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Allie Beckstrom #1
Magic to the Bone
Devon Monk is casting a spell on the fantasy world...Using magic means it uses you back, and every spell exacts a price from its user. But some people get out of it by Offloading the cost of magic onto an innocent. Then it’s Allison Beckstrom’s job to identify the spell-caster. Allie would rather live a hand-to-mouth existence than accept the family fortune—and the strings that come with it. But when she finds a boy dying from a magical Offload that has her father’s signature all over it, Allie is thrown back into his world of black magic. And the forces she calls on in her quest for the truth will make her capable of things that some will do anything to control...
372 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 16, 2008
337 people are currently reading
11507 people want to read
About the author
Devon Monk
88 books2,061 followersDevon Monk is a national best selling writer of urban fantasy. Her series include Ordinary Magic, House Immortal, Allie Beckstrom, Broken Magic and Shame and Terric. She also writes the Age of Steam steampunk series, and the occasional short story which can be found in her collection: A Cup of Normal, and in various anthologies. She has one husband, two sons, and lives in Oregon. When not writing, Devon is either drinking too much coffee or knitting silly things.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 921 reviews
May 24, 2011
When I was a kid, and I fell sick, my mom used to give me this horrid porridge that was supposed to help me recover quicker. It was flat, bland, tasteless and coated my mouth in a way that made every mouthful a chore. Reading Magic to the Bone kind of reminded me of being back in bed, sick, and forced to eat some awful mush. This book is not exciting, it's not enchanting, it's not funny, it's just. plain. blah.
Allie Beckstrom is a Hound. In a world where the use of magic always extracts a price, it is her job to track down spellcasters who illegally Offload the cost of magic onto innocents. When Allie is called in to Hound a five-year old whose Offloaded illness bears the unmistakable signature of her rich, estranged father, it is up to her and her mysterious partner Zayvion to uncover the truth behind a conspiracy that is wider-spread than it seems.
There's a bunch of things that made me slog through this book despite a deep desire to cut my losses and move on. Devon Monk is a competent writer. By this, I mean, her story makes sense, she doesn't have any glaring grammatical or typographical errors, and her world-building is decent. An alternate reality where magic is not some pretty, easy thing with no consequences, where even the most powerful person needs to pay a price to use their talent, where there are limits to how you can use magic, where technology and magic co-exist, all of this adds up to the elements for a fascinating story.
So, of course, Monk would have to go ruin a perfectly good idea by making her heroine oh-so-special, oh-so-unique and oh-so-tortured. By creating a man who is so unnecessarily mysterious, he loses all mystique. By losing track of her plot and making her characters run all over the place with no clear destination in mind.
This is a book that could have been so much better than it actually was. Why do so many UF authors insist on making their heroines supernatural superstars who are too stupid to live? It's like a secret motto saying "With great power comes great stupidity".
Think about this. Allie is hurt, she has been shot in the chest by an assassin, and healed herself with magic. She is so weak, she's still seeing stars, and standing upright is a major task. Her lover/partner tells her to stay put while he goes out and finds them a safe hiding place. As soon as he's gone, she decides to get out. Not because she doesn't trust him. Not because she doesn't want to put him in danger. No, she's fucking off from there, even though just getting off the elevator almost puts her flat on her face, because she doesn't want to wait around for him to save her. Yes, I'm sure sensible people the world over will applaud her feminist instincts and her great sense of timing. Not to mention that she immediately takes off towards the most dangerous part of town. This woman's thinking makes no sense.
Like the time when she's being chased by some bounty hunter on the way to the police station. She evades her pursuer, grabs a cab and... three guesses as to where she heads. If you're guessing the police station, where she was going in the first place, you would be WRONG! No, our gutsy heroine decides to head to the seamiest part of town in search of.... a telephone! To call the police! Jesus H. Christ.
It's like Devon Monk has set points in her plotline- A,B,C,etc. And she doesn't really care how her heroine gets from A to B, as long as the end points are there. There is no forethought to her plotline, no idea that she's considered causes, effects, complexities.
Although I thought the chemistry between Allie and Zayvion was fine, Zayvion himself was kinda annoying, with his overt and meaningless compulsion to be cryptic. Even after he's declared his love for Allie, he doesn't tell her anything about himself, what he does, who is threatening the woman he claims to love, and other such unnecessary information. I'm sure I'm supposed to be waiting with bated breath to discover his deep, dark secrets in the second book, but I couldn't care less.
The only thing I liked in the book was the portrayal of Cody and his Kitten, and Allie's cavalier treatment of him annoyed me. Cody was the only character in the book who made me sit up, pay attention and feel some emotion that wasn't boredom. So, of course, Cody's story ended awkwardly, with no closure, except a couple of lines about him in a conversation. Ugh.
All in all, I'd say it was a book worth reading. If, you know, you were mysteriously shipwrecked on a desert island with no TV or internet and the only other book you were carrying with you was Hush, Hush.
Allie Beckstrom is a Hound. In a world where the use of magic always extracts a price, it is her job to track down spellcasters who illegally Offload the cost of magic onto innocents. When Allie is called in to Hound a five-year old whose Offloaded illness bears the unmistakable signature of her rich, estranged father, it is up to her and her mysterious partner Zayvion to uncover the truth behind a conspiracy that is wider-spread than it seems.
There's a bunch of things that made me slog through this book despite a deep desire to cut my losses and move on. Devon Monk is a competent writer. By this, I mean, her story makes sense, she doesn't have any glaring grammatical or typographical errors, and her world-building is decent. An alternate reality where magic is not some pretty, easy thing with no consequences, where even the most powerful person needs to pay a price to use their talent, where there are limits to how you can use magic, where technology and magic co-exist, all of this adds up to the elements for a fascinating story.
So, of course, Monk would have to go ruin a perfectly good idea by making her heroine oh-so-special, oh-so-unique and oh-so-tortured. By creating a man who is so unnecessarily mysterious, he loses all mystique. By losing track of her plot and making her characters run all over the place with no clear destination in mind.
This is a book that could have been so much better than it actually was. Why do so many UF authors insist on making their heroines supernatural superstars who are too stupid to live? It's like a secret motto saying "With great power comes great stupidity".
Think about this. Allie is hurt, she has been shot in the chest by an assassin, and healed herself with magic. She is so weak, she's still seeing stars, and standing upright is a major task. Her lover/partner tells her to stay put while he goes out and finds them a safe hiding place. As soon as he's gone, she decides to get out. Not because she doesn't trust him. Not because she doesn't want to put him in danger. No, she's fucking off from there, even though just getting off the elevator almost puts her flat on her face, because she doesn't want to wait around for him to save her. Yes, I'm sure sensible people the world over will applaud her feminist instincts and her great sense of timing. Not to mention that she immediately takes off towards the most dangerous part of town. This woman's thinking makes no sense.
Like the time when she's being chased by some bounty hunter on the way to the police station. She evades her pursuer, grabs a cab and... three guesses as to where she heads. If you're guessing the police station, where she was going in the first place, you would be WRONG! No, our gutsy heroine decides to head to the seamiest part of town in search of.... a telephone! To call the police! Jesus H. Christ.
It's like Devon Monk has set points in her plotline- A,B,C,etc. And she doesn't really care how her heroine gets from A to B, as long as the end points are there. There is no forethought to her plotline, no idea that she's considered causes, effects, complexities.
Although I thought the chemistry between Allie and Zayvion was fine, Zayvion himself was kinda annoying, with his overt and meaningless compulsion to be cryptic. Even after he's declared his love for Allie, he doesn't tell her anything about himself, what he does, who is threatening the woman he claims to love, and other such unnecessary information. I'm sure I'm supposed to be waiting with bated breath to discover his deep, dark secrets in the second book, but I couldn't care less.
The only thing I liked in the book was the portrayal of Cody and his Kitten, and Allie's cavalier treatment of him annoyed me. Cody was the only character in the book who made me sit up, pay attention and feel some emotion that wasn't boredom. So, of course, Cody's story ended awkwardly, with no closure, except a couple of lines about him in a conversation. Ugh.
All in all, I'd say it was a book worth reading. If, you know, you were mysteriously shipwrecked on a desert island with no TV or internet and the only other book you were carrying with you was Hush, Hush.
February 13, 2017
Magic to the Bone is another Urban Fantasy novel involving magic, but there are twists. When you use magic, you have to pay a price such as a memory or some sort of pain. People illegally push the costs off to victims, and that's where the MC comes into play; as a Hound, she tracks down people using magic illegally. Unfortunately for her, one of her clients leads back to a bad source, and soon there is a murder investigation and much higher stakes.
Allie is a likeable, guilt-stricken and stubborn heroine. There's not much that stands out about her other than her ability to focus much more magic. Since the first book is showing her just learning this still making mistakes, it's not that impressive just yet. Her choices are a little frustrating. While she's stubborn, she almost distrusts to the point of angst, jumps into relationships way too quickly, runs to the wrong people without thinking it through, argues against friends but bends to them anyway.
Honestly not much really goes on in this book, it just seems like it does. After the one boy is injured, there's one death and a tiny mystery Allie doesn't actually solve. She runs into the villains and then at the end they expose themselves.
On the plus side I appreciate the creative checks and balance system with this world of magic, the potential of future plots with the newly invented technology and Allie coming into her own powers. On the downside the book could have held more oomph action-wise and didn't need to dive so quickly into romantic zone.
Allie is a likeable, guilt-stricken and stubborn heroine. There's not much that stands out about her other than her ability to focus much more magic. Since the first book is showing her just learning this still making mistakes, it's not that impressive just yet. Her choices are a little frustrating. While she's stubborn, she almost distrusts to the point of angst, jumps into relationships way too quickly, runs to the wrong people without thinking it through, argues against friends but bends to them anyway.
Honestly not much really goes on in this book, it just seems like it does. After the one boy is injured, there's one death and a tiny mystery Allie doesn't actually solve. She runs into the villains and then at the end they expose themselves.
On the plus side I appreciate the creative checks and balance system with this world of magic, the potential of future plots with the newly invented technology and Allie coming into her own powers. On the downside the book could have held more oomph action-wise and didn't need to dive so quickly into romantic zone.
September 12, 2016
I dunno what to say about this one
This book was a bit of a rollercoaster, up, down, up again. The first part was interesting, with the new world and all that. I absolutely loved the idea that you have to "pay" to use magic (it was a first for me). Also loved the idea that magic was "discovered", "invented" even. Like fire or water or sliced bread.
So, I can say that I found a lot of really interesting things in this read. The bad part was that, after the "wow" thing passed, I kinda got bored. The story didn't make me curious and the characters weren't as good as I had hoped. And for some reason I really didn't like the male MC (he has a complicated name, something with a Y and an I and a V).
But after I decided that it's a boring book, it started being interesting again! Ok, only about the last 10%, but I absolutely loved loved loved the idea! Dunno why, maybe because it's new and all that, but I found it damn interesting to see that
So yeah, in the end, it did kind of make me curious about the next book in the series and what will happen. And who knows, maybe the writing gets better and the characters more interesting!
This book was a bit of a rollercoaster, up, down, up again. The first part was interesting, with the new world and all that. I absolutely loved the idea that you have to "pay" to use magic (it was a first for me). Also loved the idea that magic was "discovered", "invented" even. Like fire or water or sliced bread.
So, I can say that I found a lot of really interesting things in this read. The bad part was that, after the "wow" thing passed, I kinda got bored. The story didn't make me curious and the characters weren't as good as I had hoped. And for some reason I really didn't like the male MC (he has a complicated name, something with a Y and an I and a V).
But after I decided that it's a boring book, it started being interesting again! Ok, only about the last 10%, but I absolutely loved loved loved the idea! Dunno why, maybe because it's new and all that, but I found it damn interesting to see that
So yeah, in the end, it did kind of make me curious about the next book in the series and what will happen. And who knows, maybe the writing gets better and the characters more interesting!
March 11, 2009
New (to me) author Devon Monk has imagined a world where magic exists--but extracts a serious price from its users. The more magic you use, the bigger the price in pain, blood, or loss...unless you're rich enough, or ruthless enough, to transfer that price to someone else.
Allie knows all about magic's price. At least she would, if she could only remember. After all, her father and his wealthy corporation have their fingers in all the magic 'pies' in the world. And she was all set to follow in those footsteps and join the family business--until she worked herself free of her father's 'Influence magic'. Since then she's made her own life, and spends a lot of it tracking down those who misuse magic and turning them in to the authorities. So when her latest job reveals her father's magic 'signature', she tries not to be surprised. But all of a sudden, weird things start to happen, her father's dead, she's the number one suspect, and there's an incredibly handsome yet strange man who always seems to be around when things go badly. And did I forget to mention the almost dead man and his kitten?
A mysterious hunky man, lost memories, magical sex (although maybe not quite enough of it!), murder, a cute kitten, industrial espionage...this story has it all. The action is fast paced, the plot is well spun, and the romance vs. suspense quotient was just right for me. Monk has written a strong, yet emotionally vulnerable heroine with a drive for justice that often works against her best instincts. If I didn't know there was a second book coming, I would have found the author's website and hounded her for one! There's a lot of potential in her world and her characters and I'm hungry for more.
I loved the idea of a physical cost to magic and how that could play out in today's world. Devon Monk had me hooked from page three and I just couldn't stop reading 'til the end of this book. Now I'm tapping my toes waiting for "Magic in the Blood" to be released in May 2009 and hoping the story picks up right where this one left off!
Allie knows all about magic's price. At least she would, if she could only remember. After all, her father and his wealthy corporation have their fingers in all the magic 'pies' in the world. And she was all set to follow in those footsteps and join the family business--until she worked herself free of her father's 'Influence magic'. Since then she's made her own life, and spends a lot of it tracking down those who misuse magic and turning them in to the authorities. So when her latest job reveals her father's magic 'signature', she tries not to be surprised. But all of a sudden, weird things start to happen, her father's dead, she's the number one suspect, and there's an incredibly handsome yet strange man who always seems to be around when things go badly. And did I forget to mention the almost dead man and his kitten?
A mysterious hunky man, lost memories, magical sex (although maybe not quite enough of it!), murder, a cute kitten, industrial espionage...this story has it all. The action is fast paced, the plot is well spun, and the romance vs. suspense quotient was just right for me. Monk has written a strong, yet emotionally vulnerable heroine with a drive for justice that often works against her best instincts. If I didn't know there was a second book coming, I would have found the author's website and hounded her for one! There's a lot of potential in her world and her characters and I'm hungry for more.
I loved the idea of a physical cost to magic and how that could play out in today's world. Devon Monk had me hooked from page three and I just couldn't stop reading 'til the end of this book. Now I'm tapping my toes waiting for "Magic in the Blood" to be released in May 2009 and hoping the story picks up right where this one left off!
August 9, 2013
All right, y'all, now here's the thing; I read this series before I was on here and didn't go into it with the same thought process I have now. That doesn't mean that I love this series any less, it just means that I can admit that there are issues with this book that I hadn't really paid attention to before. This book has that First Book Syndrome, and Allie makes some questionable decisions, but this remains one of my favorite series.
The story is set in a world like ours, but unlike ours, magic is a real thing having been discovered some 30 years ago. Instead of most books that let magic be all kinds of wonderful (so many times in my
And I love it.
One of the ways the price of magic use is taken, is by having the inmates pay the price, and I thought that was absolutely awesome! Magic can make you pay by any number of ways including: flu, memory loss, bruising, fatigue, body pain, and so on. Other than the inmates serving their time as proxies, there are also people who do that for money. Then there are people who Offload the cost of their magic use on unsuspecting people.
That's where we first meet Allie. She is a Hound, someone that uses magic to track spells to their castors, and she's good. She Hounds a spell that hit a little boy and tracks it to her very powerful father. See, Allie's dad is the guy who basically invented ways for the people to use magic (storm rods), and he's not only a powerful figure because of that, but he's also a very powerful magic user. She isn't on good terms with him since he wasn't a very good dad, and when she traces the hit to him, it's the first time in seven years she's seen him. It is also the last.
Hounding the hit on the boy is only the beginning in a series of events that completely change Allie's life.
A little information on my girl. She's a 26 y/o Harvard grad, who gave up all her father's money and influence in order to make it on her own, and I love that about her. She's tough, and real, and knows how to work. She is flawed, and makes some choices that aren't exactly the Best Choice Ever, but whose perfect?! I love that she's able to mess up and move on.
Through her Hounding she met Zayvion. He's...something. In this book I remember how I didn't really like him too much, and the reread reminded me why. He does something in the end that I still feel wasn't resolved to my liking, but what can you do? He's a strong guy, both physically and magically, and Allie is drawn to him from the get go. I don't hate her for this, even if she made some bad timing calls with when to get a little dirty with him. Nobody is perfect. I can't say I'd be feeling horny if I had an unconscious dude in the backseat of the car, and smelled of garbage/cat pee/dirty river water, but hey, I'm not judging too harshly, lol.
About the ending .
It's hard to review this book based as the first since I have so many thoughts about the series as a whole, and have to keep stopping myself from pointing out bits that happen in the future, but I will say that if you can get past the First Book Syndrome than you won't be sorry. Assuming this type of world is up your alley obviously. I personally love the way Devon Monk writes, and have almost every one of her books. I love the characters, I love the world, I love the way they aren't perfect, and I love that as the series progresses we see lots of change in all of our main players.
I highly recommend this series to people who like a gritty story (though not as gritty as Stacia Kane's Downside--which I adore), flawed characters trying their best, humor, realism, action, and magic.
Here are a few quotes:
"Since he'd shown me no reason to trust or distrust him yet, out of convenience I distrusted him."
"There was something about that man that made me stop and want to look. Made me stop and want to feel."
"Good things do not come in small packages--mean things did."
"It was strange, but, in a way, she probably held more memories of my life than I did."
"I promise I'll stay as safe as I can. And since Zay refuses to leave me alone, I figure if things get bad, I can always shove him into the line of fire while I run like hell."
"Is there an option C? Take a vacation somewhere sunny, and drink a lot of rum until the world un-fucks itself?"
September 4, 2014
I finished 2 books today, quick audio reads and they've both been disappointments for me. Let me say here that both should have been labeled PNR (PareNormal Romance) rather than UF (Urban Fantasy). This book started out for me as maybe a high 3. It is a good idea (again a mage type character with a limited power that will obviously grow). Sadly it devolves quickly into soap opera with "concerns of the heart" trumping story. "Our" relationship with our father, our friends...and of course our on again off again love interest predominate. I got so tired of it.
The book starts out in an interesting manner with our protagonist using her "talent" to "hound out" who had foisted off the negative cost of his magic onto a boy. (This "boy is the son of one of our protagonist's friends. She has multiple sons and she calls all of them "boy". Every time that happened I flashed on Steven King's Dark Tower series and the "bumbler" they called boy and it would call itself "'oy" as like a dog it couldn't make a "b"). Our protagonist you see is a "hound". She can recognize a person's "magical signature" and trace or track them. The book's magical system is very much still in the formative stages. What had been the "rules" of magic are being broken so like the book's characters we are left to wonder what can happen and what can't.
As I said I liked how it opened till we got into the internal dialogues, emotional angst and of course the hot feelings shooting up our/her leg that have nothing to do with magic. I lost interest before the halfway mark, skipped a couple of pointless but explicit scenes (I assume the point was the romance and it's development). By the time we reached the climax (of the book not the characters) I was bored and ready for the book to end. Only the idea and the interesting opening save this from getting a one.
We are left with the requisite "more to come ending" and the "tiny clue" about what's to come. It's just not enough to draw me back in. Too bad really.
Another I'll have to try and get Audible to allow me to return.
The book starts out in an interesting manner with our protagonist using her "talent" to "hound out" who had foisted off the negative cost of his magic onto a boy. (This "boy is the son of one of our protagonist's friends. She has multiple sons and she calls all of them "boy". Every time that happened I flashed on Steven King's Dark Tower series and the "bumbler" they called boy and it would call itself "'oy" as like a dog it couldn't make a "b"). Our protagonist you see is a "hound". She can recognize a person's "magical signature" and trace or track them. The book's magical system is very much still in the formative stages. What had been the "rules" of magic are being broken so like the book's characters we are left to wonder what can happen and what can't.
As I said I liked how it opened till we got into the internal dialogues, emotional angst and of course the hot feelings shooting up our/her leg that have nothing to do with magic. I lost interest before the halfway mark, skipped a couple of pointless but explicit scenes (I assume the point was the romance and it's development). By the time we reached the climax (of the book not the characters) I was bored and ready for the book to end. Only the idea and the interesting opening save this from getting a one.
We are left with the requisite "more to come ending" and the "tiny clue" about what's to come. It's just not enough to draw me back in. Too bad really.
Another I'll have to try and get Audible to allow me to return.
February 21, 2018
This was a very promising start to a new-to-me series. I’m quite fussy about which UF series I get involved in, but this I liked. It seems that we have only touched the tip of the iceberg in terms of world building and what we know of the magic system. I liked the main protagonist, Allie Beckstrom as well as her friend Nora and the love interest, Zayvion. Looking forward to continuing the series.
October 24, 2012
I really like the world so far and how the magic works.
I didn't like that it switched from A's 1st person pov to third person pov for Cody. It was a little jarring. But then I felt so bad for Cody I did like his scene. I just don't like how it goes from 1st to 3rd person.
This is set in Portland which I enjoy, since I live in Portland. However I have a higher opinion of Saint Johns than the author does.
Some of the phrasing is weird to me, like: "My mouth watered so hard I had to swallow." some of the phrases just make me stop and go "huh". And the phrase, "oh, good loves." is really annoying, IMO.
Also the five or six guys all named "Boy" annoys me. I get tired of reading the word boy over and over
The whole diner scene is slow and seems pointless. I don't care to read about her listing over her soup. Or him stealing all the bread. She has all of the sudden turned into a 13 year old with a crush... :(
This had to be the most detailed eating scene ever written ... That's not a good thing, that's a very boring thing. Will this scene ever end or have a point?
Now she's saying "good loves" as if "sweet loves" wasn't annoying enough
What with all the "Zen" crap?
Eh, 17% she kisses him. It's so wtf. She knows he's paid to follow her and has just been lying to her about everything but he's hot so she kisses him? At first his cologne smelled like bleached toilet water but now that's sexy too. There is NO connection here at all! And she has no reason to kiss him except she's really a stupid 13 year old. This story had such a strong opening but its just sinking into mushy swooning teenagers (garbage, it's turing to complete rubbish).
I found the beginning/world building to be fabulous. But my 20% the characters pretty much suck. Only cool ones Cody and that's just because you feel so bad for him.
This chick is bad ass. She doesn't even wear a seat belt!
This chick went swimming in trash and shit water and caught on fire and they making out. She smells like a burning trash dump and half her body red and burned... But she still goes acrobatic in the car and pops a squat on him in the drivers seat
You never get to know Zay at all. Everything he says is a lie. I think he was supposed to me a tall dark and mysterious character. But it got really annoying.
There as so many unanswered questions through out the book it's ridiculous. I'd especially like to know what Zay and James relationship was
Allie isn't a good mc to read about. She has memory loss so stuff got very repetitive and really annoying.
This could have been awesome if it had stronger editing. Parts were amazing but sadly they didn't really shine because of the mundane details, repetitive writing, and poor character development.
I'll still read the second one but hope there is a lot of improvement in the writing because this one was really choppy and it took half a month to read because it was easy to put down
I didn't like that it switched from A's 1st person pov to third person pov for Cody. It was a little jarring. But then I felt so bad for Cody I did like his scene. I just don't like how it goes from 1st to 3rd person.
This is set in Portland which I enjoy, since I live in Portland. However I have a higher opinion of Saint Johns than the author does.
Some of the phrasing is weird to me, like: "My mouth watered so hard I had to swallow." some of the phrases just make me stop and go "huh". And the phrase, "oh, good loves." is really annoying, IMO.
Also the five or six guys all named "Boy" annoys me. I get tired of reading the word boy over and over
The whole diner scene is slow and seems pointless. I don't care to read about her listing over her soup. Or him stealing all the bread. She has all of the sudden turned into a 13 year old with a crush... :(
This had to be the most detailed eating scene ever written ... That's not a good thing, that's a very boring thing. Will this scene ever end or have a point?
Now she's saying "good loves" as if "sweet loves" wasn't annoying enough
What with all the "Zen" crap?
Eh, 17% she kisses him. It's so wtf. She knows he's paid to follow her and has just been lying to her about everything but he's hot so she kisses him? At first his cologne smelled like bleached toilet water but now that's sexy too. There is NO connection here at all! And she has no reason to kiss him except she's really a stupid 13 year old. This story had such a strong opening but its just sinking into mushy swooning teenagers (garbage, it's turing to complete rubbish).
I found the beginning/world building to be fabulous. But my 20% the characters pretty much suck. Only cool ones Cody and that's just because you feel so bad for him.
This chick is bad ass. She doesn't even wear a seat belt!
This chick went swimming in trash and shit water and caught on fire and they making out. She smells like a burning trash dump and half her body red and burned... But she still goes acrobatic in the car and pops a squat on him in the drivers seat
You never get to know Zay at all. Everything he says is a lie. I think he was supposed to me a tall dark and mysterious character. But it got really annoying.
There as so many unanswered questions through out the book it's ridiculous. I'd especially like to know what Zay and James relationship was
Allie isn't a good mc to read about. She has memory loss so stuff got very repetitive and really annoying.
This could have been awesome if it had stronger editing. Parts were amazing but sadly they didn't really shine because of the mundane details, repetitive writing, and poor character development.
I'll still read the second one but hope there is a lot of improvement in the writing because this one was really choppy and it took half a month to read because it was easy to put down
May 10, 2010
With Magic to the Bone, Devon Monk creates a world of magic that’s a little different from the usual urban fantasy. This first installment was enjoyable, but had its convoluted moments.
Allie Beckstrom is a Hound, a magic-user whose talent is tracing a spell back to its caster. She exists in a version of Portland, Oregon where magic runs from deep wells of power within the earth, wending its way up through lead and glass distribution systems which carry the power source throughout the city. Most people seem able to access this magic, but its use comes at a price. For every spell cast, there is an Offload of equal measure. Small magics might result in a migraine; large-scale magics might mean death for the caster.
I liked the notion that the universe creates its own system of checks and balances. I also appreciated the fact that no matter what the universe has in mind, there are always less scrupulous folks who are willing to shirk consequences and manipulate the system so that the rules won’t apply to them. Magic to the Bone starts with just such a situation--a young boy is saddled with the effects of someone else’s magic, bringing him close to death.
What follows is a lot of madness. Allie is accused of murder, discovers magic can do improbable things, gets betrayed countless times and almost dies in every other chapter. Some of her actions make zero sense to me--like constantly returning to a place she insists is a safe haven, only to be threatened and treated poorly time and again. Allie isn’t stupid exactly, but she doesn’t seem the best judge of character.
Allie’s frequently inexplicable choices frustrated me, though considering the hurdles she faces I guess I can excuse some lack of focus. The romance was heated but very sudden, again making me question her judgment. The bad guy is rather obvious from his first appearance, ruining most of the mystery aspect and making me wonder why Allie didn’t suspect him sooner.
What keeps the story afloat is the magic. Though it’s widespread, its properties are generally unknown or misunderstood. Having only been harnessed within the last 30 years, there are many aspects of magic that haven’t been explored. New legislation and technologies are still developing, and various factions are seeking control over magic and its use.
I get the impression that Allie is going to be at the center of a classic good vs. evil scenario in the books to come. What I've read so far is encouraging enough to continue with the second book, but I'm not desperate to get it into my hands.
Allie Beckstrom is a Hound, a magic-user whose talent is tracing a spell back to its caster. She exists in a version of Portland, Oregon where magic runs from deep wells of power within the earth, wending its way up through lead and glass distribution systems which carry the power source throughout the city. Most people seem able to access this magic, but its use comes at a price. For every spell cast, there is an Offload of equal measure. Small magics might result in a migraine; large-scale magics might mean death for the caster.
I liked the notion that the universe creates its own system of checks and balances. I also appreciated the fact that no matter what the universe has in mind, there are always less scrupulous folks who are willing to shirk consequences and manipulate the system so that the rules won’t apply to them. Magic to the Bone starts with just such a situation--a young boy is saddled with the effects of someone else’s magic, bringing him close to death.
What follows is a lot of madness. Allie is accused of murder, discovers magic can do improbable things, gets betrayed countless times and almost dies in every other chapter. Some of her actions make zero sense to me--like constantly returning to a place she insists is a safe haven, only to be threatened and treated poorly time and again. Allie isn’t stupid exactly, but she doesn’t seem the best judge of character.
Allie’s frequently inexplicable choices frustrated me, though considering the hurdles she faces I guess I can excuse some lack of focus. The romance was heated but very sudden, again making me question her judgment. The bad guy is rather obvious from his first appearance, ruining most of the mystery aspect and making me wonder why Allie didn’t suspect him sooner.
What keeps the story afloat is the magic. Though it’s widespread, its properties are generally unknown or misunderstood. Having only been harnessed within the last 30 years, there are many aspects of magic that haven’t been explored. New legislation and technologies are still developing, and various factions are seeking control over magic and its use.
I get the impression that Allie is going to be at the center of a classic good vs. evil scenario in the books to come. What I've read so far is encouraging enough to continue with the second book, but I'm not desperate to get it into my hands.
March 17, 2015
3.5 Stars
Devon Monk has given us a world where magic exists, but it's not a pretty world. There are steep prices for using magic of any sort, and as always, there are ways to circumvent the system. Allie's gift allows her to track those that would wish to hide their magical doings. She prefers to go her own way, forgetting the blood she shares with the man who made harnessing magic possible - her father.
When the story opens it's Allie's birthday, and she's determined to do something nice for herself. Unfortunately, her plans go awry and she ends up getting called out the Hound when a boy gets deathly sick. When that hounding leads her to believe her father is responsible for this illegal Offload, Allie goes to confront him. Seven years since she's seen him last, and all the old bitterness and disappointment comes back so easily - especially when she finds out her father has hired a man, Zavyion Jones, to trail her. She thought she had all the shocks that would come her way, but she was wrong. It was just beginning.
I really enjoyed that the world the Devon Monk created was gritty. The use of magic left a residue that you could smell and feel in the air, the earth, the water. The characters can set Disbursements that allow the magic offload to be handled in a specific way, sometimes through proxies and sometimes through specific effects on themselves. It's a well realized world, filled to the brim with possibilities. I think there's a lot of room for us to see more here.
I really enjoyed experiencing this book through Allie. She's a strong, stubborn, honorable person. She likes helping people, using her magic to protect and do good, and has her own set of code that she tries to live by. I also really like that she can at turns be impulsive, rash even, and at others she can be extremely cautious. She doesn't mind paying the price for using her magic, accepts it as the cost of living how she wants to. I find this admirable, but I have a problem with it too. One of her major costs of doing magic is memory loss - hours, days, weeks, months? I'm not sure if I can trust her to be a reliable narrator, to actually move forward into any sort of life, and the one thing measure she's taken to make sure she doesn't forget forever is writing in a notebook. But the notes she writes are inconsistent, vague, and not detailed enough, in my opinion. However, this is a minor complaint.
There are some alternating third-person point-of-view scenes in this book too, but they felt unnecessary unless that character comes to be more important in the future.
Then there's Zavyion. Allie was very drawn to him from the beginning, even against her own better judgement. He's an intriguing character. I feel like we didn't get to know enough about him as he spent a good portion of the book evading answering any questions. But I do know that his actions spoke fairly loud and I want to know him more.
The pacing of the story felt a little slow to me. While I was curious the entire time I was reading, it took me about 90 pages to really get interested in what was going to happen. What I didn't like is that there seemed to be far too much talk, and little action. Allie does some magic and then spends the next 75 pages talking about what she learned, what it could mean, what she should do now. I would have liked some more action. Though I can appreciate that a first book in a series is going to take some time setting everything up.
Overall, I enjoyed this intro to Allie Beckstrom's world, though I felt there were some areas that could have drawn me in even more. If you're looking for a gritty world with depth, and a strong heroine, then I'd definitely recommend trying Devon Monk's Magic to the Bone.
Devon Monk has given us a world where magic exists, but it's not a pretty world. There are steep prices for using magic of any sort, and as always, there are ways to circumvent the system. Allie's gift allows her to track those that would wish to hide their magical doings. She prefers to go her own way, forgetting the blood she shares with the man who made harnessing magic possible - her father.
When the story opens it's Allie's birthday, and she's determined to do something nice for herself. Unfortunately, her plans go awry and she ends up getting called out the Hound when a boy gets deathly sick. When that hounding leads her to believe her father is responsible for this illegal Offload, Allie goes to confront him. Seven years since she's seen him last, and all the old bitterness and disappointment comes back so easily - especially when she finds out her father has hired a man, Zavyion Jones, to trail her. She thought she had all the shocks that would come her way, but she was wrong. It was just beginning.
I really enjoyed that the world the Devon Monk created was gritty. The use of magic left a residue that you could smell and feel in the air, the earth, the water. The characters can set Disbursements that allow the magic offload to be handled in a specific way, sometimes through proxies and sometimes through specific effects on themselves. It's a well realized world, filled to the brim with possibilities. I think there's a lot of room for us to see more here.
I really enjoyed experiencing this book through Allie. She's a strong, stubborn, honorable person. She likes helping people, using her magic to protect and do good, and has her own set of code that she tries to live by. I also really like that she can at turns be impulsive, rash even, and at others she can be extremely cautious. She doesn't mind paying the price for using her magic, accepts it as the cost of living how she wants to. I find this admirable, but I have a problem with it too. One of her major costs of doing magic is memory loss - hours, days, weeks, months? I'm not sure if I can trust her to be a reliable narrator, to actually move forward into any sort of life, and the one thing measure she's taken to make sure she doesn't forget forever is writing in a notebook. But the notes she writes are inconsistent, vague, and not detailed enough, in my opinion. However, this is a minor complaint.
There are some alternating third-person point-of-view scenes in this book too, but they felt unnecessary unless that character comes to be more important in the future.
Then there's Zavyion. Allie was very drawn to him from the beginning, even against her own better judgement. He's an intriguing character. I feel like we didn't get to know enough about him as he spent a good portion of the book evading answering any questions. But I do know that his actions spoke fairly loud and I want to know him more.
The pacing of the story felt a little slow to me. While I was curious the entire time I was reading, it took me about 90 pages to really get interested in what was going to happen. What I didn't like is that there seemed to be far too much talk, and little action. Allie does some magic and then spends the next 75 pages talking about what she learned, what it could mean, what she should do now. I would have liked some more action. Though I can appreciate that a first book in a series is going to take some time setting everything up.
Overall, I enjoyed this intro to Allie Beckstrom's world, though I felt there were some areas that could have drawn me in even more. If you're looking for a gritty world with depth, and a strong heroine, then I'd definitely recommend trying Devon Monk's Magic to the Bone.
April 5, 2011
This book had such a nice ending. There are many questions yet to be revealed and answered in this story but the book didn't leave me feeling cut off with a cliff hanger. That is a nice change. I've gotten to expect the cliffhangers in series books, especially first in series.
This one left me really, really wanting to continue reading Allie's story but it also gave me a sense of renewal and fresh start; like a whole new chapter of her story will open with the next book.
I really like the sweet and hopeful moment Devon Monk completed it with.
This one left me really, really wanting to continue reading Allie's story but it also gave me a sense of renewal and fresh start; like a whole new chapter of her story will open with the next book.
I really like the sweet and hopeful moment Devon Monk completed it with.
January 17, 2010
In this world people discovered a way to harness magic 30 years ago. By trapping it in glass pipes for an instance it can be used. But it always takes something from you, pain, a memory, and Allie knows this. Still she hounds. She hunts people who does not use magic right, they do not take the pain, they give it to someone else. Her father is one of the richest men around but she has cut all ties, and she does live in a rathole and really suffers.
This is not a nice world, it feels dirty, and the magic is not something I would like to use. The prize is high. And if any heroine is kick-ass then it is Allie because she really suffers for her job. And each day is a struggle to make it through. I do feel for her, and i could never do what she does every day. I would just suck it up and become a business woman.
A very dark world with magic, no creatures or anything like that. The creatures are us humans. A rich, dark world. A kick-ass heroine (oh yes I love saying that someone is kick-ass and I mean why not cos she does kick some magic ass.) She does has this vulnerability too, and that is rather painful to see. Not fun to ever see someone suffer.
So where was I, right kick-ass (how many times can I use that in a review, we will find out), reality with magic, a strange hunky guy following her around. Oh did I forget to tell you about him, well Zayvion is following her around, and duh, he is the love interest. He is all dark and mysterious, and she does not know if she can trust him or not.
This book involves the mystery in the beginning, why would her father use magic and off load it on a poor kid? And that sets the play for the book. An ok UF with a lot of things going on, nice world, and a love story that...oh can't say it. You just have to find out.
Blodeuedd's Cover Corner. I like it, and the tattoos gets an explanation in the book. Very UF
Reason for Reading: My own copy.
Final thoughts: Ok UF, kick-ass (haha, I had to say it!) heroine, magic and love.
This is not a nice world, it feels dirty, and the magic is not something I would like to use. The prize is high. And if any heroine is kick-ass then it is Allie because she really suffers for her job. And each day is a struggle to make it through. I do feel for her, and i could never do what she does every day. I would just suck it up and become a business woman.
A very dark world with magic, no creatures or anything like that. The creatures are us humans. A rich, dark world. A kick-ass heroine (oh yes I love saying that someone is kick-ass and I mean why not cos she does kick some magic ass.) She does has this vulnerability too, and that is rather painful to see. Not fun to ever see someone suffer.
So where was I, right kick-ass (how many times can I use that in a review, we will find out), reality with magic, a strange hunky guy following her around. Oh did I forget to tell you about him, well Zayvion is following her around, and duh, he is the love interest. He is all dark and mysterious, and she does not know if she can trust him or not.
This book involves the mystery in the beginning, why would her father use magic and off load it on a poor kid? And that sets the play for the book. An ok UF with a lot of things going on, nice world, and a love story that...oh can't say it. You just have to find out.
Blodeuedd's Cover Corner. I like it, and the tattoos gets an explanation in the book. Very UF
Reason for Reading: My own copy.
Final thoughts: Ok UF, kick-ass (haha, I had to say it!) heroine, magic and love.
August 11, 2013
Mini review by phone!
I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy the rest of this series. Allie is a fantastic (if sometimes a little stupid) heroine who is always up for a fight. I love that she refused to back down no matter what and that she constantly fought for others.
The world that this book is set in is just amazing, and unique amongst all the urban fantasy I've read. While magic is there to use, it uses you right back, often making it dangerous to perform certain types if magic. For Allie, using too much not only causes her to become severely exhausted, but also results in memory loss, making it pretty difficult for her to keep track of her life. I really enjoyed this fresh outlook on magic. So often it's just there for anyone to use in large quantities and with no restrictions. I think it's interesting that Devon Monk decided to portray magic in this way, as it really adds to the story.
While I did enjoy the characters, my biggest complaint was Allie's relationship with Zayvion. I can totally understand her wanting to sleep with him. She's lonely, and enjoys a good romp! But I didn't feel like their relationship developed enough to merit what happened in the end. .
All in all, an enjoyable book. I'll definitely be moving on to the next one.
**************************************************
Buddy read with Cory, Amanda, Brandi, FREEBIRD, JennyJen, and Barbara :D (August 6)
I have a feeling I'm really going to enjoy the rest of this series. Allie is a fantastic (if sometimes a little stupid) heroine who is always up for a fight. I love that she refused to back down no matter what and that she constantly fought for others.
The world that this book is set in is just amazing, and unique amongst all the urban fantasy I've read. While magic is there to use, it uses you right back, often making it dangerous to perform certain types if magic. For Allie, using too much not only causes her to become severely exhausted, but also results in memory loss, making it pretty difficult for her to keep track of her life. I really enjoyed this fresh outlook on magic. So often it's just there for anyone to use in large quantities and with no restrictions. I think it's interesting that Devon Monk decided to portray magic in this way, as it really adds to the story.
While I did enjoy the characters, my biggest complaint was Allie's relationship with Zayvion. I can totally understand her wanting to sleep with him. She's lonely, and enjoys a good romp! But I didn't feel like their relationship developed enough to merit what happened in the end. .
All in all, an enjoyable book. I'll definitely be moving on to the next one.
**************************************************
Buddy read with Cory, Amanda, Brandi, FREEBIRD, JennyJen, and Barbara :D (August 6)
July 28, 2009
I don't know how other people think of it, but I tend to classify books as having traction or not. If a book has traction, you start it, and four hours later you're done, and really have to pee. If a book doesn't have traction, you start it, and two chapters in, you realize you meant to get a load of wash done, so you do, and then you forget about the book for two weeks. Obviously this is pretty subjective, and can depend on the mood you're in, and whether or not you have a load of laundry to do besides, but it's one of the most important distinctions, for me, in reading a book.
On goodreads, traction, or lack thereof, is the difference between a two and three star review. Books which get added to my "currently reading list" almost never have traction, because otherwise they go straight to my "read" list.
This book, poor thing, I started reading about four months ago. The thing is, despite my not getting traction, it has a lot going for it. Almost, I am tentatively inclined to conclude, too much.
First, this book has buckets of originality and world-building. Magic was discovered a couple decades ago, and the protagonist's father was the one who is more or less responsible for the current shape of the world: Cities are wired for magic, which is stored in cisterns, and buildings can draw it off the grid. Further, magic always exacts a cost, a physical consequence in proportion to the magic used. An ambitious spell may leave you with a week of cramps, and even a small one can give you bruises. Killing someone with magic will leave you dead.
Of course, there are always ways to cheat, and in this one, the way to cheat is to 'offload;' get someone else to pay the price, either by paying them to take on the week of cramps, or just by choosing someone who can't complain to the authorities about their sudden case of dead.
Further, and potentially even more interestingly, although magic was "discovered" decades ago, some hidden societies have known about and used it much longer, and are not precisely inclined to come forward and help the scientific community in their bumbling exploration of the possibilities of magic.
Allie, as mentioned, is the daughter of one of the biggest names in corporate magic, and hates her father who didn't get where he is by being nice. She has a career as a 'hound,' who is someone who sniffs out the caster behind a magical spell or offload, sort of a cross between a bounty hunter and a private eye. However, Allie has an unique problem; when she uses magic, sometimes the price it takes is a chunk of her memory.
All of which, I think, sounds pretty good! So what was my problem? First, Allie's problems in the end come down to "She's just too awesome!" Her magical abilities are too strong and unique for the budding scientific model of magic to account for. But the sexy Zayvion Jones, agent for the secret community of magic users, and her 'soul complement,' can help her, synchronizing with her magic use to make it almost effortless for her.
Second, this book has so much awesome world-building going on that the author can't quite help stopping the action to explain it to us, which I think is a big mistake.
Third, and er. Okay, maybe this is just me, but. Allie is used to losing chunks of her memory, so she carries around her notebook where she records what she's doing so that if she unexpectedly loses time, she can at least read up on what she missed, and this book is told in the first person. But, when she loses a chunk of memory, she realizes she has neglected to write anything down, including a bunch of things that the reader has just read about, told in the first person. So, her narration is not her notebook, which to me sort of drew attention to the first person narration in a way which made it seem gimmicky and implausible.
To me, this book feels like "so close!" which is rather depressing. I believe in you, little book, you can do it! So, yes, I gave it three stars, to try and give it some encouragement.
Shut up.
On goodreads, traction, or lack thereof, is the difference between a two and three star review. Books which get added to my "currently reading list" almost never have traction, because otherwise they go straight to my "read" list.
This book, poor thing, I started reading about four months ago. The thing is, despite my not getting traction, it has a lot going for it. Almost, I am tentatively inclined to conclude, too much.
First, this book has buckets of originality and world-building. Magic was discovered a couple decades ago, and the protagonist's father was the one who is more or less responsible for the current shape of the world: Cities are wired for magic, which is stored in cisterns, and buildings can draw it off the grid. Further, magic always exacts a cost, a physical consequence in proportion to the magic used. An ambitious spell may leave you with a week of cramps, and even a small one can give you bruises. Killing someone with magic will leave you dead.
Of course, there are always ways to cheat, and in this one, the way to cheat is to 'offload;' get someone else to pay the price, either by paying them to take on the week of cramps, or just by choosing someone who can't complain to the authorities about their sudden case of dead.
Further, and potentially even more interestingly, although magic was "discovered" decades ago, some hidden societies have known about and used it much longer, and are not precisely inclined to come forward and help the scientific community in their bumbling exploration of the possibilities of magic.
Allie, as mentioned, is the daughter of one of the biggest names in corporate magic, and hates her father who didn't get where he is by being nice. She has a career as a 'hound,' who is someone who sniffs out the caster behind a magical spell or offload, sort of a cross between a bounty hunter and a private eye. However, Allie has an unique problem; when she uses magic, sometimes the price it takes is a chunk of her memory.
All of which, I think, sounds pretty good! So what was my problem? First, Allie's problems in the end come down to "She's just too awesome!" Her magical abilities are too strong and unique for the budding scientific model of magic to account for. But the sexy Zayvion Jones, agent for the secret community of magic users, and her 'soul complement,' can help her, synchronizing with her magic use to make it almost effortless for her.
Second, this book has so much awesome world-building going on that the author can't quite help stopping the action to explain it to us, which I think is a big mistake.
Third, and er. Okay, maybe this is just me, but. Allie is used to losing chunks of her memory, so she carries around her notebook where she records what she's doing so that if she unexpectedly loses time, she can at least read up on what she missed, and this book is told in the first person. But, when she loses a chunk of memory, she realizes she has neglected to write anything down, including a bunch of things that the reader has just read about, told in the first person. So, her narration is not her notebook, which to me sort of drew attention to the first person narration in a way which made it seem gimmicky and implausible.
To me, this book feels like "so close!" which is rather depressing. I believe in you, little book, you can do it! So, yes, I gave it three stars, to try and give it some encouragement.
Shut up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 12, 2008
Is it weird that I kind of got a kick out of the main character's name in this book being Allie? It's not my name. I do have a dear friend by that name. But I think the main reason was that I just haven't read a book in a long time that featured an Allie, and it seemed to lend the story a certain appealing freshness. The other names in the book are equally appealing. Zayvion Jones. Violet Beckstrom. And the idea for the story is undoubtedly intriguing.
MAGIC TO THE BONE is set in an alternate America in which magic "came out" to the world rather like vampires did in Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books. Soon after people become users and consumers of magic, much like they use and consume alcohol. And just like a night of hard drinking, any use of magic leaves the user with a monster hangover. This "hangover" manifests itself in a variety of unsavory ways from intense bruising all over the body to a flu that will lay you low for a week. Allie Beckstrom is a Hound--a person with the ability to follow a cast spell back to the caster. Unlike other Hounds, though, Allie is able to house a small amount of magic within her own body. But this increased ability exacts a higher price. After working a particularly potent bit of magic, Allie frequently loses random portions of her memory. Estranged from her power-hungry father, she lives in a hole, barely scraping enough money together to feed herself with anything resembling regularity. When a small boy is almost killed by a spell that leads back to dear old Dad, Allie immediately goes on the offensive to bring her father to justice. She runs into trouble in the form of Zayvion Jones--a stalker/bodyguard who used to work for her father and seems intent on shadowing Allie's every move.
The whole layout of this story held a lot of promise and I willingly immersed myself in Allie's seamy world, eager to see how she handled her manipulative, possibly murderous father as well as the darkly enigmatic Zay. Allie herself is world-weary in a way that mirrors her world, a place ironically sapped of wonder and goodness by the largely unregulated abuse of "magic." I loved the little book she carries around, recording memories against the day they're stripped from her after overstepping herself magically. In fact, each and every character piqued my interest, from Allie's unusual stepmother to her salt of the earth best friend. However, I found that interest flagging fairly soon as the execution did not quite match up to the idea. Zay's and Allie's relationship seemed rather quickly formed. He felt too good to be true while she seemed to fall into a sort of stereotypical urban fantasy composite heroine. I started to lose my sense for what made her unique and felt that they were both smarter than their actions painted them. The tension between them resolved too abruptly for my taste. Throughout the story, a well-conceived idea here or a particularly cool plot development there managed to revive my flagging attention, but the follow-through lacked the level of tightness and cohesion that is a defining characteristic of my favorite urban fantasy series's.
MAGIC TO THE BONE is set in an alternate America in which magic "came out" to the world rather like vampires did in Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books. Soon after people become users and consumers of magic, much like they use and consume alcohol. And just like a night of hard drinking, any use of magic leaves the user with a monster hangover. This "hangover" manifests itself in a variety of unsavory ways from intense bruising all over the body to a flu that will lay you low for a week. Allie Beckstrom is a Hound--a person with the ability to follow a cast spell back to the caster. Unlike other Hounds, though, Allie is able to house a small amount of magic within her own body. But this increased ability exacts a higher price. After working a particularly potent bit of magic, Allie frequently loses random portions of her memory. Estranged from her power-hungry father, she lives in a hole, barely scraping enough money together to feed herself with anything resembling regularity. When a small boy is almost killed by a spell that leads back to dear old Dad, Allie immediately goes on the offensive to bring her father to justice. She runs into trouble in the form of Zayvion Jones--a stalker/bodyguard who used to work for her father and seems intent on shadowing Allie's every move.
The whole layout of this story held a lot of promise and I willingly immersed myself in Allie's seamy world, eager to see how she handled her manipulative, possibly murderous father as well as the darkly enigmatic Zay. Allie herself is world-weary in a way that mirrors her world, a place ironically sapped of wonder and goodness by the largely unregulated abuse of "magic." I loved the little book she carries around, recording memories against the day they're stripped from her after overstepping herself magically. In fact, each and every character piqued my interest, from Allie's unusual stepmother to her salt of the earth best friend. However, I found that interest flagging fairly soon as the execution did not quite match up to the idea. Zay's and Allie's relationship seemed rather quickly formed. He felt too good to be true while she seemed to fall into a sort of stereotypical urban fantasy composite heroine. I started to lose my sense for what made her unique and felt that they were both smarter than their actions painted them. The tension between them resolved too abruptly for my taste. Throughout the story, a well-conceived idea here or a particularly cool plot development there managed to revive my flagging attention, but the follow-through lacked the level of tightness and cohesion that is a defining characteristic of my favorite urban fantasy series's.
November 24, 2008
I will freely admit to being a snob with my urban fantasy; as hypocritical as it may be considering the genre, I just cannot stand the paranormal romances that increasingly bulge off of the bookshelves. I found Monk's title in my old Waldenbooks where genres are a tad more fluid and took the chance that it was not of the paranormal romance ilk, trusting in Roc's growing reputation as the leader in urban fantasy. I was intrigued by her description of magic use. In reading the novel, I was not disappointed in how she unfolds her world, in fact, I think it is clever and fresh and a markedly realistic take on a possible expression of modern magic - one that entails literal bodily sacrifice in the form of pain or sickness in exchange for magical access, attended by the inevitable bureaucratic mismanagement that accompanies human civilization.
Conversely, I was disappointed in the tones of genre romance that threatened to raise my bile. I dislike the "love" interest, and I place that in quotations because I doubt highly the relationship that evolved sporadically in the book. The relationship seemed to be fueled soley by him being present at the precise moment the heroine Allie is in trouble, saving the day. Allie's status as the renegade destitute heiress besotted of the mysterious knight in sparkling magic further perpetuated the irksome romance vibes.
Having cleared that however, I do look forward to the next book, as Allie's secondary payment for magic use of losing bits of her memory elicits a nice plot device that Monk can exploit to hopefully tease out the relationship between Allie and her knight in sparkling magic.
Conversely, I was disappointed in the tones of genre romance that threatened to raise my bile. I dislike the "love" interest, and I place that in quotations because I doubt highly the relationship that evolved sporadically in the book. The relationship seemed to be fueled soley by him being present at the precise moment the heroine Allie is in trouble, saving the day. Allie's status as the renegade destitute heiress besotted of the mysterious knight in sparkling magic further perpetuated the irksome romance vibes.
Having cleared that however, I do look forward to the next book, as Allie's secondary payment for magic use of losing bits of her memory elicits a nice plot device that Monk can exploit to hopefully tease out the relationship between Allie and her knight in sparkling magic.
December 17, 2013
Somewhere between 2.5 and 3 stars. A pendulum of a read. Somethings worked for me, others did not.
For the first book in a series, Monk crafted a well thought out world of magic and power. The price of magic was physical aliment which made sense. The story had a nice flow & was well written. World building never bogged down the story as a whole which was impressive. It never suffered from First Book Syndrome.
My main issue with this book was the lead, Allie. While the character had a lot of potential (history, abilities, etc), her personality was very off putting (at least for me). She was one of those characters who was so sure she had things right, that she wouldn't see the trap until it was too late. Even when the problems around her where rather world threatening, she always found a way to turn things back around to herself. Very self-absorbed. And her sarcasm fell flat mostly because it felt some what forced. Though I really loved some of the side characters primarily Cody and Nola. Both were complete sweethearts especially Cody. I was rooting for him from the start.
Overall, this series looks like it has the potential to become great, but because of the lead, I don't think I want to continue.
For the first book in a series, Monk crafted a well thought out world of magic and power. The price of magic was physical aliment which made sense. The story had a nice flow & was well written. World building never bogged down the story as a whole which was impressive. It never suffered from First Book Syndrome.
My main issue with this book was the lead, Allie. While the character had a lot of potential (history, abilities, etc), her personality was very off putting (at least for me). She was one of those characters who was so sure she had things right, that she wouldn't see the trap until it was too late. Even when the problems around her where rather world threatening, she always found a way to turn things back around to herself. Very self-absorbed. And her sarcasm fell flat mostly because it felt some what forced. Though I really loved some of the side characters primarily Cody and Nola. Both were complete sweethearts especially Cody. I was rooting for him from the start.
Overall, this series looks like it has the potential to become great, but because of the lead, I don't think I want to continue.
January 6, 2009
I couldn't finish this. It wasn't interesting or well written. I read the first few chapters, then the last chapter, and didn't feel I missed anything in between. I like this genre, so it is rare for me to buy a book at full price at the bookstore and then not finish it. It felt like the usual murder mystery without a great plot or engaging characters. This book and author just weren't interesting to me.
Want to read
August 31, 2016
Another MacHalo Group read beginning October 24, let me know if you want in on this action if you're not already a member.
August 17, 2015
I finished this over the weekend, and it was fiiiiiine. Honestly though, didn't feel like anything I hadn't read already so I've no plans to continue the series.
Also, people really have to stop with the 'poor little rich girl' thing. It gets so old.
Also, people really have to stop with the 'poor little rich girl' thing. It gets so old.
December 10, 2015
Mmmmkay...
December 15, 2017
Allie Beckstrom lives in a world where using magic has a price. Migraines, stomach cramps, memory loss and Allie is familiar with them all, especially memory loss. However, not everyone chooses to bare the cost of their magic, some illegally offload it on to other and depending on the strength of the spell, it could kill. As a Hound, Allie can see and track the magical signature of those who cast magic, including those who illegally offload the consequences. She just never expected that the magical signature on a half dead boy would lead her directly to her estranged and powerful father who swears he had nothing to do with it.I have been wanting to read this series for a while now, I love books with magic in them, especially when an author thinks up a new and interesting twist on its use. I found Devon Monk's idea that magic has a physical cost intriguing which is what got it on my TBR mountain, as well as the fact that I love a good UF with a strong female protagonist. Now that I have finished Magic to the Bone I still Monk's idea is interesting, but I can't decide if it worked for me.
I think the reason I feel ambivalent about this book is because I wasn't sure about the world. Normally the first book in an UF book is full of world building and the story can take a back seat, after all you want the ground your characters are standing on to make sense. And although Monk did this, I wasn't buying it. She shows us a lot of the seedier side of the magic business, which would have been interesting, but by the end of the book I was wondering why people even bothered with magic as it seemed to take a horrible toll. Monk never showed us the benefits, the good side of magic. Whatever made it worth it for heroine Allie to stroll round this book half dead from using magic for the majority of the book.
Allie was built from the 'sarcastic kick ass heroine ' mould, a mould that is used quite extensively in UF, so she doesn't really stand out in this genre. However, that didn't stop me liking her, I can appreciate a brave and brash heroine. There is also an element of romance in this book as well. The romance was another element that I didn't quite buy into, there was no real chemistry or attraction and I found Zayvion to be a strange character, I didn't trust him and I don't understand why Allie did.
Although this was solidly written and I did enjoy the fast paced action within the book, I was a little disappointed in it. However, I probably will read the next book in the series just to see if it improves and the parts that niggled me get explained further.
Reviewed by Suzanne❤ ♡ Don't want to miss any of our posts? Subscribe to our blog by email! ♡ ❤
October 25, 2016
Re-read October 25, 2016
Wow, on re-read what a turn around. I didn't like this much 2.75 or on the south side of 3. Library audiobook. Allie does just stumble over all the clues/answers, she is just pulled along and Zayvion directs part of it. The little he lets her know is obviously close to nothing. And, I cannot believe I gave the book 4 stars. There are several cliffhanger plot lines left open, not the main question but that answer is thrown to her in the end and didn't seem like the main plot ended though it did. I've read book 2 so I know which way the lines go and I'm even less happy with this starting book after reading book 2. I like the relationship with Zayvion but even there I do know some of the secrets that you know are being kept and I want to strangle him on the reread.
This series has an ending with book 9 but I don't think I can stomach it. I may try book three. I thought I would until this re-read. The re-read made me realize how unhappy I was with book 2. It made me re-evaluate Allie and although she isn't particularly TSTL in this one, she wasn't really particularly insightful in figuring things out. Actually the opposite in trust issues. This becomes painful in the next book when no one tells anyone anything so no one knows what is going on. These no bodies are Martin, the police, Zayvion, Violet(step-mom) and I suspect there is someone else there. Hard to investigate things when you don't share information and cannot remember crap. OK that is a complaint of the next book but the ending here made it come to the forefront. I will probably not read on even though I have book three in my queue and shelf and have had it there a long, long time.
Dec 16, 2013 --original 4 star read.
Really liked this book. It started out fast and stayed that way. My only issue is that Allie seems to be dumped into the situations. I get that she has been set up in more ways than one I loved her relation with Zayvion and how they clicked, I only wished that they trusted each other more. He is obviously involved in a lot of things but if she is his compliment, should he open up and share the pain? So, I really liked it and have to start the next.
January 20, 2011
I enjoyed a lot about this, but a lot felt as if it was really pretty standard urban-fantasy-with-a-*unique!*-element stuff. The characters were fairly interesting, though I sometimes feel I'm getting a bit sick of the trope of characters keeping secrets tightly hidden from each other and the reader (except Polly's secret-keeping in All Clear, for which I make complete and inconsistent allowance!)
I'm also clearly getting older and crankier by the second, because I'm finding more and more often that authors making attempts to show the sex as So Very Special Your Mind Will Be Blown Just Reading About It has only the effect of inducing yawning or possibly snorting at how laughable it is. This was the snorting variety - when our magics tangle and merge just as our (hothothot) bodies are tangling and becoming one, it's a complete mind-blower! Oh, really? And why do you think I -- excluded from this experience as I am -- should give a toss? I think there needs to be a new internet abbreviation for this - possibly to;dnc (too overblown; did not care)? Suggestions gratefully received.
Also, sorry for going a bit off the topic of the book, which, as I said, was mostly fine and sometimes good. I'm still not totally sure about the ending's use of memory loss as effect of magic use.
I'm also clearly getting older and crankier by the second, because I'm finding more and more often that authors making attempts to show the sex as So Very Special Your Mind Will Be Blown Just Reading About It has only the effect of inducing yawning or possibly snorting at how laughable it is. This was the snorting variety - when our magics tangle and merge just as our (hothothot) bodies are tangling and becoming one, it's a complete mind-blower! Oh, really? And why do you think I -- excluded from this experience as I am -- should give a toss? I think there needs to be a new internet abbreviation for this - possibly to;dnc (too overblown; did not care)? Suggestions gratefully received.
Also, sorry for going a bit off the topic of the book, which, as I said, was mostly fine and sometimes good. I'm still not totally sure about the ending's use of memory loss as effect of magic use.
April 13, 2011
3.5
There is that breed of writers who now dominate the urban fantasy market and who bring to the readers a gritty, dark, often disappointing world of supernatural beings and magic.
Like Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs, Devon Monk has created a tough heroine who takes care of herself, has had a rough childhood, makes friends despite herself and stumbles into world-domination plots that make her groan!
I like Allie Beckstrom and as a heroine who suffers from partial amnesia every time she uses powerful magic (because it always, always makes you pay) and wanders around town doing pro-bono jobs when she can barely make enough to buy coffee on her birthday, she does make a nice impression.
The truth is that I like Zayvion, the mysterious guy who follows her around and keeps saving her life, even more than Allie and during most of this book I missed him in the pages where Allie did her stuff alone. Somehow, I enjoyed the book best when they were together.
There is that breed of writers who now dominate the urban fantasy market and who bring to the readers a gritty, dark, often disappointing world of supernatural beings and magic.
Like Ilona Andrews and Patricia Briggs, Devon Monk has created a tough heroine who takes care of herself, has had a rough childhood, makes friends despite herself and stumbles into world-domination plots that make her groan!
I like Allie Beckstrom and as a heroine who suffers from partial amnesia every time she uses powerful magic (because it always, always makes you pay) and wanders around town doing pro-bono jobs when she can barely make enough to buy coffee on her birthday, she does make a nice impression.
The truth is that I like Zayvion, the mysterious guy who follows her around and keeps saving her life, even more than Allie and during most of this book I missed him in the pages where Allie did her stuff alone. Somehow, I enjoyed the book best when they were together.
June 24, 2016
This was pretty good. A little different to the usual UF tropes. No demons or werewolves in sight, just magic that bitchslaps you if you get frisky with it. Some laugh out loud moments, but also a few 'eh?' moments. Overall, some nice chemistry between the MC and her love interest, albeit pretty rushed.
3.5 stars.
Full RTC.
3.5 stars.
Full RTC.
March 5, 2017
I liked this! Good world-building, loved the male lead, the ending had some pacing problems, but I am looking forward to the second book! Watch my video review
October 23, 2013
I have to say that I'm not entirely sure what I think about this series so far. It has some great points, but then there were also some elements that I kind of felt "meh" about.
Bonus points must be given to Monk for coming up with a creative idea for magic. Magic is usable by everyone, but in order to use it you have to be ready for the pain that it'll give you. Or in Allie's case, the potential loss of memory. It was interesting that this seems to be limited more to her, so I'm intrigued to see a possible explanation for this later on down the road. I also have to give kudos to Monk for giving us a hot love interest with African-American heritage... and not making it into this huge thing where Allie has to deal with racism or have Monk point out how uber edgy she is for having her main character paired with Zayvion. It is pointed out subtly in later chapters and books, but for the most part it's approached with the attitude that magic is screwing everything up and there are better things to do than harp or crow about what the skin color is of the person Allie's bedding. It'd darn refreshing is what it is.
At the same time there are some parts to this that seem a little slow in unfolding. The book is good and the narration in the audiobook I have is excellent, but I'll admit that I probably would've put this down partway through if not for the audiobook. School takes up a lot of my time now, so it sometimes takes a lot for me to actually finish a paperback book nowadays. I'm glad for the audiobook, as the book's resolution was pretty interesting. As of this writing I'm already on book 3, so that says something for the writing, I'd say.
Overall I'd recommend this for UF fans looking for a little something different, although if possible I'd say to go for the audiobook version. Durante does a good job narrating the voices and while she's far from dethroning some of the other audiobook narrators on my favorites list, I'm interested in seeing her continue to develop her talent as the series progresses.
Bonus points must be given to Monk for coming up with a creative idea for magic. Magic is usable by everyone, but in order to use it you have to be ready for the pain that it'll give you. Or in Allie's case, the potential loss of memory. It was interesting that this seems to be limited more to her, so I'm intrigued to see a possible explanation for this later on down the road. I also have to give kudos to Monk for giving us a hot love interest with African-American heritage... and not making it into this huge thing where Allie has to deal with racism or have Monk point out how uber edgy she is for having her main character paired with Zayvion. It is pointed out subtly in later chapters and books, but for the most part it's approached with the attitude that magic is screwing everything up and there are better things to do than harp or crow about what the skin color is of the person Allie's bedding. It'd darn refreshing is what it is.
At the same time there are some parts to this that seem a little slow in unfolding. The book is good and the narration in the audiobook I have is excellent, but I'll admit that I probably would've put this down partway through if not for the audiobook. School takes up a lot of my time now, so it sometimes takes a lot for me to actually finish a paperback book nowadays. I'm glad for the audiobook, as the book's resolution was pretty interesting. As of this writing I'm already on book 3, so that says something for the writing, I'd say.
Overall I'd recommend this for UF fans looking for a little something different, although if possible I'd say to go for the audiobook version. Durante does a good job narrating the voices and while she's far from dethroning some of the other audiobook narrators on my favorites list, I'm interested in seeing her continue to develop her talent as the series progresses.
November 17, 2013
I think that I'm far less forgiving than I used to be. I'll keep my original review, because it was how I felt at the time - and it's still mostly true - but I'm going to add some thoughts to it.
Allie is a character that rides two sides of thought for me. One moment I love her - she's strong, independent, smart, and kick-ass; the next she's making out with some guy while running for her life (whom she doesn't even really know), not taking basic precautions to ensure her safety, and falling in insta-love.
I said below that the world is well-realized, and I'm not sure what I was thinking. There is a TON of potential in this world, it's fascinating and I'd really love to see it developed. But it's confusing as hell. Half the time that magic was being done I had no idea what was going on, why, or who was doing what. I still don't know who half the players in the story were.
The central mystery isn't completely solved in this book. Partially, yes, but it seems like it's going to be an overarcing plot-line through at least a couple of books.
I still enjoyed the potential here. I liked Allie enough to want to continue - and I have assurances that the series does get better. I'm putting a lot of the above issues down to first-book-syndrome, and going to give the second one a chance.
I gave it 3.5 stars originally, I think I'm closer to 3 stars now. I liked it, with some reservations.
Original Review
Devon Monk has given us a world where magic exists, but it's not a pretty world. There are steep prices for using magic of any sort, and as always, there are ways to circumvent the system. Allie's gift allows her to track those that would wish to hide their magical doings. She prefers to go her own way, forgetting the blood she shares with the man who made harnessing magic possible - her father.
When the story opens it's Allie's birthday, and she's determined to do something nice for herself. Unfortunately, her plans go awry and she ends up getting called out the Hound when a boy gets deathly sick. When that hounding leads her to believe her father is responsible for this illegal Offload, Allie goes to confront him. Seven years since she's seen him last, and all the old bitterness and disappointment comes back so easily - especially when she finds out her father has hired a man, Zavyion Jones, to trail her. She thought she had all the shocks that would come her way, but she was wrong. It was just beginning.
I really enjoyed that the world the Devon Monk created was gritty. The use of magic left a residue that you could smell and feel in the air, the earth, the water. The characters can set Disbursements that allow the magic offload to be handled in a specific way, sometimes through proxies and sometimes through specific effects on themselves. It's a well realized world, filled to the brim with possibilities. I think there's a lot of room for us to see more here.
I really enjoyed experiencing this book through Allie. She's a strong, stubborn, honorable person. She likes helping people, using her magic to protect and do good, and has her own set of code that she tries to live by. I also really like that she can at turns be impulsive, rash even, and at others she can be extremely cautious. She doesn't mind paying the price for using her magic, accepts it as the cost of living how she wants to. I find this admirable, but I have a problem with it too. One of her major costs of doing magic is memory loss - hours, days, weeks, months? I'm not sure if I can trust her to be a reliable narrator, to actually move forward into any sort of life, and the one thing measure she's taken to make sure she doesn't forget forever is writing in a notebook. But the notes she writes are inconsistent, vague, and not detailed enough, in my opinion. However, this is a minor complaint.
There are some alternating third-person point-of-view scenes in this book too, but they felt unnecessary unless that character comes to be more important in the future.
Then there's Zavyion. Allie was very drawn to him from the beginning, even against her own better judgement. He's an intriguing character. I feel like we didn't get to know enough about him as he spent a good portion of the book evading answering any questions. But I do know that his actions spoke fairly loud and I want to know him more.
The pacing of the story felt a little slow to me. While I was curious the entire time I was reading, it took me about 90 pages to really get interested in what was going to happen. What I didn't like is that there seemed to be far too much talk, and little action. Allie does some magic and then spends the next 75 pages talking about what she learned, what it could mean, what she should do now. I would have liked some more action. Though I can appreciate that a first book in a series is going to take some time setting everything up.
Overall, I enjoyed this intro to Allie Beckstrom's world, though I felt there were some areas that could have drawn me in even more. If you're looking for a gritty world with depth, and a strong heroine, then I'd definitely recommend trying Devon Monk's Magic to the Bone.
Allie is a character that rides two sides of thought for me. One moment I love her - she's strong, independent, smart, and kick-ass; the next she's making out with some guy while running for her life (whom she doesn't even really know), not taking basic precautions to ensure her safety, and falling in insta-love.
I said below that the world is well-realized, and I'm not sure what I was thinking. There is a TON of potential in this world, it's fascinating and I'd really love to see it developed. But it's confusing as hell. Half the time that magic was being done I had no idea what was going on, why, or who was doing what. I still don't know who half the players in the story were.
The central mystery isn't completely solved in this book. Partially, yes, but it seems like it's going to be an overarcing plot-line through at least a couple of books.
I still enjoyed the potential here. I liked Allie enough to want to continue - and I have assurances that the series does get better. I'm putting a lot of the above issues down to first-book-syndrome, and going to give the second one a chance.
I gave it 3.5 stars originally, I think I'm closer to 3 stars now. I liked it, with some reservations.
Original Review
Devon Monk has given us a world where magic exists, but it's not a pretty world. There are steep prices for using magic of any sort, and as always, there are ways to circumvent the system. Allie's gift allows her to track those that would wish to hide their magical doings. She prefers to go her own way, forgetting the blood she shares with the man who made harnessing magic possible - her father.
When the story opens it's Allie's birthday, and she's determined to do something nice for herself. Unfortunately, her plans go awry and she ends up getting called out the Hound when a boy gets deathly sick. When that hounding leads her to believe her father is responsible for this illegal Offload, Allie goes to confront him. Seven years since she's seen him last, and all the old bitterness and disappointment comes back so easily - especially when she finds out her father has hired a man, Zavyion Jones, to trail her. She thought she had all the shocks that would come her way, but she was wrong. It was just beginning.
I really enjoyed that the world the Devon Monk created was gritty. The use of magic left a residue that you could smell and feel in the air, the earth, the water. The characters can set Disbursements that allow the magic offload to be handled in a specific way, sometimes through proxies and sometimes through specific effects on themselves. It's a well realized world, filled to the brim with possibilities. I think there's a lot of room for us to see more here.
I really enjoyed experiencing this book through Allie. She's a strong, stubborn, honorable person. She likes helping people, using her magic to protect and do good, and has her own set of code that she tries to live by. I also really like that she can at turns be impulsive, rash even, and at others she can be extremely cautious. She doesn't mind paying the price for using her magic, accepts it as the cost of living how she wants to. I find this admirable, but I have a problem with it too. One of her major costs of doing magic is memory loss - hours, days, weeks, months? I'm not sure if I can trust her to be a reliable narrator, to actually move forward into any sort of life, and the one thing measure she's taken to make sure she doesn't forget forever is writing in a notebook. But the notes she writes are inconsistent, vague, and not detailed enough, in my opinion. However, this is a minor complaint.
There are some alternating third-person point-of-view scenes in this book too, but they felt unnecessary unless that character comes to be more important in the future.
Then there's Zavyion. Allie was very drawn to him from the beginning, even against her own better judgement. He's an intriguing character. I feel like we didn't get to know enough about him as he spent a good portion of the book evading answering any questions. But I do know that his actions spoke fairly loud and I want to know him more.
The pacing of the story felt a little slow to me. While I was curious the entire time I was reading, it took me about 90 pages to really get interested in what was going to happen. What I didn't like is that there seemed to be far too much talk, and little action. Allie does some magic and then spends the next 75 pages talking about what she learned, what it could mean, what she should do now. I would have liked some more action. Though I can appreciate that a first book in a series is going to take some time setting everything up.
Overall, I enjoyed this intro to Allie Beckstrom's world, though I felt there were some areas that could have drawn me in even more. If you're looking for a gritty world with depth, and a strong heroine, then I'd definitely recommend trying Devon Monk's Magic to the Bone.
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