Radical (Clandestine Magic #2) by Colleen Cowley-a review

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ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date October 25, 2020

Women have no ability to cast spells. That’s what wizards have said for generations—and it’s a lie.

In this second book of the Clandestine Magic trilogy, Beatrix Harper wants to expose that lie to protect her sister’s life. Her desperate plan: Train tens of thousands of women in secret, then shock the nation with a display of their magic. She thinks it will work—if only she can keep the details from her town’s wizard, Peter Blackwell.

But that’s nearly impossible thanks to their unwanted magical connection. Peter, meanwhile, fears that his own desperate goal—to counter the terrible weapon he should never have invented—is doomed to fail.

Their plans are about to collide. Disastrously.

If you’re a reader who prefers to know upfront whether a book has a happy ending, what the level of violence or trauma is, whether there are sex scenes and how substantial a part romance plays in the plot, you can find a link to those details in Colleen Cowley’s author profile. One scene in the book includes a character discussing a past trauma, and the link has more specifics.

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REVIEW:RADICAL is the second instalment in Colleen Cowley’s multi-genre CLANDESTINE MAGIC /paranormal/ UF/ Gaslamp fantasy series focusing on thirty-three year old, wizard/omnimancer Peter Blackwell, and store clerk/suffragette Beatrix Harper. RADICAL should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events of book one SUBVERSIVE.

NOTE: If you have not read book one SUBVERSIVE, there may be spoilers in my review.

SOME BACKGROUND: CLANDESTINE MAGIC is classified as ‘Gaslamp Fantasy’ – a sub-genre of both fantasy and historical fiction with elements of steampunk and the paranormal. The story line is set in an alternate 21st century, one in which the rise of feminism and equal rights has only just begun, and women are still considered second class citizens with no power, no magic and no rights. For decades wizards aka men, have controlled the world, using magic and the elements to increase their power and domination but subtle cracks begins to fragment their authority, and a magical weapon commissioned by our story line hero is needed to regulate the users of magic.

Told from dual third person perspectives (Beatrix and Peter) RADICAL follows several paths and picks up after the events of book one in which Beatrix sister’s Lydia, in her fight for women’s rights, may or may not have been the target of some very powerful men. In an effort to ‘arm’ women with magical powers, powers of which they have been led to believe have not been bestowed to their gendered sex, Beatrix recruits several women volunteers to teach them the ability to work with magic but someone is hoping to take them down, and in doing so destroy any semblance of a relationship between Peter and Beatrix. With the number of visiting wizards both seen and unseen, Peter begins to suspect they are under watch, first discovering the spells and hidden devices in all of their homes. As Beatrix and Peter’s relationship begins to take on a more ethereal existence, someone else is working behind the scenes to destroy everything they have accomplished to date.

RADICAL is a complex and detailed story of secrets and lies, power and control, misogyny, feminism, rights and beliefs. With elements of the paranormal, magic, and mayhem RADICAL is an edgy, unique and haunting tale of challenges, disillusionment, drama and desperation.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one SUBVERSIVE

Copy supplied for review

Reviewed by Sandy