Normally my reviews for this read-along would post on Fridays. I’m a little late for the first 😉
Happy Friday y’all! For the last half of 2024, Books of My Heart is hosting a read-along of Dannika Dark‘s Mageri series. #COYER has adopted the read-along and will be hosting live book chats in our Facebook group. You can see the schedule by clicking here. I’ve read the first few books of this series already, but I’ll be re-reading those and am excited to finish the series. I’ll be posting reviews for each book the Friday before the chats. If you’d like to join us, find our group on Facebook here.
Sterling by Dannika Dark Narrator: Nicole Poole
Series: Mageri, #1, #1
Published by Self Publish, Tantor Audio on 2011-09-06
Length: 316 pages
Length: 9 hours and 59 minutes
Listening Speed: 2x
Reviewing Audiobook, Kindle from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2024 Audiobook Challenge, 2024 Backlist Reader Challenge, 2024 COYER Unwind, 2024 Finishing the Series Reading Challenge
A young woman is thrust into a new life after receiving the gift of immortality. Or was it a curse?
Zoë Merrick led an unremarkable life until the night she was brutally attacked. She narrowly escapes death, rescued by Adam, an ex-soldier who offers her friendship and shelter. But something isn’t right. A powerful energy is now coursing through her body—one she’s unable to control.
Justus De Gradi is handsome, arrogant, and not entirely human. After a chance meeting with a young woman who is dumbfounded by her Mage gifts, he offers himself as her mentor. Their world is treacherous, and if she doesn’t master her power, others will.
Torn between two choices, Zoe can either hide in the human world or embrace her new gifts and live as a Mage. Justus has sworn an oath to guard her life, but can he protect her from the one man who has a right to claim it?
Zoë learns the price of freedom...and the value of loyalty.
Sterling by Dannika Dark is the first book in her urban fantasy series Mageri that follows the story of Zoë Merrick. Zoë was your average girl, living what she thought was a rather boring life until one night she decides to take a shortcut. That shortcut ended with her being attacked and waking up the next morning in a body bag. Her life as she knew it will never be the same.
I like Zoë. She is understandably frightened and angry at the hand life has dealt her. She can’t return to the life she knew, she can’t even say goodbye to those she loves and love her. And when things start happening to her, she learns to roll with it. Zoë handles her new life much better than I would. She is determined to learn her place and cope with her new reality, and that’s admirable.
This book could really be divided into two separate stories. The first 40% is her life with Adam, immediately after the attack and her transformation. Adam is broken as much as Zoë is. His scars aren’t visible though. He is alone in the world until he finds her, and now he feels it his responsibility to protect her. I have a lot of questions about Adam and very little answers. I don’t even know that he will return after this book, which is odd as I honestly believed him to be the love interest at first.
The last part of the book is Zoë training with Justus. Justus comes across Zoë on a trip to Memphis. Drawn to her, he recognizes the light within her. This light is what changed her and made her a Mage, it’s why she survived the attack, and it is why she leaves Adam to be trained by Justus. This training is intense, both physically and mentally, but Zoë pours herself into wanting to learn about this new world.
I really struggled with the plot/pacing the first time I read this book. As I mentioned, the book could have been divided into two parts. The first part with Adam is oddly paced, and as a result, I felt like I missed big parts of the story. The second part is much smoother and sets up the world for the rest of the series. In fact I’m curious to learn more about the world of the Mageri and what will happen next.
Overall I enjoyd Sterling. The first time I read this I nearly DNFed it. The pacing threw me off. This time I enjoyed it more, knowing what was coming and what to look for helped. The storyline does a great job of setting up the future of the series as well as some spin-off series. As a result, I felt like Sterling read more like a prequel than the first book. If you enjoy paranormal romance and urban fantasy, I believe you’ll enjoy where this story is going.
Audiobook Note: I decided to listen and follow along in my kindle copy, and I’m so glad I did. Nicole Poole is a fantastic narrator. I never once wondered who was speaking as each character’s voice is different. It’s hard to believe it’s the same person narrating. I did bump up the speed to faster than my normal, but this really didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book.
Join us for book two, Twist, on August 16th.
Lillian thanks so much for sharing your review and thoughts. It was definitely the first book syndrome for me. Yes the packing was odd at first too. It’s been highly recommended to me and the narrator is well loved. You’re up for book 2 and I hope you will be able to do some chats. Thanks for all the support for the Read-along and sharing the info.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…🎧 Only Exceedingly Shy by Jann Rowland #JannRowland @bellowsaudio @TantorAudio #LoveAudiobooks @sophiarose1816
I quite enjoyed this book as well. I’m intrigued by this world, it’s different from what I’ve read before. I’m excited to read the next book and get more clarity on how things work.
Rolé @ Hooked By That Book recently posted…Review: The Secret Hook-Up – by Pippa Grant