We are so excited to be included on this Book Blog Tour from iRead Book Tours for Fifth Mages War Series by Lauren Englehardt.
Mages Unbound
Book Title: Mages Unbound: Book 2 of the Fifth Mage War Series by Laura Engelhardt
Series: Fifth Mage War Series
Category: Adult fiction (18+), 480 pages
Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Laura Engelhardt
Release date: Nov 2020
Content Rating: PG-13 + M for battle sequences, bad language including F-words, and adult-themes mildly referenced. Euphemisms are used in lieu of graphic descriptions of sex/violence. There is NO sexual violence or child abuse.
It’s ironic to find out your whole life has been a lie when you’re married to a truth-teller.
If only Mary could find some humor in it. She’s drowning her sorrow in vodka and song when a surprise visit from her youngest sister jolts her into accepting the magical reality hidden from her for fifty years.
Mary’s epiphany can’t come soon enough because her fresh start may be the only thing that can save her siblings and the world from an utter melt-down.
As the two Bant sisters grapple with sirens, faeries and the FBI in America, their brother is trapped in a high-stakes game of mage politics in Australia. Meanwhile, middle-sister Amy’s malfunctioning mage-sight forces her to seek help from the very same mages who tricked her once before.
Can Mary pull herself together in time to rescue her family from the coming war?
Mages Unbound is a paranormal women’s fiction novel, told from the perspective of the Bant family members. This is Book 2 in the Fifth Mage War Series, a magical epic about sirens, fae, and family ties.
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The First in the Series:
Book Title: Sirens Unbound: Book 1 of the Fifth Mage War Series by Laura Engelhardt
Series: Fifth Mage War Series
Category: Adult fiction (18+), 548 pages
Genre: Paranormal Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Laura Engelhardt
Release date: July 29, 2019
Content Rating:
PG-13 + M for battle sequences, bad language including F-words, and adult-themes mildly referenced. Euphemisms are used in lieu of graphic descriptions of sex/violence. There is NO sexual violence or child abuse.
Amy’s day starts with three things: Coffee, breakfast, then brains. In that order.
Relax, it’s not what you think. She’s just your everyday neurosurgeon who can fix everyone’s brain but her own. It doesn’t matter if she has fifty years of life experience and regularly works with mages—she’s still a mundane.
She’s turning fifty, and her last achievement was what, ten years ago? She’s not sure if anyone even remembers it.
Determined not to be a one-hit-wonder, Amy jumps head-first into a new opportunity. Literally.
Some people have affairs to deal with a midlife crisis—Amy has brain surgery.
The results are even bigger than her career ambitions, and Dr. Amy Bant will need the help of her siblings to survive what comes next. Cordelia, an agoraphobic underwater photographer, Thomas, a playboy with a Brazilian tourism business, and Mary, a choir director with a truth-teller husband are all keys to unlocking secrets a whole lot closer to home than any of them could have realized.
Turning fifty doesn’t have to be mundane—not when you’re in the Bant family!
Sirens Unbound is a paranormal women’s fiction novel told from each member of the Bant family. This is Book 1 in the Fifth Mage War
Series, a magical epic about sirens, fae, and family ties.
Our Review
Sirens unbound is our entry to Lauren Engelhardt fantasy world of the mudane, the sirens and the fae. I was immediately lost in the story as we are introduced to a Amy, who recently graduated from Harvard with a PhD and is working to correct sight and introduce the mage sight to those who don’t possess such magic.
Shortly after we are introduced to several perspectives of the Bant family members and their trials and tribulations as they navigate our planet. My Brazilian husband just finished his PhD so right away I felt at home in this aspect of the story, as we are taken across the globe with multiple members of the Bant family a lot of the settings struck a cord with me.
This book certainly feels like a build up to something more, perhaps you could see that the author is laying the foundation for a bigger, brighter story line through Sirens Unbound. This is a book to sink your teeth into and get lost in. The author has clearly given this world a ton of thought, the characters are very well developed and the story really is out of this world. We see several points of view and learn a lot of history about the main characters and how they got to the point they are at which leads to the Fifth Mage War.
Inaction can be as great as sin
Sirens Unbound is the first novel in the Fifth Mage War Series and I was completely intrigued with the world that Lauren Engelhardt introduces to the reader and I cannot wait to see what Mages Unbound brings us.
“Loved it! Members of the Bant family become entwined in an upcoming mage war in this epic urban fantasy novel about sirens, fae, and family ties.” — Michelle Hogmire, Reedsy Discovery
Mages Unbound: Q&A with author Laura Engelhardt
Q: Do you ever imagine yourself in a book?
A: All the time! That’s why I started loving fantasy — I wanted to be a dragonrider like in Anne McCaffery’s Pern series. Age has dulled my imagination a little, so I don’t write fan fiction in my head as much now, but I still love imagining new worlds.
Q: Why did you start writing about the Fifth Mage War? Why not start with the First?
A: I started writing because I was a little bored with the coming-of-age epic fantasies I’d been reading. I’m not fifteen anymore, and wanted to read about people who already had some life experience. So I decided my world should also be in the middle of its life — with a set of cataclysmic wars already under its belt. Plus, like Star Wars, I now have the opportunity for lots of prequels 😉
Q: What does literary success look like to you?
A: Right now, my goal is to find my audience. My books aren’t for everyone — but I’m not sure I know who will like them. I’m writing a character-driven epic with adult characters set in the modern world. That’s quite different from a lot of urban fantasy, which focuses on one sassy new adult heroine and her macho supernatural sidekick. It’s also really different from other multiple point-of-view epic fantasies that don’t mix technology into their medieval-esque, action-packed, coming-of-age stories.
Q: How are your experiences reflected in your books?
A: It’s only possible to write what you know – whether by direct experience or through analogy. For instance, I absolutely used the almost miraculous feeling of Excedrin eliminating the pain of a migraine in Sirens Unbound. I listened to a lot of YouTube videos of gunfire to try to get a sense of what that might sound like in a confined space and spoke to a friend to find out how much kick or recoil an AK-47 might have.
Q: How did your book change between the first draft and the published version?
A: Oh, it’s a completely different book! Well, not quite J I was blessed with two awesome beta readers and a fabulous editor, who helped me really hone in on my themes. One more interesting change is that in the original, Thomas discovers that the Pacific sirens have been concealing a 617,000 square mile expanse of plastic garbage in the North Pacific – kind of a “ripped from the headlines” plot point (Just for perspective, the state of Texas is 268,581 mi2). But in an early edit, I decided to change the Pacifics’ secret into something far more magical that fits better with my series theme about healing wounds from the past.
Q: When did you first consider yourself a writer?
A: After I published my first book. I think there are a lot of talented people with unpublished stories stuck in their desk drawer. But I don’t think you can call yourself a writer until you are prepared to share your stories with readers.
Q: If you could be one of the magical beings in your books, which one would you be?
A: That’s a hard one! In my world, magical power comes with off-setting disabilities. For example, the sirens have remarkable powers over the oceans, but fertile women hate female sirens. So I wouldn’t want to be a siren — I’d miss my sister too much. The werewolves and were-jaguars can shapeshift painlessly and instantly, plus they’re immune to mage-cast spells. BUT during the full moon, they become vulnerable to mages, and can easily lose their free will. To be a mage would be AMAZING, but their culture is really cruel. So I suppose I’d rather be a faerie — yes, they’re poisoned by iron, but I think their connection to the Earth and amazing magick makes up for that.
AMAZON
Meet the Author:
An avid sf/fantasy reader, Laura Engelhardt writes the kind of book she likes to read: fantasy with intricate worlds and complex characters facing moral dilemmas. She started writing plays in college, then moved to Germany, where she continued to write while teaching ESL to executives. After moving back to the U.S., she supported her playwriting by teaching ballroom dance and working retail. Deciding that living in her parents’ attic wasn’t for her, Laura went to law school and then spent the next seventeen years as a lawyer and compliance officer in New York City. In 2017, she quit Wall Street and began helping people resolve disputes as a mediator and arbitrator. She now lives in New Jersey with her family.
Connect with Lauren: Website | Facebook | Goodreads
Nov 18 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author Blog – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 18 – Book Corner News and Reviews – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 19 – Stephanie Jane – book spotlight
Nov 19 – Splashes of Joy – book spotlight / guest post / author interview / giveaway
Nov 20 – Literary Flits – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 20 – I’m Into Books – book spotlight / giveaway
Nov 23 –Sadie’s Spotlight – book spotlight
Nov 24 – Instagram.com/asreadbydanielle – book review of SIRENS UNBOUND / author interview / giveaway
Nov 25 – The Momma Spot – book review of SIRENS UNBOUND
Nov 26 –The Book Review Crew – book review of SIRENS UNBOUND / author interview / giveaway
Nov 30 – Jazzy Book Reviews – book spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Nov 30 – Pine Enshrined Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Dec 1 – eBook Addicts – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Dec 2 – Instagram.com/asreadbydanielle – book review of MAGES UNBOUND / giveaway
Dec 3 – Amy’s Booket List – book review of SIRENS UNBOUND / giveaway
Dec 4 – Lamon Reviews – book spotlight / author interview
Dec 4 – Locks Hooks and Books – book review of SIRENS UNBOUND / giveaway
Dec 8 –Amy’s Booket List – book review of MAGES UNBOUND / giveaway
Dec 9 – The Momma Spot – book review of MAGES UNBOUND
Dec 10 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – book review of SIRENS UNBOUND / giveaway
Dec 10 – Gwendalyn’s Books – book review of SIRENS UNBOUND / giveaway
Dec 11 – The Book Review Crew – book review of MAGES UNBOUND / giveaway
Dec 11 – Cheryl’s Book Nook – book review of MAGES UNBOUND / giveaway
Laura
Jenn, thanks for the wonderful review! I’m so glad you enjoyed the book and I hope you love the next one. Best, Laura