This middling series opener by Hoffman focuses on the lives of three young people with magical ability in a world where “unnaturals” are killed by the church. Catherine Salt is a descendant of the Tierney family with the blood of the magical cine in her veins. She lives a hardscrabble life in a nameless village near the ruins of the Tierney castle. Dean Greenleaf and his father, Master Sorcerer Ortus, are also descendants of the Tierneys but are unaware of Catherine’s existence. Lorcan Aurum is the son of a ne’er-do-well but shows immense magical promise and is taken under Ortus’s wing at the Fair, a roving carnival that hides and protects cine from unwanted scrutiny. There is no distinct antagonist here to move the story, just the nebulous threat from the church. Instead, Hoffman concentrates on her characters as they mature, Catherine with no one to rely on but herself and Dean and Lorcan thriving with guidance from Ortus. Hoffman’s world bears similarities to our own—there’s a pope and a Milky Way—but includes fairies and shape-shifters. The story is a little vague, but fans of well-drawn characters will want to see where this series leads. (BookLife)