Rating: 3.5⭐️
I thought this would be a complete trilogy but it’s not. It’s just the first 3 part section to a longer multi sectional storyline arc.
The three books included here are
Shadowed Relics #1
Twisted Fae #2
Infernal Gate #3
Astrid Knightstorm is a powerful earth mage who is called on to solve paranormal mysteries around the world. Her familiar is a brain of an ancient dark sorcereress in a jar and her assistant is a Fae who does her researches and handles all inquiries for her small business.
It’s a good premise and works well for the most part. The beginning novel is terrific, has interesting characters and gives you a good idea of what Astrid’s life is like.
But it starts to go off by the second novel. The issue primarily falls into the relationship between Ember, her Fae assistant, who takes zero responsibility for her own actions in and out the Fae Realm, and Astrid. Astrid seems to feel she is responsible for everyone’s problems and actions, even though they are not only adults but perhaps beings older than she is. Accountably exists nowhere really here and that’s extremely difficult to accept as a reader.
This carries over to her unpleasant brother who remains a character who is someone who is underwhelming and one-dimensional.
That’s the biggest issue with the trilogy. It’s a fast paced action adventure urban fantasy. But low on character development and any real believable character growth and interactions.
Elements thrown in for plot twists but given little narrative depth or explanation.
So read it for the action sequences and adventure scenes. Not for the characters. Or if you follow the authors.
Buy link
Collects books from: Knightstorm Arcane Investigations
Blurb
Astrid Knightstorm is a wizard private investigator who handles the cases no one else will touch. Her clients include fae, werewolves, vampires, and creatures that slip between worlds. Being a tough Texan helps, but it’s her wits and command of Earth Magick that keep her alive in a world where supernatural threats lurk in every shadow.
When ancient artifacts fall into the wrong hands, demonic forces tear at the edges of reality, and fae politics ignite dangerous rivalries, Astrid is pulled into conflicts that reach from Austin to the Vatican to realms most mortals never survive. Each case draws her deeper into a hidden war involving dark alchemy, unstable boundaries between worlds, and a power determined to unravel time itself.
With unlikely allies at her side, including a fae assistant, a werewolf, and the family she thought she lost, Astrid must confront monsters, destiny, and the secrets of her own past.
Some cases test your skills. Some threaten the world. And some force you to face the truth about who you are.
Magick For Hire: The Complete First Trilogy brings together the first three novels of the Knightstorm Arcane Investigations series, this action packed urban fantasy saga delivers a snarky wizard detective, supernatural mysteries, and a world where Magick hides in plain sight.
Ogden Media Ltd
Publication date
January 6, 2026
Language
English
Print length
807 pages
