Aspen lives in New York City where the Mage's council oversee the well being of the people in it. As a Norm, Aspen is on the bottom of their "to care about" list. Without her parents, she must take on odd jobs or steal to survive. While stealing from a man, Aspen is shocked to discover he's a mage. During their fight, Aspen loses consciousness and wakes up at the mage's house.

Here, she discovers that he is no ordinary mage. His name is Lucien and he's one of the most powerful mage's on the Mage's Council. Lucien needs an apprentice to compete against his fellow mage Xavior's. The council will not let him back out of it, so Aspen is the answer to all his problems. Except she's a norm. She doesn't have magic, but she quickly learns that there's more to her than she could've anticipated.

Her competition is Isak who is good-looking and cocky. He tries to talk Aspen out of the competition and she can't help but notice the sincerity in his voice. But there are bigger things going on than a competition. Someone is stealing the magic from beings and they fear it's to take the protective wards down from around the city. Isak and Aspen must put their differences aside in order to solve the mystery of who's behind the deaths that are scattered around New York.

MAGE'S APPRENTICE is a fast-paced, action-packed YA fantasy that holds your attention throughout the whole story. Aspen is a strong female lead, but after her parents death, she doesn't want to develop relationships with anyone. She has to learn to open up and trust others or it could cost her her life. Lucien quickly becomes my favorite character with his witty remarks and carefree attitude. I like the back and forth snarks Aspen has for both Lucien and Isak. After the ending, I'm curious to see what the next installment contains.


Final Verdict: I would recommend this to fans of fantasy, supernatural beings, magic, mages, action, and subtle romances.