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Twisted Magic
His magic could heal anything, except a broken heart.
Fleeing losses he can't bear to face and a war he doesn't want to remember, Korin has come to Triome, the greatest city in the world, for a fresh start. But Triome holds its own dark secrets, and Korin may not have left all his enemies behind.
A disease stalks the city, a disease made of magic that only a wizard like Korin can cure. But he can't fight it alone, and his new allies may not be as friendly as they seem. Especially handsome Ádan, who awakens feelings and memories that Korin would rather have left behind, and whose smiling face may be hiding the darkest secret of all.
Fleeing losses he can't bear to face and a war he doesn't want to remember, Korin has come to Triome, the greatest city in the world, for a fresh start. But Triome holds its own dark secrets, and Korin may not have left all his enemies behind.
A disease stalks the city, a disease made of magic that only a wizard like Korin can cure. But he can't fight it alone, and his new allies may not be as friendly as they seem. Especially handsome Ádan, who awakens feelings and memories that Korin would rather have left behind, and whose smiling face may be hiding the darkest secret of all.
189 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 30, 2024
7 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 31, 2024
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC!
My nonspoilery review: There's a lot of potential in this book, in particular some really cool stuff when it comes to the worldbuilding (especially how healing magic works). With that being said, as it is with the ARC, a lot of that potential is squandered. Among the things that I believe would improve this book are a POV change (third person doesn't feel personal enough for how information is shared, and makes it confusing to decipher whether the largely contradictory information being conveyed throughout the text is factual and thus written poorly, or whether our protagonist is a bit of a moron. First person would clear that up in a jiffy.), a more dedicated approach to how people actually feel about magic/wizards, some restraint on how quickly the romance begins (as well as some reexamination on why it happens so quickly), and overall just a thorough scrubbing by a beta reader (unnecessary sentences that detract from the overall ambiance, incorrectly used words, plot development, etc.).
I love fantasy, I love gay romance, I love healing magic, and I want to love this book. Unfortunately, all of the grinding stop and starts due to the issues just kind of make it a slog to get through, with the bright points being the way magic is described and the dialogue the protagonist has with women.
After this point are my slightly spoilery train of thought notes written in real time while reading Twisted Magic, which get a little more in depth regarding my criticisms and praises of this ARC. I will not be spoiling the plot or the ending:
🧙♂️The writing is fairly simplistic, with cut and dry sentence structures that, unfortunately, don't possess a particularly unique tonal quality or perspective that would make the text more dynamic to read. That is to say, it doesn't feel like our MC's pov has a tone that makes these flat, uncomplicated sentences sound like a character choice, but rather that you're reading an adult book written at an elementary grade level.
🧙♂️"Korin ducked in and out of several different guesthouses, looking for a specific thing." This sort of telling instead of showing that has popped up quite a bit feels reminiscent of fan-translated Chinese novels, where such a language structure is more normal. It doesn't really suit an English novel written by someone who, presumably, speaks English as a first language.
🧙♂️"I'd of guessed fifteen." This is a pretty simple error that an editor or beta reader would have caught. And while there are examples later that suggest this is just a quirk of speech (e.g. "None a yours."), due to the clunkiness found in the rest of the book, the trust required to put in the author to accept speech quirks outright has not been built.
🧙♂️"He bolted the food, not wanting to keep Marta waiting." I have never seen the term "bolted" used to describe eating food quickly, and I would hazard to guess that it is not correct. Luckily, there are many other words that could apply.
🧙♂️I really can't go on listing every single strange choice of words, weird grammar quirks, and telling-not-showing happening here. This review would be its own novel. Suffice it to say, investing in a good beta reader or editor would be tremendously helpful, as well as a really thorough rewrite that either pumps out more dynamic sentences, or focuses on making the current simplicity of the writing more character-based.
🧙♂️The way the MC's healing powers work is described is incredibly cool. I loved how that first scene played out, and I'm obsessed with healing magic, so that really locked me in.
🧙♂️The worldbuilding when conveyed through character interactions is really good; it's a tricky needle to thread that not many authors get right, but reading it here feels really organic and informative.
🧙♂️One thing that feels odd that may be cleared up better later is that our MC is terrified of being found out as a wizard at first, but immediately we receive info on how prevalent wizards are in society. He freely shares info about the different orders, and we learn that at least one wizard is just a random handyman/plumber/electrician at the poorest part of town. A lot happens right away that renders the protagonist's fear of being identified totally moot. Why would he be so scared of it and then talk about it openly within 24 hours? It feels like we're supposed to believe that wizards are reviled and magic is scary, but also they have public guilds that take walk-ins for their services, and openly wear the identifiable crests of their orders. It just makes the protag's fear feel superfluous, drama for drama's sake. Yes, he came from a place where there were few, but he's had so much life experience since. Update: we do fortunately learn more about this, but at times it still feels like we leap between extremes. Like we can't decide whether wizards are considered to be Good or Bad, even though they're part of everyday life. Even their differing abilities don't really seem to matter much, just the practitioners.
🧙♂️I always find it an interesting choice when fantasy settings have identical foods to ours. Coffee, chocolate, guava fruit.
🧙♂️A particular pattern of telling instead of showing that has come up often enough to warrant a comment: [Statement of fact.][Several sentences of descriptive language showing this fact that are perfectly serviceable without the initial sentence.] This would read something like: "The house was abandoned. Ivy crept along windows long untouched. The garden around the house may have once been carefully tended, but now only dried brambles and twisting vines remained. It was impossible to tell when the chipped and sun-worn front door had last seen a fresh coat of paint." The first sentence is totally unnecessary, right? The number of paragraphs that read like this are staggering.
🧙♂️Naturally, the moment our quiet, wartorn shell of a protagonist meets his love interest, he transforms from wizard to rizzard.
🧙♂️"Shepard bless" is interesting. Given that it appears to refer to a deity, a beta reader could have pinged this as a common misspelling of "shepherd". But maybe there's just some guy our protag is swearing upon.
🧙♂️The instalove between our protagonist and love interest is a bit clunky. Most instalove is. I wouldn't have minded seeing this drawn out far more. Like, it's happening so quickly that it's making me think that the LI is a red herring.
🧙♂️I want to reiterate how weird the juxtaposition is between Magic Bad and Magic Good - just a few pages apart, MC is nearly knifed for even being suspected of showing magic by a FRIENDLY person, the love interest, and then with just a few flips of the page, we learn that a low-income inn has several magical services it pays for on the regular, including burning actual literal shit away. It just doesn't gel the way it could with more explanation, or a thorough examination of what people actually believe about magic/wizards. And like, there IS a lot of that, but then what we see just doesn't really add up. Like, you've got wizards coming around fixing the lights and incinerating the contents of the latrine, but our wizard protag fears angry mobs and violence just by walking down the street. The more I read, the more I think everything would just make more sense if the prejudice was about CERTAIN wizard groups or CERTAIN types of magic, because it just doesn't make sense as blanket prejudice if they're doing all this other mundane helpful stuff all the time to the point where they're almost like, public servants and respected tradesmen.
🧙♂️There's an interesting comment we get from our main character's perspective that there "aren't that many wizards in the world", but not only is he constantly seeing them out and about, like we get the impression just from his little walks about town that you can't throw a dead dog without hitting a wizard, but even in "the least populous edge of the least populated kingdom in all the world" there's still a school with double digit students. This is either nonsensical worldbuilding, or our MC is a bit of a dullard with no head for large numbers. Imagine a seasoned and apprenticed plumber peeking inside a trade school and going, "Gosh, there can't be this many plumbers in the world."
🧙♂️A big reason the instalove with the LI is so jarring is due to the influence it has on the protagonist. He literally calls it a "distraction" when he just spent an afternoon chatting with the guy, a circumstance that also felt sort of anticlimactic given that the way they meet had the potential to be pretty intense (in subtle paeudo-spoilery terms, the LI pulls him out of a dangerous spot, and then they flirt for two seconds and walk off to have a beer for the rest of the day). There are a lot of ways this could be tweaked so that it makes more sense; at least to me, the easiest one would be to make the MC's fixation being about the dramatic element of "being saved". But it's not, it's about the pub chat they had, and frankly very little attention is paid at all to what feels like could actually be something to develop an infatuation over. A huge missed opportunity to let fantasy be fantasy. This isn't a contemporary romance where we have to buy into one character getting an absurd crush over another just by going out and talking over a drink. He saved your life! Why aren't you even a little fixated on that?? She doesn't need to be relatable, babes, she's fantasy.
🧙♂️Literally a day apart, our love interest has a knife to the protagonist to warn him not to even think about using magic, and then the very next day he's helping the MC put together a giant magical ritual. This is the sort of disparity that a dedicated editor would coax rewriting from the author about.
🧙♂️The way magic works is unbelievably cool, 10/10 no notes.
My nonspoilery review: There's a lot of potential in this book, in particular some really cool stuff when it comes to the worldbuilding (especially how healing magic works). With that being said, as it is with the ARC, a lot of that potential is squandered. Among the things that I believe would improve this book are a POV change (third person doesn't feel personal enough for how information is shared, and makes it confusing to decipher whether the largely contradictory information being conveyed throughout the text is factual and thus written poorly, or whether our protagonist is a bit of a moron. First person would clear that up in a jiffy.), a more dedicated approach to how people actually feel about magic/wizards, some restraint on how quickly the romance begins (as well as some reexamination on why it happens so quickly), and overall just a thorough scrubbing by a beta reader (unnecessary sentences that detract from the overall ambiance, incorrectly used words, plot development, etc.).
I love fantasy, I love gay romance, I love healing magic, and I want to love this book. Unfortunately, all of the grinding stop and starts due to the issues just kind of make it a slog to get through, with the bright points being the way magic is described and the dialogue the protagonist has with women.
After this point are my slightly spoilery train of thought notes written in real time while reading Twisted Magic, which get a little more in depth regarding my criticisms and praises of this ARC. I will not be spoiling the plot or the ending:
🧙♂️The writing is fairly simplistic, with cut and dry sentence structures that, unfortunately, don't possess a particularly unique tonal quality or perspective that would make the text more dynamic to read. That is to say, it doesn't feel like our MC's pov has a tone that makes these flat, uncomplicated sentences sound like a character choice, but rather that you're reading an adult book written at an elementary grade level.
🧙♂️"Korin ducked in and out of several different guesthouses, looking for a specific thing." This sort of telling instead of showing that has popped up quite a bit feels reminiscent of fan-translated Chinese novels, where such a language structure is more normal. It doesn't really suit an English novel written by someone who, presumably, speaks English as a first language.
🧙♂️"I'd of guessed fifteen." This is a pretty simple error that an editor or beta reader would have caught. And while there are examples later that suggest this is just a quirk of speech (e.g. "None a yours."), due to the clunkiness found in the rest of the book, the trust required to put in the author to accept speech quirks outright has not been built.
🧙♂️"He bolted the food, not wanting to keep Marta waiting." I have never seen the term "bolted" used to describe eating food quickly, and I would hazard to guess that it is not correct. Luckily, there are many other words that could apply.
🧙♂️I really can't go on listing every single strange choice of words, weird grammar quirks, and telling-not-showing happening here. This review would be its own novel. Suffice it to say, investing in a good beta reader or editor would be tremendously helpful, as well as a really thorough rewrite that either pumps out more dynamic sentences, or focuses on making the current simplicity of the writing more character-based.
🧙♂️The way the MC's healing powers work is described is incredibly cool. I loved how that first scene played out, and I'm obsessed with healing magic, so that really locked me in.
🧙♂️The worldbuilding when conveyed through character interactions is really good; it's a tricky needle to thread that not many authors get right, but reading it here feels really organic and informative.
🧙♂️One thing that feels odd that may be cleared up better later is that our MC is terrified of being found out as a wizard at first, but immediately we receive info on how prevalent wizards are in society. He freely shares info about the different orders, and we learn that at least one wizard is just a random handyman/plumber/electrician at the poorest part of town. A lot happens right away that renders the protagonist's fear of being identified totally moot. Why would he be so scared of it and then talk about it openly within 24 hours? It feels like we're supposed to believe that wizards are reviled and magic is scary, but also they have public guilds that take walk-ins for their services, and openly wear the identifiable crests of their orders. It just makes the protag's fear feel superfluous, drama for drama's sake. Yes, he came from a place where there were few, but he's had so much life experience since. Update: we do fortunately learn more about this, but at times it still feels like we leap between extremes. Like we can't decide whether wizards are considered to be Good or Bad, even though they're part of everyday life. Even their differing abilities don't really seem to matter much, just the practitioners.
🧙♂️I always find it an interesting choice when fantasy settings have identical foods to ours. Coffee, chocolate, guava fruit.
🧙♂️A particular pattern of telling instead of showing that has come up often enough to warrant a comment: [Statement of fact.][Several sentences of descriptive language showing this fact that are perfectly serviceable without the initial sentence.] This would read something like: "The house was abandoned. Ivy crept along windows long untouched. The garden around the house may have once been carefully tended, but now only dried brambles and twisting vines remained. It was impossible to tell when the chipped and sun-worn front door had last seen a fresh coat of paint." The first sentence is totally unnecessary, right? The number of paragraphs that read like this are staggering.
🧙♂️Naturally, the moment our quiet, wartorn shell of a protagonist meets his love interest, he transforms from wizard to rizzard.
🧙♂️"Shepard bless" is interesting. Given that it appears to refer to a deity, a beta reader could have pinged this as a common misspelling of "shepherd". But maybe there's just some guy our protag is swearing upon.
🧙♂️The instalove between our protagonist and love interest is a bit clunky. Most instalove is. I wouldn't have minded seeing this drawn out far more. Like, it's happening so quickly that it's making me think that the LI is a red herring.
🧙♂️I want to reiterate how weird the juxtaposition is between Magic Bad and Magic Good - just a few pages apart, MC is nearly knifed for even being suspected of showing magic by a FRIENDLY person, the love interest, and then with just a few flips of the page, we learn that a low-income inn has several magical services it pays for on the regular, including burning actual literal shit away. It just doesn't gel the way it could with more explanation, or a thorough examination of what people actually believe about magic/wizards. And like, there IS a lot of that, but then what we see just doesn't really add up. Like, you've got wizards coming around fixing the lights and incinerating the contents of the latrine, but our wizard protag fears angry mobs and violence just by walking down the street. The more I read, the more I think everything would just make more sense if the prejudice was about CERTAIN wizard groups or CERTAIN types of magic, because it just doesn't make sense as blanket prejudice if they're doing all this other mundane helpful stuff all the time to the point where they're almost like, public servants and respected tradesmen.
🧙♂️There's an interesting comment we get from our main character's perspective that there "aren't that many wizards in the world", but not only is he constantly seeing them out and about, like we get the impression just from his little walks about town that you can't throw a dead dog without hitting a wizard, but even in "the least populous edge of the least populated kingdom in all the world" there's still a school with double digit students. This is either nonsensical worldbuilding, or our MC is a bit of a dullard with no head for large numbers. Imagine a seasoned and apprenticed plumber peeking inside a trade school and going, "Gosh, there can't be this many plumbers in the world."
🧙♂️A big reason the instalove with the LI is so jarring is due to the influence it has on the protagonist. He literally calls it a "distraction" when he just spent an afternoon chatting with the guy, a circumstance that also felt sort of anticlimactic given that the way they meet had the potential to be pretty intense (in subtle paeudo-spoilery terms, the LI pulls him out of a dangerous spot, and then they flirt for two seconds and walk off to have a beer for the rest of the day). There are a lot of ways this could be tweaked so that it makes more sense; at least to me, the easiest one would be to make the MC's fixation being about the dramatic element of "being saved". But it's not, it's about the pub chat they had, and frankly very little attention is paid at all to what feels like could actually be something to develop an infatuation over. A huge missed opportunity to let fantasy be fantasy. This isn't a contemporary romance where we have to buy into one character getting an absurd crush over another just by going out and talking over a drink. He saved your life! Why aren't you even a little fixated on that?? She doesn't need to be relatable, babes, she's fantasy.
🧙♂️Literally a day apart, our love interest has a knife to the protagonist to warn him not to even think about using magic, and then the very next day he's helping the MC put together a giant magical ritual. This is the sort of disparity that a dedicated editor would coax rewriting from the author about.
🧙♂️The way magic works is unbelievably cool, 10/10 no notes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 6, 2024
Thank you to Netgalley, Barbara J. Webb, and the publisher for the arc.
3.5 rounded up. This would be a great book to start with if you are looking to dip a toe into fantasy. The plot was accessible and straightforward with queer romance, a little mystery, and a lot of magic. If you are looking for a 500-600 pager with ultra detailed world building, this may not be the one for you. That being said, the amount laid out in 188 pages was impressive and did not feel lacking.
By page 2, I was in love with Korin's wholesome demeanor despite the dark past he is trying to move forward from. I am all for a story with a mysterious blight, and healing magic being the primary focus was refreshing. Korin and Adan's relationship fell flat for me at first due to a lack of tension, but it grew on me as the book progressed.
Overall, even with some dark undertones, this book gave me warm fuzzy feelings. I look forward to book #2.
3.5 rounded up. This would be a great book to start with if you are looking to dip a toe into fantasy. The plot was accessible and straightforward with queer romance, a little mystery, and a lot of magic. If you are looking for a 500-600 pager with ultra detailed world building, this may not be the one for you. That being said, the amount laid out in 188 pages was impressive and did not feel lacking.
By page 2, I was in love with Korin's wholesome demeanor despite the dark past he is trying to move forward from. I am all for a story with a mysterious blight, and healing magic being the primary focus was refreshing. Korin and Adan's relationship fell flat for me at first due to a lack of tension, but it grew on me as the book progressed.
Overall, even with some dark undertones, this book gave me warm fuzzy feelings. I look forward to book #2.
August 4, 2024
After the war, and after losing everything and everyone, Korin travels to Triome, capital of Ritalle, said to be the greatest city in the world and the perfect place to hide, even a wizard.
Korin is trying to escape his past life and the war, but when he finds a man showing a blight he had seen before caused by the ones who killed his people, he’s determined to find the source and stop it, and happens to gain the help of a mysterious and handsome noble firstborn.
This was such a delight to read! Sometimes, I really need a novella length book to break up series or longer books I’m reading just to enjoy a quick adventure.
Although being a quick read, this had a lot of depth to it. There is a lot packed into this story. A vast world with a history and a magical system, different kingdoms with unique aspects, and what seems to be humans, wizards and elf-like figures called firstborns.
The plot itself is suspenseful and romantic. There’s hints about Korin’s past life that makes you question what happened to him and the war he endured. He’s understandably wary of those around him and has to learn to acclimate to a new place that is more accepting of wizards, and the way he grows, or maybe, grows into who he was before, is hard to watch since he struggles, but comes out on top.
The romance in here is fast, but no less tension-filled. I really enjoyed the romance. It might be because I really liked the characters, and it helps accept a fast instalove romance. They seemed to relate to each other without truly realizing it.
There is even a bit of a twist in here that I didn’t expect and I should have, which added an element of surprise to the story which made me love it even more.
I know it’s a fast book, but I do wish there was more explanation about the history of this world and why there was a war in the south but not where Korin came to. Or the difference between Knights and Wizards. There’s explanation of parts, but I could use more, which the next book may provide!
I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to more in this series! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the gifted e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Korin is trying to escape his past life and the war, but when he finds a man showing a blight he had seen before caused by the ones who killed his people, he’s determined to find the source and stop it, and happens to gain the help of a mysterious and handsome noble firstborn.
This was such a delight to read! Sometimes, I really need a novella length book to break up series or longer books I’m reading just to enjoy a quick adventure.
Although being a quick read, this had a lot of depth to it. There is a lot packed into this story. A vast world with a history and a magical system, different kingdoms with unique aspects, and what seems to be humans, wizards and elf-like figures called firstborns.
The plot itself is suspenseful and romantic. There’s hints about Korin’s past life that makes you question what happened to him and the war he endured. He’s understandably wary of those around him and has to learn to acclimate to a new place that is more accepting of wizards, and the way he grows, or maybe, grows into who he was before, is hard to watch since he struggles, but comes out on top.
The romance in here is fast, but no less tension-filled. I really enjoyed the romance. It might be because I really liked the characters, and it helps accept a fast instalove romance. They seemed to relate to each other without truly realizing it.
There is even a bit of a twist in here that I didn’t expect and I should have, which added an element of surprise to the story which made me love it even more.
I know it’s a fast book, but I do wish there was more explanation about the history of this world and why there was a war in the south but not where Korin came to. Or the difference between Knights and Wizards. There’s explanation of parts, but I could use more, which the next book may provide!
I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to more in this series! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the gifted e-copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
May 29, 2024
Before beginning, I would just like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a copy of this book!
In all honesty, this was a pleasure to read. It felt light and enjoyable, I was able to appreciate the lovable character and warm atmosphere. Although I did really enjoy that Webb added splashes of darkness, just to make the plot and characters that bit more interesting.
For such a short novel, the world was shockingly well-developed. I do wish more time however was spent explaining certain intricacies of the world. A world map would have been an incredible help in trying to visualise certain aspects in the book. Still, most importantly, the world felt alive.
The characters themselves were great as well! Korin was simply a lovely character. Even with side characters, such as Marta, I found myself growing attached despite their limited appearance. One of my favourite aspects of fantasy is combining the fantastical with reality. When a reader somehow relates to a tale about evil trees and magical knights, that to me is a sign of an excellent fantasy author.
I just loved the relationship between Korin and Adan, both combining to be a fun mix of trauma and hope. Once more my only critique is that I wish the book was extended. There were certain moments between the two that were so adorable and I wanted as a reader to sit in those moments and savour them. I felt the same with the plot also, while I could understand it well, I think it could have benefitted slightly with more detail. Simply to add to the depth of emotions the reader can feel as the story unfolds.
Nonetheless, I genuinely adored this book. It was charming, warm and authentic. A perfect read for those who want to immerse themselves into a cute love story and enthralling plot.
In all honesty, this was a pleasure to read. It felt light and enjoyable, I was able to appreciate the lovable character and warm atmosphere. Although I did really enjoy that Webb added splashes of darkness, just to make the plot and characters that bit more interesting.
For such a short novel, the world was shockingly well-developed. I do wish more time however was spent explaining certain intricacies of the world. A world map would have been an incredible help in trying to visualise certain aspects in the book. Still, most importantly, the world felt alive.
The characters themselves were great as well! Korin was simply a lovely character. Even with side characters, such as Marta, I found myself growing attached despite their limited appearance. One of my favourite aspects of fantasy is combining the fantastical with reality. When a reader somehow relates to a tale about evil trees and magical knights, that to me is a sign of an excellent fantasy author.
I just loved the relationship between Korin and Adan, both combining to be a fun mix of trauma and hope. Once more my only critique is that I wish the book was extended. There were certain moments between the two that were so adorable and I wanted as a reader to sit in those moments and savour them. I felt the same with the plot also, while I could understand it well, I think it could have benefitted slightly with more detail. Simply to add to the depth of emotions the reader can feel as the story unfolds.
Nonetheless, I genuinely adored this book. It was charming, warm and authentic. A perfect read for those who want to immerse themselves into a cute love story and enthralling plot.
August 18, 2024
The writing is a bit choppy and jarring at times, but not to the point of being unreadable. This author also loves their em dashes, and as a huge em dash user myself—I’m in full support lol. There’s a lot of telling rather than showing, and, as others have pointed out, some poor or weird word choices.
However, at no point was this enough to make me stop reading.
I’m not the biggest fan of ‘insta love’ unless it makes sense to the plot, but there is a bit of it in this book. Well, maybe not insta love, but definitely some insta attraction. While I enjoyed the characters Korin and Adan, I wasn’t necessarily in love with them. However, I did like their dynamic—think grumpy wizard x sunshine highborn.
My absolute favorite thing about this book, and what made it a good read, was the world-building. Yes, the world-building is very very simple, yet it is still super intriguing. This is incredibly hard to do. Maybe it’s because I usually play support when I play video games, but I really loved the healing magic and how she used salt—genius. Additionally, how the author explained minor things such as hauntings and curses in the context of magic really added to this cool world. There was also a delightful little twist towards the end that kept it interesting.
In my opinion, this was a cozy read. While the subject matter is a bit on the darker side, I wasn’t rushing to finish it, nor was I stopping. It was the perfect book for me to read bit by bit before bed over the past week.
This isn’t a long book, and it’s quite rough around the edges, but all in all, if you enjoy MM fantasy romance with a bit of spice, I would highly recommend it.
I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author.
However, at no point was this enough to make me stop reading.
I’m not the biggest fan of ‘insta love’ unless it makes sense to the plot, but there is a bit of it in this book. Well, maybe not insta love, but definitely some insta attraction. While I enjoyed the characters Korin and Adan, I wasn’t necessarily in love with them. However, I did like their dynamic—think grumpy wizard x sunshine highborn.
My absolute favorite thing about this book, and what made it a good read, was the world-building. Yes, the world-building is very very simple, yet it is still super intriguing. This is incredibly hard to do. Maybe it’s because I usually play support when I play video games, but I really loved the healing magic and how she used salt—genius. Additionally, how the author explained minor things such as hauntings and curses in the context of magic really added to this cool world. There was also a delightful little twist towards the end that kept it interesting.
In my opinion, this was a cozy read. While the subject matter is a bit on the darker side, I wasn’t rushing to finish it, nor was I stopping. It was the perfect book for me to read bit by bit before bed over the past week.
This isn’t a long book, and it’s quite rough around the edges, but all in all, if you enjoy MM fantasy romance with a bit of spice, I would highly recommend it.
I will definitely be looking out for more books by this author.
July 16, 2024
Twisted Magic
Korin has escaped from his war-torn homeland after everyone he knew was killed. He arrives in Triom for a fresh start but still looks over his shoulder. He's not used to a place that isn't automatically weary of magic, but eventually he finds purpose and even friends. One friend is the very mysterious and handsome Àdan. Korin is immediately drawn to Dan but guilt wars within him. But when an oddly familiar magical plague shows itself, Korin let's Àdan help him track down any of the infected. But there's more than meets the eye in Korins's new life.
Ok. I love Korin. I love Àdan. I love Marta and her girls. I love Renee. Even from only Korins's point of view, all of these guys jumped off the page!
The magic and world isn't gone way into depth but really with the narrator not being fully knowledgeable in all the different magics, ot works. I think something a bit longer could have benefited more in depth world building.
The pace was good and it was easy to keep turning the pages. But again, I wanted something a bit longer. I wanted more time with Korin bonding with all his new friends. More time with him learning new things about magic and himself. More interactions with Àdan.
It has a little spice, some dark themes, and some really great characters. Seriously, if anything, read this for the characters.
Korin has escaped from his war-torn homeland after everyone he knew was killed. He arrives in Triom for a fresh start but still looks over his shoulder. He's not used to a place that isn't automatically weary of magic, but eventually he finds purpose and even friends. One friend is the very mysterious and handsome Àdan. Korin is immediately drawn to Dan but guilt wars within him. But when an oddly familiar magical plague shows itself, Korin let's Àdan help him track down any of the infected. But there's more than meets the eye in Korins's new life.
Ok. I love Korin. I love Àdan. I love Marta and her girls. I love Renee. Even from only Korins's point of view, all of these guys jumped off the page!
The magic and world isn't gone way into depth but really with the narrator not being fully knowledgeable in all the different magics, ot works. I think something a bit longer could have benefited more in depth world building.
The pace was good and it was easy to keep turning the pages. But again, I wanted something a bit longer. I wanted more time with Korin bonding with all his new friends. More time with him learning new things about magic and himself. More interactions with Àdan.
It has a little spice, some dark themes, and some really great characters. Seriously, if anything, read this for the characters.
July 7, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Frontier's publishing for this e-ARC!
The book was a quick easy read but felt underdeveloped.
I very much enjoyed Korin as our main character and his struggles with his guilt. I also really liked the idea of the nine orders of Wizards with varying reputations (except we didn't get any lore on them, even Korin's order). The underlying mystery of finding the source of an unknown illness was a good idea in theory. However, we didn't get answers for anything and this plot became secondary to the Knight-Wizard plot which we also didn't get answers for. I understand that this is the first in a series but you have to provide some details of your world and magic system for the reader to care about what happens.
There was also a dearth of characters beyond Korin, Renee and his love interest. There were side characters at the inn and the Knight-Wizards but they barely had any page time.
Webb also engaged in too much of telling instead of showing. She summarized conversations instead of having them play out on page which would have been way more interesting.
All in all, there were good ideas but they severely lacked for development.
The book was a quick easy read but felt underdeveloped.
I very much enjoyed Korin as our main character and his struggles with his guilt. I also really liked the idea of the nine orders of Wizards with varying reputations (except we didn't get any lore on them, even Korin's order). The underlying mystery of finding the source of an unknown illness was a good idea in theory. However, we didn't get answers for anything and this plot became secondary to the Knight-Wizard plot which we also didn't get answers for. I understand that this is the first in a series but you have to provide some details of your world and magic system for the reader to care about what happens.
There was also a dearth of characters beyond Korin, Renee and his love interest. There were side characters at the inn and the Knight-Wizards but they barely had any page time.
Webb also engaged in too much of telling instead of showing. She summarized conversations instead of having them play out on page which would have been way more interesting.
All in all, there were good ideas but they severely lacked for development.
August 6, 2024
Twisted Magic by Barbara J. Webb is a fascinating introduction to the world with a detailed world of magic that had me swept up into the character of Korin and Triome much faster than anticipated. Not only has she created an intriguing world but the characters are sympathetic and complex.
One of the primary reasons I loved the story was the complexity of the relationship between Korin and Adan, how the blight spreads and how the magic, especially Korin's, is described. Nothing is simple, not the war, not the knights and certainly not the wizards and that complexity makes for a truly interesting read. It would be interesting to know more about the rest of the world and more about other characters in the city but overall, it is a great first book in a series that sets up more for the characters to do in future.
If you like fantasy with a romantic twist, a romance between two men and a detailed world full of magic, this story is worth checking out. It is the first book so there is a lot being set up but I certainly enjoyed the relationships and can’t wait to read the next book to see where the author takes the characters from here.
One of the primary reasons I loved the story was the complexity of the relationship between Korin and Adan, how the blight spreads and how the magic, especially Korin's, is described. Nothing is simple, not the war, not the knights and certainly not the wizards and that complexity makes for a truly interesting read. It would be interesting to know more about the rest of the world and more about other characters in the city but overall, it is a great first book in a series that sets up more for the characters to do in future.
If you like fantasy with a romantic twist, a romance between two men and a detailed world full of magic, this story is worth checking out. It is the first book so there is a lot being set up but I certainly enjoyed the relationships and can’t wait to read the next book to see where the author takes the characters from here.
June 9, 2024
Thank you to the author and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for a honest review.
"Twisted Magic" is the first in this series and it does a good job of setting up the setting / worldbuilding. I really like the idea of different wizard orders and the areas they cover. Something not always mentioned in these fantasy setting is what it must be like to be a commoner witnessing all this magic, how it can be amazing for the wizards but terrifying for them, which is why i am glad that this story starts to delve into this. Also i am always a sucker for MM fantasy stories.
There is a few editing / pacing issues but not enough to majorly impact the book.
I would be interested to see where this series goes and hopefully the next book continues to build off the solid foundation set by the first.
"Twisted Magic" is the first in this series and it does a good job of setting up the setting / worldbuilding. I really like the idea of different wizard orders and the areas they cover. Something not always mentioned in these fantasy setting is what it must be like to be a commoner witnessing all this magic, how it can be amazing for the wizards but terrifying for them, which is why i am glad that this story starts to delve into this. Also i am always a sucker for MM fantasy stories.
There is a few editing / pacing issues but not enough to majorly impact the book.
I would be interested to see where this series goes and hopefully the next book continues to build off the solid foundation set by the first.
July 16, 2024
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Fantastic, 10 out of 10, loved this book. I loved it so much that when I finished the book I actually flinched in disappointment, something that has never happened to me before. I was captivated by the story and characters and fell head first into the world so easily. I love that we start after a big event happened and dealing with some of the fallout from that. I feel like I've never read a book with that framing device before and it was refreshingly enjoyable.
I will definitely be getting the next book in the series when it comes out in Dec 2024. This book gets bonus points for being a good representation of LGBTQIA+ people and relationships. My only con for the book is I wish it was longer! There's a sneak peek of book 2 at the end of this book which will tide me over.
#NetGalley #TwistedMagic
Fantastic, 10 out of 10, loved this book. I loved it so much that when I finished the book I actually flinched in disappointment, something that has never happened to me before. I was captivated by the story and characters and fell head first into the world so easily. I love that we start after a big event happened and dealing with some of the fallout from that. I feel like I've never read a book with that framing device before and it was refreshingly enjoyable.
I will definitely be getting the next book in the series when it comes out in Dec 2024. This book gets bonus points for being a good representation of LGBTQIA+ people and relationships. My only con for the book is I wish it was longer! There's a sneak peek of book 2 at the end of this book which will tide me over.
#NetGalley #TwistedMagic
June 29, 2025
This was extremely short. I enjoyed the world building and the story setup. The main character's backstory is compelling enough. Though I feel bad for him, particularly because that backstory involved him being the only one of his friends who wanted to live instead of pointlessly giving their lives over to a senseless angry mob. There's definitely a good-for-him narrative going on here with a highly competent male lead who's a traumatized wizard with actual common sense, and an ironically aligned love interest and former enemy who's also cursed with common sense and boy is he hurting from it. I'd just like the story to have been longer. I realize there are more parts now, and would recommend it to m/m fantasy lit fans. I just hope it gets put together as one long novel eventually. 👍
July 30, 2024
Do not be put off with the 188 pages, the author puts a lot into this book and they made it feel that it was twice as long. The worldbuilding happened throughout the book. As I was following Korin on his journey, I could imaging what he was seeing and feeling. From the moment I met Korin, I could see that he was someone that need some TLC and when you read about what he had gone through to get to Triome, you could understand why when he arrived he looked so worn down.
Adan was a pleasant surprise and you could see the chemistry between him and Korin. This book had everything, romance, fantasy and even a mystery surrounding an illness.
I really want to know what happens next so will definitely look out for the next in the series
Adan was a pleasant surprise and you could see the chemistry between him and Korin. This book had everything, romance, fantasy and even a mystery surrounding an illness.
I really want to know what happens next so will definitely look out for the next in the series
October 4, 2024
2.5⭐
It was my first time reading a book by this author, and I was really looking forward to it; the synopsis was intriguing to me. However, it fell short for me.
The war's main focus was a bit triggering for me at the moment, so I struggled to get into this one. Also, the insta love is not something I like in books (and I am aware it is a short book, however, I read short books with a great love story). I prefer a good slow-burn romance. I was looking for tension and angst, which was not there. The writing was not really to my taste.
If I had been in a different headspace and preferred this kind of love, I would have enjoyed it far more, but unfortunately, it was not for me.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC of this book; I appreciate it.
It was my first time reading a book by this author, and I was really looking forward to it; the synopsis was intriguing to me. However, it fell short for me.
The war's main focus was a bit triggering for me at the moment, so I struggled to get into this one. Also, the insta love is not something I like in books (and I am aware it is a short book, however, I read short books with a great love story). I prefer a good slow-burn romance. I was looking for tension and angst, which was not there. The writing was not really to my taste.
If I had been in a different headspace and preferred this kind of love, I would have enjoyed it far more, but unfortunately, it was not for me.
Thank you, NetGalley, for the eARC of this book; I appreciate it.
July 25, 2024
thanks to netgalley for the arc -
A cute novella that I read through very quickly.
The story was endearing and heartwarming. The characters were adorable, and the romance happened quickly but I felt it was given enough time to breathe.
The amount of world building that this book accomplishes in its very few pages puts a lot of other books to shame if I'm being quite honest.
There were a number of grammatical errors, and I didn't always love the prose at time, but it's still an ARC so I'm sure a lot of it will be cleaned up.
If you want something short, sweet, and magical then this one is for you.
A cute novella that I read through very quickly.
The story was endearing and heartwarming. The characters were adorable, and the romance happened quickly but I felt it was given enough time to breathe.
The amount of world building that this book accomplishes in its very few pages puts a lot of other books to shame if I'm being quite honest.
There were a number of grammatical errors, and I didn't always love the prose at time, but it's still an ARC so I'm sure a lot of it will be cleaned up.
If you want something short, sweet, and magical then this one is for you.
September 2, 2024
This book felt like an extended prologue. It was full of world-building and info dumps, not much happened until the brief climax, and nothing was really resolved by the end. I kept waiting for the story to really get started, and when it finally did, it was over.
The idea and characters held potential, but I felt like I was never allowed to truly know them as the reader.
This book gets 3 stars because, in my opinion, it wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't great. It was okay.
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC.
The idea and characters held potential, but I felt like I was never allowed to truly know them as the reader.
This book gets 3 stars because, in my opinion, it wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't great. It was okay.
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the ARC.
June 7, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for the advance reader copy.
I enjoyed this more than I thought and I think because the author kept it simple in their execution of the story.
We had great world building and a magic system that can be built more upon as more books enter the series but the ‘rules’ were clear.
I think this would be great for those wanting to start reading fantasy due to its length.
I enjoyed this more than I thought and I think because the author kept it simple in their execution of the story.
We had great world building and a magic system that can be built more upon as more books enter the series but the ‘rules’ were clear.
I think this would be great for those wanting to start reading fantasy due to its length.
June 13, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this story and will look forward to book two. I'm seeing other reviews commenting on grammatical errors, which usually dump me out of a book (the errors, not the reviews), but I didn't notice an undue amount of problems. Yes, there were some plot holes, but I was having enough fun reading that I didn't dwell on them. Overall, I was invested in the POV character and I'll gladly read more about him.
My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.
My thanks to the publisher/NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.
August 11, 2025
Korin and Adan may have been attracted to each other a bit too quickly, but I enjoyed the development of their relationship in a queernormative society. Good secondary characters, interesting magic system. Still, with so many books on my list, I don’t think I’ll be continuing this trilogy.
June 17, 2024
Excellent book! Really draws you into the magical world. Fantastic plot twist that I didn’t see coming. Can’t wait to read the next book in the series in Dec 24
November 17, 2024
So good!!!
March 5, 2025
AN ENJOYABLE READ.
I really liked the characters and storyline. This was a well paced read and had an engaging story. Definitely glad I read!
I really liked the characters and storyline. This was a well paced read and had an engaging story. Definitely glad I read!
August 9, 2024
4.5/5
I requested this ARC with no expectations, don't usually read novellas, but I ended up loving it so much! Could not put it down. Twisted Magic is such a sweet story, it reads as borderline cozy fantasy but has also some dark undertones and subtle social commentary. But ultimately it read as a story of love and redemption.
What I loved the most
-The love story was super cute! Korin was such a lovely MC and Ádan... I think I love him.
-The redemption story arc. Very well executed.
-The worldbuilding. The author managed to create a world with a lot of history and a cool magic system in such few pages while still mainly focusing on the characters.
-Boy, was it spicy! Caught me off-guard, but in a good way.
What I didn't like
-The author states that she has a non-traditional relationship with grammar, which I respect but do not enjoy. The prose is also quite simple and the sentence-by-sentence somewhat rough.
But then again, the novel is currently going through a last edit, so those things will likely be polished a bit.
All together, this was a great read! Didn't get boring for one second. I only wish the book would've been fleshed out, I felt like there was room for that, and I didn't want to leave the world and the characters behind so quickly. (That being said, I really respect that the author just wrote the story she wanted to wrote, how she didn't add any unnecessary fluff just to add to the page count.)
But luckily, Twisted Magic is the first in a series! The second part will be releasing in December.
I requested this ARC with no expectations, don't usually read novellas, but I ended up loving it so much! Could not put it down. Twisted Magic is such a sweet story, it reads as borderline cozy fantasy but has also some dark undertones and subtle social commentary. But ultimately it read as a story of love and redemption.
What I loved the most
-The love story was super cute! Korin was such a lovely MC and Ádan... I think I love him.
-The redemption story arc. Very well executed.
-The worldbuilding. The author managed to create a world with a lot of history and a cool magic system in such few pages while still mainly focusing on the characters.
-Boy, was it spicy! Caught me off-guard, but in a good way.
What I didn't like
-The author states that she has a non-traditional relationship with grammar, which I respect but do not enjoy. The prose is also quite simple and the sentence-by-sentence somewhat rough.
But then again, the novel is currently going through a last edit, so those things will likely be polished a bit.
All together, this was a great read! Didn't get boring for one second. I only wish the book would've been fleshed out, I felt like there was room for that, and I didn't want to leave the world and the characters behind so quickly. (That being said, I really respect that the author just wrote the story she wanted to wrote, how she didn't add any unnecessary fluff just to add to the page count.)
But luckily, Twisted Magic is the first in a series! The second part will be releasing in December.
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