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A review by thephdivabooks
Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner
3.0
A bit messy in the plot structure at times, but a good fantasy novel for non-fantasy readers to get into the genre a bit without being too overwhelmed!
I saw another reviewer refer to Onna as “Hermione-esque” and it is such a great description, though Onna has a bit more perception to overcome than Hermione. Onna is one of the cleverest spell-casters in her class, and is easily able to outperform her male cohort. But Onna also is denied entry to the premiere magical university. Doomed to a more provincial life than anticipated, Onna is not one to settle for being a good girl who doesn’t use her brain for her own goals. She leaves for the city of Hexos to find a university that would welcome her as a student, and becomes engrossed in the murders of four trolls.
Meanwhile Tsira is a troll who despite being part of the magical class, is non-magical due to having a human father. Tsira wants to be the dominant partner in a relationship (a reig), but custom (and her own mother) say she should try to be a submissive partner (a vahn). But Tsira doesn’t think she could be happy with a quiet, submissive home life. When a human soldier shows up on her doorstep barely hanging on to life, Tsira can’t deny her interest in this downtrodden man. Overtime, the two form a bond in this small cabin. But that bond will be tested when they emerge into the world, particularly when an attempt is made on Tsira’s life.
The stories converge as the two are separately pursuing the mystery of the murdered trolls.
I found Tsira’s story much more compelling than Onna’s for some reason. I think Tsira just felt so fresh and new—something totally different for me. Onna is the classic intelligent, precocious young woman who is disadvantaged by the men in her life. Tsira felt like much more of an underdog. I don’t read a ton of books with magic but I find it rare to have a non-magical character lead in a magical world. I loved that this story was included. Jeckran is frankly a bit square, but not really to the detriment of the plot. Tsira and Jeckran felt more broadly relatable. I liked that the book is inclusive and queer normative—in that any character can be in any sort of relationship and characters fluidly range from gay to bisexual to straight (in addition to the intra-species relationships, if that is what you can call them).
This book had a ton of plot threads that felt dropped or forgotten in places, only to be picked up again. I wasn’t sure how the whole book would come together, and that is where I describe the plot as a tad messy. Still, this was an enjoyable read with great dialogue, characters, and world-building. A great fantasy book for even non-fantasy readers.
I saw another reviewer refer to Onna as “Hermione-esque” and it is such a great description, though Onna has a bit more perception to overcome than Hermione. Onna is one of the cleverest spell-casters in her class, and is easily able to outperform her male cohort. But Onna also is denied entry to the premiere magical university. Doomed to a more provincial life than anticipated, Onna is not one to settle for being a good girl who doesn’t use her brain for her own goals. She leaves for the city of Hexos to find a university that would welcome her as a student, and becomes engrossed in the murders of four trolls.
Meanwhile Tsira is a troll who despite being part of the magical class, is non-magical due to having a human father. Tsira wants to be the dominant partner in a relationship (a reig), but custom (and her own mother) say she should try to be a submissive partner (a vahn). But Tsira doesn’t think she could be happy with a quiet, submissive home life. When a human soldier shows up on her doorstep barely hanging on to life, Tsira can’t deny her interest in this downtrodden man. Overtime, the two form a bond in this small cabin. But that bond will be tested when they emerge into the world, particularly when an attempt is made on Tsira’s life.
The stories converge as the two are separately pursuing the mystery of the murdered trolls.
I found Tsira’s story much more compelling than Onna’s for some reason. I think Tsira just felt so fresh and new—something totally different for me. Onna is the classic intelligent, precocious young woman who is disadvantaged by the men in her life. Tsira felt like much more of an underdog. I don’t read a ton of books with magic but I find it rare to have a non-magical character lead in a magical world. I loved that this story was included. Jeckran is frankly a bit square, but not really to the detriment of the plot. Tsira and Jeckran felt more broadly relatable. I liked that the book is inclusive and queer normative—in that any character can be in any sort of relationship and characters fluidly range from gay to bisexual to straight (in addition to the intra-species relationships, if that is what you can call them).
This book had a ton of plot threads that felt dropped or forgotten in places, only to be picked up again. I wasn’t sure how the whole book would come together, and that is where I describe the plot as a tad messy. Still, this was an enjoyable read with great dialogue, characters, and world-building. A great fantasy book for even non-fantasy readers.