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The Magician's Ward
(Mairelon #2)
by
Happy in her new life as an apprentice to the powerful magician Mairelon, 16-year-old Kim is horrified when a nosy relative determines to turn Kim - a former street urchin - into. . .a lady! But real trouble begins when several wizards of Kim's acquaintance disappear. Then Mairelon's magic disappears!
It's up to Kim to unravel the mystery. And to do that she will have to r ...more
It's up to Kim to unravel the mystery. And to do that she will have to r ...more
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Paperback, 320 pages
Published
September 16th 2002
by Starscape
(first published November 1st 1997)
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kat m
Definitely read the first book before this one. Or you can read both at once in her book A Matter of Magic.
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of The Magician's Ward (Mairelon, Book 2)

Jan 18, 2017
Deborah O'Carroll
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
own,
ya,
romance,
5-stars-awesome,
2018-reads,
regency-fantasy,
2017-reads,
faves,
epic-character-i-love,
reviewed
Re-read August 2018
Original review, January 2017
Georgette Heyer meets Diana Wynne Jones (though without quite the ridiculously wild shenanigans/characters and not as uproariously funny, yet still amusing in its own right) in a Jonathan-Strange-esque historical fantasy setting. Basically, this is a Regency Romance with magic. How delightful is that? :D
It’s technically a sequel... but I got along just fine without having read the first book (titled Mairelon the Magician).
Our heroine, Kim, is a for ...more
Original review, January 2017
Georgette Heyer meets Diana Wynne Jones (though without quite the ridiculously wild shenanigans/characters and not as uproariously funny, yet still amusing in its own right) in a Jonathan-Strange-esque historical fantasy setting. Basically, this is a Regency Romance with magic. How delightful is that? :D
It’s technically a sequel... but I got along just fine without having read the first book (titled Mairelon the Magician).
Our heroine, Kim, is a for ...more

This book was excellent and carried with it all the originality I was seeking in the first one. Kim is now a magician's apprentice and ward, and so acceptable to polite society. Besides her magic lessons, she must handle her debut and endless social calls and niceties. But a singularly inept burglar suddenly brings her past back and she must work with Mairelon to save her old friends...
Perhaps because I've read/listened to so many crappy Regency novels recently, I particularly appreciated the wa ...more
Perhaps because I've read/listened to so many crappy Regency novels recently, I particularly appreciated the wa ...more

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.

Well, I liked this more than the first. I liked the trapping of the Season. (I wish more of the Regency romances focused on the actual season!) But the plot wasn't great for me. And the romance didn't work for me and if you don't have that, then what's the bother of reading!?!? (view spoiler)
...more

I'm not really one to use the phrase "delightful romp" and mean it, but I feel it's rather the case in this book. Unlike some of her other novels, this book is more of a story of gentry and Society - and, of course, Kim's coming out- than one of magic and mayhem, though there's a bit of that thrown in, too. If you're looking for mystical adventures, you should look somewhere else. If you'd like instead a sort of coming of age story of a female magician in Society, then you're rather in the right
...more

Kim struggles simultaneously with her education in magic, adjusting to a new social class, discovering (and foiling) an evil plot, and falling in love with her mentor.
A good book, but lacking the originality of the first volume. I wish so many authors didn't feel that they must add romance to every story. ...more
A good book, but lacking the originality of the first volume. I wish so many authors didn't feel that they must add romance to every story. ...more

Mar 01, 2009
Cassie
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
bookwyrm_chrysalis_reviews
Kim has played the part of a thieving boy for most of her life, hiding her gender being the safer alternative to revealing herself as a girl in the dark underbelly of Regency London. But she knows this career path will soon come to an end, as at seventeen she is quickly outgrowing her disguise. When a job leads her into Mairelon the magician’s wagon, she finds real magic and an opportunity to become someone new.
Following Mairelon as he flees from the city, she quickly finds herself lost in a plo ...more
Following Mairelon as he flees from the city, she quickly finds herself lost in a plo ...more

This is one of my favorite Regency romances, and one of the books that created a craving for more Regency fantasy (there isn't much, sadly). It's pure fun, but not the confectionery sugar kind: more the kind with peanuts, something substantial and sweet. The intrigue is, like the first book, twisting and convoluted and potentially deadly for everyone involved, and it never feels like an afterthought. But the part of the story that fascinated me was Kit's constant struggle to try to fit in with S
...more

Re-read the last book for about the zillionth time. XD

I vaguely remember not being impressed by the first book in this series.
I was therefore surprised how much I liked this book.
The main character, Kim, is getting used to living with her guardian Mairelon. She is learning magic and getting used to living among the gentry.
An unknown enemy seems to be stealing magic from wizards, placing both Kim and her guardian in a precarious position.
It's funny and riveting. I really sympathized with Kim.
Great book! ...more
I was therefore surprised how much I liked this book.
The main character, Kim, is getting used to living with her guardian Mairelon. She is learning magic and getting used to living among the gentry.
An unknown enemy seems to be stealing magic from wizards, placing both Kim and her guardian in a precarious position.
It's funny and riveting. I really sympathized with Kim.
Great book! ...more

Aug 26, 2019
loise✨
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ebooks,
enjoyed,
historical-fiction,
romance,
young-adult,
magic,
cutesy-ish,
mystery-crime
if you’re in the mood for something light-hearted, filled with some good old romping fun, a cascade of tropes, or as our heroine puts it “something out of the drury lane comedy” i think you'll like this duology as much as i did. i feel like the first book reads like a middle-grade while this one is more young-adult, i guess. but it overall made me feel like a child again, giddy with excitement over how will our heroine take on this regency, magic-filled adventure.
...more

Sep 06, 2017
Kate
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
escape-from-poor-island,
here-be-magic
Once, just once, I would love to read a fantasy novel featuring an older male magician and his younger female protege in which they don't get together at the end.
This is not that fantasy novel, but is still an enjoyable read. ...more
This is not that fantasy novel, but is still an enjoyable read. ...more

2019 - bk 414. Kim now has to dress as befitting a young lady, ward to Mairelon - I mean Merrill. She is also apprenticed to him and despite her misgivings, coming along nicely. So nicely that she has both suitors and is able to take over, with the help of his mother, the houses defenses when Merrill loses his magic. Some of the plot devices are similar to Sorcery & Cecelia in the losing of magic. It is Kim's spunkiness that saves the day in the end. I do wish there were a third book in the seri
...more

The sequel to Mairelon the Magician. Spoilers for that ahead.
Kim finds London, magic lessons, the prospects of a Season, and Mairelon's aunt who is effectively her chaperon much more tedious than she expected when she agreed to become his war. Though when she hears noises in the night, and goes to investigate, she not only finds a burglar, but one who is using magic. Attempting to track down what he was interested in, in the library and elsewhere, leads to more complications. A friend of Kim's f ...more
Kim finds London, magic lessons, the prospects of a Season, and Mairelon's aunt who is effectively her chaperon much more tedious than she expected when she agreed to become his war. Though when she hears noises in the night, and goes to investigate, she not only finds a burglar, but one who is using magic. Attempting to track down what he was interested in, in the library and elsewhere, leads to more complications. A friend of Kim's f ...more

n this sequel to Mairelon the Magician, Kim is back, this time as Mairelon's ward, and facing the previously unknown horrors of London Society! Kim enjoys her magic lessons with Mairelon but dreads Society. Chaperoned by Mairelon's strict aunt and eccentric mother, Kim is unprepared for Society's reaction to their newest debutante. She tries to appeal to her guardian, but he is mostly interested in the mysterious nighttime prowler who is attempting to steal a rare, magical book from his library.
...more

I liked this book A LOT better than its predecessor. Namely because Kim takes control early on and doesn't let go. She gets angry when Mairelon tries to boss her around, and she admits that she'd rather end up on the street than be controlled by someone else. In another book that would end with her admitting that she needs Mairelon and should give into his wishes. Thank god this is not that book.
Instead it becomes more about both of them becoming willing to trust each other and listen and so on ...more
Instead it becomes more about both of them becoming willing to trust each other and listen and so on ...more

I'm not particularly adept at writing reviews, but man. This book had me. First, don't read this unless you've read the first book, "Mairelon the Magician". Honestly, I could have used more romance and a bit more character development for more of the supporting characters, but I really loved the way things played out so I can't complain!
...more

I don't love this quite as much as I love Mairelon the Magician, but it's a decent follow-up. The book is inherently inferior because Mairelon is present for a significantly lesser part of it, and Kim is also an extremely passive character. I wish she had rebelled a bit more against the strictures of Society, though there is one instance of rebellion that makes me laugh with glee every time. Also, reiterating what I wrote in my review of the first book, I do wish Wrede hadn't left these characte
...more

Mairelon's ward Kim must navigate the shoals of Society and learn spell-casting. Even minor roles are vividly drawn, with warm humor. "He only looked short because he was so round." p40 "Lord Stanton tried to look intelligent. Failing, he took another drink of brandy instead." p224
Kim returns to her old haunts, but local magickers have been threatened and taken. "The smell of coal smoke and uncollected horse dung, the sounds of drunken revelry from the public house on the corner, and most of al ...more
Kim returns to her old haunts, but local magickers have been threatened and taken. "The smell of coal smoke and uncollected horse dung, the sounds of drunken revelry from the public house on the corner, and most of al ...more

Re-reading this book was even more enjoyable than the first time through, especially since I finally had the chance to read the first book in the series, "Mairelon the Magician." I actually think "Magician's Ward" is a much stronger book, with a more interesting and clever plot, and a more entertaining blend of the highs and lows of London society. I enjoyed it immensely. Employing a witty blend of self-aware fantasy and Austen-like social commentary, Wrede has created a gem of escapist literatu
...more

My only quibble about this book is that I wish there were more Mairelon novels - or even ones about the other characters, as I'd love to read a book about Renee.
As with the other Mairelon book, Magician's Ward is a tightly written story about magic and fun characters and it ends on a high note that does tie things up neatly though I always miss the characters. Forever five stars. ...more
As with the other Mairelon book, Magician's Ward is a tightly written story about magic and fun characters and it ends on a high note that does tie things up neatly though I always miss the characters. Forever five stars. ...more

Jun 27, 2008
Teri
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
everyone, but kids and teens in particular
This is the sequel to "Mairelon the Magician," and I like this book almost as well as the first. Kim can be whiny in parts, but overall it's a great closing of Mairelon and Kim's stories.
...more

I basically adore Wrede, and all of her books. This one doesn't really break any new ground for her, but it doesn't really need to. It's fun and charming and wonderful.
...more

Apr 28, 2020
Emma Cathryne
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
good-romance,
fantasy,
romance-element,
ya,
alternate-history,
for-any-age,
strong-female-lead,
feel-good
This one was fun. I liked it better than the first one; it managed to have the same wit and cleverness without as much of the clunky info-dumping. I am also not immune to regency romance. Magician's Ward can ALMOST stand alone as its own novel, but I would still recommend reading Mairelon the Magician before proceeding with this one, just because the payoff of events in this book is much more enjoyable with development and context from the first book, even though I believe the second book is the
...more

Apr 02, 2018
Kira Nerys
rated it
it was ok
Shelves:
fantasy,
owned-read,
war-related,
magic,
woman-author,
mystery,
england-plus-royalty,
spies,
orphans,
kids-on-the-streets
I should confess that I read this without reading the first of the series, and was definitely aware of it via the literary tricks to remind the reader what happened. References to the first book show up constantly. With that said, the book's slowness allowed me to get my bearings, mid-story. It also dragged. It lacked energy, speed, and excitement. Frankly, it felt like a trial run for Wrede's later collaboration, Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. (view spoiler)
...more

4.5 Almost a 5... almost!
This book only gets a high score from me because I love Mairelon and Kim so much. But it has the same problem as the first one, the ending was sort of rushed. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a fun, quick read with a cute romance.
(view spoiler) ...more
This book only gets a high score from me because I love Mairelon and Kim so much. But it has the same problem as the first one, the ending was sort of rushed. I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a fun, quick read with a cute romance.
(view spoiler) ...more
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Patricia Collins Wrede was born in Chicago, Illinois and is the eldest of five children. She started writing in seventh grade. She attended Carleton College in Minnesota, where she majored in Biology and managed to avoid taking any English courses at all. She began work on her first novel, Shadow Magic, just after graduating from college in 1974. She finished it five years later and started her se
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