Review - Magic Without Mercy (Allie Beckstrom, Book 8) by Devon Monk (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: Roc
Release Date: April 3, 2012
ISBN-13: 978-0451464484
Stand Alone or Series: 8th book in the Allie Beckstrom series
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the eighth book in the Allie Beckstrom series. It was a good installment in the series and was an enjoyable read. All of these books encompass one large story, so make sure to start with book one. If you are a fan of urban fantasy, this is a fun and creative series to read.  The ninth book in the series, Magic for a Price, releases in November of 2012.

Magic has been poisoned and Allie and crew are trying to get samples from all of the Wells to try to determine what is wrong. The poisoned magic is still making Allie sicker than anyone else and no one knows why. Just when the crew thinks they have a chance at fixing magic, the Authority gets in the way and makes things even more difficult.

This series is hard to review because this is just one long continuous story. This book adds to the story and does move some elements forward, not a ton is resolved here though.

I love the magic system in these books, how you have to pay a cost to use your magic. Allie doesn’t use magic much in this book because it makes her extremely ill to do so.

Most of the book is spent trying to get samples from the Wells of magic and trying to figure out how to purify it. We get to see a lot of Zayvion doing awesome magic in this book; he can seriously do some outstanding things...but of course he pays a high cost to do those things.

We also learn a lot more about Stone, the gargoyle, and how he was created and what he can do. A portion of the story is also dedicated to Davy and the crazy way they are dealing with his magic illness.

My personal favorite part of the story was watching Terric and Shane finally start to work together as Soul Complements. It was so nice to see some story progression there; the awesome magic those two wield when they work together is something to behold.

So, yeah, a lot of story progression but not much resolution. I really enjoy the characters and the writing is well done. The book was a fun and quick read. This isn’t my favorite Allie Beckstrom story but it was still entertaining. As I mentioned before you have to start with book 1 or you will be totally lost.

Overall a decent installment in this series. Highly recommended for fans of urban fantasy; especially for those who love creative and unique magic systems. Solid characters, a fast-paced plot, and a creative magic system make this a fun read.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge