Review: “Eternal Magic,” Linsey Hall

Pros: Gets intense!
Cons: …
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Linsey Hall’s Eternal Magic (Dragon’s Gift: The Huntress Book 4) is a great follow-on to books one through three. Cass and her sisters-by-choice, Del and Nix, woke up in a field when they were fifteen years old. They knew what they were, but not who they were. They were FireSouls, able to steal the powers of others when those others die. As such, they knew they would be hunted and thrown in the jail for magical miscreants, but they’re also fleeing a mysterious Monster, Victor Orriodor. In book one, Cass had to find and then hide a scroll that could reveal the identities of herself and her sisters. Along the way she met Aidan, a wealthy, handsome, and powerful shapeshifter who’s more than happy to help her out. In book two, the Alpha Council of shapeshifters hired Cass to rescue a missing child. Cass and Aidan found out she’d been stolen by wayward shifters who were working for Victor, and for the first time Cass came face-to-face with the man of her nightmares. In book three, an expanding portal threatened to overtake the local museum, potentially destroying the entire magical city in which Cass and her sisters live. While they managed to partially thwart Victor’s efforts and save the town, Cass lost her powers in order to save everyone.

Now Cass has been told by a seer that if she cannot regain her magic, she will lose an upcoming battle with Victor. She sets out to speak with some scholars who may know something of her parents, and ends up finding her way home–although unfortunately, her parents are long-dead. She and her sisters discover the League of FireSouls, a somewhat diminished and rag-tag group of FireSouls determined to hide away from all those who would hunt them. The other FireSouls are able to show them some of Victor’s background and send the trio–apparently a prophesied Triumvirate, whatever that means–on towards more information. They’re running out of time, as Cass’s uncontrolled Nullification powers keep shorting out the concealment charm that hides her from Victor.

We get to learn more about Cass’s past, FireSouls, Victor, and Cass’s powers in this installment, which is very nice. It gives Victor a bit of depth without trying to excuse his actions at all, but it also raises new, unanswered questions about how he fits into the wider world of Magica.

This installment is more intense than the previous ones. Every time Cass’s Nullifier powers fritz out her concealment charm, they’re attacked by demons. Just to make it all the harder, she doesn’t even feel it when it happens, so there’s no warning. There are some very tense ongoing scenes–enough so that I was caught by surprise when I reached the end of the book!

While Aidan and Cass do finally consummate their relationship–we knew it was coming–it’s handled off-screen in a very PG manner. That’s somehow appropriate to the level of material in these books. I do like the fact that Aidan has respect for Cass and demonstrates it by being willing to wait until she’s ready, without trying to push her. Given the contents of the news these days, that’s heart-warming. Respect is romantic.

While this series still doesn’t feel all that different from the myriad of other urban fantasies out there, this book stood out by how thoroughly it pulled me in. I’m going to read book five next.

• Dragon’s Gift: The Huntress (5 Book Series)
• Dragon’s Gift: The Seeker Complete Series: An Urban Fantasy Boxed Set
• Dragon’s Gift: The Protector Complete Series: Books 1 – 5