Magical Midlife Love

This review is also featured on Behind the Pages: Magical Midlife Love

Jessie is earning a name for herself in the magical world and within her town. But with her notoriety comes an increase in potential enemies. While the Ivy House team has certainly become more powerful, they are not at their peak performance. Jessie needs a skilled teacher in magic and to undergo a blood oath to reach her full potential. When she receives an invitation to meet with a powerful mage, she knows the team isn't ready yet. They will have to shore up their defenses and prepare as best they can. But with the Ivy House gang, you know it will be an enchanting and humorous experience.

Magical Midlife Love kicked off with a visit from Jacinta's son, but the time spent with him seemed rushed. After the hilarious visit from Jess' parents in the last book, I was expecting more family time when her son came to visit. Granted there were some funny scenes, but the family dynamic didn't build as much as I thought it would. However, even if this side story didn't quite pan out, the rest of Magical Midlife Love definitely made up for it.

The addition of an adrenaline junkie mage with an inability to tell social cues was perfect. Every character in this series is a bit off, and it adds to the humorous chaos that encompasses Ivy House. Sebastian was a great balance to Austin's growing power, making sure the story never veered too far into the serious side. Sebastion also brought to light the technical side of magic. I enjoyed learning about how magic worked and the different ways it could be used. He challenged Jessie to craft more complex spells and pushed her towards success.

I also enjoyed the return of Mr. Tom and Niev's bantering back and forth. While present in the first book, their love-hate relationship has faded into the background as various characters and plot points have developed. As I listened to the audiobook, I couldn't help but laugh at their verbal sparring and antics.

Now let's talk about the tension between Jessie and Austin. The tension that is so present all one or the other has to do is take a few steps and it will drag them under. This has been building and teasing readers since book one, growing in intensity as the series has progressed. While I can understand Jessie's hesitation due to her divorce, I also think it's been taking way too long for them to make a decision. Even by the end of this book, I'm left a bit confused as to why Jessie is struggling so hard to form a concrete relationship. But romance is also not normally my thing, I'm here for the humor and magic slinging action.

Magical Midlife Love was another fun installment to the Leveling up series. These books are easy reads that can help alleviate my mind when I've read heavier novels, or when I don't want to work as hard putting together plot points. While the romance is a bit off, I enjoy the magical battles and the ever evolving team at Ivy House.