(Cover picture courtesy of Janeal Falor via email.)

Cynthia has always hidden from her father’s hexes behind her older sister. When her family gains independence unheard of for women, she’s relieved that her days of harsh punishments are over. But as her seventeenth birthday approaches—the typical age to be sold to a new master—death threats endanger her sisters. She now faces two options: run or meet society’s expectations.

For once, Cynthia isn’t going to let her older sister shield her from the problem. She’s going to prove to herself, her sisters, and society that her family isn’t a threat to their traditions. She willingly chooses to be purchased by a new master. A bold step that takes her somewhere she never thought she would go and to a man she might possibly fall in love with. With his help, she may just find a way to save her sisters while discovering how to stand up for herself. If she lives long enough.

[Full disclosure: I received a free ebook copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.]

I very much liked Serena from the first installment of this series but now after reading Mine to Spell I’m rather favouring Cynthia.

Cynthia is a fascinating character.  Now that her older sister is the head of the family with the same status as a warlock she knows she doesn’t have to be sold on her seventeenth birthday.  But if she doesn’t meet society’s expectations and enter the marriage pool there are some very serious death threats against her family that could become reality.  So she chooses to enter the marriage pool and reveals that she isn’t the shrinking violet that always hides behind her older sister anymore.  In fact, she’s ready to show all of Chardonia what women are really capable of.

I loved seeing a bit of an expanded world in this second book.  We see the aftereffects of Zade freeing Serena and giving her status equal to any man.  We certainly see the effects of the attempts on Zade’s life in the previous book and how they’re not going away any time soon.  All those things add tension to the plot but it’s really Cynthia and her actions that drive the story forward.  She really is an incredible character that will surprise you at every turn.

The plot is much more fast-paced than it was in You Are Mine.  This is in part because we have a very different narrator but also because Janeal Falor’s writing has improved.  It was already good but now it’s even better and I think we can expect some great things from her in the future.  There are plot twists around every corner and while the ending isn’t totally unexpected it really is satisfying.

Usually the second book in a series is weaker than the first, but that was certainly not the case with this one!

I give this book 5/5 stars.

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