Reign & Ruin

Mages of the Wheel, Book 1

De: J.D. Evans

Narrado por: Tim Campbell, Caren Naess

“All magic is beautiful...and terrible. Do you not see the beauty in yours, nor the terror in mine? You can stop a heart, and I can stop your breath.”

She is heir to a Sultanate that once ruled the world. He is an unwanted prince with the power to destroy. She is order and intellect, a woman fit to rule in a man's place. He is chaos and violence and will stop at nothing to protect his people.

His magic answers hers with shadow for light. They need each other, but the cost of balance may be too high a price. Magic is dying and the only way to save it is to enlist mages who wield the forbidden power of death, mages cast out centuries ago in a brutal and bloody war.

Now, a new war is coming. Science and machines to replace magic and old religion.

They must find a way to save their people from annihilation and balance the sacred Wheel—but first, they will have to balance their own forbidden passion. His peace for her tempest, his restlessness for her calm.

Night and day, dusk and dawn, the end, and the beginning.

©2019 J.D. Evans (P)2022 Podium Audio

Loved this

So worth the listen. Great voices. Great story. The beginning felt a little slow, but all good books start slow

Best of Audible

My favorite I’ve listened to so far! Just so thoughtful wonderful smart dialogue and world building.

Incredibly worth the listen/read

I’m shocked this book/series doesn’t have more fanfare. It’s beautifully written, and does a great job of balancing fantasy, politics, and romance. The leads are engaging, believable characters and the romance rings true. If you’re a fan of the TOG or ACOTAR series, do yourself a favor and read this.

Beautiful

This is easily one of my top 5 fantasy romance books ever. Would recommend to anyone interested in fantasy.

One of my favorite audiobooks - EVER!

Not only was this a great book, but this is hands down one of my favorite performances in an audiobook to date. I actually purchased the audiobook because I was so hooked on the story that I wanted to be able to continue “reading” when I was driving or working. Usually audiobooks are just a means to an end for me, but this one was genuinely so good that I listened to parts of the story that I had already read just to experience it in this form! An excellently written adult fantasy. The characters, their motivations, plans, personalities, and dialogue were all thoughtfully written and came across very true. The plot was interesting, and kept me guessing. I was so impressed that the author strayed away from the typical “romantasy” pitfalls. There were no overly cliche or dramatic misunderstandings between the love interests, no damsel in distress moments, and no major “red flags” from the male love interest that (I feel) often plague the “enemies to lovers” style stories, but are overlooked because we are supposed to love the main man. The same could be said of the female lead, who is enjoyable to read because she is realistically written. She has no skills she has not earned, and is ACTUALLY calculating, intelligent, and calm, something that the author shows us through many interactions rather than telling us.

I am genuinely surprised this is not at ACOTAR levels of admiration from the masses, because it has certainly surpassed that for me. A wonderful book for anyone who loves fantasy, romance, magic, and stepping fully into another world.

Beautifully written

There are not enough accolades for this series, so I felt compelled to add one more. It’s exciting to find this level of strong characters with well crafted plot and enough emotional strength for the reader to become invested in their outcomes. My only regret is that the following books in the series switch focus to other characters and I felt kind of attached to the main couple in this story, so I would have liked to see more from them. There is definitely romance, but it doesn’t completely forget to tell an interesting story that is not just a means to getting the main couple to hook up. Both voice performances are excellent.

Why doesn’t this get more hype??

WELL worth the credit. Excellent writing, interesting story and characters, wonderful narration. Nice to find something in this genre that isn’t intended for teenagers. I can’t wait to continue this series.

Enjoyed this fantasy world

I loved the book and the narrators were amazing. Be prepared for some steamy interactions between the main characters.

Fantastic Read

Great book- Evans finds a great balance between romance and fantasy. Interesting world building and magic system in a Middle Eastern setting - fresh change of pace from vaguely medieval Western Europe.

Voice actors do a great job with pacing, accents, and differentiating character dialogue without taking you out of story.

Romance is fully fleshed out despite attention to world building and political machinations. One of the best kids scenes I’ve read in awhile. Definitely worth reading, and I look forward to other books in series.

Loved This So Much!

This is absolutely gorgeous! I had read the book twice but the audio was completely different experience. J.D. Evans is a talented writer and this is the best start and most unique start I've read for a fantasy series in a while.