I found this book to be enthralling, for me it was similar to Throne of glass, this world being more magical. I have not read the whole series so am comparing book 1 only. This book gripped me and got me addicted, had to binge read it and couldn't put it down.

The plot of the story went something like there is this kingdom which was ruled by Hollow king who was mad with magic and his sister who actually was crazy and had immense magic but not more than the king. This king was a god of mageborn (peope with magic) and so was his sister. One day, this human comes and says that people are going to rebel and mageborn will be harmed. He promised that if he was cowned the king he will protect all mageborn. From then this human founded the Larelwynn dynasty and only blood successors of his dynasty could succeed him(not a mageborn, he has to be human). Presently, Marius was the king and his brother, Bastien was the lord of Thorns, while Marius ruled the whole kingdom, Bastien controlled the mageborn for Marius. Bastien had this immense magical power which no other had. He was the ruler of mageborn but he was loyal to Marius. 

now Marius falls ill and has no heir and declares his brother Bastien as heir. The complication is though Bastien is a blood royal he isn't a human, he is a mageborn, the most superior one at that so chaos take place and riots incept. meanwhile, Grace, an orphan grows up to be an officer and suspects Bastien of misusing his power, she suspects him but while doing it Marius asks Grace to owe for the protection of Bastien (bodyguard kinda) because of the ongoing riot and threat to Bastien's life. 

I was devoured by this world and would love to read the sequel. I got a complimentary copy of this book and all opinions are honest and mine.

I received this book from Net Galley and Bookouture in exchange for an honest review. 

Fantasy books are incredible because you can create so many new worlds. Unfortunately since there's so many and I don't have the time to indulge myself I can't read them most of the time. Thankfully when I saw this title on a request on Net Galley I told myself "It sounds intriguing, I love intriguing magic and sizzling romance so why not?" and next thing I know I got approved, how fun! :D

"You really believe that crap?" he spat. "The way they treat us?"
I believe it. I know what monsters like you can do. I've seen it. The evidence is downstairs. But the law does not bend, and cannot break. Truth and justice, that's what matters.

Grace Marchant owes everything to the crown. She was raised to apprehend unregistered mageborns (those who were blessed with the power of magic) and stop them from doing any harm. She's the poster child of the academy, beloved by her officers and sworn to upheld the law and protect those who cannot help themselves. Right away I was smitten by her a true soldier putting herself on the front line, ensuring that the kingdom is safe, treating her teammates with their respect and love while others would be afraid or sneer at them just because of their powers. Grace tries her best but alas everything isn't as easy when troubles starts to brew when the Lord of Thrones, Bastien Larelwynn the cousin to the king, is in serious problem when his work gets stolen and only Grace anointed by the king can keep him safe.

"No buts, captain. I'll protect you."
She couldn't help the smile, a broken wavering expression. "That's my job, Bastien. I'm meant to protect you."
"Then we protect each other. It seems only fair. Deal?"

Bastien and Grace relationship started on a very rocky start. Bastien is a complex character, hated for what he is to the crown and the people and yet a cog to the machine that ensures the safety of the mageborn. He know he can't change things due to the politics and his reputation but he is trying. Grace didn't trust him and frankly who would when all evidence of him of his experiments points to him in series of unspecified crimes. There's a battle of wits between the two, undeniable attraction and yet they both horde secrets unwilling to relay on one another. I liked how slowly the plot headed to where their connection began to bloom into this romance but it also felt kinda not right there yet. It's like a cake in a oven. You want the cake to be baked, to taste good but you can't be hasty and thus despite all that it does taste incredible but not sufficiently like you presume it'd.

Mageborn is the first of a planned new series made by the lovely Jessica Throne published by Bookourture. I never read anything from her nor heard about her and I am quite baffled why not. Sadly not many indie creators get to be noticed in the industry especially if it's a sci-fi or fantasy story. Jessica plotted a colorful mythology in a fascinating magic system that at first seems simple and yet expended the further you read in. You think you understand how the world works but then its flip everything upside down. I really can't wait for the sequel and if you are interested please try to give it a read.

I absolutely love the cover of this book. Grabbed my attention first.
"Mageborn" is the first book in a series and I found it very interesting. I haven't read a book quite like this.
Grace Merchant was sold to the Crown after the Last Great War and has no knowledge of who her parents were. Trained as an elite soldier, tracking down rogue mageborn (humans with magic), and turns them over to Bastien, Lord of Thorns. Bastien's is heir to the throne even though laws forbid a Mageborn to be crowned.
This novel is full of magic, mystery, secrets and revenge. I look forward to the next book.

Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for the eARC

Lieutenant Grace Marchant is the model officer - loyal and skilled, with no family but her fellow Academy graduates. She is proud to lead her team in hunting down dangerous rogues, mageborn consumed and corrupted by their magic. When one of her friends falls prey to this same corruption, Grace is confronted with her grief and the aloof Bastien, Lord of Thorns. Uncovering his secrets and the history that holds her kingdom together, Grace finds herself walking a dangerous path of helping the mageborn while keeping them from guessing her own secret. That she used to be one of them. A mageborn, with vivid dreams influenced by the source of their power, the Maegen, until it was burned out of her as a child. And that power just might be returning.

I like Grace. She's uncompromising, knows what she wants and how to get it. The only place she is hesitant is with Bastien...who has the facade of a brooding stoic but is really a lost puppy. I mostly enjoyed his POVs for their insights on political motives and the hints at something much larger lurking behind the scenes. Anyway. Grace and Bastien meet. He likes her, she likes him, and everyone knows it.

Throughout the story, I learned lots of details about each of the characters, but somehow those features never coalesced into a cohesive personality. For example, Bastien's position as royalty, his magical abilities, the gaps in his memory, even some of his favorite foods - these traits didn't carry through to his actions in a way that made me think, Ah yes, this is just the sort of thing Bastien would do.

Most of the twists didn't come as a surprise, but there are some seriously cool moments, 80% of which are in the closing chapters. We're talking epic, chills-to-your-bones, types of scenes, where magic thrums and the world holds its breath. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get there, and the power of those moments throws everything else into shadow.

**Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC**

How much you enjoy this will likely be equal to how much romance you want in your YA fantasy. If you want the plot to be completely subjugated to the romance, to the point where everything that is said or done is to create those romantic tingly moments, then hey, this is your book. If, on the other hand, you want an organic plot with believable characters who act logically and in a world that makes sense - well, just enjoy the romance.

Story: Grace was a foundling who was sold to the academy when young to train to be a guard for the King. She does her job well, tracking down rogue magic users (who have the unoriginal moniker of "mageborn") and bringing them to justice before they hurt others. Bastien is cousin to the king and a mageborn - the supreme mageborn, in fact. His job is to help the magic users not hurt themselves with their magic and protect them. Grace suspects Bastien of murdering her best friend in the guards and so will confront him about it. Love ensues.

So, the cliches? Let me count the way: not one but TWO main characters with amnesia and a mysterious past that they aren't curious about but of course knowing is going to save the kingdom! One is a particularly unique snowflake. The King forces them to work together illogically (it's ALWAYS a good idea to give a random person a medallion that lets you fully control the most powerful magic user in the kingdom! But it's ok - because she fell in love with him in her dreams!) so we can have a lot of romantic tension. Both do the prototypical "too stupid to live" actions of going off on their own to save someone. How noble - how stupid. And I'm sure there's going to be a darn good cosmic reason why these two lovers dream about each other in sexy ways - it just wasn't explained yet.

The plot is bog standard medieval fantasy, missing only a dragon or two to liven things up (yes, they would ultimately overshadow the romance, so no dragons for us!). Main character Grace is all noble and strong while overidealized love interest Bastien is all noble and long-suffering-in-silence-while-he-saves-the-world-and-has-to-live-under-bad-rumors-in-doing-s0! It's all so emo - he even always dresses all in black!

There isn't a lot of depth in any of the characters. Love and romance doesn't really need it, I guess. The selling point here is that we have a somewhat strong (a lot of tell and not a lot of show, in my opinion) female protagonist and a bad boy with a heart of gold love interest. Bastien is so pure he really should be wearing angelic robes and singing the birds out of the trees, though. The eeevil are mustache twirling (if women could grow mustaches) baddies of the thinnest of cardboard as to be nearly transparent. You'll see most, if not all, of the plot twists a mile away.

So yeah, the writing is serviceable. It doesn't much get in the way of the story but it doesn't give it a lot of depth, either. It's fairly straightforward. I didn't really enjoy reading the story but I didn't hate it, either. It was just 'meh' - a bit too Mary Sue for my tastes. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Mageborn is the first book of the Hollow King series. Grace has no idea where she came from before she landed in the Academy to be trained as a soldier for the royal family. Her job is to find people who use magic without surrendering to the family and imprison them. They are carried down to the workshop of the King's cousin, the Lord of Thorns, Bastien Larelwynn but nobody knows what happens to them there. One day, her closest friend himself has to be treated by the Lord of Thorns and Grace meets him for the very first time. Being this close to him ignites a magic within her that should not be there. In the meantime, there are changes going on within the palace which could threaten the lives of Grace, Bastien and her soldiers.

I enjoyed this book immensely. The plot moved quickly from the beginning and I found myself sucked into the action from the first page of the book. The romance between two of the characters also added to the book's intensity.

There was one issue for me during the book. There was very little character development. I would have loved to have gotten a better idea of the lives of Ellyn and Daniel, Grace's best friends, before they came into the Academy. The author could have delved a little deeper into their backgrounds in my opinion.

My favorite character was Bastien. When I was first introduced to him dealing with Kai, another of Grace's soldiers, I saw a more compassionate side to him. It was then I realized that he cared about the mageborn, people with magic skills, deeply. I liked Grace as well even if she was a bit harsh towards Bastien. The author was very good at making you love or hate her characters as she wanted you to. From the beginning, I did not trust who turned out to be the villains in the end. I must admit, however, that one of the villains did surprise me. 

Anybody who enjoys fantasy or romance would enjoy this book and hopefully the rest of the series. This is a very promising start to what looks like would be a very enjoyable series. I cannot wait to read the next installment. 

Violence: Sword fighting. Use of magic to kill violently. Very violent deaths of some characters with their bodies left on display
Sexual Content: Very graphic descriptions
Profanity: None
Religious Themes: Mention of divinities and gods. Magic is mentioned throughout this book
Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking: A party where many of the people are intoxicated. Some characters are drugged.

I was surprisingly amazed by Mageborn. I had read the mixed reviews before going in and so glad that I decided to read it. I will say I'm an ACOTAR fan so while the talk about love from Sarah J. Maas fans pulled me in, it also worried me. That is definitely not the first time I have seen that nor will it be the last. Usually it just causes a lot of hype with not enough follow up. That was not the case for me.
This story was a just a thrill for me. It pulled me in hard and I finished it within a few hours.
I thought that the descriptions were beautiful and intriguing. I had no issue building the world and characters in my imagination. I am thoroughly in love with Rathlynn and it many characters.
The character building for Grace and Bastien was amazing. They had unique personalities and drove me nuts with their romantic tension. I do wish their was some more depth put into other characters in the book. Some of the secondary characters had decent back stories and personalities built up. Others that seemed extremely interesting and I wanted to know more about were very lacking.
I loved this book and cannot wait for a continuation.

I could not, for the life of me get into this book. Books should not be advertised as comparing them to best seller series either. It was one of my main reasons for picking this book out to read. I found the main character to be bland and I didn't care for the story line.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an electronic version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an enjoyable read! The magic system was really interesting - I haven't read any other books with quite the same concept, where one incredibly strong magic-wielder is charged with protecting and strengthening the regular ones.

I really enjoyed the depth of the two main characters. Thorne clearly wrote them with much thought and research to make them so complex. The unspeakable, malicious and reckless nature of the antagonists was portrayed strongly as well.

I found that this book did somewhat lack a definite plot (mostly stuff just happened by coincidence), but I have noticed that this often happens with the first book in a series, and it forms a sort of introduction to the world and characters. However, I absolutely could not put this book down. I was completely captivated from the first page!

I highly recommend Mageborn for any lovers of fantasy who enjoy a bit of a romantic twist and some truly despicable bad guys.

ARC from NetGalley

4.25 stars. The extra .25 is solely because of how hard I laughed at the following quote: "Ooh, prostitute omelette," Ellyn cooed. "You're spoiling us."

I quite liked this one. It was definitely a page-turner. It was full of all the magical, enemy-lovery, lusty goodness that I look for in a book.

There was nothing groundbreaking about this book. I have most definitely read this kind of magic system before (not 100%) but I wasn't bothered by it. It was still interesting. I am hoping it is expanded upon further in the next books. The book was a slow starter. It kind of thrusts you into this future/past fantasy cop situation, which I honestly didn't love. The magic really started when Bastien shows up, at least for me.

There were a few times that I raised an eyebrow because things didn't make a whole lot of sense. Like with Marius <spoiler> and his whore wife. If you know that your wife is plotting to subdue and/or murder your cousin who you adore and who is meant to inherit your crown, why don't you... oh I don't know, dump her ass and throw her in the dungeon? Like oh no, I don't know what to do about this. I'm only the fucking King? Please.</spoiler>

I normally tend to find strong female MCs a bit overdone these days, but I didn't find that with Grace. The author didn't go out of her way to cram it down my throat. I mean, it was there and it was obvious, but it wasn't punch in the face over and over obvious. She wasn't doing things out of the storyline just to prove how tough and strong and bad she was.

This book isn't going to blow your mind, but if you like YA fantasy, enemies to lovers, magic, deceit, and sexy bits, you will probably enjoy reading this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for providing me with an eARC of this book for review.

You know when you start a book and it immediately grabs you, and then when you’re not reading it, you keep thinking about it? That was Mageborn for me.

I really enjoyed the magical systems and mythology behind the Maegen and The Hollow King.

Grace is just awesome because she’s a somewhat taciturn control-freak who is actually a softie deep down - I can totally identify with that! Bastien gives me slight Rhysand vibes, and we all love Rhys, don’t we?

I don’t know why but it always makes me happy when there’s a mystery to unravel in fantasy books; what made Grace and Bastien forget their pasts? Can they trust ANYONE?! (I’m a skeptic and trusted no one throughout the book.) I also love not trusting anyone.

Basically this book was just right up my alley! This one is definitely for fans of YA fantasy similar to SJM or Shadow Frost by Coco Ma.

I cannot wait for the next book and expanding on this world and story!

Thank you so much NetGalley for an advanced copy of Mageborn by Jessica Thorne. This book was a bit grim compared to my initial expectations but it wasn't something that stopped me from reading. I am always excited to have a female lead who is strong and determined despite having so many obstacles to overcome. Then there is the aspect of the brooding 'bad boy' with a soft interior, that is something I always love to see.

There were some parts that I felt needed a little more help. I felt like the magic system wasn't explained very well, I continued through several chapter completely confused by it. It's refreshing to see a book do a spin on magic systems but it's so important that it's properly explained. I felt myself drifting away from this book while reading because there was so much going on so quickly without much explanation. There needed to be more early on for me to feel invested and connected to these characters, something to really hook me from the beginning. If I don't feel emotionally invested within the first 3-4 chapters, it puts me in a mode of speeding through just to finish the book.

I’m a sucker for fantasy. And I’m happy to say the plot and world building was interesting. Other than that, the book is terribly long, some paragraphs are pointless and the writing was boring, I often got distracted and ended up looking at my phone.

The premise is something like this: in a land where some people are born with magic, the royals came up with a system to control the Mageborn so they can’t hurt others. Sounds about fair, right? Unfortunately, some people are taking advantage of that system.

Grace is a cadet of the Academy, she hunts rogue Mageborns and believes in the system.

She was fierce for some things, but for others she was so meek. I often found myself thinking maybe she’s bipolar or has an evil twin? Her character appeared uneven, every little thing she did she second and triple guessed. So much time was lost in her head I was skipping paragraphs.

Bastien is the Lord of Thorns, he’s in charge of controlling the Mageborn. He is feared and hated, but the more I read about him the more I realized he’s zero scary, and can be easily manipulated.

He’s another flaky character. His romantic outburst came out nowhere and his thoughts were as undecided as Grace’s.

Overall this book is interesting and entertaining. I wanted to know what came next. I just wished it was condensed better.

Mageborn by Jessica Thorne gave me some intense feelings.
It seemed as though each chapter brought with it a more shocking revelation than the chapter before. Several times I imagined that I’d conclude reading for the night, only to binge-read until 3:00 am.

Golden magic resides in the Prince of Thorns
The mageborn of Rathlynn are mistrusted. All of them are to be collared to keep a control of their power. All mageborn are to pledge their dedication to the crown. When a mageborn loses control, they’re sent to the Prince of Thorns. The prince whom can siphon all of the magic from your body. Naturally, this is why Bastien (the prince) is greatly feared.

Red hot stubbornness lives within Grace
An orphan left to The Academy, Grace is a talented soldier. Loyal to the crown, but even more so to her own team of officers. Truth and justice are what rule her. Even so, she has her own secrets to protect. Secrets she doesn’t fully understand herself.

Grace and Bastien are thrown together under dire circumstances and find themselves up against unknown enemies of great force. Honestly there are too many twists in this story to count them on two hands. The pace of their journey will have you feeling electrified. Readers of Mageborn will be tensed at the edge, ready for a happily-ever-after before being thrown off balance, again and again.

Pre-order Mageborn on Amazon for $0.99 (a steal for such a great story) or read with Kindle Unlimited!

#Mageborn #NetGalley

Jessica Thorne's Queens Wing was an amazing series and I truly believe Thorne is an amazing writer, but this one was not for me. It was very graphic, with violence, a little, but also graphic with relationships and personal experiences. There were some things that were contradictory. (i.e.: the gore waiting for the victim to die ... it made it sound like it always happened, but then it said this was the first time).

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. The opinions are my own.

A sympathetic red-headed heroine, a broody dark antihero and a world where magic is harnessed and controlled - barely.
I really enjoyed this book, and though it was easy to make comparisons at the outset to the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (Bastien reminded me a bit of Rhys) as it progressed it was clear that it had its own story. In the end it was another YA series that this book seemingly mirrored its twist from - Bardugo’s Shadow and Bone. This realisation aside, Mageborn was a fun and exciting ride. Others may have complained about the pacing but I had no problems with the narrative, being swept up in the action which I think takes place over the course of only about three days.
The love story was enough to leave my heart aching and the supporting cast fleshed out for the most part. We did not get to know Ellyn as well as we did Daniel, but as this is a series no doubt we will learn more about her.
Our protagonist Grace is likeable, an extremely difficult thing to pull off in YA where striking the balance between a heroine who is super special and amazing with one who you would hate in real life is difficult. Her backstory unfolds throughout the story and though a little predictable, it makes sense to the reader.
What didn’t make sense to me was the magic in this world, and how it works. One of the cardinal rules of fantasy is making sure your magic system not only has clear rules but also makes sense. Unfortunately I’m still not clear on what the Maegan is, why it nearly destroyed the Hollow King and how exactly the Mageborn draw on and use their powers. Why the powers are different for different people is also never explained, and Bastien’s role in “protecting” the Mageborn is also unclear. We hear quite a bit about Days of Homage but beyond learning the fact that Mageborn have to be “balanced” I was still very much in the dark about it all.
Apart from a vaguely explained magic system the world-building was quite good. Overall, I rate this book at the higher end of the scale, it’s actually a more enjoyable read than some by big name authors I’ve read lately.
Will I read the sequel? Yes.

A good fantasy read overall.

Let's start with what I liked about this book.
I loved the plot. It was well written and overall a good story line. It's a wonderful new world.
The characters are well developped and likeable.

What I disliked about this book.
It was very confusing at times. Sometimes I had to reread some parts because it wasn't clear.
The relationship between the main characters wasn't belivable. I didn't feel the chemistry.

Don't get me wrong, I'll still read the second book if there is one. But I wasn't able to fully immersed myself in this new world.

Like I said before, a good read overall.

Thank you for the opportunity but not for me, thanks. Tried the first couple chapters but could not get into the story.

Title: Mageborn
Series : The Hollow King #1
Author: Jessica Thorne
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Rating:5

A dark and addictive fantasy read 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…

My thoughts
Would I recommend it? Yes
Would I read more of this series?Yes
Would I read more of this author? Yes
A great start to new fantasy series, where the introduction to the world and the magic is spot on, the characters seem to come to life off the page and the magic is unlike anything I've read so far,and the story is told in the prospective of Grace and Bastien ( Lord Thorns ),each having a reason to finding out what is happening to the mageborns and why someone or something is killing them before they themselves become next. Another thing I loved was how you see bits and pieces of Grace's unknown past and you find out that there are ways that magic can be stolen from others .And the more you read the more you see not everything is what it seems, there's twist and turns and hiding secrets,as well lies and don't forget the betrayals. With that said I want to thank NetGalley for letting me read and review it .

This book surprised me. Strangely enough, by the time I was about a quarter of the way through the book I had become more interested in the characters as individuals than I was in the romance. Unfortunately, I wish there had been less focus on the romance and more focus on character development and world-building. The magic system and social/political structure of the world were intriguing enough and I feel like the author could have done more but they didn't.