The Mage’s Secret by Ami Spencer is the first book in the Crow’s Nest Coven urban fantasy series set in a small town where a long established coven tries to fly under the radar.
No matter how successful Av Moss becomes, as a powerful elemental witch and an elder of the council, their mom won’t respect their sexuality and gender. They’ve gotten stronger with the love and support of their girlfriend Sare, but it’s still painful to be misgendered and have their chosen name ignored.
As the pastoral head of Crow’s Nest Academy Sare Emmot has her own problems, especially with students who don’t understand the danger the outside world poses to the magical community. She’s in a position to rescue a girl hunted by that outside world, but bringing her into the community may jeopardize them all.
Writing
Av’s issues with their sexuality and gender dysphoria adds a lot of suspense to the story, and a chance to explore some interesting angles. For instance matriarchy is supposed to be nurturing and supportive of women, but how does that affect the magically and politically powerful, and non-binary, Av? This produces a surprisingly powerful conundrum for them, both supported by the more modern and liberal members of the coven and at the same time hounded to adhere to ancient tradition, including continuing their family’s bloodline by having children. There are some very interesting and educational plot lines and discussions in the story.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
There are a lot of good characters, well drawn and each bringing their own dilemma to the story. I found Av and Sare’s loving relationship to be very soothing and every time they used a pet name for each other was like a tiny balm. A reader needs a balm to deal with the constantly jarring mis-naming and mis-gendering done to Av, as well as the psychological threats to the girl Iola, who is literally hounded into the coven’s community.
The threat level is always high, from several places, and there is action and harm taken by some of the characters. There’s more than one villain that tested my temper a few times, especially every time she refused to use Av’s chosen name. Their ability to rely on found family to cope was as comforting as their romantic relationship with Sare.
I appreciated the complexity of the story and how often the author challenges the reader with concepts and interesting dilemmas. It’s obvious where the threat will come from in future books in the series and I’m looking forward to reading how everything plays out.
Heads Up
Ongoing, active prejudice against a non-binary character.
The Conclusion
Av and Sare have finally acknowledged the love they have for each other. They need the strength each gives and relies on from the other to deal with the very real dangers inherent in living in a magical community that wants to continue flying under the radar of the outside world. Their safety is tested by the violent arrival of a girl who has no trust and a dangerous and uncontrolled ability.
Beyond the physical threats faced by the couple and the community as a whole, there is an ongoing assault by someone close to Av. They are stressed by the mis-naming, mis-gendering, and body dysphoria while dealing with their responsibilities as a Council Elder, and learning to live with their strengthening romance with Sare. The book is challenging and heartwarming, and I’m looking forward to the next installments in the series.
Excerpt from The Mage’s Secret by Ami Spencer
Maya laughed before settling back in her chair with a sigh. “I have to ask, though, why is your mother sniffing around trying to play matchmaker if you and Sare are together?”
Av deflated in their chair, the brief sense of levity disappearing rapidly. “Because she doesn’t know.”
“Doesn’t know what…holy fuck, Av! She doesn’t know about Sare?”
“No.” Av sighed.
“It’s been, what? Nine months? How the fuck does she not know?”
“It’s really not that hard to hide it from her. Sare and I haven’t changed much in how much we see each other. Don’t get me wrong, there are people who know—Pops, our friends we trust, including Mary and Abe. But it’s not entirely common knowledge.” Av felt a stirring of guilt in their gut at the fact it was so easy to deflect Prim from the true nature of their relationship. Any other mother would have probably guessed by now, or at least been wondering why it was taking so long for the pair of them to act on it. But not Prim. She was far too immersed in believing that Sare was another bad influence, and she was quite happy ignoring what was right in front of her. Even Atticus laughed when Av told him, their father just shrugging and saying it was about time.
“How does Prim not know, though? I thought she was in your business all the time?”
“She is. But she doesn’t have the time for Sare, so she rarely bothers me while she’s around.”
“But what about seeing each other? Do you just creep around like naughty, love-struck teenagers? You’ll be telling me you’re shimmying down drainpipes next!”
“Oh, yeah! Can you imagine Sare doing that?”
“I kind of can, actually. And she’d look fucking good doing it. I swear that woman can look amazing doing anything!”
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9798857058633
Publisher: Indie Author
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