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  • Mageborn

  • The Hollow King, Book 1
  • By: Jessica Thorne
  • Narrated by: Heather Costa
  • Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (32 ratings)

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Mageborn

By: Jessica Thorne
Narrated by: Heather Costa
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Summary

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 Bookouture
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What listeners say about Mageborn

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Listener received this title free

great

A thoroughly enjoyed this book. great story and narration. sorry this review is short but I'm not one for me reviewing usually

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Limited number of adjectives

A bit Disappointing, the author repeats the same adjectives within a line or two and seems to have a limited range. Formulaic and not particularly engaging.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

An enjoyable start to the series


I listened to the audible version of this book and although I am not a huge fantasy lover I wanted to try something a bit different.
I did really enjoy this tale of Grace and Bastien, the two main characters who are from different classes: one a soldier who seeks out the mageborn who haven't surrendered their power to the Crown, the other the kings cousin and the most powerful mageborn, to whom the rest pay homage. They find themselves thrown together not sure if they even like, let alone trust each other. This tale sees them in dangerous situations; fighting themselves, their enemies and sometimes their friends; and it isn't always clear who the good guys are and who is to be trusted.
We also meet a host of subsidiary characters, goodies and baddies, some better developed than others, most of whom I am looking forward to seeing more of in the following books.
I did feel there could have been a bit more editing. The lead characters, Bastien in particular, were inconsistently portrayed leading to a bit of a muddle at times.
The romance aspect of the story was also a bit laboured and I felt slowed the story a bit.
This is the first part of a longer story and there are several threads that are not resolved in this book and will presumably be picked up in the ones that follow.
In respect of the audio- I really liked the narrator Heather Costa, and felt she gave a very good performance, with pretty good characterisation and consistency in her narration.
I will be reading the rest of the series to find out what happens next

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great storyline

I Enjoyed this audio book very much from start to finish great story line too

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

awful

so disappointing and I can't return it! just stupid, all over the place and swearing for no reason!! let me give it back audible. it is TERRIBLE

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