Suddenly Todd, an ER physician, notices that strange things have been happening. He has suddenly developed the ability to tell what’s wrong with his patients without even examining them. Then a patient comes in after a brutal attack, and a hideous monster shows up to finish the job only Todd is able to protect his co-workers and the girl by using something that looks suspiciously like magic.

Connor is a mage that has been drawn to Todd by some unseen force. All he knows is that he must protect Todd and that job suddenly becomes a lot harder when he discovers who Todd really is and what role he will play in the prophesied battle between good and evil. Especially when Connor realizes that he is feeling more than just friendship and duty towards Todd.

The premise of a magical world of immortal creatures that live and work in secret alongside the rest of humanity is not a new one, but Mr. Hogue succeeded in making it feel fresh and new. The main and supporting characters were interesting and charismatic. The plot was intriguing and held my attention throughout the story. I enjoyed the interactions between Connor and Todd, the tension and confusion that they felt was interesting to watch and added to the emotional flavor of the story. But, my enjoyment of the novel was stifled at times by the overly detailed descriptions of the characters actions, thoughts and sometimes intrusive diatribes on the injustices and inequalities of bigotry and general close-mindedness of people. I don’t mind books that include a message of tolerance, I applaud them in fact. What I do mind is when a scene is building in tension until I’m almost on the edge of my seat filled with fear and worry over what is going to happen next, and then several characters stop on their way to aid the other characters and have a several paragraph long dissertation on bigotry. It completely destroyed the tension for me and lowered the enjoyment I felt in the story.

Reviewed by: Hayley