Mana Mirror: The Second Gate

Mana Mirror, Book 2

By: Tobias Begley

Narrated by: Neo Cihi

Malachi has made a choice.

Meadow, the enigmatic magi and mentor in plant magic, is now Malachi's full-time teacher. Under her guidance, Malachi is ready to advance his magic and begin learning the spells to help himself transition.

As he works to grow his power and achieve this goal, he finds himself facing off against opposition arranged by a mysterious force. Old enemies and rivals raise their heads, while new ones rise up, and Malachi finds himself facing new challenges.

All the while, the Idyll-Flume, a competition for the best of the best young mages, looms on the horizon.

©2024 Tobias Begley (P)2025 Podium Audio

I loved the story!

All of it! I cannot put it down! Haha damn I wish it was so much lol

Well Thought out Magic in a Beautiful World

The magic of Mana Mirror keeps me going to the authors discord daily to talk to discuss it, and we start to get into some of the real stuff here now that Mal has a bit more mana.

Additionally I love that the world itself has a history more similar to our own instead of assuming magic means people never leave the feudal era. All together it shows a consistent thoughtfulness and I very much enjoy the story that it's trying to explore.

Strong sequel that made me squeal with delight

Anything cute and queer already has me. This is no exception. Tobias Begley does it again. My only non-complaint is that it was more setup than payoff for most of the book. This is not bad. It only means I'm even more rabid for book 3 to come out. Can't wait. Performance-wise Neo Cihi was immaculate again. They're a perfect fit for the characters and the world.

Edit: I've nearly completed my second listen. And it's just as good. Podium Audio I'm calling you out. Make with the sequels ASAP (but don't overwork Neo Cihi)! There are two more books to be audioed!

Scattered and Meandering

I'm a fan of this author and I am supportive of queer voices. Additionally, I enjoyed the previous book in this series but I'm finding it more difficult to do so in this one. The protagonist's goals are to get an education sufficient to at least transition gender and to explore romantic relationships. That's a normal amount of ambition for a young adult, but it fails to be compelling.

When I think of other low stakes books in this genre, they all tend to focus on a business and the stakes involved personally and for the employees and community should the business fail. The stakes of Mana Mirror are really just possible setbacks - with the brief life or death stakes occasionally interspersed during fights.

As