Artifacts, Dragons, and Other Lethal Magic: Dowser, Book 6

The Dowser #6

by Meghan Ciana Doidge

I wasn’t even remotely interested in collecting the third instrument of assassination. It was far better for everyone involved—and for Warner, specifically—if I just let it be. And since I was the only one who could retrieve the artifacts, I figured it was my call to make. I was wrong. And though that wasn’t unusual, I was just so…so…wrong…about everything. I was wrong about who I was protecting and why. I was wrong about who and what I could control. And I was wrong about who I was becoming. Baker of cupcakes, maker of trinkets, half-witch, half-dragon, dowser, alchemist.… Why couldn’t I just be Jade?

Artifacts, Dragons, and Other Lethal Magic is the sixth book in the Dowser series, which is set in the same universe as the Oracle, Reconstructionist, Amplifier, Archivist, and Misfits of the Adept Universe series. While it is not necessary to listen to all the series, in order to avoid spoilers the ideal listening order of the Adept Universe begins with Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic (Dowser 1).

Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Dragons, Vampires

Audible Audio

First published May 2, 2016

About the author

Meghan Ciana Doidge writes tales of true love conquering all, even death. Though sometimes the love is elusive, the vampires and werewolves come out to play in the daylight, and bloody mayhem ensues.

Reviews

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
Listen, I'm normally good at writing reviews, but I'm six books into this series and running out of things to say. This book was good and a satisfying wrap-up to the Shailaja part of the series (Books 4-6). You should read it if you're already this far into the series, or you should start the series if you haven't already and you like intense urban fantasy with great characters and strong friendships and lots of supernaturals (witches, vampires, shifters, dragons). Also Jade and her current love interest's relationship is super cute. I'm glad she's with him. He's great to her. I also love Jade's dad. He really cares about her and has her back and respects her. All the main characters are so lovable. I've definitely been enjoying listening to the audiobooks of this series.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 6th book in the series and it doesn't disappoint. Jade and the gang are still after Shailaja, although Jade wants to keep everybody safe and so doesn't go looking for awhile which slows the book down a bit but allows the reader to read about some good sex and even better food descriptions. Once Jade realizes she's going to have to take out the rabid koala the action moves fast until the end. I was worried that this was going to be the end of the series but from what I read it seems like there has to be more - hopefully with a spiced up love life (I think Warren is a bit dull, I really wish she'd hook-up with Kett, he'd keep her hopping) and some more challenges.

[Lou Fillari · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read. Exciting, violent and fun. And I'm pleased with where the story is going. No more dumb hidden instruments of assassination.

[Peggy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The product placement nonsense is getting really old. Name dropping a restaurant and its entire menu??
Not unlike BTVS- the ensemble cast is more enjoyable to read than the dowser.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars... This book was a big improvement over the last one in this series... The storytelling was clear and focused; the overall storyline is starting to take shape and the characters are settling into their roles and personalities... The presence of Jade's insecurities and immaturity still occurred, but I found it more tolerable... I am still wanting those character choices to disappear altogether... The relationship between Jade and Warner seemed more believable in this read, and I appreciated the closure presented by the author regarding Jade and Desmond... Overall, it was a thrilling read with great supernatural flare which makes me look forward to the next book in the series:)

[Deena · Rating 2 out of 5]

So years ago, I started this series. I enjoyed it, despite the minor annoyances of the MC. Then the author began a spin-off series. That annoyed me, as it often does. I bought the first spin-off by accident, and was so annoyed with myself that I didn't read it for months - and then surprised myself when I loved it. In the meantime, Jade, the MC of the dowser series, has gotten increasingly annoying. The books have increasingly included filler that irritates me, such as brand-name dropping of bags and shoes. Worse, Jade is a chocolate "connoisseur." There are whole paragraphs describing the "undertones" and "top notes" and "origin" of various brands of chocolate. This shit does not in the least develop plots; all it does is insert Ms. Doidge's personal hobbies/research into the story, disrupting the flow of the narrative and annoying me no end.

With this particular title, Jade is just as bad as ever, perhaps worse, with regard to whining, complaining, and general braty-ness. Mind you, Jade knows she's a whiney little brat. She proclaims it, apparently with some pride, frequently. It is safe to say that the ONLY reason I slogged through this thing was so that when the third Oracle title is released, I'll know what's going on. Whether I am able to force myself through another dowser title (this one ends in what is apparently intended to be something of a cliff-hanger, which I only noticed as an afterthought, because I was so relieved to be done with it), remains to be seen.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alright- let's be real here. Jade was really whiny in this book. She was complaining a lot. And she's actually in a solid relationship - which I don't really like for her. At least - I don't like it for her with Warner. (Meghan - can you PLEASE let her fall in love with Kett? He's been in love with her for so long now - since the first book. And we all love him. And he's a good match for her. I just want them to be together!) So now that the negativity is out of the way - I still like Jade. I still like her story. While I think the majority of this book showed her in a weak light - by the end she was KICKING ASS. I LOVED the way she came through in the very end - like a boss! And she was hilarious about it. I do worry, though, because she used the words 'Mine, mine, mine!' - similar to Shailaja, meaning maybe she got more than she bargained for at the end? I'm not sure yet. I'll be reading the next three, and waiting for them on the edge of my seat until then! I really am in love with this series and couldn't be happier to have found it! Thanks for putting the first one out as a freebie - I'd never have fallen in love without it!

[Elizabeth Emily Browne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is fast becoming one of my favourite series of all time. I love how bad ass Jade is. She is such a strong and brilliant main character and the book only gets stronger when you come across the rest of the team; Kandy, Kett, Scarlett, Pearl, Drake and Warner. I love them all.

In this one we see Jade go after the last of the instruments of assassination. Shalaija goes after Chi Wen and we get to see the team go against her yet again. I would love for Jade to just kick her ass already. I also feel like there is a weird relationship between Warner and Shalaija as they knew each other back from before he was put into a sleep. So I'm looking forward to seeing how that progresses and what that means for Jade and Warner.

If you've read my other reviews of this series you would know that I am team Kett and Jade all the way. Hes been there and loved her from the start. And I just want them both to be happy and together. However I also want happiness for Warner and Doidge just does this love triangle so well that by the end you no longer know who you're rooting for.

I can't wait to continue on with this series.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is written as a linked set of trilogies. This is the final book in the second trilogy featuring the Dowser (the 6th book of the series). It's awesome. I loved it. I can't stop reading these books. I'm so happy I discovered Doidge. There's no need for me to discuss the plot here as it wouldn't make sense unless you've read the previous books. Start at book 1 and work your way here, also making sure to read the Oracle trilogy in the order suggested by the author - co-mingling with these books. This is so fun, but also violent and action packed, but also so fun!

[Oleander · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this conclusion of the "instruments of destruction" quest. Jade was in fine form. She can discuss chocolate at great length and then be deadly serious. She definitely went from frivolous to formidable in this book. All the gang tagged along. I love how the author spends so much time on character development, and all the characters are very interesting. This series deserves more recognition. My one gripe is that the only curse word Jade seems to know is "Jesus", and I don't like it as a curse word. It was much overused in this story.

[Lindsey · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed by this book. I did not love the first book in this series, but decided to read the second book because I liked the premise of the series and wanted to see if the writing improved. I was pleased that it did. However, I'm back to my initial feelings about the series.

First of all, it was confusing. Much of the story line did not make sense and characters regularly contradicted themselves. The most memorable example is Chi Wen saying that he "saw Drake the same way" and then two sentences later said "I didn't see Drake the same way." That made absolutely no sense. I had to reread whole chapters or read extremely slowly to try to understand what was going on; sometimes, I just gave up.

In a well written story, the scenes are described in such a way that you can see them in your mind in sharp images. In this book -and, to an extent, in the previous book-, many scenes are so rushed that they feel muddled and unclear; like seeing something from a distance or when you're half asleep. I felt disconnected from the characters and from the scenes.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a love/hate relationship with these Dowser books. I am addicted to knowing what happens next in Jade's world, but, gah, she can be completely infuriating. That being said, I'm never going to quit this series/world.

Jade is on-strike when we join her. Some time has passed since the last book and she and Warner are the making some really great progress as a couple. There's something holding them back, though, and it is the crazy, murderous woman who has some history with him. Since he could, theoretically, be sent back into wherever he went last time, Jade's eager to cut his ties to his responsibility and... sigh... the crazy koala is the only one who knows how to do this.

This was the start of the horribly frustrating, cringe-worthy, descent into madness. I was ready to strangle everyone involved in every decision made to ultimately ended up with a crazy koala loose in the world (again). I can't even sum up all the madness that has to happen to get to the end of this book. So much has to change, but after all the stress to get to the end, I'm pretty satisfied. This one almost broke me and I am eager to take a break with Rochelle now, please. Also, more Drake now!

[Piseog · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is my lowest rating in this series so far. It's all just feeling very repetitive now. Every book starts on a huge time jump (a year passed between this book and the previous one), has the chaeacters going on some search in a different location, ends their hunt with a battle, Kandy gets seriously injured, Jade questions herself and repeat. I am sick of the artifacts of assassination and Shailaja (this series has very annoying villains). The guardians and their response to Shailaja and to Jade really frustrated me. I still like Jade, her and Warner are cute and I love Drake, but I want a more interesting and enjoyable story. I always highlighted my love of Jade as a normal, sweet person, just with a lot of power. Now they are making her more powerful with every book and that's more boring to me. The guardians and dragons (am I the only one who finds it weird the dragons don't actually turn into dragons?) were never my favourite addition to the series, and that thought increases with every book. I also feel like I'm definitely missing so much with the spinoff series, which adds to my reason for disliking interlinked series. I really hope the final 3 book really pick up.

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just saying, I've read the previous 5 books. Unfortunately, this book (so far) is a bust! The heroine of the story, Jade, keeps getting dumber and dumber as the series progresses. Unfortunately, she sucks the other characters into the dumb zone with her. The beginning of the end for me was the sex scenes, something out of a soft porn movie. Then, when she got dressed to enter the nexus for the 1st time in a year, she dressed to spite everyone; just like a teenager who is subject to pouting. Finally, my stopping point was when Jade, Warner, The Treasure Keeper, and the crazy koala were all in the Treasure Keeper's apartment and decided to go on with the magic spell, without the benefit of other "stronger" guardians being present. That was stupid, and the end for me. The other books are okay for soft sword and sorcery. Easy to read, and easy to follow, but if you notice, Jade is getting more brainless as the books go on. Finally, in book 6, she throws all her brain, experience, knowledge, and gut feelings out the window and proceeds with a magic spell bound for the old double cross. Now I would like my time and money back.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.7 STARS
Age: PG-18
Series: The Dowser

Small magical town that has a popular cupcake shop..low key town until dead werewolves start showing up. Now her foster sister Sienna has become lost to darkness(Blood Magic) and with trying to figure out her own new powers and who and what she is…this time cupcakes can’t fix her problems.Now she is stronger and faster than before and has a new sword. But with the new sword she is task to kill her foster sister Sienna (who she actual cares about).Now she has to go on a treasure hunt and deal with a New Dragon and if that wasn’t enough she now knows about blood alchemy and how it feels using it.
Got Treasure-Now the dragon guardians have tasked her (with her Sexy sentinel and Hot Vamp) to collect the power artifacts to protect them from her rival. Jade is baker..half witch..half dragon, alchemist but deciding to find the 3rd artifact was something is didn’t want to do but she will discover she was wrong about everything ..even about who to protect and trust.
Mrs.C =)

[E Varady · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still not liking the MC

While the plot is entertaining, Jade is beyond annoying. She stumbles around letting life happen around her and then wonders why it doesn't go her way. She knows she's a slow learning, but she's slow because she doesn't apply herself. Jade, at heart, is lazy and fearful, which makes for an unlikable character. She has emotional outbursts every few pages because she thinks everything is her fault. The ego... But then she doesn't do much of anything to be better. I also dislike how shallow she is; she's one of those women that notices how pretty everyone is, and if they're a woman she has to tear them down so she can feel good about herself. The only one that doesn't apply to is Kandy. Jade will notice such and such is elegant, and then sneer at her for an imagined slight. What an awful way to depict women.

[Krystyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Betrayals and manipulations lead to "I quit "

Awesome. She has been used to find 2 instruments of assassination but she refuses to find the third. However that is not acceptable to the dragons and once again she finds herself on the path to find the third. Betrayals, manipulations, the killer kid and finally imprisonment are her rewards for helping the dragons find the instruments. Not even the fact that the killer kid was after their blood will sway them. A really good read but really felt that this should have been the final book in the series especially as she walks out on them with the words "I quit". You really couldn't get a better ending then that.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so glad that there is another trilogy in the works, as I'm not ready to be done with these characters. This is a great series and a really interesting universe.
My only complaint is with regards to the audio narration - I really don't like the attempted Scottish brogue used for Blackwell. It's a small complaint, but it grates on me a little every time he shows up. So while I'd be interested in seeing him reappear in future books, I also dread it a little.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

There us waaaaay too much filler in this book

I have really enjoyed this series, but I feel like endless chapters that contained nothing but boring travel info was crammed into this book and sandwiched between the beginning and end of the actual story, simply for the purpose of extending the depth of the book from novella to novel. However, take out all that filler and we have short, but decent story here. I hope there is more to this series.

[Lisa Maddison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jade's transformation

Jade and Warner are tasked to find the third instrument of assassination which will draw out Shialin, the rabid koala after she attacks the treasure keeper and Jade's father. This book ends on a major change and not sure what will happen to Jade and her friends. Because I have been following the author's direction in reading order, I go back to the Oracle series. It could be a while before I get back to Jade and see what happens next.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully engaging

This story had be bitting my thumb nail as I read. I was worried that Jade would lose her moral compass as she was challenged by the angry Koala. Warner, Drake, Kett, Kandy, and ugh Blackwell are all in included in this adventure. Let’s just say someone doesn’t survive but you need to read the story to find out who.

Really love this series by Meghan Ciana Doidge…

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I’m really interested to see how this latest twist changes her. I like that her father stands up for her, and I love her collection of friends, allies and found family. There are a couple spots where the story was muddled and could have used some stronger editing, but overall I really enjoy this story line. Shailaja finally got what she deserved. Another solid installment, and I’m looking forward to the next.

[Renee Rearden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dragons be deadly...

Jade is pulled into another deadly assignment. The Nine are pushing her toward one outcome. The rabid koala is pushing her toward another. Through tenacity, loyalty, and love Jade just wants to get to the other side with those she loves safe and those who are threats dead. Sometimes, a girl's gotta do what a badass girl's gotta do.

[Janey Leaver]

Always a winner!

This series of books never fails to keep me reading. All my favourite characters in one book...I'd missed Kandy. I am currently rereading them all with my purchase of the latest Dowser book. Seriously go get the first one...free on Amazon.
If I could live in a book world I think this would be the one!

[Sam Sigelakis-Minski · Rating 4 out of 5]

A long-awaited installment to a fun series. Jade is slowly growing as a protagonist (I still find her kind of annoying and overly brand conscious) but she is accepting her general kick assness and powers. Love all of the side characters too. My favorites are still Kandy and Kett, but as far as character growth goes, this book was al Jade and Warner.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story arc is beginning to wrap up with Jade worried that she's been wrong about a lot of things, but honestly who in life hasn't had to rethink their views? Yes Jade, I'm definitely with you til the end of the story! Cupcakes cupcakes cupcakes (and maybe some chocolate to add to the Christmas treats list)!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally done with this series. Love the twists and not being able to anticipate what will come next, but there is a lot that I don’t care for. Writing off key characters, repeating villians with new name developed over 3 book arc...crutches

[mary-kay richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Series

is so good I WAS COMPELLED to read them one after another. She has a great proof reader as there were no mistakes that I found. Now I am sitting here wishing there were more of this series!!!

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jade heroine, baker of cupcakes, maker of trinkets, half-witch, half-dragon, dowser, alchemist and loyal friend! I have really enjoyed this Dowser series, great characters that you care about, wonderfully written, full of twist and turns. Excellent fantasy series looking forward to the next one.

[Charlotte Curtis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant as ever!!! I love this series and the other worlds that weave amongst it. You will not be disappointed. Books mad the other branches of the world really need to be read in order in my opinion.
Cannot praise Meghan’s writing so much, already ordered the next I series.