Review: Titan Magic by Jodi Lamm

Titan Magic by Jodi Lamm

Pages: 398
Publisher: Amazon Createspace
Genre: YA Fantasy/Mythology
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Mute, heartless, and tormented by auditory hallucinations, Madeleine Lavoie never questions why her family has hidden her from the world. But the night her brother casts her out, she learns the mysterious voice she thought existed only in her mind is no delusion, and no matter how hard she tries, she can never disobey it. Now Madeleine must find her own voice in a cacophony of powerful tyrants, monsters, and gods. If she fails, she will forfeit her life and the lives of everyone who loves her. But if she succeeds, she may finally gain the ability to love someone in return.

Titan Magic majorly surprised me. I wasn't expecting a huge fantastical novel, filled with a few mysteries and quite a bit of suspense, plus a unique mythology that draws from older ones. Just looking at the cover and reading the synopsis didn't prepare me for just what Titan Magic was all about. When I started reading, I was instantly intrigued. Maddy is the daughter of a wealthy family, but she hears voices in her head that compel her to go to it. Honestly, what's more interesting than a crazy girl? But the thing is, I didn't think Maddy was crazy at all, from the very beginning, so I wanted to know what the secret behind the voice was.

The mythology was interesting to me because, from the title, you can guess it's going to be about Titans so I assumed it was going to be based on Greek mythology. And while a slight reference to Greek mythology was made later in the book, the whole world itself really was it's own freestanding mythology. I thought the concept of what Maddy was was totally unique, (I know I've never read about it before), if even a little creepy in the sense that, um, well *SPOILER ALERT*, {HIGHLIGHT THE TEXT TO READ IT!} since she was a golem and her body was made out of earth and clay, she  had to be carved. And yes, Maddie is a girl. So that means that the person who carved her, I won't say who, actually had to, um, make her anatomically correct. Which is kind weird. Her maker even mentions that fact at one point!

Jodi Lamm's writing style is beautiful and fluid, perfect for this kind of high fantasy novel. I'm not sure exactly when or where this novel took place, but from the way Jodi wrote, it seemed Victorian-esque which I think it why I loved it so much because I'm a bit obsessed with the Victorian era.

The romance was really the only thing that I felt didn't live up to my expectations. I really can't say too much without giving anything away. But Maddy is in an odd situation where she can't really love anyone, and since things are mostly from her perspective, it's hard to actually warm up to either of the two boys that are vying for her heart. I was partial to both, honestly, for different reasons. The ending left off cleanly, without a cliffhanger, but another book is on the way according to Jodi, so I'll just have to keep reading to see what happens. I give Titan Magic 4 out of 5 stars.