The Counterbalance (Ruling Magic Book 1) – Lissa Bolts

Synopsis:

Mother can’t kill me. Not that she hasn’t tried.

I’m the heir to a modern-day magical dynasty, daughter of the most powerful mage in existence. From day one, Mother made it apparent that she never wanted me—never wanted an heir at all.

That’s why she’s forced me into the shadows, where I remain invisible. Nobody even knows what I truly look like. Locked away, I dream of ordinary things. You know. Friends. A boyfriend. A purpose for my existence…

But I’ve got secrets too. Things she can’t find out.

For years, I’ve watched her scheme to expand her grip on the mage world. Like a snake, she waits for the right moment to strike. If she succeeds, there will be deadly consequences.

As my powers grow, I think Mother and I have both come to the same conclusion.

I might be the only thing that stands in her way.

Review

It was the cover of this book that attracted me, and now that I know the story, the cover fascinates me twice as much. It makes so much sense.

Isla, Iz, is the princess and heir to Splendor, a magical territory located in North America. However, it didn’t seem like it.

Her mother only had her to have her Royal powers unlocked. She never wanted her, and even sees her as a threat.

With the intention of hiding her from the world and making her little memorable, the Magnate got a magic amulet that hid Iz’s true appearance, few people knew her true image.

What the Magnate never imagined is that the amulet could be useful to her daughter, allowing her to escape from the palace daily to train alongside her brother Linc and Master Tye at The Dojo.

Her life wasn’t rose color, but at least she had a routine that worked quite well. Until it is time to renew the peace treaties with Taramur, a neighboring magical territory that controlled the sources of caeli.

Magic is only possible in places where the essences of both elements, caeli and terra, overlap, so the truce between both lands had been maintained for years.

But Iz knew that the Magnate expected this truce to be broken, which will probably happen now that Iz is brought to Taramur on charges of murder…

Now she must join forces with Killian (Rik), ruler of Taramur, to prevent a war her mother has planned for years. Only Isla can stop her, as she is her counterbalance.

Iz is a very nice character. Despite her problems, she is kind and generous. Concerned for her people and not allowing herself to self-pity. She has much more power than she thinks, both magical and political. It just bothers me that her self-sufficiency leads her to do stupid things, sometimes hurting others.

Dude, I fell in love with Killian from the first moment I “saw” him. He is forced to take the throne young, after the death of his parents. He’s strong and smart, but he’s completely broken inside.

Rik’s rich scent permeated my senses—his sculpted features made even more apparent at his distance.
What were we talking about? Oh, yeah—death threats.

I really enjoyed this book. It is a story of magical civilizations that coexist with humans (as in Harry Potter) and with technology. In particular the magic of the royal family is much more powerful.

It is quite descriptive, especially with the clothings. Isla has the ability to conjure up her own clothes (which I envy) and her descriptions about it are super detailed, which was perfect for me. The battles were pretty amazing too. I really liked it.

I have to mention, I never saw the end coming. I literally thought that I had missed a chapter. I can’t say I loved it, but I’m definitely looking forward to reading the next part.

I “read” this book only on audio and I liked it a lot, but I missed being able to highlight my favorite phrases. And there were some too good. Fun fact, for this very reason I thought the protagonist was called Ayla and I didn’t understand why they called her Iz ?‍♀️.