Review: Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk

Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk

Allie Beckstrom, book 1

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 368
Published: 2008

Everything has a cost. And every act of magic exacts a price from its user--maybe a two-day migraine, or losing the memory of your first kiss. But some people want to use magic without paying, and they offload the cost onto an innocent. When that happens, it falls to a Hound to identify the spell's caster, and Allison Beckstrom's the best there is.

Daughter of a prominent Portland businessman, Allie would rather moonlight as a Hound than accept the family fortune, and the many strings that come with it. But when she discovers a little boy dying from a magical offload that has her father's signature all over it, Allie is thrown back into the high-stakes world of corporate espionage and black magic.

Now, Allie's out for the truth, and the forces she finds herself calling on will overturn everything she knows, change her in ways she could never imagine, and make her capable of things that powerful people will do anything to control.

In this world people discovered a way to harness magic 30 years ago. By trapping it in glass pipes for an instance it can be used. But it always takes something from you, pain, a memory, and Allie knows this. Still she hounds. She hunts people who does not use magic right, they do not take the pain, they give it to someone else. Her father is one of the richest men around but she has cut all ties, and she does live in a rathole and really suffers.

This is not a nice world, it feels dirty, and the magic is not something I would like to use. The prize is high. And if any heroine is kick-ass then it is Allie because she really suffers for her job. And each day is a struggle to make it through. I do feel for her, and i could never do what she does every day. I would just suck it up and become a business woman.

A very dark world with magic, no creatures or anything like that. The creatures are us humans. A rich, dark world. A kick-ass heroine (oh yes I love saying that someone is kick-ass and I mean why not cos she does kick some magic ass.) She does has this vulnerability too, and that is rather painful to see. Not fun to ever see someone suffer.

So where was I, right kick-ass (how many times can I use that in a review, we will find out), reality with magic, a strange hunky guy following her around. Oh did I forget to tell you about him, well Zayvion is following her around, and duh, he is the love interest. He is all dark and mysterious, and she does not know if she can trust him or not.

This book involves the mystery in the beginning, why would her father use magic and off load it on a poor kid? And that sets the play for the book. An ok UF with a lot of things going on, nice world, and a love story that...oh can't say it. You just have to find out.

Blodeuedd's Cover Corner. I like it, and the tattoos gets an explanation in the book. Very UF

Reason for Reading: My own copy.

Final thoughts: Ok UF, kick-ass (haha, I had to say it!) heroine, magic and love.