The Tethered Mage

By: Melissa Caruso

Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld

Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's Summary

In the Raverran Empire, magic is scarce, and those born with power are strictly controlled - taken as children and conscripted into the Falcon Army.

Zaira has lived her life on the streets to avoid this fate, hiding her mage-mark and thieving to survive. But hers is a rare and dangerous magic, one that threatens the entire empire.

Lady Amalia Cornaro was never meant to be a Falconer. Heiress and scholar, she was born into a treacherous world of political machinations.

But fate has bound the heir and the mage. And as war looms on the horizon, a single spark could turn their city into a pyre.

The Tethered Mage is the first novel in a spellbinding new fantasy series.

©2017 Melissa Caruso (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"A rich world, political intrigue, and action that keeps you turning pages - The Tethered Mage is classic fantasy with a fresh voice." (Jeff Wheeler, author of The Queen's Poisoner)

"Intricate and enticing as silk brocade. Caruso's heroine is a strong, intelligent young woman in a beguiling, beautifully evoked Renaissance world of high politics, courtly intrigue, love and loyalty - and fire warlocks." (Anna Smith Spark, author of The Court of Broken Knives)

"An enchanting voice and an original world you won't want to leave." (RJ Barker, author of Age of Assassins)

Loved it!

The story was amazing. the world is so vibrant. the intrigue was papable. danger and betrayl around every corner!

the performance was spot on. i really loved it!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great book of Intrigue and Magic

Slow start, strong finish. Plenty of mystery and intrigue! Looking forward to the next book!

Exactly what I was looking for!

I love reading fantasy, but I'm so tired of reading books that lack gender equality. The author does a great job of creating an old-world styled realm of magic where the characters are as likely to be female as male. While the protagonist is of the upper-class, she becomes more aware of others who don't share her privileges, though it's done in a way that isn't preachy. So refreshing to read an engaging story without having to roll my eyes at glaring insensitivity.

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

A different type of Mage tale.

I really enjoyed this Audio book because it was a different take on magic and how to control magic. In this tale, the Mage has an habbit of loosing control of their magic and destroying whole cities and multiple lives. To control the Mage, they can be tethered much like someone would tether a hawk or falcon. This is done with a magical tether that is placed around the wrist of the Mage. The story gets interesting when the daughter of a very high ranking noble tethers a very dangerous fire mage to save the city from burning to the ground.
A very well written and narrated story. Solid 4 stars!

Riviting fantasy politics

I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end. The narrator kept the story flowing and gave each character life.

Couldn't get into the story.

Struggled to get half way through this story. Too many hesitant political driven scenes with no energy. Good idea for characters, but no heat.

An absolute pleasure and must read

What a fabulous beautiful book. Not only a tremendous tale with magic woven with intrigue, but an intervention into the lack of lgbtq characters in speculative fiction. Lush pros and gifted world building. Definitely an addition into the fantasy canon.

Can't wait for the sequel

Great story, interesting characters, and a very cool magic system. The narrator does a nice job giving each character their own voice.

A Political Fantasy Debut

First off, let me just say that I did enjoy this book. Now that I've said that, I didn't love this book because it was too politic heavy. Now I usually don't have a problem with politics in fantasy novels (Game of Thrones anyone?), but this was too politically dense. I understood the reasons for the politics, but for every chapter to be about the situation with the Empire was just boring. I wanted to learn more about the magic system, but nope just more politics. I didn't like Amalia as a main character because she mostly kept focusing on what her mother's reaction would be and it wasn't until the end that she started thinking for herself. I absolutely love Zaira because she was just so witty and sarcastic about everything. I loved the fact that there wasn't much romance. Overall, this was an ok book.

Captivated and enthralled from beginning to end!

There was so much intrigue and excitement I found it nearly impossible to find a moment to pause listening. It is a rare gift to so artfully blend storytelling and Rich language with the sense of adventure and unpredictability which this story aChieves magnificently! Fantastic work and I eagerly await the next novel!