Blog Archives
The Magical Tarot Deck
The Magical Tarot Deck by Marieke Lexmond is a fascinating fantasy novel that transports the reader into a magical world filled with fairies, tarot cards, and witches. Book 2 of the Madigan Chronicles follows the Madigans once more as we pick up where book one left off.
This time the Madigans learn that Seamus, Tara’s husband created magical tarot cards to hide the Dagger in. Within these magical tarot cards made up of each member in the family and if anyone uses the card, you will get pulled from real life until they fulfill the question of the person who pulled the card. The cards are stolen by a mysterious man and now the Madigans, fearful that the stranger may be using the cards against them set out to find who stole the Tarot Cards. Can they find out who took the deck before it’s too late and each family member starts to disappear one by one?
Author Lexmond has done it again with her creative writing skills and free-flowing imagination she immerses the reader into the family drama with a dash of magic. The author seamlessly provides a brief recap of book one and then moves into the plot of book two without disorienting the reader. This shows the author’s expert craft at showing rather than telling. The characters that you either love or hate in book one are back in book two along with their emotions and personalities. It was great to see Bridget maturing and being the voice of reason for her family and seeing her come to terms with her witch side. The pace of the story is a smooth one as the reader gets a recap of what the family has gone through, what they are going through now up to their current issue which is the tarot deck disappearing.
I highly recommend The Magical Tarot Deck to those who are looking for a refreshing magical read that will transport them into a different world filled with fantasy and mystery.
Pages: 286 | ASIN : B096G6B5SD
The Dagger
In The Dagger: The Madigan Chronicles, written by Marieke Lexmond, Bridget tries her best to keep her witch side shut off and out of her life. However, she doesn’t know that she can ever truly shut her witch side off as she finds herself seeing a recent murder. She is thrust into a flashback and finds out who and why they murdered this witch. Bridget can’t believe her eyes. This discovery leads to her reconnecting with her family, which she has kept more than an arm’s length away. Unfortunately, Reconnecting brings up more secrets that her grandmother has hidden for decades. Bridget has many decisions to make, and she must reconnect with her witch side. But is she up for it?
The Dagger is an absolutely marvelous book. Many readers will find this book relatable in some ways. There is a lot of family drama in this exciting story; the Madigan family has many secrets hidden away. All the characters have unique backstories and well-formed personalities. Each unique individual that the author has created brings an essential element into the storyline, giving readers clues to the family’s secrets locked away for so long.
The grandmother, Tara, is a character full of depth; with secrets and desires to protect her family. She plays a vital role in Bridget’s life, and this is shown in interesting ways as the story advances. However, Tara is holding a secret from the family, which impacts how she interacts and how she is perceived by them and readers.
This intriguing book has an excellent pace for the start of a series. The worldbuilding and character development were integrated well into this first book’s plotline, giving readers enough information but not slowing down the action. The author used multiple characters’ points of view for this novel, so readers could see situations from different vantage points to paint a complete picture of things.
The Dagger is the first book in the paranormal series The Madigan Chronicles. Fantasy readers will be taken in by the unique characters and the dynamic plot. This is a fantastic start to the series, and readers will be anxiously awaiting the next installment.
Pages: 271 | ASIN : B08NF9HYY9
LITERARY TITAN 