The Tethered Mage – Melissa Caruso

Published by Orbit Books, October 2017
Source: review copy
In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce and those born with power are strictly controlled — taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army.
Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.
Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations. But fate has bound the heir and the mage.
War looms on the horizon. A single spark could turn their city into a pyre.

This was the one I had on my shelf, sadly neglected for entirely too long (its sequel, The Defiant Heir has also turned up) much to my chagrin. I took the opportunity to bump it to the top of the TBR pile and I’m very glad I did. Lady Amalia Camaro is a splendid character, matched only by her Falcon, Zaira. Plots within plots abound as she’s drawn into the political machinations of the empire. Splendid stuff indeed!

The Tethered Mage was one of the two books on the Gemmell Morningstar Award shortlist that I hadn’t read (the other being Anna Smith Spark’s The Court of Broken Knives, which given how brilliant the other four books on the list are, I really must pick up!).

It’s a fantastic fantasy setting, with some quietly splendid worldbuilding which lurks in the background of a brilliantly twisty political magical story. It’s got everything – a fiesty fire warlock and her bonded Falconer, court scheming, snappy dialogue and a cracking plot.

Book 2 is already on my shelf, but not for long! Looking forward to delving back into the world of Raverra.

You can find Melissa Caruso on twitter @MelissCaru, or at her website melissacaruso.net.