Losing Ground by Sasha L. Miller

 Carter Bellwood's family has Earth-claimed the Bellwood territory for generations and they've always had an excess of Earth energy to back it up. Until Carter, whose energy is barely a fraction of that his mother has. But he's the only Earth wizard in his generation and set to inherit the territory—if there's anything left of it. The territory is being ravaged by a disease that kills all plant life it comes into contact with. They can't cure it, can barely contain it, can only watch as their territory turns into a barren landscape.

Then a new Earth wizard shows up. Tai is everything Carter is not when it comes to the strength of his magic, and more importantly he knows how to cure the disease. But he's also terrified and clearly on the run from something, and Carter's not sure Tai's help is worth the risk of him trying to stake his own claim on the territory—or the risk that whatever he's running from finds him...

Carter and his mother Rebekah are Earth Wizards trying to protect the territory they live in. A disease is spreading throughout the area, killing all the plants and trees. The Wizards feel a power surge and Carter goes to investigate.  He discovers the mysterious Tai, another Earth Wizard, who is even more powerful than mother and son.

This story was a bit slow moving for me. The writing was great, but the story dragged in areas. I did enjoy the growing friendship between Carter and Tai. With that said, the epilogue was a shocker because the rest of the story was not as graphic. It could have worked without the one-time sex scene.

While the Wizard World was creative, it was chaotic and confusing in parts. The suspense party of the story worked well, even though it dragged. All in all, this was an ok story that left me not wanting more. 

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