Random Book Review – Mortal Magic: Stray

I have been in a reading slump for a while now. I’ve started several books and couldn’t finish them. I’m just so over the usual tropes in my favorite genres. I LOVE poly romance (straight, gay, or all of the above), but a lot of that falls into the reverse harem category and, sadly, the tropes I like least are the most popular there, so it takes a LOT of wading through unappealing books to find a winner. No offense to the authors who write in that genre, but seriously, I am so sick of fainting females, big hulking alpha males, and over-the-top insta-mates. I want variety. And I’m happy to report I finally found a book that held my interest! If you want a poly book that is a bit different from those around it, this is it!

I just finished Mortal Magic: Stray, by Jackbird Lee. It held my attention and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story, and how much I’m looking forward to diving into the next book.

I almost tossed this book aside when I opened the sample and realized the book is written in third person present tense.  (LOL, it’s a big pet peeve of mine, I HATE present tense). BUT…the premise, world, and characters were unique enough that I decided to keep reading and see how it played out. I am so glad I did. The MC is neurodivergent, which is awesome to see, but it’s not spelled out in a big, obvious way. You kind of have to understand mental health and put the pieces together, which I think is perfect. The characters are unique, and uniquely flawed, and I enjoyed the worldbuilding and interpersonal interactions which are just portrayed differently when seen through the MC’s lens of how he understands (or doesn’t understand) the world.  I will definitely be reading the next book.