Book Review: Mississippi Missing (ARC)

Author: Laura Engelhardt

When mages hijack the Mississippi, it’s Mary’s job to get it back.

Mary was an ordinary middle-aged woman adjusting to her role as an empty-nester when she drank from a magical chalice and became fae. A few months later, she’s still adapting to her new life when the Mississippi River suddenly disappears.The only river nymph left, Mary sets out to find it. A were-jaguar, frog prince, and multiple fae lords entangle themselves in her quest, turning what should have been an exciting adventure across the American Midwest into a treacherous journey fraught with ancient magick, twisted faerie “games,” and even a glimpse into the Hereafter to see what awaits on the Other Side.Mary is determined to rescue the river, but isn’t sure she’s ruthless enough to become an avenging faerie. Can she save the Mississippi’s soul without sacrificing her own?

Mississippi Missing is a standalone novel set in the contemporary fantasy world of the Fifth Mage War. It’s a spiritual story of new beginnings, a heartfelt tale of remaining true to yourself, even when you don’t know who you are.

[Fifth Mage War Novel Reviews: Sirens Unbound #1 & Mages Unbound #2]

Mississippi Missing is a standalone novel that is set in the world of the Fifth Mage War series. The main character, Mary, in this story is featured in the main series. Some characters and events from the series are also referenced in this story, but this can be read without any prior knowledge of the other series. This novel is “side quest” where Mary has her own adventure as she helps figure out a mystery involving the Mississippi River.

Mary is now a full river nymph (fae) after being transformed from Nimoe’s chalice. She went from seemingly mundane homemaker to her truth teller husband, Mike, to a full magical river nymph in the course of nine hours. She is seemingly the last river nymph as their numbers have been reducing for years and the last known remaining disappeared in the 1800s. She is in the Ohio River in Paducah, Kentucky trying to grow her new powers. Her song can help remove contaminants and runoff, such as excess Nitrogen, from the ecosystem, however, she needs to practice to not remove too many nutrients from the water. She receives word suddenly that the Mississippi River is gone. However, it is still physically there as it is its essence that has been stolen.

She heads to the Shawnee Preserve as her first stop in the investigation. Here she meets Kresimir, the frog prince and Alicia, the were-jaguar, who join her on her quest. When it seems to be three high level mages that are the culprits, the group sets off to find more answers. Along the way, they find a potentially more sinister plot involving Lord Nga, the Lord of the Underworld, with plans involving the use of Mary to assist in his plans. The story continues to follow this cast of characters to try and restore balance to the world as they travel through the American Midwest. Their journey goes through multiple states and rivers, including Cairo, Illinois, Keokuk, Iowa, Belmont Township, Minnesota, and Lake Itasca, Minnesota (the main source of the Mississippi River).

This story was very captivating as I was curious to see how everything would come together. After learning a lot about her siblings, and even her husband, in the main series since their stories get a larger spotlight, it was nice to have the focus on Mary. I loved her as a character as she was very clever and enjoyable. I loved her interactions with the other characters as the conversations had a nice sense of realism, even if they were discussing more fantasy oriented subjects. The pacing was great in this story as there was a nice build up to introducing Mary while leading to her leading the quest to try and right the Mississippi. Not only was there the main quest, but there was a nice element of Mary trying to learn more about herself. She has new powers and a new life, so she is working to try and find out how to continue to be with those she cares about and keep herself happy along the way. Overall, this story may be a standalone, but it did make me excited to read the next novel in the Fifth Mage War series. I cannot wait to see what Laura will come up with next for this amazing cast of characters!

**I give a special thank you to Book Sirens and the author, Laura Engelhardt, for the opportunity to read this interesting novel. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.**