Review: The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells

The Mage in Black (Sabina Kane, 2) by Jaye Wells
Urban Fantasy
Orbit (April 1, 2010)
ISBN-13: 978-0316037808
352 pages
Read Your Own Books Challenge

Synopsis from Amazon:

Sabina Kane doesn't have the best track record when it comes to family. After all, her own grandmother, the leader of the vampire race, just tried to kill her. When she arrives in New York to meet the mage side of her family, the reunion takes the fun out of dysfunctional.


On top of that, the Hekate Council wants to use her as a pawn in the brewing war against the vampires. Her mission will take her into the bowels of New York's Black Light district, entangles her in mage politics, and challenges her beliefs about the race she was raised to distrust. And Sabina thought vampires were bloodthirsty.

Warning: There may be spoilers here for those who haven't read the first book, Red-Headed Stepchild.

My review of book 1

I had a great time reading Jaye Well's debut, Red-Headed Stepchild, so my expectations for the Sabina's return were pretty high. The Mage in Black didn't disappoint.


In this installment, we get to see Sabina out of her native vampire element. Although she his half-Mage herself, her lack of experience with them and the ingrained distrust that she bears towards them make for a highly interesting read as she tries to navigate Mage society and become acquainted with her twin sister. Luckily for her, her demon minion Giguhl and love-interest/ally Adam are along for the ride. Of course the personality clashes between Sabina and her friends always make for hijinks and arguments but, ultimately, Giguhl and Adam's loyalty is what grounds Sabina and makes her more open to learning and accepting her mage heritage and family. Obviously none of this is easy for Sabina, especially with people constantly plotting against her. The action this time around is just as great, if not better due to Sabina's increased knowledge and skills in magic.

Aside from the action, TMIB gives us a lot more background on Sabina's heretofore unknown Mage side of the family. We also get a great deal more insight into how Well's world works, the foes that Sabina faces along with hints at the obstacles that she'll have to overcome in the next book, Green-Eyed Demon. By far though, my favorite bits were of a more personal nature. Seeing Sabina stumble her way through forging a relationship with her twin sister Maggie was fascinating because their personalties are so opposite - Maggie being naturally open and kind to Sabina's easy hostility. Sabina's love life also gets touched on a lot more this time around. Along with her burgeoning feelings for and relationship with Adam, she has to deal with a blast-from-the-romance-past in the form of a vamp named Slade. Oh, and of course her psycho grandmother, Lavinia, is back.

Grade: A-
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