Good Morning Everyone!

I hope your week’s off to a great start! I can’t complain yet, which is saying something compared to how often I griped at my last job. So that’s very promising.

Anywho, I finished a book late last night and am sharing my review. This time around it’s Magic or Die by J.P. Jackson.

I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know J.P. in an interview, and ever since then we’ve become pretty good friends. (You can find my interview with J.P. Jackson here)

I bought this book a while ago, but as you know, my TBR is constantly spiraling out of control, so it wasn’t until now that I got a chance to read it. Let’s see how I felt, shall we?

Blurb:

James Martin is a teacher, a powerful Psychic, and an alcoholic. He used to work for the Center for Magical Research and Development, a facility that houses people who can’t control their supernatural abilities, but left after one of his students was killed, turning to vodka to soothe his emotional pain. The problem is he still has one year left on his contract.

When James is forced to return to the CMRD, he finds himself confronting the demons of his past and attempting to protect his new class from a possible death sentence, because if they don’t pass their final exams, they’ll be euthanized.

James also discovers that his class isn’t bringing in enough sponsors, the agencies and world governments who supply grants and ultimately purchase graduates of the CMRD, and that means no profit for the facility. James and his students face impossible odds—measure up to the facility’s unreachable standards or escape.

Trigger Warning: Mild heat level

GoodReads

The Review:

I give this novel four superpowered stars!

This is my first read by this author, and I was thoroughly impressed!

Magic or Die is a novel centering on a man named James who has supernatural abilities. Having a past with the government agency known as CRMD, he is called in to tutor a class of superpowered twenty-somethings. Many things have changed since he’s last been to the CRMD, many disturbing things. If he can’t train his class of superpowered individuals to control their powers they’ll be euthanized. Can James convince the CRMD that they can exist without hurting others, or will he be forced to choose between them and the CRMD?

This was a great read.

First and foremost I really enjoyed the characters. James had some depth to him. Not only is he superpowered and gay, but also an alcoholic. He’s got a lot of issues to work through, and we see a lot of progression in this novel.

I liked the other characters as well. Isaiah, Annabelle, Camila, Ning, and Chris, they each had their distinct personalities, and though not all of them had a lot of character progression, some definitely did and that added to the story. I really felt bad for their situation and wanted desperately for them to escape. Also, Miriam was a Grade-A dragon lady, and she was very easy to dislike and fit her character very well.

The plot had me going from the beginning. This was very “X-Men go to Genosha Island” for me, and that being one of my favorite X-Men stories, the whole concept was a winner for me. The magic/superpowered system was well thought out, and I enjoyed getting to know all about this alternate reality.

There were some interactions I really enjoyed, specifically one between Tonka and Miriam that literally made me laugh out loud. There were also plenty of laughable moments between James and his students that helped the experience not be so serious the entire time.

If I had to pick at anything I’d say the weakest part for me was the last couple chapters. It just felt a bit rushed to me after what we’d built up, and the ending seemed a bit abrupt for me, but I understand that the author is setting us up for the next book, which I’m super excited about.

In the end, this was a great superpowered book with plenty of action, drama, and high stakes. Looking forward to reading more from this author!

That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

Have you read this book before? What did you think? Do you have a book recommendation similar to this one? Feel free to share in the comments!

If you’d like to see other reviews of mine, feel free to check out the book review section of my blog or my GoodReads. You can also follow my GoodReads reviews here. There are some great binge-worthy books on there!

Have a great day!

***

Can’t get enough of Jaunts & Haunts?

Subscribe to my newsletter for in-depth updates on my writing, reading, and watching experiences, special deals, and important announcements regarding upcoming publications.

Also, feel free to check me out at the social media links below!

***

Facebook | GoodReads | Tumblr | Instagram