Hummingbird

Charade of Magic, Book 1

By: Helen Harper

Narrated by: Ruth Urquhart

There are three absolutes in Mairi Wallace's world:

1. The Mages rule every city in Scotland with terrible, violent authority.
2. It is not physically possible for any woman to wield magic.
3. Mairi does not have a voice.

She is about to learn that none of these things have to be true.

From twisted wynds and tartan shops to a dangerous daemon and malevolent ravens, the future of a tattered nation might lie with one solitary woman.

©2022 Helen Harper (P)2022 Tantor

Like the concept

Overall a decent listen. I’ve enjoyed some of her other stories more but I’ll still continue with this series.

Another first book in a series that I enjoyed

Helen Harper is one of the many authors whose books I've read and enjoyed. I'm glad to add this series to my list of what I want to read.

More questions than answers in this slow open

I had so many questions in this vaguely detailed story. Was there always magic in the world? Was there an apocalypse? What is the year? What’s happening in other parts of the world? Why wouldn’t any of the allies Mairi meets along the way give her an overview of the situation? How do people become The Afflicted? How did the daemon get bound to The Ascendant? What’s the significance of The Ascendant?

This was a glacially slow building mystery that gave few answers and little action until the last thirty minutes and setup for the next book. It felt like medieval fantasy until a single mention about needing to get indoors to safety before the electricity went out. I liked the Sleepy Hollow vibe and yearned for better descriptions of the world, characters, and plot.

Sadly, instead of leaning into uniquely dark, this appears to be queueing up a fairly standard fantasy uprising with the tired romance between the dangerous daemon (whose abs get more description than any demonic magic or features) and the girl who amassed power/knowledge far too easily for me to take her seriously. Perhaps on sale I’d be willing to finish the trilogy.

Excellent listen!

I rarely leave written reviews I normally just give five stars and call it good but I wanted to say this is a well done audiobook with a fantastic FMC who can shapeshifter and is mute until the end of the book but we get her talk to us, I absolutely loved this listen, well rounded characters that I got to know. Also, excellent narrative too! Five wonderful stars! 🤩

Love this world

A dark and gritty older world compared to some Helen Harper worlds. It’s one of my favorites from her yet.