A review by arrow
Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

I was really disappointed with this book. The blurb sets up Onna as the main character and I wanted to spend much more time with her (why I picked up the book to begin with). Too much time is spent on Tsira and Jeckran where basically nothing happens but them pining after each other. I really enjoy romance as a genre, especially different species pairings, but this felt so forced and awkward. Tsira is thinking about Jeckran as her 'vahn' from basically the first moment she sees him. Trolls are divided not by gender but "jobs" into Reigs and Vahns. Reigs take on all the typically masculine roles and duties while vahns take on the feminine ones like cooking and embroidery, but the twist is that pretty much all reigs are female trolls, and all vahns are male. They aren't equal either, reigs 'own' their vahns and have multiple of them, and there's a special ceremony where reigs "break in" their vahns (actual language used in the book) by taking their virginity. It doesn't help that Tsira and Jeckran are just so awkward with each other. Their scenes are painful, and last way too long. We get Jeckrans POV as well which means even more time spent away from Onna (whose story is actually interesting and we got fully jipped by how few chapters of hers there are), and a lot of weird and off-putting scenes between Jeckran and Tsira. For example there is a scene where Jeckran gets into bed with Tsira (before they admit they view each other romantically), Tsira pretends to be asleep and then Jeckran masturbates next to her. There's no break in the scene and in the next few sentences Tsira wakes up when Jeckran screams because Tsira got her period in the night. Why? What is the reason behind the placement and pacing of that? Such a weird unnecessary moment. Jeckran and Tsira don't even start investigating the murders until more than halfway through the book! Like hello!? There are weird murders of trolls happening commited by rogue wizards in a way no one can figure out  but yeah let's have another scene where they are awkward and unsure about their feelings because of close proximity. Got to thr point I would roll my eyes everything their POVs would come up. Disappointed because the magic system seems interesting and really got the book because I thought Onna's story would be great. I don't think I'll be reading this author again unfortunately.