Throughout her studies, Ceony Twill has harbored a secret, one she’s kept from even her mentor, Emery Thane. She’s discovered how to practice forms of magic other than her own — an ability long thought impossible.
While all seems set for Ceony to complete her apprenticeship and pass her upcoming final magician’s exam, life quickly becomes complicated. To avoid favoritism, Emery sends her to another paper magician for testing, a Folder who despises Emery and cares even less for his apprentice. To make matters worse, a murderous criminal from Ceony’s past escapes imprisonment. Now she must track the power-hungry convict across England before he can take his revenge. With her life and loved ones hanging in the balance, Ceony must face a criminal who wields the one magic that she does not, and it may prove more powerful than all her skills combined.
The Master Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg is the third and final book in the Paper Magician trilogy. That isn’t to say that it’s the last in the series. Luckily, Holmberg has graced her audience with another book set in the same world.
That said, this review is about The Master Magician.
I have this thing about prolonging a series despite owning all the books. This is one of those moments. I didn’t really want Ceony or Emery’s story to end, but I also didn’t want to have an audiobook lying around without being listened to. It’s one of those damned if you do and damned if you don’t situations.
And so, I listened to this book. I actually listened to it close to the end of May, but a lot had been going on that I wasn’t able to write my reviews. And so, some of what I’m about to say may be a bit shady.
That isn’t to say this book is shady. Nope, we get to see more about the world and visit characters both new and old. A new law is in the process of being passed for opposite gender mentor/apprentice relationships. This puts a damper in the growing romance between Emery and Ceony.
To quell possible rumors and the off chance that someone would accuse Emery of favoritism, Emery sends Ceony off to another paper magician for her final tests. But in the midst of this, the last remaining villain in Ceony’s adventure into being a magician breaks out of prison.
This book is probably my least favorite out of the three. I wasn’t as gung-ho into Ceony’s attempts at finding the truth. The first two books were awesome, this one just didn’t hit the same mark. Was it a good book? Yes. I love Holmberg’s writing style and the world is very interesting. I did like the extension of the magic system that was developed in this book, though it didn’t feel like it had a solid conclusion.
The rest of the book did conclude well and concluded as you’d expect from the previous books. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who needs a bit of fantasy in their life and a magic system that is just a bit different than others. I am happy that there is another book set in the same world though. This might end up adding more to the interesting magic twist Holmberg introduced in The Glass Magician.
All in all, it was a good book and it was fun revisiting the world.
Final rating: 3/5
Casia's Corner 