a third book.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.

After I read Heirs of Power, book 1 in this series, I knew I couldn't wait long to dive into book 2. This series completely grabbed my attention and I just had to know what happened next. So shortly after finishing book 1 I put some of my other review copies aside as I had to read this one and couldn't stop thinking about this series. The Mage-Lord's legacy was an awesome sequel. It's even better than the first book and is a great continuation of the story. I loved following Kitty along and seeing what new danger and adventure she and her friends found herself in.

There's actions, adventure and danger in this book. And a big fight for the fate of their world. Their enemy has most of the powerful magical urns in their hands and Kitty and the rest of the constellations have to prevent the rest falling in their hands. They also are still missing 2 constellations that they hope to collect along the way. This book is well paced with plenty of twists and turns. Every time I thought I had figured out what would happen next a new twist would surprise me. It's so well written, with reveals taking me by surprise, but also making sense when looking back. I love that!

I had a hard time putting this book down as I just wanted to keep reading and find out what was next for the characters. The story is so engaging and I loved seeing the direction it took. The stakes are even higher in this book with their enemy being close to achieving their goal. There also is some new information we learn about the enemy which really added to the world and the story and I liked how it made them seem more real too. The author takes the story in a direction I hadn't expected as usually authors don't do that sort of story, but I actually quite like it and I can't wait to see what happens next and how the characters deal with this development.

There are uplifting moments when things go well, there was this great scene where the constellations had this awesome plan and it was fun seeing how they pulled it off. There are also sad moments when things don't go as expected and times when I had no clue how they would find a way to go on or even how they would stand a chance against this opposing force. There are some really sad parts along the way, which makes sense given the danger of their mission. There were two scenes toward the end I found particularly hard to read and I am only relieved the author didn't give more detail. It made me so sad for all the characters and what they had to go through.

I love the way the author writes the action scenes, I can visualize it all very vividly and it's very exciting to read those scenes. I always felt like I was right in the middle of the action and danger. And due to the unexpected twist I never felt like I knew what the outcome would be either, which made the action scenes even more tense. I also am happy with how long the books in this series are so I can get to spend longer in this world and with this story.

The characters are one of my favorite parts of this book even while we mostly get Kitty's point of view, there's still so much we see for the other characters. They all have their own personalities and I love how this shines through in how they act, what they say and also who they interact with and whom they're closest to. I liked getting to know some of the new characters we meet. There are some great new characters in this one. And we even get one of their point of views, which was quite interesting seeing certain events and people from another point of view. I liked this character too and what they revealed, some interesting twists there.

And then there's the romance. I am happy that my prediction was right about that. I loved seeing where it goes, but also sad due to certain circumstances that are in their way, which maybe makes it all the sweeter what they do share. I just love these two together and hope they can find a way to be together. And at the same time I also like them for their dedication for their cause, but it also makes me sad for how they put it above their own happiness at times.

I enjoyed seeing more of the world in this book. The author expands on what we already learned in book 1 and I liked seeing the world come more alive. There's more we learn about the Tenebri, their enemy. As well as the Theadra. And ofcourse there's more we see of the constellations and their power. I like reading about all their cool powers and there's another character with this cool skill too that was fun to read about.

To summarize: I loved this book. Book1 in this series totally captured my attention and I couldn't wait long before I jumped into this book. I think it's even better than the first. I enjoyed seeing where the story went and there are so many twists and turns along the way. I love how the author writes the action scenes as I can visualize them very vividly. There are happy and uplifting moments, some bittersweet ones and some very sad ones too. The interesting and well done characters is one of my favorite parts. It also was great to see the romance develop and also a bit bittersweet due to what stands in their way. I love how everyone has their own personality and how that shines through. It was fun to learn more about the world and their enemy. As well as seeing more of their cool powers. I can't wait for book 3!

[Simi Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great story I've read from Kay MacLeod, and this time, it's better than the first. There's not a dull moment in the book, and there were so many plot twists than before, along with character development (I can see lot from one character named Mimi. Excellent work, Kay). I love it!

Though, there were a few that were hard to follow, and there were a couple of errors, but it didn't bother me, because I was too intrigued from the story.

I cannot wait to read more of the series!

[Kae Greene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the first book in this series and if anything I love this one more!

This book has a clear flow in storyline from the first book in the series which is something I love. The characters still have all the same struggles, the feel of the story is the same. I love the continuity.

The twists and turns of the story, the interactions between the characters, the surprises and heart breaks - this story has it all! And more. This is an amazing second book to the series and I can’t wait for the third.

If you decide to read this book I doo t think you will be disappointed. I do recommend reading the first book before reading this one if you haven’t yet, but if you are like me you will fly through it and be reading this one in no time.

All the best and happy reading!

[Kit Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off let me say, holy run-on sentences, Batman. I read an ARC copy, and I hope those got fixed in the final copy, because they're everywhere. They pulled me out of the story every few pages, which is unfortunate, because the story is really good!

This book continues more or less immediately after the first book and does somewhat rely on you to remember what was happening. It took me a few chapters to get my Constellations all in order again (the ones that were around for most of the first book--Asher, Lucian/Mimi, Serena, Ellie--were fine, but the ones that were picked up nearer the end, such as Malik and Leo, took me a moment).

The Good: Despite the huge number of characters to keep track of, each one has their own individual personalities and are generally consistent in characterization and different enough from each other that it's not confusing. The plot is fast, full of tension, and keeps you wanting to read on. (Although it pulls no punches. So if animals or children dying bothers you, don't read this.) Kitty is much more consistent in this book, and the growing romance is well done. Damien also works well as a viewpoint character.

The Bad: We talked about the run-on sentences above, but oh my. I didn't notice them in the beginning of the book, so I don't know if they weren't there or just weren't obvious, but at one point they were in almost every paragraph. The midpoint battle is a little muddled and hard to follow, and some of the Constellations disappear near the end and are just...never mentioned again. But that's really it. Otherwise this was a very engaging book.

tl;dr: A great continuation of the series with lots of interesting twists. I'll be looking forward to the next book.

[Alex Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the first book, as I expected, because there wasn't so much exposition. It gets right into the story and it's such an enjoyable ride.

I love the amping up of the drama and the war and the stakes. People died in the first book, but in this book you really start expecting important people to die and it's so good. No one is safe and you can feel all that tension.

I also love the continued exploration of the world. You get to see so much diversity in terms of landscape and people's lives, the way they survive. And you also get to see more of Tenebria and they finally start becoming recognizable characters in their own right. It's really well done.

This one took me ages to read because there was a gnarly bit of animal abuse later on and I just couldn't bring myself to pick it up for a minute, but it had nothing to do with the book's quality. Highly recommend the series and I'm looking forward to continuing on!

[Shivani McFarland · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterfully told story of forbidden love as we see Kitty and Asher get closer, betrayal, as a member of the inner circle does the unthinkable and with new friends and old enemies who really is to be trusted and with every mistake and ambush will the Constellations ever get ahead? We get a small glimpse into the Tenebria's world and culture and we get a better understanding of what motives them. I'm drawn to Kay's unique world building and the depth with which she has gone to in her character development, all so very rich in imagination and personality. The exciting adventure left me wrung out at times as I saw each character of the team struggle with trying to gain purchase in the battle and some just flat out astounded me. A Fantasy Adventure that keeps you guessing all the way.

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am loving the adventures these characters take me on! Twists and turns, ups and downs; other worlds and abilities that I am quite jealous of! This book really expanded on the characters, their realm, and their friendships. I can hardly wait to explore more with them when the next book is available.

[Stephen Levesque · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is different and unique. It has strong characters, a story line that keeps you reading. There is a lot of action that will have you wanting more. This is a very different way of presenting magic and the use of it. Great writing. Great Reading Everyone!!!

[Briony Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Time to save the world!

Carrying on from the first this entry into the series has a much stringer finish and has set the stage. The grand gathering of the party is done and now its time to save the world!

[Bobby Claude · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, though it took me a bit to get into it. Out of the two books in the series, I found this one a bit harder to follow with the increased number of characters. Overall a good book.

[Patricia Goodson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Adventure continues

Kitty is almost killed. Another of the heirs is badly hurt. Kitty has a brother! Guess who? I really love the characters fighting too save their world.