Auckland Allies

The first installment in seasoned fantasy author Reeves-McMillan’s new series is a fun romp through a supernatural Auckland, New Zealand. Tara, a maker of magical items, and Sparx, her nerdy magic practitioner compatriot, have tried to live their lives out of the public eye, but when one of Tara’s customers, Sally, begins to use Tara’s devices and her own psychic powers to win big at gambling, she raises the ire of the wrong people. Soon, the trio are enmeshed in a plot concocted by demonologists to summon an unstoppable demon force. Tara, Sparx, and Sally are as entertaining as they are flawed, and they continue to grow as the tale progresses. An exorbitant amount of exposition brings the reader up to speed but slows down the plot. The popular culture references are heavy-handed and take color away from the adventure rather than adding to it. Reeves-McMillan does attempt to refresh the urban fantasy genre by moving it to the Antipodes, but the novel still feels like a familiar retread of well-established territory. [em](BookLife) [/em]