Mage's Apprentice: A Young Adult Fantasy (Mages of New York Book 1)

Exciting, too - but no spoilers from me!

This is the first book in a new YA urban fantasy series set in the same world as the Heir of Dragons series.This time, we get to know all sorts of supernatural and magical races, and we learn that there is generally no love lost between "supes" and "Norms". Enter Aspen, our Norm protagonist living in one of the magic boroughs of today's New York.While some aspects of the story might seem overly familiar (orphan whose parents got murdered by a powerful wizard, half-giant best friend, ...), and there are many nods to other authors' works (hello, Charlotte!), Sean Fletcher provides his own spin on common tropes and delivers an entertaining tale.As always, I enjoy his blend of action and humor, and not to forget a hefty dose of teenage shenanigans, nicely summed up by Lucien (one of my favorite characters, by the way):“Spoken like a true teenager. No understanding of the weight of your consequences.”

Wow suspense throughout the book. Aspen is a character that has it tough but a strong determination to succeed. I personally can not wait until next book

I have become a fan of this author but must admit found this one a little difficult to get into but persevered and pleased I did...so much so I bought the remaining two books.

I’m gonna have to be honest. I thought I would LOVE this book, I thought it would be right up my alley, but I misjudged it. I never fully connected with Aspen, the main character. I felt there was too much action and I needed some softness, some breathing space in between all that action to balance it out, but that wasn’t there. Overall I can only give it an okay score.On the plus side: There was never a boring moment. Action-filled! Action - attack - defend - action - more action!On the minus side: It was all too tough, too hard, too serious. I missed some relief. Aspen is only tough, hardened, and while that’s understandable given the circumstances, I want some level of softness. She is loyal to Brune and I could appreciate that. She is skilled and I could admire those skills.All in all, it turned out that this just wasn’t totally my thing. I guess I’m a bit overly sensitive. I’m telling you that, so you can see for yourself if this’d be your thing or not. Because I sincerely believe this will speak to readers who like action-filled stories. Who like their main characters to be tough.