#Review - The New Improved Sorceress by Sara Hanover #Fantasy

Series: Wayward Mages #2
Format: Paperback, 368 pages
Release Date: January 14, 2020
Publisher: Daw Books
Source: Publisher
Genre: Fantasy / Action & Adventure

The second book in this contemporary portal fantasy series returns to the life of Tessa Andrews as she balances the magical and mundane worlds.

Tessa didn’t believe in magic, but magic believed in her, and that started a fight for her life.

The ancient artifact known as the Maelstrom stone has embedded itself in her left palm. It thrives on chaos, which describes her new life perfectly. She battles to find a balance between the ordinary world and the magical one, all while freeing her father from his ghostly state, helping a phoenix wizard restore his rejuvenation ritual, and retrieving the stolen Eye of Nimora for the Broadstone clan. Tessa must also help her mother navigate the rocky road of academia and single motherhood finances, fall in love herself, and steer her college teammates to a divisional championship. She needs friends, both ordinary and magical, by her side.

Then a strange and forbidding book of the Dark Arts strikes her with actual power…and Tessa realizes more than ever that there is no I in tea—unless it’s the one in new, improved sorceress.

The Wayward Mages is an urban fantasy series by author Sara Hanover. The series follows Tessa Andrews as she becomes embroiled in magical mysteries in her quest to find her father. Tessa has a boat load of issues to deal with in this sequel to The Late Great Wizard. An ancient artifact known as the maelstrom stone has embedded itself in her left palm. Her father is an interdimensional ghost living in her basement. Professor Brandard, the so called Phoenix Wizard, still hasn't found a way to do the rejuvenation ritual correctly, and is now stuck in the body of Brian until he can. 

 

Malender is still around making life interesting for Tessa. Tessa is stirring up trouble that she knows nothing about and he seems to be around making sure she doesn't go down in flames. On top of everything else, Tessa is a student at a Virginia community college where she plays on the school's field hockey team. Thanks to her father's disappearance, Tessa doesn't have any non-magical friends outside of Evelyn Statler. Her mother, Mary Andrews, has not abandoned her, and is very much part of this series and her life. 

 

She does have has a motley crew of magical friends including Hiram, Mortimer Broadstone's son and heir, Simon Steptoe a London raised demon who used to be evil and had a barbed tail, Brian, the formerly known Professor Brandard's new identity with two souls, as well as Carter Phillips a cop who belongs to a group called the Society. She even gets her very own former police dog named Scout that has more surprises to come. Tessa is given a new quest as the story opens. The Eye of Nimora has gone missing, and if it is not found soon, chaos will quickly reign. The eyes sees the truth. 

 

It was a bride price from Mortimer to Germanigold aka Goldie who just happens to be a Harpy but is currently missing. She gets even more surprises when two agents arrive claiming that they are interested in Tessa joining Silverbranch Academy. Tessa and Evelyn eventually travel to the campus and check it out. But, there's more to that story that I won't dive deeper into since it involves spoilers. As the story progresses, Tessa has to learn about the maelstrom stone and who abilities she now possesses. Tessa is not a magical being, but she could eventually be a powerful sorceress if she can figure out what she is capable of. 

 

I think one of the more curious aspects of this story was the involvement of Evelyn. She really stands out not because of anything she does, but because she seems to have the ability to see prophecies. And, there's quite a few of them. With someone like Evelyn around, Tessa could use all the help she can get to defeat her antagonists since it appears that an even more dangerous adversary is waiting in the wings to strike. Tessa also becomes an ally of Goldie which is amazing since Goldie is truly a badass and even more dangerous villains are awaiting for Tessa to make one wrong move.

 

I am going to continue this series to find out what happens next. The ending of this story leaves a whole lot of questions that need to be answered which goes directly to the title of this book and who Tessa is apparently going to be.  

Amazon | Audible | Barnes & Noble | Kobo