Reviews

Magic Eclipse by Ella Summers

see_sadie_read's review

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3.0

2.5
Oh man, this book made me angry on several fronts. I mean, it's an ok, if stripped down, read but it's problematic too. My main issue is that it's very clearly labeled book one. But a little investigation shows that it is actually book one of a series that is actually a sequel to a four book series, making this book five. And I went and did that investigating because I very early on felt I was missing something, so yes, you definitely feel the lack of those previous four books. It's readable, but not overly enjoyable for the characters to talk about people and events you don't know about and for the world to not be explained and the history to be a blank. It's not even small things either. The whole plot here is that the characters have forgotten their lives, meaning forgotten the events of the previous four books, and they are fighting to get them back. So, ya know, important stuff.

Then there is this note on [b:Dragon born Serifina's|27163432|Mercenary Magic (Dragon Born Serafina, #1)|Ella Summers|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1444730548s/27163432.jpg|47202581] GR page, that's the series this is apparently a sequel to.

The Dragon Born Serafina, Dragon Born Alexandria sister series and Naomi's story Dragon Born Awakening can be read independently or together. The Dragon Born Serafina continues with Dragon Born Shadow World

Suggested reading order:
Mercenary Magic (Dragon Born Serafina, Book 1)
Magic Edge (Dragon Born Alexandria, Book 1)
Magic Games (Dragon Born Serafina, Book 2)
Magic Nights (Dragon Born Serafina, Book 3)
Blood Magic (Dragon Born Alexandria, Book 2)
Magic Kingdom (Dragon Born Alexandria, Book 3)
Fairy Magic (Dragon Born Awakening, Book 1)


It starts out ok, with the separate or together bit, but then confuses me with it's suggested order. So, does that mean I should read seven books before getting to this one? Or is that establishing a pattern, rather than an actual list? Because each of those series is four books long. So, do I need to have read all 12? Come on authors/publishers. I hate this stuff. If a book is a sequel label it as such. This is obviously not a book one of anything! I mean, we're even told that: "The Dragon Born Serafina continues with Dragon Born Shadow World." Continues with.... Not a new series then. Not a book one!

As for the story itself? It's got some humor. But it's basically the main characters running around and reacting to things. There is almost no development of plot or characters. We're told repeatedly that they're at war, but they call each other, have meetings and are on a first name basis. So, not much of a war then? I never felt the tension that was supposed to exist. The ending came about very quickly and it concluded on a cliffhanger, with nothing looking anything like a conclusion. So, I basically started in the middle of a series and ended on one too. What fun! <--sarcasm

Lastly, because I'm not feeling particular charitable toward this book at the moment, I need to address that cover. Is it just me or is it particularly focused on breasts? I don't know, something about that picture seems over-exaggerated and unnatural.

silver_valkyrie_reads's review

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4.0

I'm not going to try to claim this was a great book, but it was a lot of fun! Cliff hanger ending though... Must... find... next... book...
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