On a mission...

The Ambassador's Mission was the first in the Traitor Spy Trilogy by Trudi Canavan. 

 
It picks up where the Black Magician Trilogy leaves off... several years later with Sonea's son as the main character.  (Here is my post on that series, just in case!)  I really like Canavan's writing style, but all of these books tend to be pretty dark.   This one I felt was interesting because the main character is not very polished which tends to lead to an interesting story in my opinion.  I am interested in reading the next to see what happens! 

Guild of Magicians

The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan was an fast, interesting read. 

This novel has another strong heroine (my thing lately.)  Sonea, a girl from the slums of Imardin (a kingdom with one king and magicians that do his bidding) meets up with her old street gang on the way to find an apartment for her aunt and uncle.  (These kids really reminded me of Fagin's gang in Oliver Twist.)  She gets caught in an altercation and discovers that she has magical powers that she didn't know she possessed.   The adventure begins here as she must go into hiding with thieves and vagabonds.   Sonea soon discovers that she must find help learning how to control her powers or she will destroy everything she holds dear.

One of those YA books that walks the line between adult and teen fiction it really wasn't as dark as some of the kids' fiction I've read lately.  There were some scary moments, and a boy does die in the beginning.  That being said I don't think it was as disturbing as some of the Harry Potter novels.  Nowhere near the caliber of the Pellinor series, but fun nonetheless.