Monday, October 1, 2012

Angel’s Ink-Jocelynn Drake

Angel’s Ink


Jocelynn Drake

Harper Voyager, Oct 16 2012, $14.99

ISBN 9780062117861



Those with innate magician abilities must reside in Ivory Towers as a witch or a warlock. No one dares defy the rule until Gage Powell. He has issues with his peers over the treatment of the masses as he sees them as individual humans while everyone else living in Ivory Towers looks at them as chattel. Gage does the unthinkable when he opts to leave, insulting his warlock mentor Simon. The Council grants him his freedom but warns him he is not to delve in magic except in self-defense.



In Low Town, Gage opens up Asylum Tattoo Parlor catering to customers who covet something special in their inking. Bronx the troll and Trixie the elf work for Gage. Dying from cancer, Tera asks Gage to tattoo her entire back so when she goes to hell she will be wearing his angel wings. She admits she cannot pay him his costs, but moved by her story he does as she asks, but adds a special to the mix. From that kindness, Gage learns the road to hell is inked with good intentions as everything goes wrong when Trixie’s secret past surfaces and Simon places a bounty on Gage’s head.



Though the premise of a renegade practitioner has been used in urban fantasies, Jocelynn Drake provides a brisk entry mostly because readers will believe in the magic of her realm as the caste system enhances the mythos. Gage is an endearing individual who care about others as he prefers to do no harm. His assistants are loyal to him and likewise him to them. However, Simon’s diabolical scheme makes for a fast-paced thriller that fans will relish.



Harriet Klausner

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