Junk Magic

Lia de Croissets #1

by Karen Chance

Half werewolf Lia de Croissets is a member of the War Mage Corps, the police branch of the world’s leading magical organization, the Silver Circle. She’s an instructor assigned to train new recruits, a job considered to be significantly tougher than combat—especially right now. There is a war going on in the supernatural world, and the other side has discovered a deadly new tactic.

Popular street drugs have been laced with a potent narcotic known as “fey wine”. An import from Faerie, the wine has been known to bring out latent magical abilities in humans, but this version does much more than that. It is so strong that it is drawing forth dangerous talents that were long ago deliberately weeded out of the magical gene pool.

Someone is making monsters out of regular people and turning them loose on an unsuspecting and very unprepared world. The Corps cannot afford to fight on two fronts at once, so Lia gets a new class: one made up of the only people who might be able to counter these latest threats. It remains to be seen if a group of sullen, disaffected magical outlaws can come together to contain an ancient plague before the whole world gets sick.

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Werewolves, Shapeshifters, Witches

439 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 19, 2022

About the author

Karen Chance is the author of two New York Times bestselling series, plus a number of novellas and short stories, all set in the Cassandra Palmer universe. A full-time writer since 2008, she was previously a university history teacher, which comes in handy when writing the time-travel aspect of Cassie’s crazy adventures. She loves Las Vegas, the main setting for her novels, but currently lives in Florida near her family home. Visit her website or connect with her on Facebook here.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Junk Magic is the second spin-off in Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer universe. A welcome addition after I found out it was about a war mage with a plot that has little connection to the vampire and fae politics that's mired those series. It seemed like the refreshing perspective this universe needed.

The first several chapters do just that. Lia's world is miles from Cassie or Dory, but the war mage experience I was excited for lasts only the first few chapters. Then the Were side of the story takes over. Lia is a Were, but one unable to transform; her boyfriend is an outcast Were, nurturing other outcasts in his makeshift clan. The foundation is workable until the Were antics overwhelm the war mage mentor antics by a large margin.

And I sort of hated it.

Nothing about Weres in this universe interests me—at least not how they are written here. Lia's past trauma feels sorely underdeveloped, Cyrus is remarkably disposable, and the group of teenagers Lia's supposed to train are too numerous to fully invest in one in particular, let alone all of them. I was bored through a lot of this book and the only thing that kept me reading is my overall love for Karen Chance. I'm not mad, just disappointed.

[Sophia · Rating 4 out of 5]

After encountering Lia as a minor character in earlier Cassie Palmer series books and as the main character in a few urban fantasy anthology novellas, I was more than primed to see her get her own full-length book. Karen Chance has written some great women action heroines over the years and Lia is one of them.

Junk Magic is a side jaunt off the main Cassie Palmer series and assumes that readers are familiar with the world of those stories though this does begin a wholly different plot path. I think the only crossover character is her partner, Caleb.

Lia is the hard-nosed half mage half were who can’t shift and that’s her biggest secret shame. She lets the dangerous supernatural world believe she doesn’t show her were side because she chose to be a mage and getting furry is frowned upon in the Circle. But, in actuality, she walks a perilous line of not admitting this weakness. She’s already a disliked rebel in the were community for having an outcast were as her boyfriend. Cyrus is a good guy and has created a pack of fellow outcasts mostly young males.

It is one of these males morphing into a monster that launches Lia’s adventure into discovering what and who is behind it. This launch goes into a furious pace of fight scenes, taking care of the young weres who are a numerous menagerie, dealing with more than one big baddie, getting knocked down and picking herself up many times and not a deep breath taken until the end when, as usual, I was left on overload and wondering what I’d just listened to.

One would think I’d learn. It has been years since I first encountered the Cassie Palmer-Dory Basarab world and I’ve gone on several roller coaster reads or listens that left my head spinning and no clear idea what I just experienced- lots of color, supernatural wonders, fast and furious fights, and a smidge of plotting and intrigue. I’ve got a love-hate, okay nothing so divided in feeling, but something like it when it comes to this writing style. But, I picked this up and got shocked by more of the same stuff. I secretly was hoping for a more coherent plot like those older, shorter pieces featuring Lia.

My love part of it all is just how imaginative Karen Chance can be with a supernatural setting, snappy dialogue, tone of bold adventure, fight action description, and engaging characters. While I’ve been slowly following out of love with Cassie and remain steady in my love of Dorina, I was ready for a new central female figure to emerge and Lia is a sensational urban fantasy heroine.

Traci Odom is not a new to me narrator, but new to me for narrating Karen Chance books so I had a good time encountering her voicing Lia’s story and showing her versatility voicing all those parts and the furious, fast-paced plot.

Will I pick up the next book knowing I’m in for a dizzying lulu ride? Of course I will. I can’t help myself when it comes to Karen Chance’s urban fantasy world.

I rec’d an audio from Tantor Audio to listen to in exchange for an honest review.


My full review will post at Books of My Heart on Jan 31st.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Junk Magic starts a new spin-off series, Lia de Croissets, set in the world of Chance’s Cassie Palmer and Dorina Basarab series. While it can be read separately, it also presumes that the reader is familiar with what’s going on in the other two series, namely the war with gods, and how the world works, i.e. the Magic Corps, vamps, weres, and fay. None of it is explained in any way, so a new reader to Chance may find it difficult to understand everything that’s happening.

Accalia—Lia—de Croissets is a daughter of a war mage and a werewolf. She hasn’t taken the bite to Change to a werewolf though, ostensibly so that she could become a war mage, but in truth because she carries a disease that prevents it. Because of it, she’s at odds with the were world. And that was before she shacked up with an outcast were.

Her boyfriend, Cyrus, has begun to rescue other outcasts, mostly teenage boys. When one of them suddenly transform to a monster of nightmares, Lia sets out to investigate. It leads her to a doctored drug that triggers old supernatural genes. And then she is dosed with it herself.

This was a familiar affair of Chance’s, with political machinations—werewolves this time instead of vampires—sinister villains, chapters-long, confusing battle scenes, and a powerful underdog heroine who must face them if not alone, then vastly outnumbered. Lia was a good MC, intelligent, resourceful, and goodhearted, and unlike Cassie, knew what was going on the whole time. And like all Chance’s heroines, played it so close to her heart that the villain came completely out of the blue. Moreover, missed its mark badly this time.

Of the supporting cast, Caleb, Lia’s war mage partner, was the only one that we’ve met before, and I liked that he was finally given a bigger role. Cyrus, her boyfriend, was a great character, but following a relationship that’s been going on for a while wasn’t as satisfying as watching a new one grow. Lia’s students and the rescued boys were a good addition, but there were so many of them that most of them were left in the background.

All in all, this was a good, coherent book and a great start to the series. I’ll be reading more.

[Mary Heron · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is quite a long one for the genre but it is the first.in a new series and I have to say it.kept me gripped throughout. Lia De Crossets is a War Mage and works with other War Mages fighting a magical war. She is different though, her mother was a werewolf, from one of the.oldest and.most respected lineages in werewolf society. Liz also has a secret that if.it.got.out could see her hunted down and.killed, she was born with a disease which means she can never shift into.a wolf, something which it the werewolf council became aware of would see her.killed. So she has print her.life hiding behind her.magic using that as her excuse.for not shifting as you can't be a werewolf.and.a magic user its.either.one.or the.other. The last few years of the war have seen Lia.working at headquarters training new recruits how to be War Mages, how to use their magic and stay alive. But, she has been assigned a new group, six teenagers who have come.from a closed.facility where they had been locked.up of their own safety and the safety of those around them. These kids are dangerous with a capital D, their talents and gifts are wild magic, uncontrollable. But the War Mages are losing operatives quicker than they can recruit so desperate times...................... Then there's Cyrus, Lia's lover, an exiled werewolf he is ostracized by the were community (he's known as a Vargulf) and any were that runs across him can and will kill him, with no reprisals. There are many like Cyrus, thrown out of their clans for crimes (some real.some fabricated) it's an easy way to get rid of an enemy. A lot of them are young boys, teenagers, alone and afraid, so Cyrus starts mentoring them and before long has quite the group....................... That's the first of the story, but I won't go into details, there's a lot happening over the 400 or so pages all of it exiting and also sad, especially as regards the two groups of damaged teens. Can't wait for book two.......

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much fun!

I love Karen Chance's books so I knew that I would like this book, but I was almost a little surprised at how much I liked it. Without spoiling the ending, it was exactly the satisfying resolution that I didn't realize I needed right now.

On the way to that resolution was action that never got old, new and developing relationships, and imaginative additions to the world that Chance has created. This book continues from previous work about the main character and fits in with her other ongoing series, but if you haven't read those or it has been a while, not to fear. Chance is a master at getting you caught up/reminding you of plot points without slowing down the story. Certainly read the other books because they are fun, but there's no need to hold back from jumping right in. I think you will be glad you did.

[Cecilie Larsen]

The Lia de Croisset short stories used to be some of my favourite go-to reads. I've been waiting years for a full length book. However, I won't be buying or reading this. Not after how Chance handled the horrible rape scene in her last Cassie book.

[Courtney Schaeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this although it is written as if you know all of the backstory. Which I didn't but I'm excited to have a new author to read.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another rollicking, insanely action packed story from the Cassie Palmer world featuring a female War Mage/Were who can't Change to wolf due to a birth defect taking center stage.
Pros: If you've read every book that Chance has previously written-this is a nice departure from the Vamp politics and the continuing War with the Gods.
The action starts early and rarely lets up in typical Cassie Palmer style. If you've never picked up a Chance book before-I suggest you binge the Cassie Palmer series to really understand the players in Alternate Universe Vegas. I really wish Dante's was a real place! I absolutely LOVE the way Chance writes action scenes: Some may want to take it slower-but a fight between supernaturals isn't slow-mo, and this is as close to a real time throw down as I've ever read.
Period. 5 stars for that alone.
Cons (This book only) : A little less intensely descriptive narration on the effects of the street drug Punch from the POV of the one who has it in her system would be nice. We get that it heightens already acutely sensitive Were senses. We don't need 3 pages of how everything smells-and the endless description(s) serve zero purpose in furthering the plot.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

(FYI I tend to only review one book per series, unless I completely change my mind on a series, so want to change my scoring.)

4.5*

First time read the author's work?: No - I've enjoyed a lot of her books.

Will you be reading more?: Yes

Would you recommend?: Yes


------------
How I rate Stars: 5* = I loved (must read all I can find by the author)
4* = I really enjoyed (got to read all the series and try other books by the author).
3* = I enjoyed (I will continue to read the series)
or
3* = Good book just not my thing (I realised I don't like the genre or picked up a kids book to review in error.)

All of the above scores means I would recommend them!
-
2* = it was okay (I might give the next book in the series a try, to see if that was better IMHO.)
1* = Disliked

Note: adding these basic 'reviews' after finding out that some people see the stars differently than I do - hoping this clarifies how I feel about the book. :-)

[Robert Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

So 4.5 rounded to 5. This is set in the same universe as the Cassie Palmer series. The main character is a War Mage of the Corps. But this is also the first in this series and there is virtually no overlap between characters from other books. We get to explore a whole new part of the magical community in the weres. The book does detail the society and shows both good and bad within it. Honestly my biggest complaint is that the big battle took place closer to the middle. The climax was still good, but lost a little of the shine because of the massive battle in the middle. Most things were wrapped nicely. There is also room for continuing the story both from a political standpoint with were society and seeing where Lia and her band go from here. I would like to see more of this corner of the world the Author has built.

[Shannon C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Great mix of action, suspense, humor and a bit of romance. It kept me on the edge of my seat!

Loved the main characters and supporting cast. I liked that we saw more development/world building of were society, since the earlier Cassie and Dory books focused more on the vamps, mages, fae and demons. Hope the author writes another book focused on Lia, Cyrus and all the great side characters.

It is best to read this book after the other Lia novellas:
https://www.goodreads.com/series/3065...

[Scratch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, Lia gets her own full-length novel. It has baffled me for years how it was possible that time-traveling seer Cassie Sandsmark, and half-vampire Dorina (sp?), each got their own series in this universe, whereas Lia just made occasional appearances in short stories. Lia was always by far the most interesting --and least problematic-- protagonist.

Lia is the daughter of a war mage father and a werewolf mother. It isn't actually possible to be "half" werewolf in this universe, because lycanthropy is a virus. But Lia comes about as close as is possible. Because she was exposed to the virus in utero, she was transformed enough to have some of the minor, secondary effects of being a were, but is incapable of transforming. More importantly, she is immune from any further exposure to lycanthropy, so she can't ever become a werewolf. Nevertheless, she inherited her father's magical powers, and she serves as a kickass War Mage heroine who has to keep her lycanthropy immunity secret from everyone.

I infinitely prefer Lia over the other two protagonists in this universe, even though I am somewhat fond of them all. Cassie comes across as a selfish airhead much of the time, even while the author builds her up as the ultimate champion of humanity. Cassie often has shallow priorities that emphasize how girly she is (she prioritizes shaving her legs so much, she continued to do so even when she briefly body-swapped with a man), even though she grew up with very little feminine company. Her series also started out dabbling in a bizarre use of the virgin/whore dynamic, forcing the plot to focus on her status as a virgin and her one-sided infatuation, and unhealthy relationship with, a man centuries older than herself.

Dorina initially put me off with her open use of magical marijuana. Because even if the author wants to make an argument that it should be legal, that doesn't change the fact that I don't want to spend my relaxation reading time getting into the head of an unapologetic stoner. Fortunately, the author dropped those references in later books in the series. Still, we were stuck with Dorina's strange mental health problems because of her split personality and aggression that she spent centuries trying to keep under control.

Lia, blessedly, is the sanest and most respectable of the bunch. In this novel we watch her struggle with her guilt over having killed a young attacker from a previous short story. She has some understandable residual PTSD from the experience. Other than that, we watch her fighting bad guys, challenging werewolves, and hosting barbecues with her werewolf boyfriend.

Lia's boyfriend Cyrus is also the best love interest of the bunch. Whereas Cassie and Dorina have both been paired with blasé vampire men (I would be hard pressed to discribe Luis-Cesare's personality beyond the fact he once had to explain to Dorina the concept of a person having a favorite color), Lia is dating an admirable riches-to-rags werewolf ex-prince. Cyrus has short-term and long-term goals to improve werewolf society, he loves his brother, and he treats Lia well. True, Cassie's primary love interest is now John Pritkin, and he has considerably more depth than Mircea, and he is far more interesting with his mixed-species status and complicated relationship with his father. But even compared to John, I still find Cyrus to be healthier.

The plot of this particular novel takes a story element we have seen before, and expands upon it. We already knew from Dorina's series about how "fey wine" enhances dormant magical powers in humans. This book shows that someone has tinkered with the wine to enhance it, to the point that it turns werewolves into some sort of prehistoric, badass-before-books kind of monster. This dovetails into the ongoing war plot that has been going on in Cassie's series for years. As a subplot, Lia is tasked with supervising a group of problem teenage mages. The kind with powers that aren't considered acceptable in this universe's supernatural society. Again, this builds upon story elements that have previously been mentioned in Cassie's books, as Cassie herself is a bit of an oddity for possessing precognition and necromancy, at least one of which is not looked upon favorably by society.

It's all good. This book deserves 5 stars more than any other Karen Chance book, and I was already fond of the earlier series. I just like Lia best of all.

[Isabella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the start to this new series.

It is set in the same universe as Cassie Palmer and Dorina Basarab etc.

It concerns the war mage, Lia, who is also a suppressed werewolf.

She is a bad ass, who was trained from an early age by her war mage father, but she is also now a trainer for the new very young trainees being sent into the field due to a war that is decimating the circle and its people.

She is a caring person who wants the best for her trainees, and has recently suffered trauma through an accident with some of her trainees being hexed and tricked into attacking her, forcing her to kill one of them in order to defend herself.

Now she must train a batch of kids from the magical reform schools.

Her werewolf mate has his own bunch of werewolf kids that have been thrown out of their clans.

Together they are battling a conspiracy that aim to break the new alliance between the werewolf clans and the silver circle.

It overall had a good pace, although at times it was for me a bit too focused on seemingly unimportant details, that brought the story to a crawl.

Although it could be my inability to keep focus that also made it seem slow.

The universe is already well fleshed out from the other series, but this new book manage to create new insight from another angle.

The characters are well build with both strengths and flaws, and motivations that make sense.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a spin-off and reads like one. I’ve only read the first Cassandra Palmer book and so long ago I can’t really remember anything. This was on offer and the premise was my sort of story but it really felt like you were starting halfway through. I quite like a training/school plot, so thought that it would be a bit of the main character winning over the kids and bringing the best out of them. There was none of that. Think I made assumptions of what to expect as even though she is their trainer, she does zero training in this book. Whenever the kids rise to a challenge it has nothing to do with the main character and she barely spends any time with them.

Some previous storylines were touched on but all the relationships were established and since I’d read none of the others, I was not invested in any of it.

Frankly, I was a bit bored by it. There was an already established romance but again, I was not invested. It felt flat, lots of assumption that you knew what was going on.

It did pick up a little bit towards the end but the surprise twist didn’t really make a huge amount of sense. There was a few satisfactory scenes but I just wanted to get to the end.

Basically, if you’ve read the previous series then this will probably work a lot better for you. If you haven’t then don’t start with this book.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of a Cassie Palmer Universe spinoff involving War Mages and were politics.

Half fey, half were, Lia de Croissets is a trainer for the War Mage Corps and has just been assigned to train a group of young out-of-control supernatural recruits into a new task force for the ongoing war against the Dark Mages. Her boyfriend, Cyrus, for political reasons, is an outcast-by-choice were who is forming a ‘family’ of other outcast teen weres to give them a sense of hope and belonging.

It was hard at first to keep the characters straight (especially since Caleb, Cyrus and Colin all start with C). But I made up a chart which helped get my mind around it.

Even though the ending was very exciting and the battle through the tunnel was cool, it continued through too many pages. I didn’t need to read about every single mage death, so I ended up skipping though about half of it.

I know there were a few short stories about Lia, there was too many events/info mentioned/referred to that left me feeling like I was missing important info and wishing a knew more.

Fave scenes: Lia confronting the were bodyguard, the granny rear attack, Lia’s no and Lia stopping Cyrus.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ehhh... this book has the usual issues I have with Karen Chance books -- underdeveloped characters and a plot sacrificed for endless chaos of battles and politics. I did like Lia's short stories better because there was less opportunity for endless chaotic battles.

Despite the chaos and underdeveloped characters, I did finish this book. I am notorious for throwing aside books that don't really interest me, but keeping my interest has never been an issue with Karen Chance books. It's keeping up with what the hell is going on at times! They're fun to read but always leave me a little confused and disappointed once I'm finished.

I've read some of Cassie & Dorina, which probably helped me stay with the plot, but I don't think you have to have in-depth knowledge of the other universes to understand this one.

I will probably read another Lia book if there is one. But I'll probably have similar criticisms.

[Tracy Kaufman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun ride this book was. I was not sure of this new series; I should never have doubted Karen Chance I love all her series. I loved the 2 main characters they were both take charge without all the postering that sometimes happens when the 2 characters are so dominate. I loved the idea of helping the young were's thrown out of their clans. The complicated caste system that they all lived by. I cannot wait for the next installment. here is hoping for more info on Sebastion.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story!

This is my first read by this author and the story was very, very good. I know this is the first book in a series and they need to basically develop the world for the reader, but it was a little to busy for me. At times I was not sure who was talking and the fight scenes were a little hard to follow. Over all this world is an amazingly developed world. This story had tons of romance, action and suspense galore. I will defiantly buy the next book in this series!

[Nicole Luiken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great urban fantasy from Karen Chance. While this is their first novel-length story, Lia and Cyrus et al debuted in several anthologies before this. I like how this widens the Cassie Palmer world, showing us more Mage Corps and more Were. I loved the way the smells/scent trails were described, and the awesome/crazy/kickass action scenes.

[Fatima · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't stop grinning throughout the book. But Lia kind of reminded me of Dory and Cassie, but on a mage scale, and Cyrus (such as cool name!) of Mircea near the end of the book. It was a bit jarring. However, now that I've thought about it, I think the similarity came from the style of writing instead of the characterization.

FRTC

[Kerrie P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

I will admit that I never gave the Cassie Palmer books a chance. However, if this book is any indication of what I have been missing, I will be going back and reading them. This book made me laugh, cry, and worry. The characters are solid and likeable, even without having read their full back stories.

[2TNWalkers · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 star If you have not read any of KC’s Cassie Palmer series or any of authors previous books you might be a little lost. As this book is in that verse, but not a lot of back story to go with it. Engaging however some of the battle scenes went on forever and were long winded. Was a clean romance as author fades to black.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cue the normal nonstop action of a Karen Chance novel. New players, same world, and the war with the gods is still on the horizon.

Half-werewolf and a Silver Circle mage, Lia is an outcast teaching young mages how to survive a magic war... and then she realizes that someone is drugging the local magical outcasts and causing horrific damage... and she is next.

[Lorrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

about time

I loved this bold & brassy Lia from the first novella. Adored every single crazy twist & turn. So blinking happy to see book one!
While everything this author does is gold, Lia hits every note to make my soul really cry. I am so grateful for this book, please make many more. Bless you

[Agnieszka · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like I jumped on the Lia story wagon in the fourth book or so. She's already mated, there's 15 plot threads at once all of them underdeveloped and giving an impression I was supposed to read about their development in previous books. I feel cheated that I didn't experience her story from the beginning 😕 even though it's supposed to be an introduction to the character.

[Simon Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a high speed read, and though it had some interesting ideas at times i felt that some parts went on a bit too long, and every time the situation got tough a new “superpower “ got added to the heroine’s abilities, even so good plot, well written, some clever twists.
was it enough to make me read book two, I’m not really sure. - time will tell…

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weres

I'm so excited about this series! I love how it is still in the same universe. The characters were fantastic. The whole thing is so intriguing. Again loved it absolutely loved it.

[Sheila · Rating 5 out of 5]

An other one out of the park.

True to form, Karen Chance has done it again. Strong female lead and an interesting story, that make you want to come back for more. Can't wait for the next book.

[cathy m freeze · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect

In the same world as Cassie, but thankfully about half as frenetic ( tho it approaches her melees in the caves). I love the relationships, here, and the secondary characters are vivid and intriguing in their own rights.

Looking forward to bk 2.

[Anna Wick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent extension

I've been into the Vegas Supernatural scene from the get-go. Be a vampires and oracles, it's fun it's fast-paced and never boring.
Looking forward to next book in this series