Spiretown by Lia Black

Stockholm - SwedenTitle: Spiretown

Author: Lia Black

Genre: Fantasy, Dystopia, Magic

Length: Novel (233pgs)

Publisher: Vinedark Publishing (2nd December 2012)

Heat: Moderate

Heart:  ♥♥♥♥3½ – 4Hearts

Reviewer: Pixie

Blurb: It’s been several years since the end of the Mage wars. Those born with the taint of magic are sent to places like Spiretown, a city within a city that serves as a prison for its inhabitants. Logan Grey is the self-proclaimed mayor of this ghetto, but he’s suddenly found himself in some trouble, and he needs help from an unlikely source.

Templar Battalion Commander Collin Anderfels is having a very bad week. His fiancée left him for his best friend, he was blown up in a raid gone wrong, and now he’s been forced to protect a man who represents everything that Collin loathes. Worse still is the fact that Logan Grey keeps saving his life, and he seems intent on bedding the young Commander, despite Collin’s sometimes violent protests.

Somehow, beyond prejudice and deceit these two unlikely partners find themselves becoming more than just allies, but can a love born from lies survive when the gates of hell are torn open?

Purchase Link: US: http://www.amazon.com/Spiretown-ebook/dp/B00AHH0UQK

UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spiretown-ebook/dp/B00AHH0UQK  

Review: Spiretown, a place where people born with the taint (magic) are shipped to when their magic becomes apparent. Logan is a mage, who has his own little part of the world in Spiretown. But, he needs help when he discovers the Red Seal (a group of rogue mages) are targeting him. So, he approaches an unlikely source for assistance. Collin is a Templar Commander.  His group is there to keep the mages in place and to destroy any who succumb to the demons. Being approached by a mage for protection is astounding; beginning to have feelings for the mage just might destroy him.

This story is slightly dark, with prejudice, hate, anger and fear, breaking down those emotions and finding love. When Collin’s team is lead into an ambush by the Red Seal, he never thought his savior would be a mage.  But, that mage wants something in return, he wants protection. Logan needs the help of the Templar if he is going to bring down the Red Seal. Saving Collin fit into his plans, and now he just needs his web of lies to come to fruition. But, neither Logan nor Collin reckoned on an emotional connection forming between them. But, it is that love that just might save them all, when the Red Seal attempt to rip open the gates of Hell.

This is a great story if you are looking for a story that is drenched in angst and darkness. After the Mage Wars, all humans showing the taint of magic were rounded up and put in places like Spiretown.  Children taken from their parents were handed over to the clergy and Logan was one of those children. Templers are plainbloods (humans with no ‘taint’), who are given the task of dealing with any mages who succumb to demons.  Many of them, like Collin, hate the mages due to losses of family in the Mage Wars. Logan is a special mage though; he has special abilities that the Red Seal want.  Logan turns to Collin for help and it begins a complex relationship between the mage and the Templar.

I have to admit to that this story isn’t black and white.  Neither character is particularly lovable due to their personalities, but the longer you read the more you understand what drives them. The storyline is brilliant, but twisted, and at times will turn your stomach, especially when it comes to Logan’s past. We see a huge development in Collin’s psyche as he comes to realize that not all mages are evil and that some humans do deserve what they get.  The relationship he develops with Logan is not easy, but it is something that he would give everything up for. Logan is a very complex character and how he has been treated as a child has left scars on his soul.  It has also molded him into the way he is now and it’s a miracle he isn’t completely insane.

I have to recommend this if you love angst, demons, mages, harsh lives, some hot sex, great descriptions, some horrific scenes, a love emerging against the odds and an ending that has hope.