The Witness

The Time of Magic, Book I

De: Amir Shevat

Narrado por: Kate Reading

Six hundred years ago, the world's greatest wizard sacrificed himself to purge magic from existence. His spell is finally breaking.

For generations, the Brotherhood has waited in secret, preparing for the day when magic would return and the elves could cross through time to reclaim their place in the world. But they've lost track of their most vital piece: the Witness, a bloodline with powers that can bridge past and future.

Brenda Mountain knows nothing of her heritage. She doesn't know her family guarded ancient secrets for five centuries. She doesn't know her dormant abilities are the key to opening a gateway through time.

When Valor, the last surviving elf prince, appears through a rift in reality, everything Brenda thought she knew shatters. His people are dying in the past, trapped by a plague designed to eliminate all magical beings. Only she can help him complete the spell that will save them.

But the enemies of magic have not been idle.

The Kildare organization has spent six hundred years preparing for this moment. They'll stop at nothing to finish what their prophet started. As Brenda's powers awaken and ancient forces stir across the world, she discovers that bringing back magic means bringing back everything: the wonders and the horrors, the heroes and the monsters.

The age of magic is returning. And the world will never be the same.

In a desperate race across America to a sacred canyon in Arizona, Brenda must master powers she barely understands, survive enemies with centuries of knowledge, and make an impossible choice: save Valor's people and unleash magic on an unprepared world, or let an entire civilization die to keep humanity safe.

The gateway opens at dawn. Thousands of lives hang in the balance. And Brenda is running out of time.

Book One of a complete trilogy chronicling magic's return and the war for Earth's future.

©2025 Amir Shevat (P)2025 Amir Shevat

Great story that takes you on a magical trip

A great world building experience that starts in our modern world, and takes you on a ride as magic and magical creatures are reintroduced. I loved it!

Entertaining, intriguing and light hearted

Good first book of an easily digestible and enjoyable fantasy series.

I like that the author didn't build a completely new world. This is something you rarely see in fantasy, The storyline happens in our world, our time. It's so nice and refreshing not to need to go through a quarter of a book to understand the world, and it eliminates many questions the reader may have along the way.
It makes everything much more relatable, so much so, that I sat in the exact coffee shop mentioned in one of the scenes. I giggled when the total of two coffees and a sandwich came out to $42 haha pretty spot on.

The protagonist is annoying, she kind of behaves like a teenage brat sometimes, and I didn't like her disdain of men, but I understood her better when her family history was explained.

I really liked Valor's character, although it took me a while to figure him out. He's not your typical elf like the serious stern elves like Legolas or Elrond, but more like if Tom Bombadil was an elf. A bit goofy and silly and it took me a minute to disambiguate his character.

Throughout the book there are new characters introduced, but the author does it in a way that isn't tedious, tiring or confusing to the reader.
I loved the references to other books and movies throughout the story, it was kind of like finding easter eggs :)
Generally good character development but lacking serious depth, which is in line with the genre.
I'd like to see a bit more depth and development with Brenda and her parents, I feel like I need a bit more info there.

Will this book change your life? No.
Will your life be a tad more interesting while reading this book? Yes.
Will you remember this book forever? Maybe.
Will I be looking forward to reading the rest of the series? Definitely.

All in all very streamlined, fun and enjoyable. Waiting for the next book in the series.

****
Narration:
Annoying but acceptable. The narrator clearly has an American accent but she emphasizes consonants too much, draws out syllables and puts the emphasis on the wrong syllables. Who pronounces Boris like that?
I personally would think twice about listening to books with this specific narrator in the future if I come across her work again.