Tagged: mine to spell
Mine to Spell by Janeal Falor
(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.
My Interview with Janeal Falor
Janeal Falor is the author of You Are Mine, a novel about a society where magic is real and where all women are owned by warlocks. Below is our discussion about the inspiration for her fantasy/dystopian novel, the sequel Mine to Spell and why self-publishing was the best option for her.
1. Where did the inspiration for You Are Mine come from?
I’d been in a mood to read a lot of marriage of convenience/arranged marriage-type books and then I thought: What if these girls weren’t being sold off for money? What if they were being sold for something they had that was of great value, but something they couldn’t control. Something like… Magic! And You Are Mine was born.
2. What was your world-building process like? Did you start out with a basic idea and then build around it before you started writing or did it all come to you as you wrote?
Most of it started with a basic idea and came as I wrote. There were a few spots where I knew I needed to show more of what the world was like and I thought, how can I add something that supports their world and the story at the same time? But mostly whatever flowed out was what happened.
3. Who is your favourite character in your first novel? Why?
Katherine. Though I’m probably biased towards because I just finished writing her novella. She is sweet, but strong. She’s been through a lot and is able to use the strength she’s gained to help Serena.
4. What made you decide to self-publish? Would you recommend it to anyone else?
Short answer: I had been trying to get an agent for this book, but stopped because it just didn’t feel right. After a break from trying, I realized I still loved You Are Mine and wanted to do something with it. I thought a lot about the pros and cons to all my options, made a giant list of them, and in the end, self-publishing just felt right. Really right.
Short answer to the second questions as well: Yes, BUT it’s tons of work. That means it’s not for everyone. It’s an intense process when done right, but is an amazing feeling when you see your hard work pay off. There are a lot of great choices in publishing right now, so you can pick what works for you and your books. Thankfully if you do go with self-publishing, there’s a lot of great information out there.
5. Do you have any advice for any aspiring writers reading this?
Read. A lot. Write even more. Believe you can follow your dreams.
I still have a lot to learn, but these are the things that have helped me the most.
6. Can you give us any hints as to the next novel, Mine to Spell? Do you have a tentative release date yet?
Yay for hints! Let’s see what I can say without spoiling anything…
As much as I love Zade and Serena, the hero Cynthia falls for in Mine to Spell makes me all melty and swoony. Seriously, sometimes I “edit” gushy parts just because I want to read more about him. This means there’s more romance than the first book, though it’s still not the main focus of the book.
The first chapter starts a few months after You Are Mine ends on Cynthia’s 17th birthday. Also, I think the end of the first chapter is going to make a lot of people happy/excited and help with understanding Cynthia so much better. Nice, vague response 😉
And very tentatively, I’m shooting for releasing in Spring of next year. Probably March or April.