Review: TITAN MAGIC (Jodi Lamm)

Be sure to check out my interview with author Jodi Lamm and enter to win a paperback copy of TITAN MAGIC here 

TITLE: Titan Magic                         AUTHOR: Jodi Lamm PUB DATE: 9/30/11                       FORMAT: eBook SOURCE: from author in exhange for honest review

Mute, heartless, and tormented by auditory hallucinations, Madeleine Lavoie never questions why her family has hidden her from the world. But the night her brother casts her out, she learns the mysterious voice she thought existed only in her mind is no delusion, and no matter how hard she tries, she can never disobey it.Now Madeleine must find her own voice in a cacophony of powerful tyrants, monsters, and gods. If she fails, she will forfeit her life and the lives of everyone who loves her. But if she succeeds, she may finally gain the ability to love someone in return

THREE WORDS: Enchanting. Original. Profound

MY REVIEW: Jodi Lamm’s TITAN MAGIC is one of those books that comes along every once in a while and completely surprises me with how deeply and unexpectedly it moves me.  Based on the book’s blurb, I expected a simple, fun fairytale like story; but what I got was a truly spellbinding and meaningful tale and exploration of the human condition.

            MY BRIEF SUMMARY

Madeline “Maddy” Lavoie cannot speak, nor can she remember her life past the last three years. She is plagued by a voice that only she hears and apparently cannot disobey. After three years of being hidden from the world, Maddy’s brother cast her out of the house simply telling her to go find her voice. What Maddy finds is a talking stag, a swindling man for hire with a beautiful heart, truths about who and what she is that forever change her, and a voice she never knew she had.

            STORY

I’m a big fan of stories that take different folklores and myths, and instead of simply retelling those tales with minor variations, they add their own added unique spins, storylines, and characters, creating something new, original, and refreshing. And Jodi Lamm has done just that with TITAN MAGIC. Lamm weaves a captivating and gripping story that blends the old with the new, the familiar with the unexpected, and the dark with the light.

TITAN MAGIC is neither fast paced or slow; it flows nicely. The story begins with mystery and intrigue- Why is Maddy mute? Whose voice does she hear? What happened to her memory?-but Lamm doesn’t drag these questions out, torturing readers till the end. These mysteries are quickly solved, but then new ones are revealed. Lamm does an excellent job of balancing and spacing her story’s mysteries and revelations, ensuring that readers never get bored or frustrated…and I certainly never did!

Without giving anything away, I’ll simply say that I was enchanted by the fantasy elements surrounding Maddy’s existence. There’s an eloquent, yet dark whimsy do these elements that make them both fascinating and fearsome. Lamm’s scope of imagination and creativity in this book is impressive and her writing is lovely and haunting.

As beautiful as the fantasy elements are, the depth and meaning found within this book are breathtaking. Lamm explores so much more than a simple folk story or myth; she also offers a profound look at the human condition-what it means to be human, where our humanity and souls comes from, the duality of man, the power and essence of love. And she does so with an effortless subtlety.

The last portion of the book is very climatic and intense; there’s a great deal of stuff going on toward the ending. I’m a bit conflicted about the ending. Not because it isn’t a satisfying ending that really ties everything together nicely, because it is and it does. I think I was expecting and perhaps even wanting an ending that was a bit messier and less tidy. Also, the way the romantic aspects are left was not what I personally was rooting for. But, the ending does leave plenty of room open for a sequel…a sequel I will definitely be reading!

            CHARACTERS

This is very much a character driven story, and Lamm’s characters are undeniably compelling.

Maddy is such a fascinating character because there is so much mystery and intrigue surrounding her. In the beginning of the book, she’s quite lost, both literally and figuratively, and I really felt like I was experiencing her journey and story with her and not simply through her. Maddy’s insecurities, doubts, longing, and fragile self-awareness made her very relatable to me. This is a protagonist that readers will want to root for and will want to see her journey through till the end.

 There’s an interesting array of important male characters, each offering something significant and different to both Maddy and readers. Jas’ bitter-sweet pain and longing makes him a sympathetic character. Marcus’ shocking actions and confessions make him an impossible to ignore character. And Will *sighs*…With his humor, heart, and loyalty Will is such an easy character to fall in love with.

There’s no clear cut antagonist in TITAN MAGIC. Every character has both light and darkness in them, which drives them all to do both good and bad things, mostly in the name of love.

            ROMANCE

I don’t want to spoil anything for those who haven’t read this book, so I won’t go into too much detail here. So many of the acts and betrayals committed in TITAN MAGIC are done out of, because of, or for love…mostly romantic love. And the essence and power of love itself plays a very important role.

As for the different romantic relationships featured in TITAN MAGIC, there’s- unrequited love, forbidden love, lost love and first love. Lamm has explored and written all these different kinds of love beautifully and with a heart-aching honesty.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: TITAN MAGIC moved, captivated, and enchanted me with its ability to be both profound and entertaining, dark and hopeful, romantic and fantastical. Jodi Lamm is definitely an author whose work I’ll be looking for in the future. And this is one book you should definitely read!

MY RATING

4/5 CUPCAKES

You can learn more about and connect with Jodi Lamm here:

Website / Goodreads / Twitter 

You can purchase this book here:

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Createspace

Now stop by HERE to read my interview with Jodi and enter to win a paperback copy of TITAN MAGIC