I received this novel as part of betta read: I am using some of the betta questions to write this review and discussing my thoughts on scenes from the book. There will be spoilers ahead! I have not read the published version yet. But I enjoy Julian Greystoke work

Is this story enticing you?
Answer: The story is enticing, the first chapter is written and told from the point of view of a servant, something I have never seen in a book before, and yet it works. Through Maeve’s actions and in direct actions, we slowly learn about her harsh world. I am still trying to figure out how the magic system of this fantasy world works.  
 
Are you drawn in by the characters?

Answer: Yes, Maeve sassing a mage made me crack up. While I am trying to decide what is real and what is fake with Valentine, each has their own quarks that drew my attention.

 Do Maeve or Valentine intrigue you more than characters? 
Answer: I think they both intrigue me from what I read. Maeve has a pretty shitty start to life, and I am curious whether she can wield magic? 
With Valentine, he seems to wear a mask for his own self gain. I am curious about his past and which side is the actual personality.

Are you able to picture both Maeve and Valentine to your satisfaction? 
Answer: For me personally, the descriptions given of both Maeve and Valentine allowed me to picture their appearance. Simply my mind can picture things clearly with the information given to me. 
Their actions and their interactions so far, are giving me a sense of their personalities, which is sometimes difficult to produce on the page. But I am satisfied.     

Naming the chapters after place names:

So, I understand why naming the chapters after places where the characters are currently located is a good, if not smart, idea, about midway through the book. I got used to the naming of the chapters and found it easy to follow along.

Favourite scene:

I think my favourite scene is when Maeve and Valentine are trapped within the mausoleum with the stone lady after a magical trap is activated. The entire situation is hilarious from blasting the statue’s hands off with lightning. To the fact that Valentine thought it would be a good idea to behead a statue using a sword.    

This scene also displays how Maeve and Valentine are smart in different ways, such as Valentine figuring out how to calm the focus and Maeve figuring out the statue needed to be stabbed in the heart.

 Betta question: Were the Bryards adequately threatening in this chapter should they be more aggressive? (Chapter Ten)

Answer: I believe the bothers were aggressive enough. They try to box Valentine in and grab him by the collar and threaten to hurt him more within a time frame, so the message is clear.

The bothers do not cross me as overly aggressive. They just expect to be obeyed, which confirms their arrogance.

Beta question: was it interesting to learn more about the brothers here, or do you feel this chapter was pointless? (Chapter 11)

Answer: I do not think this chapter was pointless, because it gave us insight into both the brothers’ personalities, Tomas’ actual face interested me.

Betta question: Non aces: did that scene make sense? Even if you don’t fully understand asexuality and aromanticism, were you able to understand these two characters in the scene? (Chapter 14) 

Answer: I thought a lot about this question, so the scene made sense to me as I understand Maeve and Valentine have never been attracted to anyone sexually. And have never been interested in a person romantically, personally I find it realistic and wish to see more in the future.

Beta question: was escaping the mire adequately harrowing? Does it need to be beefed up or is it working as is?

The mire answer: To be honest, Maeve and Valentine escaping the barrow had me on the edge of my seat, wondering if they were going to make it out without losing a limb. Especially when the undead skeletons moved through the swamp water, creating a build-up, till they slowly surround the adventurers, loved the fact Maeve smashed the skeleton’s skull in. I thought the scene works well.

 Beta question: were you able to visualize everything in this chapter? Is the setting easy to understand and picture? (Chapter 22)

The fire focus answer:

This one may be a long answer. Yes, visualizing a scene is easy and helps gauge what is going on with the characters. I enjoyed the idea of the family joining their abilities together. The idea of drinking a potion to reveal a hidden door was a wicked idea. I found it interesting that illusion magic has added to the mix.

Betta question: My hope is it was interesting and gave readers some feels. Did I succeed?

Did the chapter overstay and were there details you could have done without? Or did you want more?

Answer:

I think the overlapping of Maeve and Valentine’s pasts gives us a clear comparison of their pasts. I find them both relatable. For example, a young Valentine. Trying to find himself and what powers his magic by joining the army and was not finding his passion.

I felt sorry for Maeve. Living on the streets must have been hard. I am curious about who killed her father or whether it was alcohol poisoning.
I think the scene has enough details of both their pasts and it’s clear they are under the potion’s effects.

Beta question: was the action easy to visualize and follow in this chapter? Was it adequately? harrowing? (The Spider scene)

Answer: The appearance of a giant spider caught my attention immediately, like a personal nightmare displayed in a book. I am absolutely terrified of the eight-legged creatures. Having one appear and then stealthily adding another two, adding more nightmare fuel and the urgent need to escape that room. I enjoyed the part where the spiders exploded by Maeve’s vials and Valentine lightning. The spider gore added to their distress. Maeve experienced one of my worst fears, being bitten by a venomous spider. This chapter made my skin crawl. While I enjoyed the chapter, spiders raining down from the celling was my least favourite scene.

Beta question: This is another chapter where I am hoping to wring a few feels out of the reader. Did I succeed?

What did you think of the revelations we learned about Maeve’s life?

Answer: At first, I was angry at Valentine for manipulating Maeve, but given his past, I feel sorry for him. The author succeeded in making me feel a lot of mixed emotions. I agree with Maeve’s choice to remain with Valentine. As she has experienced personal growth and understood herself while adventuring with him.

While it is nice to know, Maeve has a family, given she is a shy and somewhat awkward person, who wants to decide her own fate. Meeting her family would slow the book down and be extremely awkward.

Betta question: Should Maeve have gotten her contract herself?  

Answer: As a writer myself, I feel if Maeve had gotten her contract herself and other heard the bothers. There would have been a greater risk of her being caught. Where’s the butler? Grabbing her contract shows the reader the butler’s kinder nature, and it did not feel like a convenient plot twist. Yes, Maeve knew later,, but she was able to walk off the estate and free women? I am honestly satisfied with the ending. 

On a scale of one to ten
I enjoyed the story and give this book a solid eight

Were the characters engaging and fun to follow?

I found all the characters engaging to follow. I think I loved Maeve most of all, because of her job, discovering her magic and her witty dynamic with Valentine.

is the new magic system make sense and was it interesting?

I think the magic system was the most interesting thing in the book, form using objects as focuses or using ingredients to cast intention into meals like Maeve or following your passion like valentine.

I hope to see new forms of magic present itself in future books, such as a display of word of power. Every time a new element or new focus was introduced, I wrote notes so I could understand the magic systems structure

If you encountered this story in the wild (and the spelling and grammar etc were fixed) would you have read it?

If I found this book in a bookstore, I would buy it and read it, if there is a sequel I would read it ten out of ten.

Is there anything that didn’t happen that you really wish had?

Because this is my first-time reading adventurer mage, I can’t say if there is something I wished happened but didn’t
Extra notes: I think the colour of Maeve’s magic would be red.
I am personally torn between being a component mage or being a passion mage

In conclusion I thought this was a magnificent book with it’s twists and turns I had some unexpected moments and would recommend this book to other people. I hope you enjoy my review. please support the author her books are available on amazon

Adventurer Mage eBook : Greystoke, Julian, Luebke, Emily: Amazon.com.au: Kindle Store