Shine (Mageri, #5) in Audiobook Junkies

Nov 03, 2017 ☕️Kimberly (Caffeinated Reviewer) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shine was intense as Dark tied up threads, had our characters face their enemies and tested couples and friendships. I laughed at Justus and Page, cried for Logan and admired the hell out of Silver. We have come along way from Sterling where a young woman wakes up a Mage. I have come to love Silver, Justus, Logan, Page, Christian, Simon, Adam, and Finn. Oh heck, I even love secondary characters like Zoe's best friend, the leader of the council and those we lost along the way. I am saddened this Shine was intense as Dark tied up threads, had our characters face their enemies and tested couples and friendships. I laughed at Justus and Page, cried for Logan and admired the hell out of Silver. We have come along way from Sterling where a young woman wakes up a Mage. I have come to love Silver, Justus, Logan, Page, Christian, Simon, Adam, and Finn. Oh heck, I even love secondary characters like Zoe's best friend, the leader of the council and those we lost along the way. I am saddened this is the end but felt Dark did justice to these characters and left us with hope for these characters. Christian Poe appears in the Crossbreed series, and I am hoping others will as well.

Since an in-depth review of Shine would reveal too many spoilers, I am instead sharing five reasons to listen or read the series.

Five reasons to begin the Mageri Series:

An urban world with different paranormal creatures who live secretly among humans and are governed by a council made up of each breed. Dark has created a world you'll want to be a part of from the characters to their abilities and rules.

The characters! Fans of Kim Harrison, Patrica Briggs, and Anne Bishop will love the intense, complex, and charismatic characters Dark shares in her worlds. Silver, our protagonist, is selfless, kickass and tenacious with a soft side. You'll laugh at Justus before you realize he has stolen your heart. Simon is hilarious, and Christian Poe will make you scream for more. Your heart will break for Adam, but you'll close Shine with hope for him. You will want to hug Finn, and after a rough beginning, you will swoon for Logan. Their bonds, comradery, banter, and willingness to help each other make these stories memorable.

The overall story ARC begins with Silver's creation in Sterling and is developed in each novel as characters face new dangers and gather clues. The saga is well written, and eventually, everything weaves together in Shine. While I made a few connections Shine delivered plenty of ah-ha moments that surprised me, answered a nagging question and pulled threads together brilliantly.

Side stories and characters like Page and Adam added depth and pull the reader into their world. I felt apart of it and became emotionally attached. I laughed, worried and lordy on occasion Dark made me weep like a babe. I felt sorry for Christian, screamed at injustices our characters faced and celebrated their happy moments. When an author creates characters who become like friends, you know you've found something special.

While I am sure reading the Mageri series is enjoyable, Nichole Poole narrates this series, and she brings a whole new level of enjoyment to this series. Her voices both male and female have become the voices of these characters, and she beautifully captures their tones, mannerisms, and emotions. I have said Dark is like crack and Poole is her dealer. Bwahaha! When given a choice I will reach for my earbuds every time.
This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer ...more

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Dec 28, 2013 Linda (un)Conventional Bookworms rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: review-books, strong-female-protgagonist, fave-author, fave-series, paranormal-adult, adult, urban-fantasy, magic, arc, read-in-2013

*I received a free ARC of Shine from Enchantress of Books Blogtours for participating in the blogtour*

An awesome end to an epic series! My review will be posted on my blog (un)Conventional Bookviews on January 6th 2014 as part of the Shine Blogtour.

All I can say is that I totally loved it! ...more

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Sep 25, 2014 Melanie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 4-stars, 4-star-narration, urban-fantasy, z-2014, z-2014-audiobooks

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

This is the fifth and final book in Mageri series. The entire series only covers about a year in time. At the beginning of the story, Zoe is pretty much a normal human. By the end, she isn't only a mage, she is an extremely powerful one.

This story not only wraps up the overall story of the series, there is also a story to be told within this book. We have a surprise from Page, which ends up being a large part of the s ...more

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Nov 08, 2024 Anne - Books of My Heart rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: coyer, library, 2024, library24

This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart

4.5 hearts

Shine is sort of the finale of the Mageri series. There were many story lines and finally the plots connected up and there were some resolutions.

I appreciate Silver's strength and compassion. However, I am still put off by her childish attitude of just stating her way is the right way. I'd like to see her educate and work on herself more to get to her goals. I do believe she is right and the battles finally are having an effec ...more

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Dec 31, 2013 Sunny rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: a-1-favorite-series

A fine ending to this series. More review to come

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Aug 14, 2013 Viviana Izzo rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I LOVE this series!! From the first installment "Sterling", the story captivated me and I fell for each of the characters and all for different reasons. Uhm, just in case you didn't know it, Logan is mine!! LOL! A few friends that have read the series each have claimed either Justus, Simon, Logan, Christian, etc. well you get the idea.

With each book, we dive deeper into the Mageri world and get to know each of the characters and the world they live in better. While sadden to know that "Shine" i I LOVE this series!! From the first installment "Sterling", the story captivated me and I fell for each of the characters and all for different reasons. Uhm, just in case you didn't know it, Logan is mine!! LOL! A few friends that have read the series each have claimed either Justus, Simon, Logan, Christian, etc. well you get the idea.

With each book, we dive deeper into the Mageri world and get to know each of the characters and the world they live in better. While sadden to know that "Shine" is the final installment of the Mageri Series, I'm sure we will see them again. "Shine" picks up right where "Gravity" left off and WOW! I couldn't put it down. From trying to find out what was going on with Adam, to seeing how Sunny is dealing with everything to the OMG moments for Justus, Paige, and with Logan and Silver. Not to mention Finn! Hence the "OMG" and "Oh no way" and "WTF" and "aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh" and some sobbing moments. Sigh.

Dannika did a fantastic job in answering all the questions we had and tying up loose ends. I love that she doesn't follow traditions when it comes to genre (blending UF and PNR) and even endings. This is a fantastic thing as it provides a fresh spin. Not a spoiler but I do love that she doesn't 'magically' fix the Silver not being able to have children. As someone who has suffered pregnancy losses, it does anger me when in stories, the woman miraculously becomes pregnant or has a successful pregnancy as part of the "happily ever after" ending. Dannika doesn't give you that tale but makes it okay to have this be part of the story and accepted by those that love her. I, like Silver, both have had that 'I can't give you what you want most.... a child. A family!' moment. Thankfully, Silver and I are both very lucky women as they would not ask for anything more than our love in return. Logan puts it best: "I will not hope for something she is unable to give me. It wouldn't be fair to Silver. Without stars, there is still the moon to light up the night sky, and Silver is my moon. Why wish for the stars when I have all the light I need?" THANK YOU Dannika for this!

This was a great and wonderful final installment to a fantastic series that I highly recommend. Dannika has created a world that draws you in and characters that will make you want to be part of their lives. I know there is more to come from Daannika (check out "Closer" and "Seven Years" from the new "Seven Series") and I cannot wait!!! ...more

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