Book 1), Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom

Really great start to a series. Allie is a interesting character as is the world she lives in. There are many sides and effects to magic that I havent seen before in other "worlds." The world building is very well done and close enough to current times to not be too confusing. The characters are interesting and you want to know what happens to them. I am looking forward to the next in the series.

Love this book & the author & was thoroughly pleased with the entire series! It kept me entertained the whole way through , so much so that as soon as I finished it, I purchased the remaining 8 books in the series. Recommended read for fans of urban fantasy, Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs, Jim Butcher & Jim C. Hines.

A lot of other reviews mention that the story concept is pretty good, which I agree with. I just want to get a few things off my chest about the writing.

Crappy.

It's pretty obvious the writer has A.D.D. as the characters thought processes constantly jump around and can't focus on solving the problems at hand. She keeps wondering about kissing the guy character's lips and complaining about her magic PMS every other paragraph. She's supposed to be a "hound" and real hounds don't forget what they're doing every time they come across a bone.

Use a thesaurus. There's plenty of ways you can say the word magic without saying "magic" over and over, literally 10+ times per page. Also might have been a bad idea to write in 1st person, since "I" overuse is a problem here as well.

Use longer sentences. 90% of the sentences are 7 words or less or they're run-ons.

I try to give every book a good number of pages to win me over and there hasn't been a book I didn't at least finish, but this one is just too irritating to force myself through. One star for unreadable.

Overall the book is well done with a single basic storyline to follow. The main characters are well drawn and sympathetic drawing you into their problems.

My primary issue with the book is that it feels like you are dropped in the middle of a story. The world is not defined, the rules are not well defined. How did we get here?

Maybe future books well get us there.

A recommendation by Nina Kiriki Hoffman on the back cover prompted me to pick up this debut novel of urban fantasy. It was very refreshing to see the concept of magic presented in a new, and in many ways more logical, form.
Nothing is free in this world including the use of magic. The greater the magic the greater the cost - including pain and memory loss. What happens when people find ways to exact this cost out of innocents?
I look forward to the next book in this highly promising series.

The story itself was good the only part that annoyed me was Sweet Loves and Oh Hells, it would not have bothered me as much if it were not trying to be so cute and up to date on the slang, Other than that the story was good, I felt for Allie but more so for Zayvion, especially at the end, I thought the story moved pretty fast and held my interest, and even though the mystery was pretty predictable, I still enjoyed the outcome, and I am looking forward to the next book.

Magic as pain, off-loaded onto others, has by been done by Kim Harrison (soul darkening demon smut in her Hollows novels) and C.S. Friedman (random deaths in the population -- Feast of Souls). Devon Monk distinguishes her voice by having the cost happen immediately with physical bruising, though it can be specified how the caster wishes to be hurt as part of the spell. Holly Lisle's Vincalis the Agitator also came to mind, but that was a fantasy offering where magicians used slaves for spell power and offloading (sometimes physical) consequences.

Based on the awesome cover blurb, the book is fantastic. This impression lasts until you start reading. The magic system does come into play, but instead of using her unique idea to the fullest, Devon Monk makes tons of mistakes. She gives her main character a get-out-of-jail free card which lets her somehow sidestep payment of spells. Monk intros this 'new type of magic' mid-book. For me, this was a huge letdown, and I felt like the cool novel I'd been reading was ruined.

Other mistakes: the main is character is dirt poor yet frivolous with money. This doesn't matter since her estranged rich Dad is killed, and obviously she'll inherit by the end of the book. The sexual tension between Alice and Zaviyon is contrived. Telling me 'her stomach flipped' every time she looks at him (at least five times by page 150, that exact phrase) made me question the skills of the editor. Finally, absolutely no need for the multiple chapters from the perspective of Cody Hand. They ruined suspense.

I also disliked the names of minor characters. Several young men named 'Boy.' A kitten named 'Kitten.' Devon Monk couldn't be bothered with names? Come on.

Overall, an extremely weak first novel. As with other Urban Fantasy offerings where I liked parts of novel one, I plan on giving novel two a chance. If Monk doesn't improve markedly in the second book though, I won't be reading further.

While this book had an interesting magic system and an engaging mystery behind it, it leaned a bit heavily towards romance for me. If this is a problem for you you might want to give it a pass. All in all though I am interested in giving the sequel a try.

Magic to the Bone is another entry into the world of magic. Yes, it had some flaws but I enjoyed the fact that nothing is given away too easily and there's no definite HEA. I think the story was grounded well enough to set it up for a series.

I'll reserve judgment on the author until after the next installment.

What a fantastic read! Allie is a wonderful person, who relies on her notebook when she uses magic as her memory, she has a big heart for the hurt or the helpless.
As I read Devon Monk's Magic to the Bone, I felt the emotions of Allie, I smelled the smells of the area, the vivid colors, and could almost taste the soup. If you want an author who can transport you to another world and be able to feel the rain as it beats down, I would recommend a Devon Monk book (any of them)