Sterling (Mageri, #1)

by Dannika Dark

[kimbacaffeinate]

The world in STERLING is the same from the Crossbreed and Seven series making this urban fantasy a welcome listen. We meet Zoë Merrick a twenty-nine-year-old human on the night she is attacked and killed. She awakens in a body bag and runs for her life. She awakens three days later to find she is healed and physically changed. The first few chapters were interesting, and I was curious to discover what Zoë was. I enjoyed the growing friendship between her and Adam the man who discovered and protected her during her change. It was a mix of humor and tenderness with a subtle electrical current of attraction.

Unable to return home since she has been reported both dead and missing, she travels with Adam on a photo shoot. Despite Adam's warnings she decides to explore the city where she meets Justus De Gradi. Justus is tall, dark, arrogant and handsome. In one evening Zoë learns that she is a Mage and that the terrible man who did this to her could claim her.  Justus agrees to be her guardian and train her as a Mage, but first, he must present her to the council. Poor Zoë. Her life is uprooted once again as she says goodbye to Adam and goes willingly with Justus. At this point, I am completely hooked!

Dark does an excellent job with the worldbuilding and characters from the Mage hierarchy to their training. Each Mage has a unique gift which explains a lot about Justus. I loved that Zoë is unaffected by his gift and how it totally catches him off guard. They begin training and fall into a routine. Zoë is feeling isolated until Justus' friend Simon arrives and oh lord, I love this charming, sexy and over the top Mage from his accent to his teasing.

Zoë's creator appears before the council to claim her and the tale takes on a suspenseful tone with dark twists. I wanted to scream at the council and cause physical harm to the bastard. Dark delivered intense scenes and twists that kept me fully engaged. I thought Adam was out of the picture, but OMG, the twists, and the ending blew my mind. The suspense and action scenes were well written. I will warn you that the scenes at times were dark and may cause a trigger, for sensitive readers. Heroine is held captive She is physically assaulted, and there is attempted rape. While the scenes are not overly graphic, the tone and fear are.

Is there a romantic thread? In a word, it's complicated. All the men are attracted to Zoë, although I don't think Justus is ready to admit that openly. Regardless of what happens, a tight friendship has formed between this motley crew.

Nichole Pool did such a fantastic job with these characters. She captured their personalities and accents wonderfully. I enjoy her male voices and that she can highlight both Zoë's strength and weaknesses through tone. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Book Reviewer