Genre: Urban Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay, Bi, Demi, Non-Binary (secondary character)
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
What kind of mage would be crazy enough to crush on a shifter? Me. Apparently me.
The world is a messed-up place. Especially for those of us who have magic, and I know just how terrible it can be firsthand. Which is one of the reasons I try to stay away from people… humans and shifters especially.
Unfortunately, the NHSO forces magi to work alongside shifters to help protect the humans from taragorians—scary beasts from another realm. Which means I’m thrown onto a new team and forced to work with Cosmo Ono-Nai, a lion shifter.
And for some reason, I can’t keep my eyes off him.
The Scars That Bind Us is a 115K word novel and the first book in the MM urban fantasy series, The Magi Accounts.
The Review
Humans had their chance to make the world right, but they screwed up, and the next time they didn’t do any better. WWIII was long, civilization was almost destroyed, and billions died. Humans found out about the Magi, shifters and the beasts that killed, and a new hierarchy was formed. Humans controlled everything, shifters came next and Magi were the lowest in the ranking, treated as prisoners and abused severely, often to the point of death.
Madeo Driscoll, better know as Mads or Madman, is a Magi/Weaver and lived in a compound. Life was not easy for him. He was abused, controlled and trained to be a part of the NHSO (Non-Human Special Operations). All Magi were tagged and had imbedded trackers, so they could never escape to the Great Divide. Madeo has accepted his fate, but without trust of those around him. He’s a good soul, but grumpy and snarky, and he has his reasons. He lives with his Dyad and his three loving cats.
Jude Driscoll is also a Magi/Focus, and is Dyad to Madeo. They have a unique soul bond. He has also suffered abuse in the compound.
Madeo has seen too much betrayal and suffering. The only one he truly trusts is Jude. They work together with sigils, tattoos and spells to fight the taragorians that break through the veil from another realm. Madeo and Jude also have a secret, and if it were ever discovered, they could loose everything, including their lives.
The taragorians break through the veil and bring more chaos and death. The NHSO gains another shifter team for the TRD (Taragorian Response Department). The new team will be lead by a human captain, Harriet Gray. Madeo and Jude are the best of the Magi, with lots of experience defeating the taragorians. Now the new TRD team of shifters has come on board, with the team leader to be Cosmo Ona-Nais.
Madeo doesn’t take any of this lightly. He’s very irate about Jude being denied the position that Madeo thinks he deserves. What conflicts will arise? Will they all be able to work together? And that happened to the thirty-two shifters who went missing?
The Scars that Bind Us is an incredible novel by Michele Notaro. At the start of the story, there’s an extensive history of what happened to the world because of ignorance and war. Scars takes place in a dystopian world with a hierarchy that is full of prejudice, racial hatred, lies, and abuse. The shifters have been lied to, and don’t know how cruelly the magi have been treated.
There are a few fascinating relationships in the story. First, Madeo, Jude and Logan, a teenage Mage, who he enters into Madeo’s family. Then Madeo and Cosmo, and the gradual connection that they all make with the Ona-Nais Pride.
Filling out the cast are the pride TRDs: Charles, Dare, Zara, Kulani and their extended pride family Eva, Luce and River.
The Scars that Bind Us is an intriguing paranormal journey with a touch of mystery, spiced with secrets, magic and fantasy. It’s well written, with many action-packed and fast-paced scenes, as well as emotional moments, humor, snark and cats!
I was thoroughly entertained with the story, and can’t wait to read more.
Watch for the 1.5 Magi Accounts story A Kiss to Revive Me, coming on April 19th!
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.