<i>Tamora Pierce is a writer of Young Adult Fastasy novels. Got a bookworm in the family and want to get them something nice? I definitely suggest these series. For a summary of world these books are based in see my post on <a href="https://steemit.com/summary/@ursa/the-circle-of-magic-realms-lands-magic-and-background">The Realms of Emelelan</a></i>
<h1>The Circle Opens</h1> <div class="pull-right">https://steemitimages.com/DQmdYL3BWLfRQzJKjX6bVJprkU1PdFjR2U3YRCwK6sNe6Mw/20180414_181805.jpg</div>
This series is based 3 - 4 years after the events of the Circle of Magic quartet. Briar, Daja, Sandry and Tris are now 14 and have been declared full mages and earned their medallions approximately a year ago. <br><br>

Now to increase their knowledge of the worlds Briar, Daja and Tris have all gone travelling with their respective teachers. Sandry stayed behind in Emelan since she travelled a lot in her youth with her parents back when they were alive so the adventure of travelling wore off when she was young. 

Sandry staying behind was reinforced when her Uncle Duke Vedris had a heart attack and she promptly moved in with him to become a care taker to ensure he got plenty of rest and didn't fall back into old habits like forgetting to eat or going days without sleep etc. This is where we pick up in the first book.
<h1>Magic Steps</h1>
Duke Vedris is finally healthy enough that the healers have given him leave to go on short rides. This first ride Sandry joins the Duke to do a tour of Summersea Docks and a bit of the Harbour.
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Meanwhile we get introduced to Pasco Acalon, only son of the Acalon and Qais family who have been serving Duke Vedris for generations and Provost Guards (Police) colloqially called Harriers. Being that Harrier work runs in the family Pasco is expected to follow in his families footsteps. Only he just wants to dance. As you can imagine such dreams have been scorned by his family, however he is asked for a favour by a family friend. <br><br>

Pasco has danced for luck for many friends and anything he danced for, happened without a hitch. Now his family friend wishes to teach him an old fish wives jig that is meant to draw fish to their nets since they have had poor catches for nearly the last year. He's in the middle of doing said jig when Sandry see's him and his magic. Being the mage who discovered him, it is her responsibility to train him unless she can find another dance mage whom no one has ever heard of existing before.

In the mean time there's been murders through the city, killing off members of the Rokat family one by one in warded houses behind locked doors infront of witnesses, all who say they saw the person get killed but not who killed them. Sandry see's dark smudges on everything in the crime scenes and find it's made by a very extremely rare form of magic, or technically unmagic. where the average person will likely meet a regular mage at least once a week and an ambient mage maybe two or three times in their life, one person might be gifted in all the realms with unmagic maybe every 50 years and they usually don't live long. 

The nature of unmagic is directly opposed to magic and life and life-force. Wielders of unmagic and people subjected to unmagic at the very least tend to suffer from depression and it turns  to apathy for even ones self till eventually they end up killing themselves unless they have something major that drives them. Be it a vendetta or a drug addiction. Sandry also finds she is able to manipulate it the unmagic where others cannot. She poses a plan that is quite dangerous and it appears to be the only way to catch the killers, her uncle has a hissy fit and it leads to one of my favourite quotes from her teacher Lark.

<blockquote><em>I work spells by passing them through my thread. I must bind my power to real thread or whatever i use to handle it, or none of my spells work. Thats true of every weaver-mage I know - except Sandry. She handles magic itself like I work thread. She can spin magic. She can weave it. She can embroider, or knot or even tie a fring with it if she wants to.</em></blockquote> 

Turn out she can tie a fringe with unmagic as well... if she wants to.
<h1>Thoughts</h1>
There are two stories in this book. The story of Sandry turning from student to teacher and the story of catching the murderers. Pierce did a good job of of the murderer side of the story, i wish she had put a little more effort into teacher pupil interraction between Sandry and Pasco. It seems felt very lacking. 

I give this book 7.2/10 the plot line is good but the character interaction is less than I would expect from Sandry who in previous books is the queen of interpersonal skills. Either Pierce has not put enough effort into these interactions, has not stayed true to her character or Sandry has grown aloof and the author has not given any context as to why.