A USA Today Bestseller.THE URBAN FANTASY SERIES THAT HAS CAPTIVATED READERS FOR MORE THAN A DECADE.A young woman is thrust into a new life after receiving the gift of immortality. Or was it a curse?Zoë Merrick led an unremarkable life until the night she was brutally attacked. She narrowly escapes death, rescued by Adam, an ex-soldier who offers her friendship and shelter. But something isn’t … friendship and shelter. But something isn’t right. A powerful energy is now coursing through her body—one she’s unable to control.
Justus De Gradi is handsome, arrogant, and not entirely human. After a chance meeting with a young woman who is dumbfounded by her Mage gifts, he offers himself as her mentor. Their world is treacherous, and if she doesn’t master her power, others will.
Torn between two choices, Zoe can either hide in the human world or embrace her new gifts and live as a Mage. Justus has sworn an oath to guard her life, but can he protect her from the one man who has a right to claim it?
Zoë learns the price of freedom…and the value of loyalty.
“My eyes may not know all of you, but my heart does. I loved you before I was born, and I will love you long after I pass from this earth.”
This addictive series contains epic love stories, twists, and explosive conclusions. BINGEABLE SERIES COMPLETE!
★★★★★ “Urban Fantasy doesn’t get much better then this.”
★★★★★ “These books should be a TV series!”
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Sterling is book one in the Mageri series by Dannika Dark. It’s got abuse, death, and rebirth.
I’ve got first book syndrome on this one. It’s got good things and things I didn’t like. Main issue for me is that the pace was oh so very slow. It dragged until her maker finds her, then things pick up.
The other issue I had that frustrated me was the character relationships. Their are so many different men she’s fantasizing about and getting close too. I was so, frustrated with all these angles. I couldn’t figure it out and I just wanted the relationships defined more. How many bloody love interest do we need?
Zoë, What is she? How is she alive? For me she came off weak, whiny, not tough, timid, and stupid at times. I just wanted to slap some fight and smarts into her. I just don’t know what to make of her. I was intrigued with what she was turned into, Mageri. It’s interesting this magical being. Their is still much to learn.
Their is some introduction to the Breed world and Mageri structure, but I’m still confused on it. It’s like they are stuck in mid evil times and women are down on the food chain, only made to serve or service; yet their are women on the council. I just don’t know how I feel on this world yet or the structure.
I did notice some inconsistencies in the writing. At times I felt like I was missing a scene or sentences to get from point A to B. I had to re-listen in a few spots; because of this feeling.
Things start to pick up once Zoë’s creator appears to claim her. Their are some intense scenes and twists along the way. The suspense and action near the end kept me guessing; though there are also some cringe worth moments. Some of the scenes are dark and can be triggers for sensitive readers. The ending I will say was a surprise.
Narration: Nicole Poole did good with her narration. Zoë has her whiny moments and those I didn’t like to hear and they erk’ed me to listen to. The male voices where great and Nicole adds accents to several of the characters which I enjoyed.
Sterling was a struggle for me. I have first book syndrome. I do plan on continue the series in audio and will give the next book a go. The audio was a nice listen I just had issues with how slow things progressed in the plot and story.
Rated: 3 Stars
This series starter is the first in my all-time favorite PNR/UF series. Get ready to be enthralled, entertained, and totally invested in the characters of this world. I re-read this series at least once a year. Love it!
Absolutely LOVE the way Danika dark writes!!! I literally couldn’t stop reading it. This is the first book I’ve read written by Danika and I am now a life long fan. LoL! I definitely recommend checking it out, you won’t be disappointed
This series is what got me started on my dannika love now I have read everything multiple times but there is a special place in my heart for this series since it was my 1st love. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a for a new series to start.
***This review is based on the audio version of the book***
Another hard to write review….I believe this is becoming a trend for me. It’s either that or I’m about to get in a rut. Sterling by Dannika Dark is the first in her Mageri series. This book has popped up in my Amazon recommendations SO many times that I finally caved and y’all voted it as #MyTBRL read last month. I attempted reading it and found myself so distracted I couldn’t focus. I wound up getting an audio copy through my Audible Escape membership. Nicole Poole is a lifesaver. Her narration reeled me in, and I listened in two days.
Sterling follows the story of Zoë Merrick. Zoë was your average girl, living what she thought was a rather boring life until one night she decides to take a shortcut. That shortcut ended with her being attacked/killed and waking up the next morning in a body bag, and her life as she knew it will never be the same.
I like Zoë. She is understandably frightened and angry at the hand life has dealt her. She can’t return to the life she knew, she can’t even say goodbye to those she loves and love her. And when things start happening to her, she learns to roll with it. Zoë handles her new life much better than I would. She is determined to learn her place and cope with her new reality, and that’s admirable.
This book could really be divided into two separate stories. The first 40% is her life with Adam, immediately after the attack and her transformation. Adam is broken as much as Zoë is. His scars aren’t visible though. He is alone in the world until he finds her, and now he feels it his responsibility to protect her. I have a lot of questions about Adam and very little answers. I don’t even know that he will return after this book, which is odd as I honestly believed him the love interest. The last part of the book is Zoë training with Justus. Justus comes across Zoë on a trip to Memphis. Drawn to her, he recognizes the light within her. This light is what changed her, it’s why she survived the attack, and it is why she leaves Adam to be trained by Justus.
I really struggled with the plot/pacing. As I mentioned, the book could have been divided into two parts. The first part with Adam is oddly paced, and as a result, I felt like I missed big parts of the story. The second part is much smoother and sets up the world for the rest of the series. In fact I’m curious to learn more about the world of the Mageri and what will happen next.
Overall Sterling was just an ok read for me. If it hadn’t been for Nicole Poole’s narration, this would have been a DNF for me. However I’m glad I stuck with it. The conclusion of this story is really just the beginning, and I’m excited to see what happens next. If you enjoy paranormal romance and urban fantasy, I believe you’ll enjoy where this story is going.
I should have read this series before I read her Crossbreed series but other than seeing a different part of the same world, I’m finding this series quite unique. I’ll be reading through them all…so I’d say Book 1 was enough to draw me in.
Fantastic first installment in what promises to be an addictive series! Love the audio book narrator, Nicole Poole!
I enjoyed the character development and the originality of the premise.
I loved this series, read all of them within a week!
I realize that it takes time to develop characters, but this book seemed as if it were being written intentionally slow to drag out the story. I understand that writers write to earn a living, but there’s a fine line between a book that has a strong enough story to be a series and one that is simply slow. This story seemed like it was being stretched out on purpose.
The author has a new take on the whole paranormal world. The characters are strong and lovable. I highly recommend it.
Excellent Series!
Beginning of my favorite urban fantasy/paranormal romance of all time. Such an interesting premise for a book. Loved this whole series.