A little amnesia here, a little where?

You don’t have to actually read this book review because I have thoughtfully condensed it into one sentence for you: Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk was alright. So, feel free to skip the portion of this blog whereby I come to this conclusion, as its only about as interesting as reading the book itself.

Devon Monk’s debut novel had a lot of potential, in my opinion, that unfortunately is never realized. Nowadays, it feels like the urban/paranormal fantasy market has become supersaturated with the same wise-crackin’ kick-ass girl with super powers who fights magic/evil/vampires. And Allie, our heroine, is disappointingly only a slight deviation from this carbon copy. The most interesting aspect of Allie is her relationship with her father, which unfortunately never gets an opportunity to progress due to murder most foul. Now, the Joss Whedon fan in me knew it was coming and yet still rejoiced at this twist, and the emotional turmoil Allie clearly experienced because of it; Devon Monk did a splendid job of not-quite-articulating the complexities of that relationship. However, I wish she had managed to extend a little bit of that brilliance into the rest of the plot and character development.

The magic system at first was refreshingly confined and based of strict and realistic rules. As the story progresses… notsomuch. Allie and Zay’s relationship felt awfully contrived and just sort of inexplicable. But the real crux of the matter lies in Allie’s unique magic-based flaw: part-time amnesia. When I first read the back cover, I thought how neat! This feels like a real drawback, real consequences for supernatural powers. However, Monk missed on the delivery. By the end, I was simply thinking… what’s the point? We go through this adventure with Allie and then she “forgets” it all? Why bother with character development at all if you’re just going to push the reset button?

However, I am going to read the second book in the series. Why? Firstly, I want to see more of Portland, Oregon in this world: never knew it could be that smelly. Secondly, I want to see if the second book can follow up on some of the potential I saw in the first. And lastly, because its summer and I am bored.

Seacrest out.