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

When her father disappeared into limbo years ago, Tessa's world fell apart. It took her discovery of magic for her to begin to put things back together. But she hasn't been able to restore her father from his ghostly half-existence--and he is fading fast.

Magic has a price, and Tessa is learning that it is both steep and deadly. The phoenix wizard who could train her has deserted Tessa. She has friends among the Iron dwarves and harpies, even a lesser demon, and the mysterious Malender with his sinister whip of thorns and fire. But she is still faced with a delicate balancing act.

Then her mother incurs the wrath of the magical world when she writes a dissertation exposing its reality. That is the final straw, as Magic fights back and an assassin accepts a contract on their lives. Tessa must learn to master her new powers as a sorceress, or everyone and everything she loves is doomed.

Things are rapidly coming to a head for Tessa and her friends as it becomes obvious a completely evil presence is watching the house. With the Professor still MIA in any form and her father’s ghost fading rapidly there is little time to waste in learning how to uses the Maelstrom stone to rescue her father and protect herself and her friends from those who want it. When that evil presence starts tainting those around her the stakes become even higher as Tessa’s mother’s dissertation risks exposing the magically realm to the mundane world.

The action is fast in this entry in the series and the side of good suffers some heartbreaking losses.  While there is a satisfying conclusion here the door is left cracked open for more follow-up entries as Tessa grows more into her powers. This is a highly recommended series ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

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