Street Magic

Tamora Pierce

The Circle Opens
2
Young Adult, Fantasy
It’s been four years since Briar Moss began his training as a plant mage, but he still hasn’t put his past behind him. Wandering through a Chammuri market, Briar comes across a street girl using powerful magic to polish stones for a merchant. He resolves to find her a teacher. But Briar understands the city’s gangs as well as he understands Evvy, the young mage. When gang warfare breaks out in Chammur, Briar discovers that the fiercest gang is seeking a stone mage to lead them to hidden gems. Briar once believed gangs offered protection, but now he and his mage may offer the only protection Evvy can count on. As Briar is swept up in a bloody conflict, he must decide whether he’s ready to make the final step away from his former life as a “street rat.”

Welcome back everyone, I’m picking up where I left off with Tamora Pierce’s books. Today we get to see how Briar goes as an adult.

Briar is probably my favourite of the four so I was always going to have a soft spot for his books, but Tamora write his books in a way that I just can’t resist. Like with his book in the first series, The Healing in the Vine from The Circle of Magic, Briar’s story revolves around those in the slums. Specifically, those in gangs.

The way Briar has really accepted his magic, and his connection to plants is amazing. Every time I read this, I have certain moments, like the jasmine vine, that I just smile at. I can’t help it! It’s so sweet and touching to see a manly man so in touch with his green thumb.

However, the growth we see in his maturity as he accepts that he needs to teach Evvy about her magic, how to control it and even how to use it for good, is amazing. He’s only just finding his own place in the world, yet he accepts (grudgingly, like any teenager) his responsibility as a qualified mage and takes Evvy under his wing.

The fact that he cares for her in more ways than his magical responsibility is amazing. He fights for her in ways I feel like he’d only fight for his sisters. As a young teenager when I first read this when I didn’t have many close friends, this was amazing, and I wished I had someone who’d fight for me like this.

The lengths he goes to protecting Evvy is amazing. He doesn’t seem to care about his own health or life so long as he can save his student and friend. The fact that they have a friendship is easy to see, even if it took a while to get there.

When I’m re-reading Tamora’s books, this is one I always look forward to reading. It gives me the warm and fuzzies every time.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review, next week I will be reviewing Breathe of Passion by Lisa Kessler.

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4 Replies to “Street Magic – Tamora Pierce”

  1. I have a friend who head over heels absolutely loves Pierce’s books, so I am not surprised to know this was such a good reread for you. It sounds like a cool concept and I always like hearing about the underdogs in a fantasy world, who struggle with the tough living and gang-like culture. Great review x

    Olivia-S @ Olivia’s Catastrophe

    1. I love them all as well. I’m gonna be reviewing the rest of her books over the course of the yr (although I think some may go over to next yr) so I get how so many others love her books too

  2. I have to admit that I’ve heard of Tamora Pierce, but I’ve never actually read the books. This however, sounds awesome. I love plant magic (I’m a biologist so there might be a connection). And the fact that it’s a male MC does pique my interest, solely because I don’t know many stories that have a male MC and this kind of magic. I’ll eagerly be waiting your other reviews!

    1. I love Tamora’s books and have a page set up to house all the reviews in that world. As I add more they’ll automatically be added to that page. And there’s even Briar’s book from the first quartet already there if you want to hear more about him 🙂

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