What do you think?
Rate this book
Divination in Darkness #1
Magician Rising
Dark powers she can’t control. Deadly hunters tracking her down. Can she rip the target off her back before it turns fatal?
Jun Bear has lived with bad luck all her life. And when a professor threatens to give her a failing grade, the college senior sees her hopes for graduating in two months going down another ill-fated drain. But her fortunes plunge further when an unnatural earthquake shakes the campus and unleashes cold-blooded assassins after her head…
Unsure what’s happening, Jun finds herself facing a trained killer intent on exposing the wielder of the dangerous magic. And when she’s provoked into revealing her unexpected new abilities, she’s determined to prove her innocence before she’s permanently eliminated.
Can she win over an ally and survive a bloodthirsty secret society fixated on wiping her out?
Jun Bear has lived with bad luck all her life. And when a professor threatens to give her a failing grade, the college senior sees her hopes for graduating in two months going down another ill-fated drain. But her fortunes plunge further when an unnatural earthquake shakes the campus and unleashes cold-blooded assassins after her head…
Unsure what’s happening, Jun finds herself facing a trained killer intent on exposing the wielder of the dangerous magic. And when she’s provoked into revealing her unexpected new abilities, she’s determined to prove her innocence before she’s permanently eliminated.
Can she win over an ally and survive a bloodthirsty secret society fixated on wiping her out?
203 pages, Paperback
Published May 25, 2021
About the author
Renée des Lauriers
5 books83 followersRenée was raised by a folk singer and an accountant to be analytically creative. From thirteen, she played guitar and sang on stage at coffee shops. She also oil painted and wrote poetry on odd paper scraps. Besides writing, Renee has worked as an emergency medical technician and a high school English teacher. Now she lives in California with her family.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 17, 2021
This is definitely not a bad book, but I think it is better suited to a younger audience (12- 17 year olds perhaps). I found the writing a bit too simplistic compared to what I usually read, and the content was very PG. There is nothing necessarily wrong with these things, but they're not what I enjoy reading.
Jun Bear is a very normal girl for the most part. She actually isn't that different from myself: quiet, a bit of a worrier, just wants to finish college without any trouble. While this isn't a bad thing, it's not what I find exciting in a character. This is the perfect book if you want to read about a normal girl, that you can relate to, suddenly having to figure out magic.
I was disappointed that the story wasn't as attention grabbing as its blurb. The blurb makes it sound so exciting and action-packed, with danger at every turn. But in reality, the story is milder than that. For example, it says that Jun is "determined to prove her innocence before she's permanently eliminated", but proving her innocence amounts to telling the assassin that she's totally clueless about what's going on. Also, the 'secret society' is barely talked about. It took me a minute to figure out what that was even referring to. I wish we were given more information.
I think the main problem, for me, is that the suspense and excitement wasn't communicated as intended. Overall, there wasn't enough emotion in the story for my liking - I felt like I was more upset than Jun at certain events that occured.
Despite the problems I've pointed out, I really think that younger readers will enjoy this.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Jun Bear is a very normal girl for the most part. She actually isn't that different from myself: quiet, a bit of a worrier, just wants to finish college without any trouble. While this isn't a bad thing, it's not what I find exciting in a character. This is the perfect book if you want to read about a normal girl, that you can relate to, suddenly having to figure out magic.
I was disappointed that the story wasn't as attention grabbing as its blurb. The blurb makes it sound so exciting and action-packed, with danger at every turn. But in reality, the story is milder than that. For example, it says that Jun is "determined to prove her innocence before she's permanently eliminated", but proving her innocence amounts to telling the assassin that she's totally clueless about what's going on. Also, the 'secret society' is barely talked about. It took me a minute to figure out what that was even referring to. I wish we were given more information.
I think the main problem, for me, is that the suspense and excitement wasn't communicated as intended. Overall, there wasn't enough emotion in the story for my liking - I felt like I was more upset than Jun at certain events that occured.
Despite the problems I've pointed out, I really think that younger readers will enjoy this.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 4, 2022
A fun urban fantasy read with dark magic, witches, assassins, quirky MC and forbidden love. Renee has a way of making the magic come off the page. I was hooked by the prologue.
August 12, 2021
Magician Rising: A Divination in Darkness, Renée Des Lauriers, (2021, 197 pps.)
Reviewed by: Patricia M. Muhammad
Date: May 25, 2021
Originally posted on LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/work/265...
NOTE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
*CONTAINS SPOILERS*
For general review, read only the first and last paragraphs!
Magician Rising is a new adult, magical realism novel where the fear of magic and those who possibly wield it are the source for the loss of innocent lives. The story begins with the introduction of Nikolai , a magician bounty hunter who attempts to save a store clerk from imminent death. The convenient store employee body is partially removed as he continues to sink further into the ground. Despite the hunter's efforts, the clerk dies. He works with a team though it is unclear throughout the story what his motives are. Nikolai claims that his job is to prevent innocents from harm or death at the hands of magicians. However, his seemingly altruistic intent is marred by his carelessness in properly identifying his potential targets and his casual and merciless approach to killing a supposed magician as he depends on the unreliable intel from his cohorts. They work for a society only once referred to by name in the novel as the "Order".
Jun Bear is the main character. She is Asian female co-ed on scholarship who works part-time at a pizza parlour as a delivery driver. It is clear that she understandably hates her job. She is subject to harassment, being short-changed and encountering road rage as part of her daily work. However, Jun has a good scholastic and work ethic and must ignore all of those who continuously attack, harass and berate her, including her wealthy roommate, because they all believe they can. Though the co-ed initially has a crush on one of fellow students, a guy name Bailey, her luck continues to be lacking. Jun is close to her ailing father and makes weekend trips to spend time with him.
One day an earthquake strikes the area while she is in class. The tremors and its aftermath is focused on one area, one room of the building. The only potential casualty is Professor Cartwright, her instructor for Business Analytics. Nikolai 's hears of the strange happening and decides to enroll in the class to assess which one of the students is the magician. He mistakens one student whom his cohorts pummel to near death, only to find out later in the book that they killed Evan, just as they did everyone else. The assassin searches for clues and continues to overlook Jun, until one day he reviews a paper that their professor marked late. It was Jun's. Nikolai kidnaps her and tosses her into an estuary, nearly drowning her. Jun denies that she has any magical powers. She is confused at all of the attention and violence she suddenly finds herself the center of. After she nearly dies in the water, Nikolai saves her. He thought she would use her powers to survive and prove to him that she was the proper target. She failed his 'test'. Jun is rightfully fearful. They are both stuck on the side of the road now that the car fails. It is when they begin to walk that they noticed that they are stuck in time. Someone has stopped time while both Jun and Nikolai are able to move about although at an extremely slow pace. Nikolai seems to be an overweight male with no insight for his future and only focused on his hunger throughout their trek. The author provides a glimpse into his true appearance when a friend of Jun's, Alexa teases her about Nikolai . He is actually handsome and muscular and admittedly Jun is attracted to him. Jun and Nikolai hunt for food at various stores and gas stations where people and motion are still. When the bounty hunter suggests that they take a break, Jun escapes from him while Nikolai sleeps. She finds a hotel to rest in and eat for a while. Strange things keep happening. Nikolai searches for Jun and waits for her at her job at the pizza place while devouring anything he can find. He senses that he is not alone. Eventually, Jun does seek refuge at the pizza shop. This is where she involuntarily reunites with Nikolai . He confronts her about her abilities again and tells her to undo whatever she did to cause time to stop. She denies that she is the cause of it and seems to be genuinely unaware of her capabilities. Jun summons a winged creature and inquires as to why this is happening. She refers to it as a sphinx. It responds to Jun cryptically then flies away. Nikolai expects for her to understand what she has done and to reverse it. Jun sees a white rabbit at some point. She hears a voice telling her to 'catch the rabbit', reminiscent of an 'Alice in Wonderland' moment. Jun catches the rabbit and then asks without specificity to be taken back to time before this all happened. Jun and Nikolai are now stuck in the 1960s. She is able to correct her request. However, magician bounty hunters are not the only ones after her. Darkness in the form of shadowy hands continue to reach for her and Nikolai . They are now in the present. Nikolai does some research on his co-assassins and confirms that they betrayed him. They were killing innocents, the very acts that they falsely accused the magician of, in order to have a higher claim once they actually captured and killed the supposed magician. Nikolai was not part of this scheme was partially responsible for the deaths of some innocents, which were some of Jun's classmates. He seeks to redress this and begins to kill his co-assassins one by one; none of whom knew that Jun was the actual 'magician'. Nikolai tells Jun to run as she was next on their hit list. Jun refuses in order to complete her finals. Jun calls her father. Roman, one of Nikolai 's associates holds him hostage. She informs Nicholai. He is torn from his initial quest to kill Jun and save many and the young woman he had come to know as harmless but with exquisite capabilities that she was not even aware of. Jun goes to her father's home and confronts the bounty hunter who taunts Jun. Roman kills Jun father anyway. This trauma breaks the door between Jun's unconscious defenses of magic into her awareness of potential destruction she may wield at her hands. She kills the man who killed her elderly father. Jun crouches to the earth and summons forces. Shadows still try to capture her. However, they change in appearance from clawing shade into a black rabbit. Nikolai reaches her as the ground is broken and it appears that she is to upend all that surrounds her. When he kisses her, all else stops (except time). The tremors, the destruction the potential liabilities are no more. It is unclear whether the black rabbit (darkness) and the white rabbit (light) are one in the same. When it appears the other seems absent. Perhaps this was the balance that Jun needed as she only killed who Nicholai sought to assassinate. Jun hadn't killed anyone else. She was able to control her powers. The powers she denied. The forces she had no conscious idea that she was able to manipulate. Jun intends to finish her finals. She arrives to the classroom. The co-ed sees all the familiar faces—including Nikolai . After all that they have undergone, she is still suspicious of his being there. As she takes her exam, she lets out the rabbit from her bag. Afterwards, she is visibly upset. Nikolai takes her to the sushi place she was supposed to go to with her father to celebrate completing her finals. Nikolai and Jun start a new future. They read their fortune cookies. Nikolai 's read that he has to protect Jun, more as "Others come to kill her in three months".
Magician Rising is written in accessible language. What the novel lacks in narrative compensates with continuous action and realistic dialogues. Nikolai's character was mostly one dimensional with tunnel-vision. This may have been a purposeful literary device as it was he, one who did not seem to feel much at all, who was able to express a "true love's kiss" moment which took Jun's pain away. This gave her greater control of her magic in the moment, allowing what was necessary to be done and the innocents to be unharmed. Though a few scenes are graphic, yet the author balances the storyline with some humour. Overall I enjoyed the book.
Reviewed by: Patricia M. Muhammad
Date: May 25, 2021
Originally posted on LibraryThing: https://www.librarything.com/work/265...
NOTE: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
*CONTAINS SPOILERS*
For general review, read only the first and last paragraphs!
Magician Rising is a new adult, magical realism novel where the fear of magic and those who possibly wield it are the source for the loss of innocent lives. The story begins with the introduction of Nikolai , a magician bounty hunter who attempts to save a store clerk from imminent death. The convenient store employee body is partially removed as he continues to sink further into the ground. Despite the hunter's efforts, the clerk dies. He works with a team though it is unclear throughout the story what his motives are. Nikolai claims that his job is to prevent innocents from harm or death at the hands of magicians. However, his seemingly altruistic intent is marred by his carelessness in properly identifying his potential targets and his casual and merciless approach to killing a supposed magician as he depends on the unreliable intel from his cohorts. They work for a society only once referred to by name in the novel as the "Order".
Jun Bear is the main character. She is Asian female co-ed on scholarship who works part-time at a pizza parlour as a delivery driver. It is clear that she understandably hates her job. She is subject to harassment, being short-changed and encountering road rage as part of her daily work. However, Jun has a good scholastic and work ethic and must ignore all of those who continuously attack, harass and berate her, including her wealthy roommate, because they all believe they can. Though the co-ed initially has a crush on one of fellow students, a guy name Bailey, her luck continues to be lacking. Jun is close to her ailing father and makes weekend trips to spend time with him.
One day an earthquake strikes the area while she is in class. The tremors and its aftermath is focused on one area, one room of the building. The only potential casualty is Professor Cartwright, her instructor for Business Analytics. Nikolai 's hears of the strange happening and decides to enroll in the class to assess which one of the students is the magician. He mistakens one student whom his cohorts pummel to near death, only to find out later in the book that they killed Evan, just as they did everyone else. The assassin searches for clues and continues to overlook Jun, until one day he reviews a paper that their professor marked late. It was Jun's. Nikolai kidnaps her and tosses her into an estuary, nearly drowning her. Jun denies that she has any magical powers. She is confused at all of the attention and violence she suddenly finds herself the center of. After she nearly dies in the water, Nikolai saves her. He thought she would use her powers to survive and prove to him that she was the proper target. She failed his 'test'. Jun is rightfully fearful. They are both stuck on the side of the road now that the car fails. It is when they begin to walk that they noticed that they are stuck in time. Someone has stopped time while both Jun and Nikolai are able to move about although at an extremely slow pace. Nikolai seems to be an overweight male with no insight for his future and only focused on his hunger throughout their trek. The author provides a glimpse into his true appearance when a friend of Jun's, Alexa teases her about Nikolai . He is actually handsome and muscular and admittedly Jun is attracted to him. Jun and Nikolai hunt for food at various stores and gas stations where people and motion are still. When the bounty hunter suggests that they take a break, Jun escapes from him while Nikolai sleeps. She finds a hotel to rest in and eat for a while. Strange things keep happening. Nikolai searches for Jun and waits for her at her job at the pizza place while devouring anything he can find. He senses that he is not alone. Eventually, Jun does seek refuge at the pizza shop. This is where she involuntarily reunites with Nikolai . He confronts her about her abilities again and tells her to undo whatever she did to cause time to stop. She denies that she is the cause of it and seems to be genuinely unaware of her capabilities. Jun summons a winged creature and inquires as to why this is happening. She refers to it as a sphinx. It responds to Jun cryptically then flies away. Nikolai expects for her to understand what she has done and to reverse it. Jun sees a white rabbit at some point. She hears a voice telling her to 'catch the rabbit', reminiscent of an 'Alice in Wonderland' moment. Jun catches the rabbit and then asks without specificity to be taken back to time before this all happened. Jun and Nikolai are now stuck in the 1960s. She is able to correct her request. However, magician bounty hunters are not the only ones after her. Darkness in the form of shadowy hands continue to reach for her and Nikolai . They are now in the present. Nikolai does some research on his co-assassins and confirms that they betrayed him. They were killing innocents, the very acts that they falsely accused the magician of, in order to have a higher claim once they actually captured and killed the supposed magician. Nikolai was not part of this scheme was partially responsible for the deaths of some innocents, which were some of Jun's classmates. He seeks to redress this and begins to kill his co-assassins one by one; none of whom knew that Jun was the actual 'magician'. Nikolai tells Jun to run as she was next on their hit list. Jun refuses in order to complete her finals. Jun calls her father. Roman, one of Nikolai 's associates holds him hostage. She informs Nicholai. He is torn from his initial quest to kill Jun and save many and the young woman he had come to know as harmless but with exquisite capabilities that she was not even aware of. Jun goes to her father's home and confronts the bounty hunter who taunts Jun. Roman kills Jun father anyway. This trauma breaks the door between Jun's unconscious defenses of magic into her awareness of potential destruction she may wield at her hands. She kills the man who killed her elderly father. Jun crouches to the earth and summons forces. Shadows still try to capture her. However, they change in appearance from clawing shade into a black rabbit. Nikolai reaches her as the ground is broken and it appears that she is to upend all that surrounds her. When he kisses her, all else stops (except time). The tremors, the destruction the potential liabilities are no more. It is unclear whether the black rabbit (darkness) and the white rabbit (light) are one in the same. When it appears the other seems absent. Perhaps this was the balance that Jun needed as she only killed who Nicholai sought to assassinate. Jun hadn't killed anyone else. She was able to control her powers. The powers she denied. The forces she had no conscious idea that she was able to manipulate. Jun intends to finish her finals. She arrives to the classroom. The co-ed sees all the familiar faces—including Nikolai . After all that they have undergone, she is still suspicious of his being there. As she takes her exam, she lets out the rabbit from her bag. Afterwards, she is visibly upset. Nikolai takes her to the sushi place she was supposed to go to with her father to celebrate completing her finals. Nikolai and Jun start a new future. They read their fortune cookies. Nikolai 's read that he has to protect Jun, more as "Others come to kill her in three months".
Magician Rising is written in accessible language. What the novel lacks in narrative compensates with continuous action and realistic dialogues. Nikolai's character was mostly one dimensional with tunnel-vision. This may have been a purposeful literary device as it was he, one who did not seem to feel much at all, who was able to express a "true love's kiss" moment which took Jun's pain away. This gave her greater control of her magic in the moment, allowing what was necessary to be done and the innocents to be unharmed. Though a few scenes are graphic, yet the author balances the storyline with some humour. Overall I enjoyed the book.
June 1, 2021
5 cranky stars
This is a strange story with a strange start. It is about a world that has magic but doesn't know about it. The magicians are constantly being hunted by a group of magic hunters and then they are killed. It seems that magicians are crazy and harmful. They are evil personified. At least, that is what the hunters think. Then the scene shifts to a college and the story is about a twenty something college student studying hard and working part time. She lives in a dorm apartment with a crazy roommate and works at the local pizza place. Jun (pronounced June) doesn't want her college associates to know she is the pizza girl. She has no friends except her Dad. Strange things happen around Jun all the time but in her mind, she is just unlucky. She especially loves Chinese food but lately, the fortune cookies have given her strange readings. Soon, there is a strange man in the class who was never there before.
The rest of the story gets very bizarre. The reader will soon be in love with Jun and her dad. This is fast paced, easy to read and an all around fun piece of fantasy. I look forward to further books.
This is a strange story with a strange start. It is about a world that has magic but doesn't know about it. The magicians are constantly being hunted by a group of magic hunters and then they are killed. It seems that magicians are crazy and harmful. They are evil personified. At least, that is what the hunters think. Then the scene shifts to a college and the story is about a twenty something college student studying hard and working part time. She lives in a dorm apartment with a crazy roommate and works at the local pizza place. Jun (pronounced June) doesn't want her college associates to know she is the pizza girl. She has no friends except her Dad. Strange things happen around Jun all the time but in her mind, she is just unlucky. She especially loves Chinese food but lately, the fortune cookies have given her strange readings. Soon, there is a strange man in the class who was never there before.
The rest of the story gets very bizarre. The reader will soon be in love with Jun and her dad. This is fast paced, easy to read and an all around fun piece of fantasy. I look forward to further books.
June 8, 2021
Jun just wants to finish college and live her dream, opening a craft store. Weird things start happening around her, like an earthquake opening a hole in her professor's office.
Assasins have come to dispose of the 'magician'. Who is it? How will they find them to save lives?
Good/bad.... White/Black... You know needle arts, this even has a little for you. It is a roller coaster ride, from the start.
I recommend the book for a fast read, a fun read, and I hope there are many more to come!
Assasins have come to dispose of the 'magician'. Who is it? How will they find them to save lives?
Good/bad.... White/Black... You know needle arts, this even has a little for you. It is a roller coaster ride, from the start.
I recommend the book for a fast read, a fun read, and I hope there are many more to come!
May 23, 2021
Received book for an honest review.
Spoilers***
The story line is different but captivating. Jun is a strong female lead, who is a magician. Jun doesn’t know she is a magician and causes an earth quake. Which leads to Nikolai hunting Jun. As Jun accidentally stops time, Nikolai begins to question his job (killing magicians). Toward the end of the story, romantic feelings begin to blossom between the two characters.
Sometimes the chapters are dragged out but overall the book was good.
Spoilers***
The story line is different but captivating. Jun is a strong female lead, who is a magician. Jun doesn’t know she is a magician and causes an earth quake. Which leads to Nikolai hunting Jun. As Jun accidentally stops time, Nikolai begins to question his job (killing magicians). Toward the end of the story, romantic feelings begin to blossom between the two characters.
Sometimes the chapters are dragged out but overall the book was good.
May 31, 2021
A fun and quick read taking place in modern day Berkeley/Oakland area. Jun is a likable and unique character (I kind of want a purple knit hat now) and the book was an action packed page turner. The ending was not a cliffhanger but it does leave you wanting the next book to see what Jun and Nikolai will do next. A great first book in a series I am looking forward to!
June 13, 2021
This book was interesting and different to what is currently out there. The main character faces a dilemma when she discovers that magic is real and her life is in danger. The story moved at a reasonable pace and i found it enjoyable to read. I would recommend it if you are looking for a quirky read.
June 19, 2021
I enjoyed this book. I don’t normally read fantasy books, but this was a good one. Would read more by the author
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
July 3, 2021
Is there a next.
Enjoyed this one. Story was well written and the characters intriguing.Would love a new one to follow up with the characters
Enjoyed this one. Story was well written and the characters intriguing.Would love a new one to follow up with the characters
January 2, 2024
Easy fun. Finished the book in less than 24 hours, so nothing special but nothing horrible either.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews