High mages lied: Veranesh, the demon who destroyed the continent is still alive. And it's up to their former student to expose the truth—even if it means another Cataclysm.

When Kamira, a once high mage student turned arcanist, discovers an imprisoned demon in underground ruins, she is forced into a pact that grants her powerful magic, but also ties her to the very demon that once devastated the continent… and Veranesh wants his freedom. With one friend by her side, Veelk, a mage killer bound on protecting her, Kamira will have to outwit the archmages, other demons, and possibly her own demonic benefactor to survive. Her chances are slim, but with Veelk’s ever-present sarcastic repartee, Kamira might just pull through.

Plots and schemes, power and means—sometimes the price for victory is choosing which friend will die, but when you only have one friend, the choice is… easy?

Start your epic fantasy adventure in the vein of sword and sorcery classics today!

This book was provided for free by the Author and the publishers in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book!

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Filled with mysteries and political intrigue, By the Pact is just the type of fantasy adventure I love to get lost in. When Kamira and her companion Veelk take a job to search some ruins for a book they’re expecting a normal salvage job. They’re definitely not expecting to find a demon, and certainly not the demon who was responsible for the Cataclysm, an event that destroyed the continent.  As if discovering the demon alive wasn’t strange enough, Kamira is thrown into the middle of a centuries’ old secret that the high mages will do anything to keep hidden. 

By the Pact starts out with the events that the synopsis tell us about; Kamira and Veelk uncovering the secret that the demon Veranesh is alive. It’s an action packed start to the book, and things cool down for the next ten percent as Maciejewska takes a step back to introduce other players and locations. I was worried that this was going to be one of those books where there were too many moving parts, however, everything quickly begins to move into place and neatly connect. That’s when the action picks back up again, and it doesn’t really stop from then on. I wouldn’t say that By the Pact is a fast-paced novel though. Everything felt as though it moved evenly, and there were times of rest intermingled with moments of action.

The dynamic between Kamira and Veelk is easily one of my favourite things about this book. It’s great to see a friendship between a woman and a man that has zero indication, or intention, of becoming a romance. Not that there’s anything wrong with friendships that do develop into relationships, I love those books too, but it’s also nice when you get ones where authors remember that the opposite sex can actually just be friends (and without one of them being gay). The banter between them is on point and gave me lots of giggles while reading By the Pact.

Overall there is a great mix of characters, and I liked that there were particularly a wide range of grey characters. There are layers upon layers in this book, and it’s great to see a protagonist who’s has no qualms about getting her hands dirty. Too often I find that fantasy authors hold on to the Tolkien style of fantasy where their characters must be good and true, only killing when they have no choice or to slay evil. Kamira and Veelk are pragmatists; the world they live in is one where survival depends on what you’re willing to do. You don’t let someone who attacked you go with a stern talking to or a slap on the wrist because they will come back with their buddies and try again. It was refreshingly realistic. 

Maciejewska is very good at drip feeding us information about the characters pasts to keep the mystery and intrigue going. We know that Kamira used to be a high mage, and gradually we learn bit by bit why she left her studies.  It’s the same for other characters, who I won’t name for spoiler reasons, who at first glance seem very obviously one thing and as we learn more about their story we begin to realise that there’s something else going on.

The world building is interesting and fun, with two types of magic users (high mages and arcanists) facing off against each other until one of them used a power play tactic to win. They then used politics to ensure that everything went their way. Kamira and Veelk have stumbled upon what that power play was and while that gives them power it also puts a huge target on their back.  Add demons from another plane of existence and things get even messier. I was impressed with how many ways Maciejewska connected all the different players to each other. It’s what I loved about fantasy books like this, and Maciejewska has done an excellent job of creating a web of intrigue in By the Pact.

This is book one of the Pacts Arcane or Otherwise series, a name which I now find extremely fitting upon completing By the Pact. It’s a good start to a series, offering a full story that felt completed while also leaving just enough unanswered questions to draw readers in for book two. This is an intriguing new fantasy series that you do not want to miss, and I’m definitely going to be checking it out further.

Thanks for reading my review for By the Pact by Joanna Maciejewska, I hope you enjoyed it! 

Are you a fan of fantasy books with intrigue and mystery, if so, what is your favourite?

Don’t forget to check out the rest of my reviews if you’re looking for some more book recommendations 🙂

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