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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A Mage's Guide to Human Familiars is a curious book; I struggled with whether or not to give it 2 stars or 3 stars, which means it's a solid 2.5. It's not bad, but I struggle to genuinely call it good, and it was also fun, but not particularly exciting, and I liked the characters and cared about what happened to them, but I didn't find myself particularly caught up in the plot.
So: what a curious little beast of a book this is.
This book takes place in an alternate modern Earth setting where magic, mages, demons, etc, are just a given. It's about a young part-demon mage, Bel, who summons himself a human familiar, Nico, and the added aspect—and slight complication—of needing Nico's ex, Garen, in their lives too. First out of necessity, but then out of love and desire. Because Bel has demon blood, he requires a human familiar; when mages have human familiars, they tend to fall in love, but Nico's ex still looms very large in his life despite how much he quickly falls for Bel. And if this sounds too much like a magical compulsion, don't worry: it's mutual. It does toe the line of insta-love, especially for Garen, who doesn't share a literal magic bond with Bel.
Whatever B-plot this book contains (and it does contain one) is not nearly as important as the A-plot poly romance. "But that's the point of romance novels!" you exclaim. But, I reply, balance is key; that B-plot really should not feel tacked-on as an afterthought. I'm afraid the B-plot, which deals with a couple of magic-related crises, feels tacked-on and incidental. The best romance novels have A- and B-plots masterfully interwoven.
At this point, I feel like it's responsible of me to mention that this book requires a trigger warning for age gaps of 10+ years, with one point of this trio being only 19 years old. I generally don't mind age gaps, but the younger the younger character is, the more work needs to be done to make me remain comfortable. If Bel had been 29 and Nico and Galen in their early 40s, I have to admit I wouldn't have batted an eyelash, given he's the character with the most power, and he is in many ways more mature than Nico. But I wish the description on Audible had made this much clearer, because I might not have used a credit on this. And if that kind of age-gap would be a deal-breaker for you, understood, godspeed, etc.
However, I still somehow don't regret not immediately turning it off, nor do I really want those hours of my life back. I did genuinely find the book fun. The chemistry between the three leads is nice. The book has a coziness to it, and the vast majority of the characters are just genuinely good, lovely people. The narrators did a solid job.
Despite the "fun" status I'd give this book, I did end up actually wanting more plot to support the relationship between Bel, Nico, and Garen.
If I'm honest, the biggest issues I had here were in the actual writing itself. I'm incredibly forgiving about mechanical or technical issues for anything that isn't published by one of the biggest publishers, though I'm certainly more fussy about anything that someone is charging money for than stuff that's available for free (*cough*fanfiction*cough*). First, the way the A-plot (the romance) overwhelms the B-plot (magical crises) is, truly, a bit... well, overwhelming. So much time is spent on introspection about their feelings from Bel, Nico, and Garen, that the B-plot has no time to breathe or develop, which is a shame. It is possible to put more adventure in your adventures and have them support the romance (see: A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland, the Saint of Steel series by T Kingfisher).
The sex scenes were fine. They didn't knock my socks off. They didn't make me want to hide behind the nearest couch.
My biggest mechanical issue wasn't actually about any grammatical gaffes I noticed—and, of course, given I listened to this as an audiobook, I can't speak to any spelling or punctuation errors. My biggest mechanical issue is the dialogue. It vacillated wildly between "this sounds exactly how people talk" and "nobody talks like this, at least not anymore". The book came out in 2022; sure, it's an alternate Earth and all, but it must be somewhat contemporary to its publishing date because the Nintendo Switch features in a(n actually rather sweet) scene. So, without being told upfront, I must assume that the timeline matches ours. And the one thing that threw me out of this book was Nico saying, and I quote, "I can has?"
I'm an Elder Millennial/Xennial. I have not read someone say "I can has?" in ages, let alone heard someone say that out loud maybe ever, though I was definitely around for the height of cheezburger, and in fact, visited the site rather regularly. Nico would be a Millennial, too, though younger than I am, and I just really struggled to buy that as something he'd say.
There's a few other turns of phrases that just... dated this, instantly, to not only a pre-2022 culture (not setting), but maybe even a pre-Switch culture. I'll admit I don't read a lot of fiction set in our contemporary world, so maybe because of that I'm fussier than I should be. But I feel like I can tell roughly how old AJ Sherwood might be, and that is something that absolutely sours me on a book—though, at least that very Internet phrase wasn't in a fantasy book set in a fantasy world.
All of that may be some serious nitpicking on my part. I can't say for sure.
And in the end, I still had a nice time. Worked well as something to listen to when I wasn't feeling well.
So: what a curious little beast of a book this is.
This book takes place in an alternate modern Earth setting where magic, mages, demons, etc, are just a given. It's about a young part-demon mage, Bel, who summons himself a human familiar, Nico, and the added aspect—and slight complication—of needing Nico's ex, Garen, in their lives too. First out of necessity, but then out of love and desire. Because Bel has demon blood, he requires a human familiar; when mages have human familiars, they tend to fall in love, but Nico's ex still looms very large in his life despite how much he quickly falls for Bel. And if this sounds too much like a magical compulsion, don't worry: it's mutual. It does toe the line of insta-love, especially for Garen, who doesn't share a literal magic bond with Bel.
Whatever B-plot this book contains (and it does contain one) is not nearly as important as the A-plot poly romance. "But that's the point of romance novels!" you exclaim. But, I reply, balance is key; that B-plot really should not feel tacked-on as an afterthought. I'm afraid the B-plot, which deals with a couple of magic-related crises, feels tacked-on and incidental. The best romance novels have A- and B-plots masterfully interwoven.
At this point, I feel like it's responsible of me to mention that this book requires a trigger warning for age gaps of 10+ years, with one point of this trio being only 19 years old. I generally don't mind age gaps, but the younger the younger character is, the more work needs to be done to make me remain comfortable. If Bel had been 29 and Nico and Galen in their early 40s, I have to admit I wouldn't have batted an eyelash, given he's the character with the most power, and he is in many ways more mature than Nico. But I wish the description on Audible had made this much clearer, because I might not have used a credit on this. And if that kind of age-gap would be a deal-breaker for you, understood, godspeed, etc.
However, I still somehow don't regret not immediately turning it off, nor do I really want those hours of my life back. I did genuinely find the book fun. The chemistry between the three leads is nice. The book has a coziness to it, and the vast majority of the characters are just genuinely good, lovely people. The narrators did a solid job.
Despite the "fun" status I'd give this book, I did end up actually wanting more plot to support the relationship between Bel, Nico, and Garen.
If I'm honest, the biggest issues I had here were in the actual writing itself. I'm incredibly forgiving about mechanical or technical issues for anything that isn't published by one of the biggest publishers, though I'm certainly more fussy about anything that someone is charging money for than stuff that's available for free (*cough*fanfiction*cough*). First, the way the A-plot (the romance) overwhelms the B-plot (magical crises) is, truly, a bit... well, overwhelming. So much time is spent on introspection about their feelings from Bel, Nico, and Garen, that the B-plot has no time to breathe or develop, which is a shame. It is possible to put more adventure in your adventures and have them support the romance (see: A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland, the Saint of Steel series by T Kingfisher).
The sex scenes were fine. They didn't knock my socks off. They didn't make me want to hide behind the nearest couch.
My biggest mechanical issue wasn't actually about any grammatical gaffes I noticed—and, of course, given I listened to this as an audiobook, I can't speak to any spelling or punctuation errors. My biggest mechanical issue is the dialogue. It vacillated wildly between "this sounds exactly how people talk" and "nobody talks like this, at least not anymore". The book came out in 2022; sure, it's an alternate Earth and all, but it must be somewhat contemporary to its publishing date because the Nintendo Switch features in a(n actually rather sweet) scene. So, without being told upfront, I must assume that the timeline matches ours. And the one thing that threw me out of this book was Nico saying, and I quote, "I can has?"
I'm an Elder Millennial/Xennial. I have not read someone say "I can has?" in ages, let alone heard someone say that out loud maybe ever, though I was definitely around for the height of cheezburger, and in fact, visited the site rather regularly. Nico would be a Millennial, too, though younger than I am, and I just really struggled to buy that as something he'd say.
There's a few other turns of phrases that just... dated this, instantly, to not only a pre-2022 culture (not setting), but maybe even a pre-Switch culture. I'll admit I don't read a lot of fiction set in our contemporary world, so maybe because of that I'm fussier than I should be. But I feel like I can tell roughly how old AJ Sherwood might be, and that is something that absolutely sours me on a book—though, at least that very Internet phrase wasn't in a fantasy book set in a fantasy world.
All of that may be some serious nitpicking on my part. I can't say for sure.
And in the end, I still had a nice time. Worked well as something to listen to when I wasn't feeling well.
I continue to find [a:A.J. Sherwood|18541140|A.J. Sherwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1588113370p2/18541140.jpg]'s books to be cute, fluffy reads with just the right amount of spice.
I thought that this was really cute and I enjoyed the heck out of it. I liked all of the characters, including the side characters and I was really rooting for the relationship to work out. However, I also thought that the book dragged in the middle, with too much time dedicated too many random things and going on equally random missions, as all the men mulled over the same things. I would have liked to know a bit more of the world in general, how magic, mages, and familiars fit into it, for example. I thought the dialogue tripped into cheesy occasionally and the whole thing just got too childishly ridiculous at points (especially around Nico’s character). All in all, however, I liked a lot more than I didn’t and I’d happily read more.
Omg reading this was like the worst edging ever. The premise was fine, and characters were fine.. but it took them wayyyy too long to decide they were in a poly relationship.. and at 77% they still hadn’t done the dirty. Every time I thought it was going to happen, they got interrupted. Seriously.. way too many times. The I dnfed but am still giving it 3 stars bc I love the narrators for this.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Omg reading this was like the worst edging ever. The premise was fine, and characters were fine.. but it took them wayyyy too long to decide they were in a poly relationship.. and at 77% they still hadn’t done the dirty. Every time I thought it was going to happen, they got interrupted. Seriously.. way too many times. The I dnfed but am still giving it 3 stars bc I love the narrators for this.
The first book in a series (currently three books) which follows Bel Adams, mage, part demon and government employee.
Bel needs a familiar/bodyguard to protect him out in the field, but is leery about looking for one after a bad experience. He lucks out somewhat with Nico, Army Ranger and all-round sweet guy. But that's only the beginning of the story.
Set in a world not that far removed from our own, this medium-burn story has plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested. I loved the humour woven through the whole story, (seriously, Wicky and Nico are a bromance for the ages) and I really liked the dynamic between Bel, Nico and Garen. It's just so nice to have a romance where none of them are arseholes.
I also liked the way the characters were aware of their flaws, but the others saw them as a positive, not a flaw. That was sweet.
(Also, if I got hold of a light sabre in real life you can betcha I'd be doing lightsabre noises. God knows I do it with rolls of wrapping paper and golf umbellas).
There was, however, enough left unresolved that I think will bleed over into the next book, which is not far down my list to get to.
Bel needs a familiar/bodyguard to protect him out in the field, but is leery about looking for one after a bad experience. He lucks out somewhat with Nico, Army Ranger and all-round sweet guy. But that's only the beginning of the story.
Set in a world not that far removed from our own, this medium-burn story has plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested. I loved the humour woven through the whole story, (seriously, Wicky and Nico are a bromance for the ages) and I really liked the dynamic between Bel, Nico and Garen. It's just so nice to have a romance where none of them are arseholes.
I also liked the way the characters were aware of their flaws, but the others saw them as a positive, not a flaw. That was sweet.
(Also, if I got hold of a light sabre in real life you can betcha I'd be doing lightsabre noises. God knows I do it with rolls of wrapping paper and golf umbellas).
There was, however, enough left unresolved that I think will bleed over into the next book, which is not far down my list to get to.