Jennifer Rush

A thrilling new urban fantasy filled with magic and motorcycle gangs from Jennifer Rush, author of the Altered saga--perfect for fans of Beautiful Creatures. Eighteen-year-old Jemmie Carmichael has grown up surrounded by magic in the quiet town of Hawthorne, New York. In her world, magic users are called "kindled," and Jemmie would count herself among them if only she could cast a simple spell without completely falling apart. It doesn't help that she was also recently snubbed by Crowe, the dangerous and enigmatic leader of the Black Devils kindled motorcycle gang and the unofficial head of their turf. When the entire kindled community rolls into Hawthorne for an annual festival, a rumor begins spreading that someone is practicing forbidden magic. Then people start to go missing. With threats closing in from every side, no one can be trusted. Jemmie and Crowe will have to put aside their tumultuous history to find their loved ones, and the only thing that might save them is the very flaw that keeps Jemmie from fully harnessing her magic. For all her years of feeling useless, Jemmie may just be the most powerful kindled of all.

Devils & Thieves

Aleena Korell

This is a rather straightforward and concise book-- no excess scenes, plotlines, or characters. I enjoyed it as a quick read. It's executed quite well technically, with a good arc and compelling characters and a magic system I found interesting (and not too complex/confusing). Really enjoyed the premise of magical motorcycle gangs! Hope to hear something about the sequel, that ending leaves me wanting more for sure.

celeste

2.75 stars
I wanted to like this one, but it just didn't happen. The first time I read the synopsis for this book, I had no doubt this one was going to make an impression in me, I mean, magic combined with motorcycle clubs, what is there not to like about that premise? I was very wrong.

It's not so much the concept of the book that was weak but rather its execution. I think the author had a really good idea but she wasn't able to fully develop it. The story, the setting, the magic system and even the characters felt very underdeveloped. It felt like she was only able to scratch the surface of what the story could have been. 

In Devils & Thieves we follow our main character, Jemmie, the daughter of an MC member who left her and her mother many years ago, and who is unable to do magic due to an accident she had when she was young. She knows she is a kindled (those who have a certain type of magic) yet she refuses to use it because she is afraid she will get hurt in the process or hurt others. But when people start disappearing from the festival the MC are hosting, she is forced to face her fears once and for all.

But the story seems to be focused more on an unnecesary love triangle rather than develop the actual "mystery" plotline that's going on in the book. There were a lot of questions that I had about how this world works that were never answered. Why are MC members the only people who have magical abilites? What is the relation between the motorcycle clubs and magic? I'm not even complaining because I love books that deal with MCs, but there was no explanation whatsoever as to why MCs are the only ones tied to magic. The same thing happens with the different types of magic. Some people have the power to control nature, others can heal themselves and others, some can see the future, and so many more, but the actual workings of the magic is never explained. It just exists, and is never given any sort of explanation. 

Most of the times I felt like the author was info-dumping names of types of magic and its abilites but in the end, I was left with the same questions, and not even the info-dump could help dissipate my doubts and questions. 

To be honest, I was fairly enjoying it at the beginning, I thought it was a typical average YA book with a main character going back and forth between two guys and having to deal with her fears of using her magic, but once it became ABSOLUTELY obvious who the "villain" of the story was going to be, I just couldn't deal with it anymore. I was never able to connect with the characters because, like I've already mentioned, they all felt underdeveloped, and the fact that the "revelation" of the villain wasn't even a revelation due to how obvious it was, I really wanted to DNF it. The only good thing out of the book was the last page. It really raised some interest in me because of how it ended, but is it enough for me to want to continue on if this is going to become a series? I don't think so.

Overall, it was a very average book with a cool concept that was poorly executed. It's a shame because the synopsis was promising, yet it ended being quite the disappointment.

Paige Green

Rating: 4/5



Genre: YA Fantasy



Recommended Age: 14+ (mature language, underage alcohol consumption, slightly mature scenes, gore, violence, trigger warnings for suicide and cutting)



I received a free copy of this book courtesy of KidLitExchange. All opinions are my own.



Eighteen-year-old Jemmie Carmichael has grown up surrounded by magic in the quiet town of Hawthorne, New York. In her world, magic users are called "kindled," and Jemmie would count herself among them if only she could cast a simple spell without completely falling apart. It doesn't help that she was also recently snubbed by Crowe, the dangerous and enigmatic leader of the Black Devils kindled motorcycle gang and the unofficial head of their turf.

When the entire kindled community rolls into Hawthorne for an annual festival, a rumor begins spreading that someone is practicing forbidden magic. Then people start to go missing. With threats closing in from every side, no one can be trusted. Jemmie and Crowe will have to put aside their tumultuous history to find their loved ones, and the only thing that might save them is the very flaw that keeps Jemmie from fully harnessing her magic. For all her years of feeling useless, Jemmie may just be the most powerful kindled of all. - Amazon.com


Even before Harry Potter there have been numerous tales about magic and those who wield it, so it really takes a special book to make an impact in the overpopulated world of magic stories, and I think I found one that will. This book had me hooked from page 1. It takes the concept of magic and transforms it into something I’ve personally never read before (but if there is a comparison to it, let me know!). It also tells the story with a wide cast of characters I’ve never read about, gangs of biker-esque cliques and the communities they live in and protect. It also introduces a new spin on magic in that there are different types of magic which can either form protective barriers or heal people or can allow you to manipulate people at will. The characters were all very well developed, the pacing of the book was perfect, and the plot development was amazing well-done. There were many twists and turns in this book that I was on the edge of my seat the whole time while reading it. The writing was also very well done and it was very easy to understand and follow.



While I loved the book I did have some minor complaints about it. There is a very wide cast of characters in this book, some only mentioned once or twice. There is also a lot of different types of magic in this book, which might get confusing to some readers. I also thought that some of the magic needed to be explained a little more, BUT by the way the book ended it seems like there will be a sequel. I think this book really needs a sequel. Not only were there many items left unresolved by the end of this book, but the book revealed something very startling in the end and I think that needs to be explored further in another book. I’m not aware of any sequel in the works at the time of writing this review, but please let me know if there is one!



Verdict: Overall, I thought the book was amazingly well done and a fantastic read. While this book was a bit cliché in certain areas, I think it was inspirational in that the main character has very real issues that some young readers face daily, and no I’m not talking about her lack of magic. She has anger and resentment towards her father for leaving her and her mother and feels that it was her fault she left, which is a genuine reaction that a lot of children caught in the middle of a divorce feel like. It’s very inspirational to see her transform from an angry, broken person into someone who has taken control of their life and has made things better for herself.  If books about magic are for you then give this book a read! This was definitely a memorable book and this author is one you need to be watching out for in the future.

Celia Adams

My mind is so blown right now somebody actually remind me to come back and write a review because DAMN

Devils & Thieves

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