From Goodreads: Jean Ryan has inherited a singular gift, the gift of magic. She must quickly learn to use her magic gift before the opposing dark magic forces destroy her world. Jean and Wayne, her friend, work together to discover why her gift has attracted the attention of an evil circle of magic users and how to combat them.

As she learns to use her magic, Jean finds revenge bites backwards, friends are not always what they seem, and that magic is not a toy. In the end she has to stand alone against an evil worse than any she has ever imagined.

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Overall, I really enjoyed this novel.  This is a true coming-of-age novel in which Jean must learn what true friendship is, as well as decide to do right by those around her.  I must admit that, in the beginning, Jean was quite obnoxious and her bad decisions made me dislike her quite a lot.  However, she does have many redeeming qualities and, as we later find out, not all of her decisions were of her own volition, which helped make me like her much more as the story progressed.

I’d like to say that I would have behaved differently had I been in Jean’s position, but truth be told, I would probably have behaved just as badly as her, especially since power can quickly consume a soul, causing one to act completely different, usually for the worst.  I think part of this revelation is why I was so disgusted with her in the beginning, but as I said previously, she does redeem herself, which is good, because the story itself is very well done.

Santore has created a very interesting tale involving magic, a world Jean didn’t know existed until her grandmother passes on, leaving her a box full of mysterious items.  I enjoyed learning about the magical realm and watching the characters thrive, learn from their mistakes, and set new courses for themselves.  There were a lot of twists within the novel and while some of the events were obvious in coming, others were much more shocking.  I enjoy a story where I feel like I know what is happening but am also blindsided by certain situations, making me second-guess myself and the characters on the whole.  I really did enjoy this novel and am hoping for a sequel to continue Jean’s fight for what is right. Four stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.