The Consumption of Magic

REVIEW BY: Trio at Kimmers' Erotic Book Banter - https://bit.ly/2KiNFGp

TJ Klune’s epic series continues with 'The Consumption of Magic'. The third installment in Tales From Verania is an emotional and bittersweet experience that left my heart aching. It’s not the first time I’ve cursed this author and I’m sure it won’t be the last; truly no one can weave a story like TJ Klune. I’ll do my best not to spoil anything, but fans of this series know what’s coming and what we have to get through before we reach the end of Sam’s quest.

I continue to recommend this series in audio, and Michael Lesley delivers yet another flawless performance. He breathes life into these characters and adds nuances to the story that you just can’t get from reading alone. That he continues to create new and completely unique voices for all the characters TJ Klune dreams up is a testament to his incredible talent.

A good portion of 'The Consumption of Magic' is simply setting the stage for the next phase of the journey. Sam hones his skills with a visit to Castle “Freeze Your Ass Off” where there are some great scenes with Randall that are almost too good to be true. (Seriously, so funny.) Sam also continues to add interesting and colorful characters to his support team. I’m looking forward to great things to come as they continue in their quest to fulfill their destinies.

This amazing series has it all: action, mystery, magic, passion, sex…. And speaking of sex, the opening scene is without question the hottest, dirtiest, most erotic (and maybe the most romantic) thing I’ve ever known TJ Klune to write. Just to whet your curiosity, the guys are in Mama’s brothel and have access to some *ahem* inspirational toys. I’ll just say that Sam is definitely inspired. Wow!

Of course this episode has everything I love about the Tales From Verania: the wonderful banter, the humor, the love and friendship, but Sam has a job to do and we know it’s not going to be pretty. Myrin’s message at the end of 'A Destiny of Dragons' leaves no doubt what has to go down, and casts a bit of a shadow over the whole book for me. The stress of waiting for what I know is going to happen, and wondering who it will happen to, is hard to endure. (I’m shaking my fist at you TJ Klune!)

There are a number of bittersweet trips down memory lane which clarify some events from the past. While I understand the need for the recapping, and it serves to move the plot forward, revisiting some of those memories is incredibly stressful. It just compounded the emotional experience and left me wrung out. It was intense, but so worth it!

After all this time, I’ve become so invested in this series that it’s hard to be objective. There is one thing I know for sure, TJ Klune is a master at storytelling and whatever’s to come it’s going to be one heck of a wild ride.

OMG, what an amazing series from my favourite author. Loved it! Can't wait for the next in the series. My heart mightn't take it!

"A warning. All of you will not survive until the end. There will be loss, Sam. And it will burn like nothing has ever burned before. You must remember to keep in the light, even when the dark begins to curl around your feet."

Whereas the two previous books in this series, ‘The Lightning-Struck Heart’ and ‘A Destiny of Dragons’, shared very strong similarities to exceptional films—i.e., ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ (with way more laughter and gay sex) respectively—'Consumption of Magic’ has gone much farther and entered a realm more alike to ‘Star Wars’, in my opinion. Sam is very much Anakin Skywalker with Randall as Yoda and Morgan as Obi-Wan. The third book in this series is very much about a war within Sam between light and dark, love and hate, need and fear, emotion and logic, and the universal war between life and death. It is also about sacrifice and suffering, and realizing that no matter how much you want to, you can’t always protect the ones you love the most.

‘The Lightning-Struck Heart’ was an amazing and heroic journey for Sam, Gary, Tiggy, and Ryan, where Sam learned a few things about himself and his magic. Sam learned that sometimes the things you have to do aren’t what you want, but you do them because they’re the right things to do, regardless of your own feelings and wants. ‘A Destiny of Dragons’ had Sam growing up even more and learning to face his destiny regardless that all he wanted to do was stay in the City of Lockes with his family, and have everyone be safe and happy. ‘The Consumption of Magic’ is darker in some ways, although at its base it continues to be about Sam, Tiggy, Ryan, Gary, Morgan, Randall, Justin, Kevin, laughs, gay sex, and also his destiny that was written in the stars centuries ago. They’re still heroes trying to save the world against Myrin but now Sam knows what Myrin really wants, and it’s not some jokes or witty sarcasm. Sam is dealing with hard-core magic and this battle isn’t going to be easy. Sam is going to have to mature even more and deal with things he normally ignores, runs away from, or both.

As I have finished each of the books in this series, so far, I’ve said “It can’t get any better. It can’t get any funnier. It can’t get any more exciting. It can’t get sexier (chapter 7 my friends)”, and yet the author continues to amaze me beyond my wildest imagination. I knew the humor would be there along with the heroics and the feelings. Much to my surprise and shock, however, there were tears. Wookie Cry Face (all capitalized so you know it’s true) came to me in a vengeance and I wasn’t expecting it. I should have been, I suppose, but I’m the reader who always believes that everything will turn out okay in the end and nothing bad will happen to anyone. It wasn’t to be in this novel. Sam faces sacrifice for the first time in his life. He suffers and he can’t make everything okay.

"The boy did his best. In the end, even his best wasn’t good enough. He was warned it would hurt when it came. That it would burn like no other. And still he hadn’t prepared himself. His lightning-struck heart felt cleaved in two. But the choice he made next was not born of grief and anger, as they sometimes are. No, the strange and somewhat lonely boy made his decision because the world was so much bigger than his grief. Than his anger. If he let it go, if he let the darkness rise, then the people of his country would know exactly how he felt. And he wouldn’t wish that on anyone."

I was literally stunned when I finished ‘Consumption of Magic’ and, in fact, had to go back and reread so many parts to make sure that I hadn’t dreamt what happened. I didn’t dream it. One of them is gone and has crossed beyond the veil. I was gifted with the blurb for the final book at the end of this one and I know the author is going to make the finale the most incredible read ever. I look forward to watching Sam and the five dragons of Verania (Kevin, Zero, Pat, Leslie, and the Great White) kick ass and take names.

But I will leave you with this quote by Knight Commander Ryan Foxheart, because love is more important than anything, including magic.

"Because it’s always been you, Sam. I promise. I promise. I promise, because when I look upon these stars, there is nothing I wish for more than you."

Reviewed by Erin for Diverse Reader

I’m going to be upfront with you guys and tell you this review isn’t going to have much in the way of 1) thoughts about the book –It was INCREDIBLE 2) passages and sentences I highlighted—there were SO many! or 3) warnings—Listen to TJ, don’t read ANY spoilers.

With all that being said, I CAN say a few things. The first is HaveHeartForever, motherfuckers. Truly. For anyone who thought maybe, possibly Sam could be with Ruv (I have no idea who you are or why you would even think such a thing, but I guess to each their own, even if they’re the wrongest to have ever wronged) The Consumption of Magic will put any doubters of the fact that Sam and Ryan are meant to be to bed forever. There is no one for Sam other than Ryan and vice versa.

“Because it’s always been you, Sam. I promise. I promise. I promise, because when I look upon these stars, there is nothing I wish for more than you.”

Justin might be a spoiled, pain in the ass, but there is SO much more to this guy and I can’t wait to learn even more about him. Best friends 5eva indeed.

Mama and Dimitri are back and they’re as awesome as always. Mama is badass and Dimitri, for all his pornstache and inappropriate flirting, is really MUCH more than I thought he was.

While The Lightning Stuck Heart and A Destiny of Dragons are fabulous and wonderful, I think Consumption has a much different “feel” to it. Yes, there are moments of utter ridiculousness and yes, there are moments of jaw-dropping, white knuckle action, and yes, Sam and Ryan are utterly swoony, BUT there is a darkness to The Consumption of Magic. There has to be. Learning what the title means very early in the book (not a spoiler, TJ has mentioned this) means that there is a heaviness with each page, no matter what’s happening because you can’t help but wonder what’s coming next. There isn’t another storyteller out there that has TJ’s talent at building a story, at weaving even seemingly inconsequential blink and you’ll miss them moments into an arcing plot and bringing everything together. And we’re not quite there yet, since there is still another book to go.

You’re going to be exhausted, both physically and mentally by the time you get to the end of The Consumption of Magic because while reading you will experience every emotion you possibly can. Again, not a spoiler because this is TJ Klune we are talking about here. The thing is, it’s the BEST kind of exhaustion. I mean the books thus far have their own kind of language, don’t they? Harry Potter has muggles and dementors and avada kedrava. Star Wars has light sabers, storm troopers, and The Force. Words and things that fans understand and live and breathe by. Now we have Knight Delicious Face, smashing, and flora bora slam, just to name a few. Verania might be a made-up place, but TJ has transported each and every one of us there fully and completely, so much so, it’s hard to leave, even for a little bit.

Heed the warnings, friends. DON’T read any spoilers. Hell, TJ has said not even to read the excerpt posted at Dreamspinner. He is the master of making the little things turn into big things so you never know what you might stumble across if you go searching. Trust me, spoiling even the tiniest thing for The Consumption of Magic is a crime punishable by death. (Well, maybe NOT quite that dramatic. But close!) So, sit down, strap in, and be ready for one hell of an adventure!