Syphon's Song: poderes mágicos y maquinaciones políticas

¡Buenos días, arrebatadores! ¿Os apetece que hablemos de magia? A mí me entusiasma leer libros que incluyan magia de todo tipo. La novela de hoy, SYPHON'S SONG, de Anise Rae, es una fantasía moderna que trata de una mujer que ha ocultado durante toda su vida el poder prohibido con el que nació. Es capaz de absorber los poderes mágicos de los magos, en especial aquél con el que está místicamente conectada. Su familia la exilió a vivir con los humanos exentos de magia, es decir, nosotros. Allí intenta dedicarse a la música, lo que más adora, y pasar desapercibida. Claro que no habría historia si lo consiguiera, ¿no? ;o)

Su horrible familia la obliga a viajar al territorio de otra familia fundadora para recuperar el cadáver de su abuelo, encontrado allí con una nota sospechosa. Desde ese momento, su anonimato se romperá como una burbuja delicada. El hombre al que conoció trece años atrás, y a cuyos poderes está vinculada, decide divulgar su secreto, reclamarla para su familia y conquistarla. Ella, por supuesto, lucha con todas sus fuerzas por escapar y se mete en líos tremendos porque todo el mundo quiere matarla.

Me han gustado muchos elementos de esta novela. Tiene un romance pasional, lo que siempre ayuda, pero lo mejor de todo son dos cosas. Primero, la magia. Luego, el misterio del asesinato como fondo de todas las conspiraciones, estrategias y manipulaciones políticas de las familias.

La magia afecta a todas las situaciones diarias como conducir un coche, cerrar puertas, peinarse. Es divertidísimo. Y tan original como su uso más tradicional, es decir, el origen de la magia, sus centros de poder, su jerarquía. Bronte, la syphon, es muy independiente, con lo que está intentando escapar a todas horas del destino que le impone su familia o la del coronel, su cabezota enamorado. Como consecuencia, acaba en medio de secuestros, reyertas, conspiraciones terroristas... Así que la novela no para de producir escenas de enfrentamientos sociales, duelos de poder y acción en las que los personajes son muy variados y vienen cargados de sorpresas. Vamos, ha sido de lo más entretenida y original.

Syphon’s Song

Mayflower Mages

Book One

Anise Rae

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Publisher: Lyrical Press/Kensington

Date of Publication: March 3, 2014

Number of pages: 359

Word Count: 98,000

Cover Artist: Renee Rocco

Available at Amazon

Legends say a syphon can drain a mage dry. He’ll brave the danger. Will she?

Someone’s playing pranks. The body of the late Casteel patriarch has been stolen and gifted to the family’s enemy, the powerful Rallises. As far as Bronte Casteel is concerned, they can keep it. She hasn’t spoken to her family in thirteen years, not since they exiled her from society for her lack of mage power. But she’s a syphon mage, able drain another mage’s power. Syphons’ destinies are always the same: death by fiery stake. She hides her secret by living among the Nons--powerless humans and the lowest class in the Republic. When her family orders her to go plead for the body’s return, she comes face to face with the one man who knows her secret.

Colonel Vincent Rallis isn’t letting his syphon get away this time. Not when she’s under suspicion of body-napping and aiding anti-mage terrorists. He’ll prove her innocence whether she wants him to or not, and then convince her they belong together...forever.

Vincent’s help comes with a steep price: Bronte must reveal her power. The inevitable ensuing witch-hunt and trial would be bad enough, but even a tough girl might buckle if her prosecutors are her own parents.

CONTENT WARNING:

Hot, steamy nights with the colonel’s magic touch

A Lyrical Press Paranormal Romance

MY OPINION OF SYPHON'S SONG

Dangerous magic, forbidden passion, and tyranny? Yes, please! The first thing that grabbed my attention was the line from the synopsis that reminded me of witches being branded and killed for their power. Of course, sultry nights with a certain colonel didn't exactly deter me from reading ;o)

Legend has it that a syphon could suck a mage's power dry. That's why they were persecuted and burnt at the stake. Nowadays, Bronte lives in exile in the Southern territories among people with no magical powers. Rejected by her kin, one of the founding families, she's been struggling against prejudice, solitude, and a dangerous knowledge that can mean her doom.

Until she's summoned to the Rallis family's territory to act as messenger in a grisly matter. Face to face with the man she met thirteen years ago, legend is about to become reality. Colonel Vicent Rallis is bent on revealing her secret to the world and claiming her for his own.

Loved it! From the first page of solid writing and exciting premise, this novel has won me over with all kinds of wonderful elements. The magic that runs in each family has many possibilities ranging from deflecting spells to talking to a single person without anybody hearing the conversation or blasting whole landscapes away. It was very interesting to see how magic affects all sorts of daily things such as locking doors or driving cars.

Not all is fancy though. Life in these lands is harsh and tightly ruled by the powerful families. Sponsorship and permits are essential to travel, work and exist without breaking the law. My favourite part of the novel is its worldbuiling. The powers and how their wielders react to its effects, the territories where magic is marked, the music that is reserved to mages, all contribute to a highly detailed context for the plot. Politics and strategy are wonderfully exemplified by Vincent's family. They support him in every way and rally to his cause without remorse or hesitancy. I liked that trait of theirs. As I appreciated Vincent's loyalty and determination to protect Bronte, even against her instincts. She is fiercely independent, but she's always been so scared that she's living half a life. Through many trials will she free herself. I  was just hoping she'd get an extra reward in Vincent's feelings for her. I do love a man in love!

Bronte is a damsel in much distress, always fighting to the last consequences but finding herself in even more dire circumstances due to her desperate desire to be free. Manipulated, betrayed, hated, this syphon is in the middle of brutal political and magical schemes that push her to the brink of death. That made for very good scenes. It's a very geared-up plot with lots of scheming, espionage, terrorism, and maneuvering. And a romance with a sexy night in too.

A fantastic read, this is a thrilling, fast-paced adventure full of plot twists and action-packed magic that never stops entertaining.

**

About the Author...

Anise Rae grew up among the cornfields and soybeans of Ohio, dreaming of being a ballerina, an astronaut, and a romance writer. Thanks to her soul deep love of chocolate and a lack of natural grace, her ballerina dreams floated away as high as the moon, equidistant with the astronaut aspiration. She stuck with writing. 

Now transplanted to the south, Anise lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with her kids and a dog gifted with the power of finding dirty socks.

Syphon’s Song, a 2012 Maggie Award of Excellence finalist, is the first book in the Mayflower Mages series.

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Author photo by www.surianiphoto.com

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¿Os gustaría protagonizar una novela en la que sois una heroína perseguida por su poder? Resulta inquietante, pero da para mucho argumento ;o)

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