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Blaize and the Maven*
Chakras Bedrock of This Magical World
We meet Blaize, the heroine of the story, as she is undergoing trials after five years as an Adherent training to use her primary chakra, the navel, which signifies fire. The trials are grueling and have the potential to kill the person being tested. We meet Cuinn as he is being asked to take on a new Adherent. He is a Maven, one who is well skilled in using the power of their two chakras, the dominant and the auxiliary. He doesn’t want to take one on for a variety of reasons, the main one being that he has a lot going on with a dire prophecy that he is accessing during his dream walking. Blaize passes her test, and she does become Cuinn’s new Adherent.
I’ve actually studied chakras for a long time, so I found the bedrock idea of this book to be a fascinating one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the chakra system used in such a way as the basis for a magical world. The author has clearly given this much thought, as the concepts are sophisticated but accessible. I wouldn’t say you need to know about chakras to appreciate this book, but if you do, you will find the way the author plays with them to add to your enjoyment of reading it.
This book is about the prophecy mentioned above, which is slowly being revealed, as well as the initially slow burn romance between Blaize and Cuinn. The prophecy does take away some of the conflict and tension in the book because it gives us such a glimpse of what’s going to happen, even if we don’t know all the details or what they’ll be able to do to counteract what has been foreseen. But there’s still enough going on to keep your interest. I thought the relationship between Blaize and Cuinn wasn’t quite as natural and organic as I like in stories with an element of romance. He was so dead set against having an Adherent, yet almost as soon as he meets her, this shifts quickly. Blaize can be unlikable, impetuous, proud, and sometimes a little rude, so it doesn’t quite seem that this person who has lived for so long would have an attraction so quickly to such a relatively immature young woman.
Weighing up the pluses and minuses of this book, I find that I like the chakra background so much that it outweighs what I might not like about it. So, if you like books about magical worlds—and perhaps an especially interesting one in that isn’t about witches and warlocks—you might find this a fascinating read.
