Good enough. Moving onto the next one. I still like Zayvion better than the main character--he seems to know that brains are for using, but I have a gripe about him as well--what's with all the freaking secrecy? ( )

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Magic in the Shadows

Magic has not only physically marked Allie’s skin, but it’s also implanted the remnants of her father’s soul inside her mind. The two never had a good relationship while he was alive and now he’s living inside her head. Allie’s only hope of exercising her father is the secret magical organization called The Authority. But they may wipe her ability to do magic quicker than they will help her. Allie must prove to The Authority she isn’t a danger to herself or society. All the while waging a mental war with her father.

Knowing Allie’s father is living inside her mind, and most likely able to see and hear everything she does, brings an extra level of unsettledness to the story. Allie herself begins to feel awkward and insecure as she begins to question everything she does in her personal and professional life. Of course, it doesn’t help that Allie has no way to escape her father whispering condescension in her ear. Not to mention the memories Devon Monk introduces to the storyline of his treatment of her and his misuse of Influence, making Allie do things in life (and now in his death) she hated.

Though some of the comments he makes about her choices aren’t entirely unfounded. Emphasis on some as his character is entirely controlling and slimy. Allie throws herself at danger. Thankfully she has characters who support her and look out for her well being. But it would help if she listened to their advice. Magic in the Shadows is an action-packed ride, but the incentive for the action needed to deviate away from Allie’s bad choices. It seems to be a common theme throughout these reviews, but the plot is littered with repetitiveness. Between Allie doing everything people told her not to, and the disturbing imagery from her father and the Veiled, the writing needs a refresh.

But there is a plethora of new information given to the reader on the nature of magic and its uses. Not to mention some underlying tension and mystery from secondary characters who make their first appearance in this novel. With an abundance of potential, it’s hard not to demand the next book just to see what direction the story will take. Here’s to hoping with all the exciting new threads introduced, the story will grow less repetitive. ( )

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Magic in the Shadows (Allie Beckstrom Series #3) RATING: 2.5 stars.
 
Still not convinced with this series. I like Allie well enough but am not convinced with her relationship with Zayvion. And Zayvion has too little personality for my taste. Also I think the fact that Allie has to deal with both the Hounds and the Authority is too much. ( )

Is it strange that I'm knee-deep in this series and one of my most prominent, recurring thoughts is, "Argh, Allie, buy a car already!" I mean, the girl is a billionaire or near enough to it - even if her father's will is processing slowly, you'd think she'd have the spare cash to get herself a set of wheels? Instead she's always taking cabs or cadging rides off of people and it's really starting to get on my nerves.

So far I have a love/hate relationship with this series. There are a lot of things in it that I love, a lot of others - some nitpicky like Allie needing a car, others more substantial - that get on my nerves. Some of them are essential to the series and probably make it better. For example: Allie's relationship with her father. She spends all this time trying to get him out of her head...but a couple of times she gets a real opportunity to kick him out and doesn't take it. That drives me crazy, but it's realistic. It's hard to hate a parent, or condemn a parent's soul to the endless torments of hell.

I did NOT like the storyline centered on Allie joining the Authority. Allie seems really casual about it, like, "Guess I have to join, oh well," a little mocking and suspicious but that's all. I found the Authority increasingly awful as the book went on and I didn't understand why Allie was even going through the motions to join. Especially when Allie tells Maeve one day that Cody changed her, bringing out the tattoos on her arms, and the next day she finds out that Zavion Closed him. That made me so mad. Am I the only person who remembers that Cody knew glyphs for healing? And since Allie's memory was wiped, those glyphs are gone. Just generally though, all the Authority people seem high-handed and mean, more like villains than allies.

Allie seem to have a highly variable level of intelligence. One second she's smart and strategic. The next she's dumb as a box of rocks. There's one scene where she tries a spell on a bad guy and the spell doesn't work at all. So Zavion warns her: don't use that spell, it will only make the bad guy stronger. Then, a few chapters later, she ends up in a situation with the same bad guy. She promises to stay back and observe, and then she gets another warning: remember, that kind of magic won't do any good, don't use it! So Allie's like, sure, of course not! What does she do? Yep, she tries the same stupid useless spell and gets herself into trouble.

Stuff like that drives me bonkers. And when you compare scenes like that one, where she only seems to know a grand total of three spells and doesn't apply them very well, verses other scenes where she does incredibly complex magic and achieves seemingly impossible things, I start to wonder if the world building and characters are properly constructed and consistent.

Lastly...much as I like Zayvion Jones as a character and a love interest - three and four books down the line he remains really fascinating and mysterious and charismatic - the opening scene where they go on a fancy date was really boring. Usually Allie and Zayvion have pretty snappy, funny dialogue but that whole sequence dragged like nobody's business. So boo to that.


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