Allie Beckstrom series

Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom -1) — Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom #1)

Hell Bent (Broken Magic, -1) — Hell Bent (Broken Magic, #1)

The Allie Beckstrom series and the spinoof series, Broken Magic, by Devon Monk.

Genres and Sub-Genres[]

Urban Fantasy

Series Description or Overview[]

Allie Beckstrom is an urban fantasy (UF) series, with action-filled plots and a feisty and talented heroine who defeats villains and solves complicated magical problems through sheer grit and determination, not to mention very effective use of her magical talents. The supporting characters are very well developed and each plays an integral role in Allie's adventurous life.

Allie’s adventures include solving cases of corporate espionage, black magic, ghostly apparitions, and dead spirits who want to come back to life. She becomes involved both with the Portland Police Department’s Magic Enforcement Response Corps and with the Authority. ~ Fang-tastic

More: Series Review | Tia Nevitt

Lead's Species[]

Hound, mage/wizard (can trace magic back to its user)

Primary Supe[]

Mages/wizards

What Sets it Apart[]

Narrative Type and Narrators[]

First person narrative told by Allie Beckstrom, protagonist.

Books in Series[]

Allie Beckstrom series:

Magic to the Bone (2008)
Magic In the Blood (2009)
Magic in the Shadows (2009)
Magic on the Storm (2010)
Magic at the Gate (2010)
Magic on the Hunt (2011)
Magic on the Line (2011)
Magic Without Mercy (2012)
Magic for a Price (2012) ~ Final

Shorts, Anthologies and Guides[]

None

Companion Series, Spinoffs, Sequels or Prequels[]

Broken Magic duology:

Hell Bent (2013)
Stone Cold (April 1, 2014) ~ Final

NOTE: This two-book series is set in the Allie Beckstrom universe. It takes place three years after the end of the Allie Beckstrom books. While it stands on its own and can be read without having to read the Allie Beckstrom novels, the experience may be even richer if both series are read. Broken Magic series

Other Series by Author onsite[]

Themes[]

World Building[]

Setting[]

Portland

Places:

Feile San Fhomher: A restaurant owned by Maeve, an instructor and leader of the Authority. A well of source magic exists below the building. Meetings and classes by the Authority are often held here
Get Mugged: Allies favorite coffe shop, next to the warehouse she part leased as an unofficial meeting office and workout spot for Spell Hounds.
Underworld:
Snake:

Supernatural Elements[]

✥ Mages, Necromorphs, gargoyles, shades, Veiled (transparent, ghostly figures), underworld, rogue mages, black and white magic, magic-holding discs, ,

Glossary:[]

Hound: Wizard-like person: who can analyze a magical spell and trace it back to its caster—help keep people from using dark magic to harm others
Veiled: apparitions of dead mages—transparent, ghostly figures who are actually the echoes of dead magic users
Necromorphs: solid Veiled apparitions of dead mages
Dead Zone: no magic
Closed: memory-wiped
Closer: Authority member that erases people's memories of magic use, especially magic used criminally. It is believed that sometimes a Closer will 'Close' a criminal magic user by killing them.
Magic: can be used but the user has to pay a price. Usually it involves pain, flu, fever, even some lost memories, etc
Soul Complements:
Magic-Holding Discs:

Organizations:[]

MERC: "Magic Enforcement Response Corps"—secret branch of Portland Police Department dealing with magical crime, not many make it out alive.
Authority: an elite, secretive underground group of magic users that set and enforce rules about magic use to avoid problems with the government and policing authorities—protect wells of magic around the city
Portland Authoriy: Strong magic uses that protect the well and gates of magic.
Beckstrom Enterprises: Allie's family's business, now run by her father's widow, Violet Beckstrom

World[]

Magic is all-important to the characters in this series. Monk has created a complex mythology in which she has obviously thought hard about how magic works. Her descriptions of the spells cast by various characters are incredibly detailed. We get the colors, the scents, the electrical crackles, and the bone-crunching, pain-filled feedback—all of which makes it easy to conjure up mental images of the magical action. In Allie's world, magic is available to the general public through a series of grids laid across the city, and Hounds help keep people from using dark magic to harm others. Every act of magic exacts a price from its user—generally in the form of physical pain—so most Hounds rely on narcotics or alcohol.

Magic users are governed by the Authority, an elite, secretive group of magic users who protect wells of magic around the city. If a magic user abuses magic or if a human gets too close to knowledge of the Authority, that person is closed—which means that his or her memories of certain events or periods of time are erased.

Protagonist[]

The series heroine, Allison Angel Beckstrom ("Allie"), is a Hound—a wizard-like person who can analyze a magical spell and trace it back to its caster. Allie uses just aspirin for the pain of magic use, but her heavy use of magic causes migraines and bruising, as well as spotty memory loss, so she has to keep a daily journal to jog her memory of day-to-day events. Allie’s adventures include solving cases of corporate espionage, black magic, ghostly apparitions, and dead spirits who want to come back to life. She becomes involved both with the Portland Police Department’s Magic Enforcement Response Corps and with the Authority.

Secondary Characters[]

Allie’s love interest is Zayvion ("Zay") Jones, a handsome but mysterious man who comes to her rescue time and time again, and she thinks she loves him—if she could just remember! Several books into the series, Allie learns that Zayvion has an extremely important position with the Authority—he is the Guardian of the Gates (portals used to travel through space) and he is the Authority's primary closer. The romance between Allie and Zay is definitely one of the most rocky relationships in UF, but no matter what kind of obstacles are placed in their way—some of them are HUGE—the couple manages to look out for one another and eventually wind up together.

Allie's father, Daniel, becomes a more important character in later books, mostly after his death. Daniel is a technological genius and a powerful magic user who is responsible for creating the magic grids that allow wide use of magic across Portland. He also invented magic-holding discs that are important to the plots of some of the later books. Dad wants to go back to the days when black and white magic could be used together, and he wants to be the immortal mage who will control all magic. Beginning with Magic in the Shadows, dear old dead Dad channels himself into Allie's mind, so she spends later books trying either to fight off or use his power as he tries to get her to help him achieve his nefarious goals. ~ Fang-tastic Fiction: ALLIE BECKSTROM

Sidekicks[]

Stone: Pet Gargoyle — sidekick to Allie
Shame: magic user — sidekick to Zayvion

Characters Chart[]

Characters	What	About
"Allie", (Allison Angel Beckstrom)	Hound, mage	wizard-like person who can analyze a magical spell and trace it back to its caster
Zayvion ("Zay") Jones	love interest	comes to her rescue time and time again, and she thinks she loves him—if she could just remember!
Shame, Shamus Flynn	magic user, friend	Zayvion Jone's best friend; troublesome son of Maeve, Authority member; Soul Complement: Terric;
Stone	Allie's pet gargoyle	Allie accidentally freed from the restaurant "Gargoyle", who follows her and her friends around
Terric	friend	on the verge of friendship with Shamus after rough patch; Soul Complement: Shame;
Nola	Alllie's BFF	lives with Cody
Daniel	Allie's father	technological genius and a powerful magic user who is responsible for creating the magic grids that allow wide use of magic across Portland; Head of the Beckstrom corporations
Maueve Flynn	Allie's teacher	Shamus' mom; Owner of a restaurant in a large building used by the Authority, a group she helps maintain as a leader.
Cody	magic savant	magical genius and forger; mentally, emotionally damaged; lives with Nola
Davy Silvers	Allie's Hound friend	bitten by a Veiled, falls victim to the tainted magic; Eli Collins take care of him; saved, turned un-human;
Dane	bodyguard of Sedra	bk-6: attacked Allie and Zay; has gang of magical thugs;
Leander	shade
Violet Beckstrom	Allie's stepmother	Daniel Beckstrom's latest wife; runs Beckstrom Enterprises after Daniel's death; pregnant; baby: 'Daniel';
Sedra	head of the Portland Authority	bk-6: missing; bodyguard: Dane;
Detective Stotts	Head of MERC	Runs magical unit for PD;
Jingo Jingo	powerful mage of Blood Magic	villain; Member and teacher of Authority; replaces Bartholomew Wray as head of the Authority;
John	Nola's husband	gone awol
Kevin Cooper	body guard	works for Violet
Bartholomew Wray	new head of Portland's Authority	doesn't like Allie or friends; intends to get her closed, demoted, or reassigned;
Chase	Closer for the Authority	Zay's ex-girlfriend
Greyson	half man/half beast	Victim of technology and magic mix, insane; Hates Allie
Sedra	Head	Portland branch of the Authority
Grant	Friend of Allie	owns Get Mugged and the warehouse next door makes great coffee
Eli Collins	renegade magical "doctor"	bk8: Allie brings him to take care of Davy and then has a dream that implies that she knew him earlier in her life
Dr. Frank Gordon	Blood and Death magic user
Pike	guy who tried to help Allie	died before he could try
Kevin Cooper	Authority member	Violet's body guard through Beckstrom Enterprises
Bonnie Sherman	Hound
Beatrice Lufkin
Melissa Whit

To expand the table, in Edit–Visual mode, right-press on a Row of the table (Control-press on a Mac)—choose add Row or Column. Or, in Source Mode: copy-paste rows.

Author[]

Devon Monk

Website: Devon Monk
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Steampunk, Fantasy-SciFi

Devon Monk spent her early childhood tucked behind couches or any other place with low light, "ruining her eyes" and reading. Her love of fairytales turned into a love of adventure, magic, future science, romance, mystery, humor, noir, and anything else she could get her hands on. She wrote her first story when she was six. When her teacher praised its quality, Devon was surprised. She looked it over again and all she thought was, "I can do better than this." And thus, a writer was born. ~ Devon Monk FF

Devon Monk has one husband, two sons, and a dog named Mojo. She lives in Oregon and is surrounded by colorful and numerous family members who mostly live within dinner-calling distance of each other. She has sold over fifty short stories to fantasy, science fiction, horror, humor, and young adult magazines and anthologies. Her stories have been published in five countries and included in a Year’s Best Fantasy collection. When not writing, Devon is either knitting, remodeling the house-that-was-once-a-barn, or hosting a family celebration. ~ Meet The Dames ~ Deadline Dames

Cover- Magic to the Bone-Rostant — Cover: Magic to the Bone, by Larry Rostant

Cover Artist[]

Artist: Larry Rostant

Publishing Information[]

Publisher: Roc, Penguin
Editor: Anne Sowards
Author Page:
Series Page: Allie Beckstrom by Devon Monk

Magic to the Bone: Paperback, 355 pages, Pub: Nov 4th 2008—ISBN: 0451462408
Magic In the Blood: Paperback, 358 pages, Pub: May 5th 2009—ISBN: 045146267X
Magic in the Shadows: Paperback, 350 pages, Pub: Nov 3rd 2009—ISBN: 0451462874
Magic on the Storm: Paperback, 344 pages, Pub: May 4th 2010—ISBN: 0451463277
Magic at the Gate: Paperback, 346 pages, Pub: Nov 2nd 2010—ISBN: 0451463625
Magic on the Hunt: Paperback, 346 pages, Pub: April 5th 2011—ISBN: 0451463919
Magic on the Line: Paperback, 345 pages, Pub: Nov 1st 2011—ISBN: 0451464281
Magic Without Mercy: Paperback, 344 pages, Pub: April 3rd 2012—ISBN: 0451464486
Magic for a Price: Paperback, 352 pages, Pub: Nov 6th 2012—ISBN: 0451464869

Book Cover Blurbs — Allie Beckstrom series[]

✤ BOOK ONE BLURB—Magic to the Bone: Using magic means it uses you back - and every spell exacts a price from the user. Some people, however, get out of it by Offloading the cost of magic onto an innocent, then Allison Beckstrom's job is to identify the spell-caster. Allie would rather live a hand-to-mouth existence than accept the family fortune and the strings that come with it, but when she finds a boy dying from a magical Offload that has her father's signature all over it she is thrown back into the world of his black magic. ~ Magic to the Bone (Allie Beckstrom, book 1)

✤ BOOK TWO BLURB—Magic In the Blood (2009): Working as a Hound-tracing illegal spells back to their casters-has taken its toll on Allison Beckstrom. But even though magic has given her migraines and stolen her recent memory, Allie isn't about to quit. Then the police's magic enforcement division asks her to consult on a missing persons case. But what seems to be a straightforward job turns out to be anything but, as Allie finds herself drawn into the underworld of criminals, ghosts, and blood magic. ~ Goodreads | Magic in the Blood (Allie Beckstrom, #2) by Devon Monk

✤ BOOK THREE BLURB—Magic In the Blood (2009): Allison Beckstrom's magic has taken its toll on her, physically marking her and erasing her memories-including those of the man she supposedly loves. But lost memories aren't the only things preying on Allie's thoughts. Her late father, the prominent businessman-and sorcerer-Daniel Beckstrom, has somehow channeled himself into her very mind. With the help of The Authority, a secret organization of magic users, she hopes to gain better control over her own abilities-and find a way to deal with her father. ~ Goodreads | Magic in the Shadows (Allie Beckstrom, #3)

✤ BOOK FOUR BLURB—Magic on the Storm (2010): Allison Beckstrom is committed to her work tracing illegal spells. Now, there's an apocalyptic storm bearing down on Portland, and when it hits, all the magic in the area will turn unstable and destructive. To stop it from taking out the entire city, Allie and her lover, the mysterious Zayvion Jones, must work with the Authority-the enigmatic arbiters of all things magic-and take a stand against a magical wildstorm that will obliterate all in its path. ~ Goodreads | Magic on the Storm (Allie Beckstrom, #4)

✤ BOOK FIVE BLURB—Magic at the Gate (2010): Allie Beckstrom's lover, Zayvion Jones, is a Guardian of the Gate, imbued with both light and dark magic and responsible for ensuring that those energies don't mix. But Zayvion lies in a coma, his soul trapped in death's realm. And when Allie discovers that the only way to save Zayvion is to sacrifice her very own magical essence, she makes a decision that may have grave consequences for the entire world. ~ Goodreads | Magic at the Gate (Allie Beckstrom, #5) by Devon Monk

✤ BOOK SIX BLURB—Magic on the Hunt (2011): In the secret lockup of the Authority, the council that decides what can and can't be done with magic, an undead magic user has possessed one of the prisoners. He wants his freedom-and then some. Now Allie Beckstrom and her lover, Zayvion, are the first line of defense against the chaos he's about to unleash on the city of Portland. ~ Goodreads | Magic on the Hunt (Allie Beckstrom, #6) by Devon Monk

✤ BOOK SEVEN BLURB—Magic on the Line (2011): Allison Beckstrom has willingly paid the price of pain to use magic, and has obeyed the rules of the Authority, the clandestine organization that makes-and enforces-all magic policy. But when the Authority's new boss, Bartholomew Wray, refuses to believe that the sudden rash of deaths in Portland might be caused by magic, Allie must choose to follow the Authority's rules, or turn against the very people for whom she's risked her life. To stop the plague of dark magic spreading through the city, all that she values will be on the line: her magic, her memories, her life. Now, as dead magic users rise to feed upon the innocent and the people closest to her begin to fall, Allie is about to run out of options. ~ Goodreads | Magic on the Line (Allie Beckstrom, #7)

✤ BOOK EIGHT BLURB—Magic Without Mercy (2012): Allison Beckstrom’s talent for tracking spells has put her up against some of the darkest elements in the world of magic, but she’s never faced anything like this. Magic itself has been poisoned, and Allie’s undead father may have left the only cure in the hands of a madman. Hunted by the Authority–the secret council that enforces magic’s laws–wanted by the police, and unable to use magic, she’s got to find the cure before the sickness spreads beyond any power to stop it. But when a Death magic user seeks to destroy the only antidote, Allie and her fellow renegades must stand and fight to defend the innocent and save all magic. ~ Goodreads | Magic Without Mercy (Allie Beckstrom, #8) by Devon Monk

✤ BOOK NINE BLURB—Magic for a Price (2012): For most of her life, Allison Beckstrom has used magic and accepted the heavy price it exacts. But now that all magic is poisoned, it’s no longer just using people—it’s killing them. With Portland about to descend into chaos, Allie needs to find a way to purify the wells of tainted magic beneath the city. But the only options left to her are grim: attempt to close down magic forever, or follow her father’s plan to set magic into the right hands—even though she’s learned to never trust his word. Now, Allie will have to make a choice and face the darkness of her own deepest fears, before time runs out for them all. ~ Goodreads | Magic for a Price (Allie Beckstrom, #9) by Devon Monk

First Sentences[]

Magic to the Bone (2008) — It was the morning of my twenty-fifth birthday, and all I wanted was a decent cup of coffee, a hot breakfast, and a couple hours away from the stink of used magic that seeped through the walls of my apartment building every time it rained.
Magic In the Blood (2009) — I dunked my head under the warm spray of the shower and rubbed shampoo into my hair, wondering where my next Houdning job, and paycheck, were coming from. I hadn't been using much magic since I got back into town, and the bills were piling up.
Magic in the Shadows (2009) — Rush hour traffic below my apartment window breathed a deep note behind the rise and fall of winter wind.
Magic on the Storm (2010) — Two months of self defense classes, mixed martial arts, and weapons training did not make it hurt any less when I was thrown over my opponent's shoulder and slammed into the ground.
Magic at the Gate (2010) — Sure, love can make a person do crazy things.
Magic on the Hunt (2011) — Zayvion stretched out in my bed wearing nothing but his boxers under the covers.
Magic on the Line (2011) — It had taken Bartholomew Wray, the overseer of Portlands Authority, who was apparently my new boss, exactly fourty eight hours to contact me for a standard- procedure meet and greet.
Magic Without Mercy (2012) —
Magic for a Price (2012) —

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

Awards[]

Read Alikes[]

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Notes[]

Broken Magic series — This two-book series is set in the Allie Beckstrom universe. It takes place three years after the end of the Allie Beckstrom books. While it stands on its own and can be read without having to read the Allie Beckstrom novels, the experience may be even richer if both series are read. ~ GR