
Mageborn
The Hollow King, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Heather Costa
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By:
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Jessica Thorne
A dark and addictive fantasy listen for fans of Graceling and Sarah J. Maas. The life of an orphan soldier becomes entwined with that of the mysterious heir to the throne, whose very presence draws out the secret magic living inside her: a magic that breaks every law she is duty-bound to uphold....
The room is small and dark. Row upon row of jars line the shelves, each one sealed with blood-red wax. The seal’s mark is a twisted circle of briar with gleaming, gold-tipped thorns. And in each jar a flicker of forbidden magic dances...beautiful, but deadly.
Sold to the Crown in the aftermath of the Last Great War, Grace Marchant has never known her parents. Now, she trains as an elite soldier tracking down mageborn - those born with an ancient and long-outlawed magic - and destroying them if they don’t surrender their power to the Crown.
The mageborn who submit are collared, then handed over to the King’s cousin and heir: the elusive Bastien Larelwynn, Lord of Thorns, locked away in his shadowy workshop deep inside the castle. What becomes of them is hard to say - the Lord of Thorns keeps his secrets close.
Grace has always fought the voice inside her that questions whether the law is truly just - but when her closest friend is next on Bastien’s list, Grace’s loyalties are tested to the limit. Confronting Bastien - searching his strangely compelling obsidian-black eyes for answers - Grace is shocked to feel herself begin to change, to show the first signs of the wild magic she so fears.
Only the Lord of Thorns has the power to save her and the rest of the mageborn - if he doesn’t destroy them all first....
©2020 Jessica Thorne (P)2020 BookoutureListeners also enjoyed...




















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Good
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LOVED IT
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Listener received this title free
—I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Fantasy Romance
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Didn’t hold up for me.
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I wanted the main male character to be more dominant and brooding to the public so I could believe in his reputation, even if he really is a softie. And I wanted more tension between the lovers. Hoping book 2 delivers.
Great Premise
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Listener received this title free
Then there’s the Prince of Thorns, Bastien Larelwynn. He’s powerful, deadly, part of the royal family, and has his own mysteries. His own childhood memories are fragmented. There are things he wished he remembered clearly. Barring that, he has his job to do: serve the Crown. Bastien is Mageborn, and as with all Mageborn no matter their station, they are collared and serve the Kingdom. If they can’t or won’t do that, well, there’s some harsh ways of dealing with them. And the Prince of Thorns is sometimes the one to carry out those consequences.
The world building is pretty good and these two main characters have a lot going for them. Then the romance steps in and things got a little boring for me. Individually, these two are full-fledged adults: they have jobs, station, a quest of sorts, murky pasts, etc. But then the romance enters the fray and it’s like these two become bumbling teenagers. Sigh… They aren’t teenagers. This isn’t their first rodeo. So, I felt there was a bit of disconnect between getting-stuff-done Grace and broody-haunted-arrogant Bastien and their romantic, teen angst versions. It didn’t work for me.
The rest of the story is cold and hot for me. There’s some great action, more intrigue, bodies, betrayal, and defiance! Yes! But this is interspersed with the immature romantic interludes of our two main characters. I felt the story would have been excellent without the romance, or the romance needed to be aged up a bit to match the other character traits of Bastien and Grace.
Anyhoo, it was pretty good. The tale ends with the main story arc complete but leaving room for more exploration and adventure in a sequel. 4/5 stars.
The Narration: Heather Costa was the perfect fit for Grace. She’s got a strong, no-nonsense voice and captures Grace’s range of emotions perfectly. Her voices for the male characters could use a touch more masculinity. I often had trouble hearing any difference between Asher and Bastien. I loved Costa’s voice for the mentally unstable power-mad female character. She really captured that scary little laugh perfectly. The pacing was good and there were no tech issues with the recording. 4/5 stars.
I received a free copy of this book. My opinions are 100% my own.
Lots of good stuff & a little silly romance
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I tried to finish
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Terrible, not sure what everyone else read but couldn’t have been this book
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