"A hidden world, a love meant to be and a race to save the world!"
Mila has been making pysanky—painted eggs—as a hobby for a
long time now. It's something Baba taught her to do a long
time ago. With the batch she has ready now, she's hoping to
get enough money to at least pay her mortgage and buy some
groceries. So when her best friend Candy offers her two
hundred, Mila is a bit depressed. Of course, Mila didn't
realize Candy meant two hundred dollars per egg. This is
quite a bit more than Mila was expecting so now she's quite
pleased. As they're leaving the restaurant, Mila has one of
her "fits" and passes out. When she finally wakes up, it's
to find herself back home in her own bed. Talos Onan is with the OPA—Overworld Police Agency—and is
at Rohm prison right now trying to prevent a breakout.
Along with his fellow officers, Tal is in a fight for his
life. See, the world Talos lives in is underground,
Agathia, and all the citizens are magic wielders. Just as
he is about to die, Tal does what he always does when in
this kind of predicament, and calls on the spirit of the
Tree. He ends up with just enough added strength to break
free and save his friends. Turns out the escaped criminal
is none other than Vegre, an evil, very powerful man who
wreaks havoc everywhere he goes. When Talos goes to find
Sela, the one person missing from his squad, his search
leads him to Mila's house. Turns out, she has been Mila's
roommate. Mila goes to Sela's room and finds the woman there. How
Sela got there, Mila has no idea, but Sela just appeared in
her room. A man appears and grabs Sela. Mila tries to fight
the man—who she knows is Vegre—but he flings a curse at
her, which somehow, Mila knows how to fight. Now Mila is
totally confused and determined to get some answers from
Baba. Not surprisingly, Baba shows up at the house. Turns
out, Mila is a part of the Parask guild. The guild which
was exiled from Agathia when a plague was started, taking
the lives of both guilders and humans. For some reason,
Mila's mother put a memory block spell on Mila and she
can't remember any of this. When Candy's niece is infected with the plague, they all
know Vegre is behind it. Will Mila get her memories back? Will she be able to heal
anyone? Will Tal and his squad, along with Baba and Mila,
be able to stop Vegre? Will the world be hit with another
plague? Magic's Design is a thrilling race to save the
world. Author Cat Adams—the new incarnation of authors C.T.
Adams and Cathy Clamp—once again prove their talent with
this exceptional story. There are no shape shifters or
vampires in this story, but there is magic. And, of course,
the best magic of all—love. We have the opportunity to be
with Mila as she realizes the truth of her past and must
become the extraordinary woman she was always meant to be.
And Tal is in for some surprises as he learns the truth of
what happened to the Parask guild. This author team is one
of my favorites and I hope to see many more books by them,
regardless of whether they write under their own names, or
under their new nom de plume of Cat Adams. These authors
always delight and this story is no exception to that. Yes,
my highly coveted autographed ARC is already on my keeper
shelf and I cannot recommend anything by these authors
highly enough.
Reviewed by Chere Gruver
Posted February 4, 2009
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They were destined to save the world from an ancient evil. Talos is a magic wielder, born into the mage guild of firecrafters. As an agent of the Overworld Police, he has come from a secret land to protect Earth from magicians intent on enslaving humanity. Mila has always had the gift of healing. But this very modern woman never realized that her skill was born of an ancient magic that only firecraft can fully unlock. Together, Tal and Mila discover that the source of their powers is in unity. Love's shining light might burn them alive protecting the magic of the world, but if the Tree of Life dies, and all the magic in the world is extinguished ... will it matter?
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