Review: The Wizard's Mark by Janette Rallison

Title: The Wizard's Mark

Author: Janette Rallison

Genre: Adult, high fantasy

Publication date: March 15th 2024

Published by: Janette Rallison

Source: Ebook for review from author

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon

Synopsis: He was her first love. Now he’s her deadliest adversary.

By day, Marcella pretends to be a highborn lady, but at night, she’s a thief for the renegades, a group whose goal is to help servants escape their noble masters.

That isn’t her most dangerous secret. In a land where only men are wizards, she’s able to wield magic.

Marcella grew up as a serving girl in the castle where young wizards train. Falling in love with Ronan, the most promising apprentice, was a bad idea from the beginning. He’d made it clear he never planned on a future with her. It would’ve stood in the way of his ambitions.

Now the renegades want Marcella to go to the king’s court where an assassination might prevent a war, but then she’ll be back in Ronan’s path. This time as enemies.

He's dangerous. He knows her secrets. Despite the sparks that always fly between them, he could easily destroy the mission and her.

And yet she might still be in love with him anyway.

My rating: ★★★★☆

I have been really into high fantasy lately, so when I found out that Janette Rallison wrote one I knew I needed to read it immediately. And I ended up really enjoying it! But that’s unsurprising because I tend to love everything that Janette Rallison writes.

This book follows Marcella who moonlights as a thief for the renegades. But things take an interesting turn when they ask her to do something other than steal—they want her to assassinate someone very important in the king’s court.

Uh yeah, that was crazy. She’s not an assassin, a killer, but the renegades believe she is their only hope because she has something that is very advantageous to their cause: magic.

One thing I really liked about this book was the magic system. It was very interesting because in this world only males are wizards and have magic, and yet here is this girl who is able to wield the same powers. A girl who is the only one willing to risk it all for the serving class. So how did she acquire said magic? With the help of her childhood friend Ronan, a wizard. I really enjoyed learning about how the magic worked and seeing Marcella use it to her advantage.

But my favorite thing about the book was definitely the plot. Janette Rallison just knows how to write a good, engaging story. When I tell you that this book had me on the edge of my seat, this is what I mean:

This mission Marcella was on was not an easy one. At any point, someone could’ve found her out and, not just in regards to the assassination attempt, but also people could find out that she has magic! And to make things even more difficult for her, guess who she runs into at court? Yep, her childhood friend Ronan, whom she didn’t exactly end things with on good terms.

The plot really starts to pick up around the 50% mark and that made me SO nervous because I was like, "She’s going to attempt to do the thing already? We’re only halfway through the story!" And I was right to be nervous because things end up going all sorts of wrong! It was crazy! But at the same time, things kinda work out for her as well? It was wild and I kinda loved that for her. Lol.

But yeah, I really loved the story and how tense it made me. I honestly had no idea how this was going to end because the plot kept surprising me at every turn. But I really enjoyed the way the story ended up concluding. It was perfect! I also really enjoyed the magic and the complicated relationship between Ronan and Marcella. There was actually this sort of friends-to-enemies-to-lovers situation going on with them, and I loved it! And I liked the characters as well! Marcella was smart and compassionate, and Ronan was brilliant and sweet and absolutely nothing like the other arrogant wizards.

I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for a magical high fantasy with a dash of romance.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊