Cloak of Ashes

Cloak Mage #3

by Jonathan Moeller

My name is Nadia, and I’m a shadow agent of the High Queen of the Elves.

I don’t have many friends, but I look after the ones I do have…and I pay my debts.

So when Hakon Valborg’s teenaged granddaughter Lydia is arrested for the murder of her computer science teacher, I agree to help.

But there’s more going on here than just murder.

Because an ancient enemy of both humans and Elves just might have taken up residence in Lydia’s high school…

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Paranormal

339 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 29, 2020

About the author

Standing over six feet tall, USA Today bestselling author Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair of a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas.

He has written the DEMONSOULED series of sword-and-sorcery novels, and continues to write THE GHOSTS sequence about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the COMPUTER BEGINNER'S GUIDE series of computer books, and numerous other works. His books have sold over one million copies worldwide.

Reviews

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cloak Mage book 3

Spoilers ahead for the earlier books.

It opens with Nadia in a hotel to spy for the queen. After that, however, she goes to Moran Imports and does work until she learns that there was a shooting at the school where Russell was supposed to take his equivalency.

When her friend Hakon asks for her help because his granddaughter is accused of it, she gets involved.

It includes the police chief thinking she's on the job for the queen, a conversation over coffee as a professional courtesy, the Shadowlands and some fighting, Russell and a former girlfriend realizing they really weren't a good couple, smoothing over a fight among three workers, the history teacher at the school, and more.

[Emiliano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, not as good a storyline as some other epic Nadia Moran adventures, but decent all the same.
Seemed more like a plot that just merged most of the major players in the series.
Good read though. (as a biased fan I am, I guess I've gotta say as much. Wink!)

[Susan1566 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nadia and her companions as well as a couple of new ones start put to clear Russell’s ex girlfriend of a murder charge and end up in conflict with the Singularity. Fast moving, enjoyable read, magic, mayhem, fighting, mysterious circumstances and a dragon, what more could you need

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read with new personalities introduced and another trip to the Shadowlands.

Nadia is one of my favorite characters. I think it may be because of her relationship with Russell. The characters in the other books by Mr. Moeller don't seem to have this affection for a sibling. I find Ridmark almost indifferent to his brothers.

As is my wont, I feel compelled to note a couple of discrepancies that I noticed. The first is when they are investigating the deaths at the high school and discover the hidden lair of Mr. Rampton. Nadia tells Arnett that she wants to be the first to check out the unofficial address they discover. Arnett questions why and she explains her reasoning. A bit later Arnett says he wants Nadia to be the first to investigate this same location and she asks him why. His explanation is the same as what she told him in the initial scenario.

The other (extremely minor, I admit) mistakes that jumped out at me were a few repetitions, i.e. Nadia explaining more than once that she would dump the fruit business if not for Russell's involvement. I think Hakon's relationship to Lydia was mislabeled at one point.

Mr. Moeller's stories are some of my favorites as the number of them downloaded to my Kindle will attest. I am looking forward to the next Cloak Mage installment that may or may not involve Hood, the newest adversary.

[H.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Nadia is such a fascinating character. And it is interesting to see what she has to deal with. It will be interesting to learn what Victoria is in the next books. Although, I did have one problem with the book. When Nadia went to steal data off of a computer, she had to plug in a hard drive. Then Victoria came into the room and Nadia had to hide and sneak out. However, I don’t think there was any mention of her removing the hard drive before leaving, yet she had the hard drive when she left the hotel. That missing detail was annoying. Yes, that’s nitpicking, but I was thrown out of the story because of it.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was definitely better than the last couple books in the series, but it's still too repetitive and one-dimensional for me to rate it higher. I do like the characters and I liked the multiple POV's in this one, but the actual writing just hasn't improved. If anything, it's gotten worse. Sometimes it feels like the author thinks we're idiots that need things spelled out multiple times. Even Nadia forgets really obvious things just so the author can recap something from the first chapter. He really needs to accept that we're capable of recalling information and using context clues to figure things out. Not everything needs to be stated explicitly, let alone multiple times.

[William Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice

Pros: The plot moves solidly, there are no last minute ‘deus ex’ plot fixes, and there is no crazy macguffin. Pretty straight forward action-adventure well supported by competent prose.

Cons: A few more proofreading errors than are good. Some of the supporting characters could have been developed a bit more (specifically the detectives could have used more agency and been utilized slightly better).

I will definitely be purchasing the next book.

[Paul Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

The saga continues with adversaries in the Singularity/Catalyst causing problems for Nadia and the gang. As always, the storyline is entertaining and moves quickly, making it a difficult story to put down.

A few new and memorable characters are added to the cast, giving the plot additional development. The story also resolves nicely as it has in the previous books. Looking forward to the next one.

[Stuart Macmartin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some seriously overdone coincidence but this was such an engrossing book I didn’t really care. A few minor editing issues. The last two books had digs at the publishing industry, so I hope the indignation about the main plot points aren’t driven from something personal the author actually witnessed, but instead is wholly his imagination.

[Noelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story

I've only read the series that feature Nadia? It's on multiple to do list to read the authors other series. The author does a wonderful job of continuing the series without the stories becoming redundant. I finish one and can't wait for the next.

[Robin Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

I enjoyed the adventures and the consistancy of the storyline tying in old characters. I look forward to reading the next adventure.

[Scott Shjefte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy future - fantastic magic and high tech people defending against powerful evils. Lots of action with a bit of humor and romance. Purchased set of four books on September 10, 2023 for $0.99.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[E.G. Manetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

The excitement gets ratcheted up with a trip to fae dimensions. Both Nadia and Roarke get to display their full bad-assery.

Read as part of the Cloak Mage Omnibus One.

[Joan Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is #3 and I'm currently reading #4. That about says it all.

[Alexandra Lepage · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5⭐️ review juste pour lélé c’était le dernier du bundle, j’en commencerai pas d’autre lol

[Andy Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nadia's loyal friend Vakon calls on her to clear his granddaughter of murder. Of course she will.

It seems open and shut. The girl was confused and found with a gun whose bullets don't match the murder weapon. Clear, right? But who's the murderer?

That's where the problems start. The murderer is out there--and gunning for Nadia and anyone else in his way.

Recommended.

[Robert Nacke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book with a lot a excitement that keeps wanting more of it. It is a well written book.