Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner

Oct 31, 2019 Miranda Reads rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The crowd parted for her. Always did. They might scream, but they weren't stupid.

On the one hand, we have Onna.

A wonderfully brilliant, Hermione-esque girl spends all her free time working her parameters (mathematical spells).

She's lasered focused her entire childhood on training her mind in order to go the finest arcane academy of the land....only things do not go to plan.

...because it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair that she could be clever and polite and work hard and mind her elders and smile prettily and mind her

...more

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Oct 24, 2019 Nilufer Ozmekik rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Easily likeable, relatable, smartly-developed characters, lots of magic, super powers plus amazing girl power, intriguing, hooking plot, entertaining, smart, different and attention capturing writing and a great start as a debut author!

As a summary: I enjoyed it, I liked it, without thinking a second giving my four stars.

Fantasy is a risky genre because there is so many YA fantasy books have been releasing and there is a tough, merciless competition between the books. There are so Easily likeable, relatable, smartly-developed characters, lots of magic, super powers plus amazing girl power, intriguing, hooking plot, entertaining, smart, different and attention capturing writing and a great start as a debut author!

As a summary: I enjoyed it, I liked it, without thinking a second giving my four stars.

Fantasy is a risky genre because there is so many YA fantasy books have been releasing and there is a tough, merciless competition between the books. There are so many PR campaigns and advertisements on the social media talking about those books and their blurbs to seek your attention to pre-order them immediately. Especially so many successful and reputational authors release their new series and you expect too much from them but you may see some most anticipated books turn into big disappointments and some indie, new authors’ debut novels may turn into amazing hits.

This book is not a big hit but it is fresh, different approach with simple, entertaining way of story-telling, at some parts the pacing is getting slower but at the end with easily expectable twists, pacing is getting faster and action parts get the control of the book.

Best thing about the book: Simple, clear not so complicating story with less but strong characters: Onna is a gifted and smart girl attends to magic school and discovers her more secret powers, finds herself to solve troll murders teaming up with Tsira, king’s daughter who is having hard time to find her identity and adapt her family life.

Surprisingly I enjoyed Tsira and Jeckran’s connection ( troll and human close relationship, but trust me you root for them)

It’s a good book to get lost in magical world to get away from your daily stressful life and let the characters give you quick ride at the different kind of universes. Last quarter of the book is really fast paced, even haphazard and sudden ending makes your head spin because you got used to spend time and connect with the characters so I wished I could read more about their stories.

As I admitted before it is above the average, different, original book with witty, riveting, not unputdownable but there is no reason to put down or stop reading kind of enjoyable journey. I wish I can read more upcoming works of this brilliant writer.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group to share this fascinating ARC COPY in exchange my honest review. I always enjoy to discover new writers and their brand new amazing works. ...more

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Nov 06, 2019 Lauren Stoolfire rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner is a refreshingly standalone fantasy novel with a brilliant cast of characters and intriguing magic system. I can honestly say that I'd love to see more of this world in the future, whether it's a spin off or companion novel. While I loved getting to know all of the diverse characters who pop right off the page, I became the most attached to Onna who has a great arc. I particularly appreciated her intelligence a/>Unnatural ...more

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Jul 02, 2019 Eryn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019

This book took me away. It took me away to an exciting and fascinating world where trolls are the dominant species and have an entirely different view on gender roles and still need to learn to live with inferior but still mighty humans.

I loved Onna's physics/chemistry-like magic. I *LOVED* the relationship between Tsira and Jeckran (never thought I'd be shipping a troll and a human, but here I am). Even more I appreciated the societal roles in troll society like Reig and Vahn, and how a Reig c ...more

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May 27, 2019 Lara Donnelly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

MORE TO COME, BUT THIS WAS PHENOMENAL

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Sep 26, 2019 Kaycee Sterling rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreads-giveaway

This book gave me so much more than I was expecting. Two stories, two amazing female leads, and two completely different adventures but it all comes together to make one amazing read. As one might expect, trolls and humans/wizards are very different species but live in a world together in mostly harmony until Trolls start getting murdered by wizards.

Tsira is a half-Troll who goes out on her own to prove her worth to her clan. She saves a man named Jeckran and their relationship bloom ...more

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Oct 20, 2019 Amy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaways-and-arcs

It took me a little bit to get into the book at first, but then I fell in love!
I loved the characters and the world building. Not so sure about how Onna just fell into her apprenticeship- but overall - love, love, love. I hope that she writes more and this becomes a series??

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Aug 31, 2019 Ari rated it liked it

Shelves: 2019-read

Very nicely written, with a flair of style similar to what one considers one of the “classics” written a couple of centuries back. The book is a bit dense at times, however, and I trudged through now and again wanting to get to the matter of the murder mystery. Along with this, a lot of information that has no context at first is thrown out, leaving you floundering at the beginning.

But the way in which magic is explained, as well as characters themselves do make up for it—for the mos ...more

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Oct 26, 2019 Karyn Silverman rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nook, specfic, 2019-reads, arcs

Brilliant. Thoroughly original world within the gas lamp/faux-tourism parameters I like — along the lines while being nothing like the Brennan dragon books. Wonderfully diverse both from a real world perspective and within the world created, and I love that it’s a world with real issues related to race and class but it’s also a world in which almost everyone seems to be bisexual EVEN IN UPTIGHT DAESLUND. The various countries and their interactions are background but thoroughly real, so that the Brilliant. Thoroughly original world within the gas lamp/faux-tourism parameters I like — along the lines while being nothing like the Brennan dragon books. Wonderfully diverse both from a real world perspective and within the world created, and I love that it’s a world with real issues related to race and class but it’s also a world in which almost everyone seems to be bisexual EVEN IN UPTIGHT DAESLUND. The various countries and their interactions are background but thoroughly real, so that the world feels radical but also thoroughly lived in. I loved all three perspective characters (maybe Jeckram most, he’s so dry and cynical, and Tsira’s voice least, but she is fantastic), and am willing to forgive that I 100% knew who the murderer was from the first moment we got to know the character. I foresee many mystery-fantasy mashups in the future, based on some foreshadowing at the end, and while the mystery plotting is weaker than the character or world development, it provides a solid propulsive plot to keep the pages turning (although also I could just read the adventures of Loga and Onna in wizard society and be fine with that, darling). Splendid.

Oh! Also some real gems of descriptive writing; I highlighted a few that I especially delighted in:

The stories nestled themselves into her head and created a sort of horrid wax mold into which her brain poured her own petty anxieties.

A dark-haired young person with a face that suggested he had spent his entire childhood watching his bread and butter fall to the floor butter-side down.

He was used to wirelessly crashing about in other people’s sensibilities like a wild boar in a laboratory.

She was in the habit of apologizing for making faces that men thought weren’t very pretty. It occurred to her, very briefly, that she resented being made to think about her face when she was trying to focus on the contents of her _mind_.

...if using the phrase _delicious magenta taffeta_ doesn’t make you some sort of radical, then there’s no reason for the word!
...more

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Sep 28, 2019 Jordan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019

This was really fun, I enjoyed it a lot! Full review to come soon.

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Sep 02, 2019 Hillary rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Fair warning: The world building took awhile - I was easily 20% done before i felt remotely invested. But. Once you get in you won't want to leave.

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Sep 29, 2019 Janet (MommyTheReader) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: gr-giveaways, arc

I loved these characters! 💜 I'm always looking for something different in books, something that sets a story apart from everything else I've ever read. I found that here with Tsira, a character so refreshingly unique, she's become one of my all time favorite characters. I'm sure I'll never forget her.

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Nov 08, 2019 Kitty Marie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-books, november-tbr, books-finished, arcs

Unnatural Magic is a unique and mature fantasy debut with two distinct viewpoints occuring in different regions. The setting and atmosphere brings to mind a sort of victorian era, but imbued with magic. This is the first time I’ve ever read a fantasy novel that was quite fixated on trolls living among and communicating with humans harmoniously. The trolls in Unnatural Magic are broader and stronger than humans. They have a matriarchal culture that contrasts interestingly with the the patriarchal Unnatural Magic is a unique and mature fantasy debut with two distinct viewpoints occuring in different regions. The setting and atmosphere brings to mind a sort of victorian era, but imbued with magic. This is the first time I’ve ever read a fantasy novel that was quite fixated on trolls living among and communicating with humans harmoniously. The trolls in Unnatural Magic are broader and stronger than humans. They have a matriarchal culture that contrasts interestingly with the the patriarchal one of humans.

The first viewpoint is Onna’s, she is a young human woman- a studious pupil of magic who wishes to attend an elite magic academy. She’s rejected entry, mainly due to a preference for wizards over witches that prevails in her culture. Undeterred, she travels far and is finally recognized- becoming the protege of a gifted magician with a mysterious past. Together, they are looking for a murderer who has been targeting trolls and threatening the relative peace the two races have been starting to attain.

I almost DNF’d this book early on after reading a few of Onna’s chapters. The writing during her sections aims for a sort of elegance that came off as too decorated, and full of technical world building info dumps that I found barely digestible. The plot during Onna’s sections can be summed up quickly, and I found myself barely able to stand the world of humans in this book. Their conversations, their stuffy culture, even Onna is sadly bland more often than not in the way she carries herself and her thought processes.

However, there is a whole other perspective- that of a troll named Tsira and a human soldier Jeckran. On the cusp of DNF’ing, I encountered these chapters and was immersed. The writing style during these sections is more free-flowing (if often crude) and by far more eventful. Tsira is likable and fascinating. The way she and Jeckran interact is startlingly unique, as they come from very different regions yet grow close after traveling together on what starts off as a thrillingly dangerous journey. Tsira is a powerful warrior and future leader, Jeckran is a sort of damsel-in-distress who is eventually able to hold his own and is enamored by Tsira’s strength.

Their relationship is a real inversion of traditional roles, bringing something very unconventional that I’ve never seen focused so closely upon in fantasy. Once their adventure was fully underway, even Onna’s chapters became easier to read as I tried to focus on the many creative tidbits that merge to create a full picture of this world.

This is a case where the amount of effort that went into this book is so noticeable and admirable, but certain larger plot elements that should have been fascinating and garner much interest (the murder mystery that plays a role from beginning to end, unmasking the culprit) just left me cold and not that interested. The ending is also weirdly abrupt. Overall, a mixed bag.

Overall Rating – 6/10

Why You Should Try It – Highly detailed and unusual world, trolls and humans being the main focus. The cultural norms developed here are well developed and contrast in an interesting way. I liked Tsira and Jeckran. The highly differing styles of the two stark viewpoints (Onna vs Tsira & Jeckran) show great versatility.

Why You Might Not Like It – I didn’t care for Onna and her companions, the style of her chapters was consistently unappealing. The climax called for more excitement. The writing can serious plod in a stuffy sort of way.

Note : Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an ARC of this title for the purpose of review. ...more

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Oct 22, 2019 Katie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 (which I rarely do!). Tamora Pierce wrote a blurb for this book, so I even though I didn't really have a good idea of what to expect plot-wise, I knew I'd be in for a treat.

This book involves two different sets of characters, each on their own journey that eventually leads them to meet up. One thread of the story follows Onna, a gifted young girl who outclasses all the boys at her rural school and wishes to head to an elite magical academy. Unfortunately, s 4.5 stars, rounded up to 5 (which I rarely do!). Tamora Pierce wrote a blurb for this book, so I even though I didn't really have a good idea of what to expect plot-wise, I knew I'd be in for a treat.

This book involves two different sets of characters, each on their own journey that eventually leads them to meet up. One thread of the story follows Onna, a gifted young girl who outclasses all the boys at her rural school and wishes to head to an elite magical academy. Unfortunately, she is denied admission since she is a girl. Onna searches for another way to achieve her dream of a magical education and finds herself drawn into a bit more adventure than she realizes.

The other part of the story (my FAVORITE by FAR, and that's nothing at all against Onna) follows Tsira, a half-troll somewhat estranged from her clan members, who rescues Jeckran, a human soldier found nearly dead in the snow. Soon Tsira and Jeckran find themselves collaborating as they get to know each other past their respective biases after an unknown mage attacks them. (I sometimes had to flip ahead a few pages when the narration switched away from these two because I had to know what was going to happen!!)

The system of magic here is quite interesting. Mages use written "parameters" to work spells, which are similar to mathematical proofs, of a kind. Onna is able to derive and memorize complex parameters that allow her to do her spellcasting, while most mages rely on their notes and/or shortcuts. Aside from the magic element, the coexistence of the trolls and humans in this world makes for interesting politics.

I loved these characters, especially Onna (who wants some of the adventure she reads about in her books, but not too much! as she mostly wants to study) and Tsira (struggling to grow into the mantle of leadership her clan wants her to accept despite her half-human status). However, Jeckran's narration was absolutely delightful (but no spoilers) and some of the high-society characters you meet later in the book are also very fun to read about, especially through Onna's small-town eyes.

One really interesting part of the book, highlighted by the cover blurbs, is the gender politics of the troll world. Trolls don't have concepts of male and female; rather, they identify people by the roles they take on in troll society, which can change. This was a very original concept that Waggoner did a great job exploring.

Now to one of my favorite parts of the novel, and probably the reason I liked it SO much: This book had ALL KINDS of good tropes, including hurt/comfort, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and mutual pining! Seriously, they are SO well done and made me feel (in the BEST possible way) like I was reading a fanfic.

Note: Thank you to Berkeley Publishing Group from whom I received an advanced readers copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway. ...more

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Oct 03, 2019 Brittany Smith rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Woooooow. I absolutely devoured this book. It had me laughing, sharing little tidbits with my friends. It was such an enjoyable and engaging read compared to what I’ve read lately.
The premise and world building and characterization were all amazing. The book itself showcased many different places, people, and cultures as well as languages and customs so it was thoroughly planned and well executed.
I don’t know if I’ve ever read a single book with a race of trolls not considered evil! ...more

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Oct 08, 2019 Katie Montgomery rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: loved-you-so-much

If you have a Sorcerer to the Crown shaped hole in your heart, Y'ALL, THIS IS THE ONE. Overlaps include:

*period appropriate prose
*melanin ahoy
*a richly built-out world that elegantly avoids insane amounts of exposition
*thoughtful examination of privilege, gender, and genre norms
*super queer
*strong, sassy heroines whom the gentlemen struggle to keep up with
*witty repartee, in which members of the nobility are regularly sassed
*magical colleges ...more

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Nov 03, 2019 Cassidee Lanstra rated it liked it · review of another edition

Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner

I would like to thank Netgalley and Berkeley Publishing group for approving me for this early copy to review.

Unnatural Magic gets 3.5 stars from me. The premise of the story really intrigued me. It follows a couple storylines. Onna is a brilliant young woman who has studied to enter a prestigious wizarding school. She is clearly the best wizard of her age but is still denied from the school because she’s a woman. She eventually ends up going to anothe ...more

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Nov 07, 2019 Yolanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

**Review will be posted to my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on November 4, 2019**

Thank you to ACE and Netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read this eARC.

My reason for requesting this on NetGalley was first and foremost the cover. I love it and then the synopsis mentioned magic and trolls? Well it definitely piqued my curiosity!

But when I started this book I thought maybe I had made a mistake and I wasn’t sure I would be interested in even finishing this book. I thought okay, a **Review will be posted to my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on November 4, 2019**

Thank you to ACE and Netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read this eARC.

My reason for requesting this on NetGalley was first and foremost the cover. I love it and then the synopsis mentioned magic and trolls? Well it definitely piqued my curiosity!

But when I started this book I thought maybe I had made a mistake and I wasn’t sure I would be interested in even finishing this book. I thought okay, a girl who is trying to get into a school with mostly boys…nothing new there. I put it aside for a few weeks and finally came back to it and wow, I did not stop! Though this story starts off with a teenage girl named Onna – this is not a young adult novel. It has cursing and lots of sexual themes exploring a romance between a troll and a human male. Yes there is troll sex. 😲

There are two main characters in this story. Onna, is a seventeen year old genius wizard and it’s rare for a girl to exhibit these traits. She is trying to get into a school to further her studies but her gender works against her, no matter how smart she is. Tsira is a troll, who is half human, but in her troll community she is too small, and not considered good looking among her people. She leaves her clan to make her own living, earning her own money but Tsira is also conflicted with her cultural rules about begetting a clan.

Though their paths and lives are different there is one thing Onna and Tsira have in common, they are trying to figure out who is the serial killer on the loose targeting trolls.

The world building in Unnatural Magic is so unique! I love how smart Onna is even though at times I didn’t understand parameter spells – it’s basically complicated math, enough said on that. She’s smart! She thinks out of the box and Onna doesn’t give up, which I love about her.

The most fascinating part of the story has to be about the trolls. It was so interesting to learn about their customer and way of life. Females (and some with male parts) ruled the clans! Tsira’s vahn (which I didn’t totally understand right away), vahn being her “wife” but a male wife – in her case, a human male, was totally the submissive one in the relationship. Tsira and Jeckran’s romance is different and unconventional – Tsira is very masculine, and 10 feet tall! So just trying to imagine how they managed to do the deed was…interesting! 🤔 But hey they managed it! Anyway there is a lot to learn about troll life. I was learning along with Jeckran (Tsira’s vahn). In this world for the most part trolls and humans lived together side by side peacefully until the murders occur. Then we start to see how some humans resent trolls and their magic.

There are other colorful characters in this story, one of my favorites being the Lord Mage, Loga, of Hexos. Onna becomes his apprentice and he is quite humorous and flamboyant, I enjoyed his fun personality!

As for the mystery of the troll murderer, I did have my suspicions and I was right. Onna, Loga, Tsira and Jeckran made a great team together hunting down the killer. This book really had a bit of everything and it pushed my imagination in ways I didn’t expect! It has a happily ever after ending as well but also leaves me wondering what will happen to these characters? Will Tsira and Jeckran be okay? The author did a great job of making me care for these characters. 💕

This is a fantastic debut and I hope to read more from this author! Unnatural Magic is an unforgettable fantasy story full of complicated magic, humor, adventure, mystery and romance. ...more

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Oct 05, 2019 Shelby rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I’ll admit this wasn’t anything like I was expecting, but in a good way!
I don’t know that I’ve ever read anything like this before. It was a very imaginative storyline!

In this book, we follow parallel storylines of two very different women:

Tsira is a half-troll who has left her clan to do some soul searching after struggling to feel like she had a place or could really ever conform to their traditions.
She’s truly a loner at this point, living in a cave instead of s ...more

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Nov 03, 2019 Michaela Whitney rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019-read, books-won

I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for review.

4.5
So this one was a really original set up, and world. It was really well thought out, had two great, independent female main characters. For whom things don't go as originally planned, but they won't allow family or society or stupid male wizards to make the decisions about how their lives should be lived.

Onna's is brilliant at numbers and magical perimeters, she's spent most of her life preparing for the I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for review.

4.5
So this one was a really original set up, and world. It was really well thought out, had two great, independent female main characters. For whom things don't go as originally planned, but they won't allow family or society or stupid male wizards to make the decisions about how their lives should be lived.

Onna's is brilliant at numbers and magical perimeters, she's spent most of her life preparing for the hope that she can get into the big wizard university. But they're horribly sexist and classist. As she isn't descended from a headsman family ( descended from trolls) and from a poor rather unknown town only known for making pencil erasers. Her dream becomes a rather difficult thing to pull off.

Several very interesting countries are built up, one is very religious and uptight (Daesland)- who pride themselves on mimicking the cultures and appearance of Trolls, extra bonus if you can call yourself descended from them, or one of the original families. But they also have a very open policy on sexuality. Which was incredibly refreshing. Hexos is a melting pot of different cultures and places, and they have the greatest wizard in the world there, called The Great Lord Mage, much less uptight and open.

Tsira is a Troll, her mother is a Reig - a head of a troll clan (Reigs can be both men and women), those that join their clans are Vahns- (both men and women) who are taken in by the Reig) - again completely open in sexuality. The Trolls have a really interesting dynamics. Although human- troll relationships are still somewhat unconventional (even with Daeslandic people having Troll descent)
Tsira has left her clan, against their wishes because she wants to remain a Reig, and lives alone rather unconventionally. Her life changes when she finds an unconscious defected solider half frozen in the snow.

The writing was interesting, switching between Onna's Pov and Tsira's pov, I promise you they will meet in the middle of the journey and help each other. I liked them for being so forthright with their wishes, and constantly putting themselves forward for what they wanted. It's not to say they didn't have help a long the way, but their journeys were propelled by their own will and merit.

The book is a bit dense and info heavy because it's so complex, but you'll find real, well written characters, with zero hero complexes, no fancy hero dudes fixing everything. No chosen ones.
Just two smart intelligent women making their way through the world.
...more

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Nov 14, 2019 Amanda rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: own, got-in-mail, review-copy

You can also read my review here: https://devouringbooks2017.wordpress....

Review: 5 stars

Unnatural Magic is a book I have wanted ever since I first heard of it. A while back I had read Amanda Hocking’s Trylle series and ever since then I have wanted to find more books about trolls. I had high hopes of going into reading this boo, but I had no idea just how much I would love this story. Unnatural Magic was truly a magical read and I can’t explain how enjoyable my reading experience really was.

The characters You can also read my review here: https://devouringbooks2017.wordpress....

Review: 5 stars

Unnatural Magic is a book I have wanted ever since I first heard of it. A while back I had read Amanda Hocking’s Trylle series and ever since then I have wanted to find more books about trolls. I had high hopes of going into reading this boo, but I had no idea just how much I would love this story. Unnatural Magic was truly a magical read and I can’t explain how enjoyable my reading experience really was.

The characters were what made this book so special. Onna was my favorite character. I loved her personality from the start, but watching her grow throughout the book into a confident young wizard made my heart happy. Jekran and Tsaria were also really entertaining to read about and I enjoyed how the point of view switched between the two plot lines. It took a long time for the plot lines to converge, so for a while it felt lie you got two books in one in the best way possible. I loved the way that trolls were depicted in this story. Their rich culture was interesting, but I also loved how they didn’t focus on gender as much as they did roles in society.

I think the thing that I loved the most about Unnatural Magic was the magic system. Magic wasn’t simple in this book, it took writing mathematical parameters and then executing them. The way it was described was so unique and very different from any other book I had ever read about magic. The possibilities were endless and I loved that in order to be good at magic wizards had to be really intelligent. The details included about the magic system and how it worked really helped bring the story to life.

I am a little disappointed because it looks like this might be a stand alone novel, but at the same time the story did feel complete. This is one of the few books that I would love to re-read and hope to introduce to many of my friends. This book had me so emotionally invested and filled me with so much joy. I’m just sad that I finished it. ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 Sarah Wright rated it really liked it · review of another edition

3.5/5 stars — imaginative adult fantasy with a murder mystery plot

Unnatural Magic is a low fantasy story with a Victorian atmosphere and three voiced main characters. The character plots are: a teenage magical prodigy setting out to get an education in a largely male-dominated world, a young(ish) half-troll woman carving out a place for herself even though she doesn't fully fit in either human or troll society, and a former soldier at loose ends after becoming a deserter. These threads are tied toge/>Unnatural ...more

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Sep 09, 2019 Sandra rated it liked it · review of another edition

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not going to lie, this was a tough book for me to get through. I thought I was going to shelve it closer to the beginning and had a hard time investing myself in the story. I'm not sure if it was the long build-up of the world and its magic, perhaps simply not being in right frame of mind for it, or if it was the writing style itself -- which can't be it because, despite not getting b ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 Jenny GB rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaway

I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads Giveaways. Thank you!

I'm impressed by Waggoner's first novel. In the book, we follow three main characters. Onna has strong magical talent, but where she lives her gender holds her back from discovering just how good she can be until she goes to Hexos. Tsira is a half-human half-troll leader in a troll society that values her strength but belittles her because of her mixed race. Finally, we have Jeckran a disgraced human soldier w ...more

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Oct 22, 2019 Karissa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

I got this book through NetGalley to review. It sounded right up my alley, however I struggled to even get through the first couple chapters. This book is incredibly dense, it is written more like a text book than a fantasy novel and I was not in the mood to read something like that. I may have to pick it up at a different time.

This book switches between Onna’s POV (a student at a magic school) and a young troll. That’s as far as I got into the story. It took me forever just to read ...more

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Sep 29, 2019 Beth rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I won a copy of the ARC of UNNATURAL MAGIC by C. M. Waggoner in a sweepstakes. Hooray! Free Book!

UNNATURAL MAGIC follows two people through their adventures from their homes to their eventual meeting. Onna is the best student at her school, but because she is a young woman, she is not accepted into Weltsir University. Denied her original goal, Onna decides to find some other way to gain the education she desires.

Tsira is a troll, the daughter of the clan leader, but her mother keeps ...more

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Sep 26, 2019 Meghan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: library

This book was received as an ARC from Berkley Publishing Group - Ace in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

My expectations were unclear just from reading the description of this book. I thought the book was going to be like the movie Practical Magic in using gifted talents to serve the good but Unnatural Magic had a different approach. Unnatural Magic tells the story of Tsira and Onna. Onna is a young girl who attends m ...more

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Oct 30, 2019 Stephanie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Onna has always been gifted with math and magic. Her ability to write the parameters of a spell surpasses everyone else’s. Yet she’s always been looked down upon, as people don’t think she’s as capable as the male wizards she competes against.

Jeckran is a soldier, trying to track down the trolls that have murdered some humans. But when he runs away and nearly dies, he’s found by Tsira, a half-troll, who nurses him back to health and then befriends him.

Troll and human rela ...more

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Nov 05, 2019 Angela rated it liked it · review of another edition

I received this as an eARC to read for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me access.

I struggled to finish this book. While trying to decide if I should DNF this or not, I stuck with it some more.

We start with different POVs and it honestly feels like 2 separate stories. Two fantasies smashed into one. Magic and Trolls. That being said, this story is completely original, and I haven't read anything like it before.

It is very uni ...more

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Nov 04, 2019 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: laura-s-2019-faves

Enter a fantastic world of magic, wizards, and trolls. I truly enjoyed this whimsical world the author created! As I was reading, I was transported into a magical world. Escape from reality! The way magic works in this world is different. I was fascinated by the different approach to gender roles and the sexuality of the characters. There are some slow parts and there is a great deal of information to digest but as whole its a highly enthralling read! The characters were diverse and well written ...more

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