Mirror Bound (The Witchling Academy #2)
by Monica Sanz
Genre: YA Paranormal/Mystery & Suspense
Release Date: September 2019
Entangled Teen
Summary:
Conspirator. Failure. Murderer.
Seraphina Dovetail is used to being called all these things. As the seventh-born daughter to a witch, and the cause of her mother losing both her powers and her life, Sera has always felt isolated. Until Nikolai Barrington.
The young professor not only took an interest in Sera—he took her into his home, hired her for his moonlighting detective agency, and gave her the one thing she’d always dreamed of: a chance. Under Barrington’s tutelage, Sera can finally take the School of Continuing Magic entrance exam to become an inspector and find her family. Now if only she could stop her growing attraction to her maddening boss—which is about as easy as this fiery elementalist quitting setting things on fire.
But when ghosts start dragging Sera into possessions so deep she can barely escape, and then the souls of lost witches and wizards appear trapped in mirrors, these two opposites will have to work together to uncover a much deeper secret that could destroy the Witchling world…
I really loved Mirror Bound!
But let’s start from the beginning and I need to tell you that Mirror Bound is actually book 2 of The Witchling Academy series. To be honest, I have not heard of it before but I was lucky to be given access to both books and be able to offer you a more in depth review.
The series starts with Seventh Born in a world where withches are the norm and there is a strong held belief surronding the birth of the seventh born girl of a witch. Let’s me tell you it is all about rainbows and unicorns.
In fact, the books are about one of those unlucky seventh born, thus the title of book one called Sera. It starts off with her being in a with school and of course being the odd one out.
I would say that this is your typical High School drama but with withces, but I do not think that this overly siplified statement would do it justice. There are classic tropes in the plot, but at the same time it isn’t as clear. It actually goes to the next level and there are quite a number of twists and turns that kept me really hooked.
The leading male character is Barry, and he is also very complex, I mean Monica brought together 2 people with extremely difficult back stories together and IMHO, it was extremely well done!
Though none of us live in a world where witches are the norm, it was very easy to feel part of this world and care about the 2 main leads. Between both books, the timeline is quite good, though at times I wanted things to go a little faster.
But, you know me beloved readers, I am an impatient one!
I am writing this and to be honest, I cannot wait to have my hands on book 3 and it makes me wonder on the size of the series, Mirror Bound opened up a lot of plot points, and I do not think that it will take just one more book to resolve. Frankly, I would be happy with another 3 volumes or more if that is the case because there is so much to explore.
As I was reading, I realised books around witches are not usually one of my common reads, and the one series on the topic that I am most obsessed with is the series called The Day 12 Witches Burned by Grace M. DeLeesie and I do enjoy in a more fun tone Annette Marie’s The Guild Codex series. We can safely say that this series is joining these other 2 I just mentioned in my Witch related themed favorites.
Though it is slower paced than my liking, the books are very well written and captivating, I am going to be very highly recommending them to you all. I do suggest to start with book 2 as it sets up everything you need to enjoy Mirror Bound.
I do hope you love it as much as I did!
Purchase links can be found HERE!
Abandoned as a child, Sera dreams of becoming an inspector and finding her family. To do that, she must be referred into the Advanced Studies Program at the Aetherium’s Witchling Academy. Her birth order, quick temper, and tendency to set things on fire, however, have left her an outcast with failing marks…and just what Professor Nikolai Barrington is looking for.
The tall, brooding, yet exceedingly handsome young professor makes her a proposition: become his assistant and he’ll give her the referral she needs. Sera is quickly thrust into a world where witches are being kidnapped, bodies are raised from the dead, and someone is burning seventhborns alive. As Sera and Barrington grow ever closer, she’ll discover that some secrets are best left buried…and fire isn’t the only thing that makes a witch burn.
outlines of ghosts appeared all around her. She cast Barrington a frantic gaze,
but, consumed by his lecture, he didn’t notice her panic. But even if he did,
he wouldn’t see the phantoms moments away from materializing, their presence
lingering about the room like fog. Only seventhborns were burdened with the
cursed second sight.
away, Sera thought
to herself desperately. The dead had no say in the realm of the living. They
had to listen to her. Yet a spirit emerged in a burst of mist, a girl with pale
skin and dark circles under her eyes. Her gray dress and once-white apron were
both drenched in dirt and blood.
the brush, and his hand moved near the protection dome.
fingers wrapped around Sera’s forearm, and she screamed. Wild flames shot to
her fingertips in a manic gust, and savage flames roared from her wand,
consuming the dome and Barrington’s hand.
his burned hand in the other. The dome over their experiment vanished, and
plumes of toxic smoke twisted into the air. Barrington gripped Sera’s wrist
with his good hand and hurried them out into the hall. With a wave of his arm,
he forced the windows open, and the poisonous smoke was sucked out into the
moors.
to ascertain her well-being with a single look. “Are you all right?”
thundered within. Not only had she seen a ghost, but it had touched her…or at
least she’d felt frigid fingers on her skin, a cold sensation that lingered
painfully on her arm. But the dead existed on an entirely different plane; it
was impossible for them to touch the living.
Perhaps, but she would have to think on it later.
sought to inspect his injury, but it was already enveloped in a thin coating of
his magic. Within moments, the burn lessened, until only a slight pink tinge
remained. His sleeves, however, were charred.
assured her, though the thin sheen of sweat over his brow told her it was
anything but. “I must have miscalculated the amount of poison oak.”
She knew as well as he did that she’d been the reason for the accident. “I’m
sorry—”
shut. The hallway felt as if it was spinning and swaying, and a headache
throbbed with each pulse, the pain a constant scream drowning out all sound.
shoulders, and he brought her closer. “Ghosts?”
here in his arms.
Their nearness was dangerous, but the moment his musk of sandalwood filled her
nose and his cold hands found the nape of her neck, she rested her head against
his chest, lost to him.
About the Author
Monica Sanz has been writing from the moment she could string together a sentence. Her stories have come a long way from mysterious portals opening in the school cafeteria, transporting classmates to distant worlds. A classic by the name Wuthering Heights is responsible for that. She’s been lost to dark romances and brooding fictional men ever sense. Now she writes about grumpy professors, cursed ringmaster, tortured soul collectors, and the girls they fall in love with. Monica’s books have received many accolades on the social writing website Wattpad. She’s accumulated over six million reads, eighty thousand votes, and fifteen thousand comments since posting her books on the website. She is also a member of the Wattpad4, a group of writers who host weekly Twitter chats on the subjects of writing and publishing.
