Sydney

This book was a fun start to my love affair with The Guild Codex series. A human bartender working at a magic guild - count me in! But when I started book one, I had no idea what I was in for. Three Mages and a Margarita introduced me to a world that is immersive and alluring and hopeful and dark, and so much more.

There's everything you could want in an urban fantasy novel - magic, love, power, corruption, friendship, loyalty, mystery, intrigue, betrayal...the list goes on. The characters are well written and feel authentic, with their own motivations that make sense. I've laughed, I've cried, and everything in between.

As soon as I finished this book, I binged the rest of the series and it was so worth it.

I love this book! Kit's a complex character, with baggage and a little trauma that causes fun consequences a few times. He's hilarious, clever, full of great movie references, and quite charming when he wants to be. I love his reactions, his quips, and his heartfelt moments.

While the Warped series and this book are a part of the Guild Codex universe (making them so much more fun if you've read Spellbound and Demonized), Kit can carry his own. He's not perfect by any stretch, and makes a few dumb decisions of course, but the authors have done an excellent job of conveying his reasons and motivations. Everything he does makes sense for him, whether it works out or not.

If you like magic, adventure, and fun, you'll like this book.

If you liked Warped #1, you're in for a TREAT with this one!

We jump back in with Kit working for the MPD and torturing his desk mate with fun warps. He and Lienna team up for an investigation into demonic activity, leading them on a wild and dangerous ride.

The chemistry between Kit and Lienna is chef's kiss and I love them! Their back-and-forth is hilarious, and they work well together.

If you've read the other Guild Codex books, you'll be rewarded by with some familiar faces and insights into other characters and events.

AMAZING!! Fantastic follow-up to the intro of Saber, my favorite knife wielding not-a-witch. I loved how she - and we - finally get some answers about her past.

Zak and Saber are still spicy, and there's a lot of growing here for the two of them. They finally talk...sorta, and get some things out there that needed to be said. Zak has really grown since we first met him, and this story would be very different if it weren't for the events in Spellbound.

While I am here for the slow burn of Zak and Saber, I am very intrigued by Rikr and his past as the Winter King. We find out what's important (at least what Rikr says is important and only time will tell if he left out something interesting) and I love the way it goes down.

I really enjoyed Lallaki's role in this one, and I'm super excited we're going to find out more about her in the next book. I bet her story is dark and twisty and I can't wait.

The end sets up the next story in a perfect Guild Codex sort of way, and it's gonna be a tough wait for the next book.

Wow...this book was incredible. After how we left things at the end of Persepolis Rising, I don't know what I was expecting, but this wasn't it.

I'm writing this 2.5 years after I finished Tiamat's Wrath for the first time, and a week after I finished it for the ... ~10th time. So saying I like this book and this series is a bit of an understatement.

If you're reading this review, chances are you liked the previous Expanse books (plus we're ages past its release date) so I'm not going to worry about spoilers after this point. You've been warned.

So the opening is a bit of a heartbreak. Take a cry break if you need to, but power on because this book is real good.

While Holden has never been my favorite (I've always liked him, but he gets edged out by a decent margin), he really grew on me here. He's learned a lot and I love what he does with his shit situation after getting captured on Medina in Persepolis Riding. The way he interacts with everyone, the dancing bear, the way he just has to push a button if he sees it.

Naomi continues to level up her awesomeness with each book. She's boss level now and I love it.

Alex just keeps doing his thing and continues to be the heart and soul of the Roci crew.

Bobbie Draper is the most badass woman to ever exist, and everything about her character is perfection.

Amos. The last man standing. His whole arc in this book is great and rivals his post-apocalyptic trek with Peaches.

Elvi makes a fun re-appearance and I'm so glad. I liked her in Cibola Burn (yes, even her crush on Holden, I thought it was realistic!) and I like her here. She's another awesome woman who gets shit done in her way.

Teresa is a nice new addition and I hope she sticks around for the last book. But if you didn't like Elvi in Cibola Burn, you'll probably need to dust off your Liz Lemon eyeroll for some of her chapters. She's a bit cringe at times, given she's the teenage daughter of a galactic dictator, but her story is important, interesting, and pretty funny.

While there's some heartbreak in this book, the ending is happy-ish (I mean, we are still in the Expanse series, it's not a Disney movie) and will leave you eagerly anticipating Leviathan Falls.