Review: Magic Forged (Hall of Blood and Mercy Series Book 1) by KM Shea

Magic Forged by K.M. Shea
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Entertaining and Engaging Urban Fantasy Series

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This first book in a new series is by a new to me author. I read the sample of the first book in her follow up series and realised that I’d missed this first series and decided to start from the beginning instead of the middle.

Hazel is a young wizard and the heir to her House. However, she is seriously underpowered and bullied as a result. When her parents are killed in a car accident it sets into action a series of events that leads her running for her life and finding no help in the supernatural community. It’s a great shock to her and almost everyone else that the vampire head of the Midwest, Killian, decides to step in and take her one as a servant to his House, thus providing her with protection against her enemies.

The reason it is so surprising is because the supernatural races have become more divided as magic fades from the world. Everyone is turning inwards as a way of protecting their own race rather than supernaturals as a whole. For a vampire to choose to protect a wizard, especially one with no real magic, is unfathomable to most of the rest of the community because they don't know what real benefit she could provide to such a powerful vampire.

Hazel finds herself being trained in sword fighting, strength and stamina in ways that aren’t affected by her meagre spark of magic. Her House is a pacifist one and it goes against everything she was raised to believe but finds herself strangely enjoying it. Even more strange is that she finds herself enjoying the company of vampires, especially the elusive Killian Drake.

I really enjoyed the world-building in this book. It’s not all rammed down your throat at once but done with a sure hand and it is subtle. There is a distinct structure to the supernatural world and this author lays it out succinctly.

Hazel is a really interesting character. She is shoved into an unenviable position on the death of her parents. She has had no training in running her House and she has to lead because of the magic binding the House together which passes from parent to child even if the child has little magic as Hazel does.

The book is almost entirely told from Hazel’s point of view and we see how events change her, along with exposure to vampires and a different viewpoint from her own family. She begins to come into her own as she grows physically stronger. We get to know the vampires through her eyes as they grow more familiar to her and she becomes fond of some of them. Killian is an enigmatic character and seeing him learn to smile because of Hazel’s antics reveals hints of a slightly softer side that he keeps buried deep.

This is an excellent start to a new series with a murder to solve alongside all that pesky personal growth malarkey. There also seems to be a greater underlying threat to the supernatural world in general and Hazel more specifically. It definitely makes me interested in reading the next book.

Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Dying to Meet You (Conjuring A Coroner Series Book 1) by SC Stokes

Dying to Meet You by S.C. Stokes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hounded By A Serial Killer

I’d probably give this book 4.5 ⭐️ if I could.

This is the first book of a series, though there is a prequel it was written after the rest of the series, so it’s not necessary to read in order to understand this book. There is a continuing story arc after the end of this book but the cliffhanger is minimal and not at all frustrating.

Kasey Chase is a coroner on secondment to NYPD after a run-in with the son of an important man, who is also a coroner. Partnered up with Detective Bishop she is called out to a murder of a young woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Kasey.

Kasey is not only a coroner but she is prescient or psychic and she can sometimes see important information regarding the events of her victim's deaths, which helps her be good at her job. Quite quickly it appears that the world of magic has followed her into the world of the mundane and she is facing not a human serial killer, but a magic one. This draws the attention of the Magic Council, and the world that she avoided for so long by changing her name, finally knows who and where she is.

This book is really engaging. The plot is fast-moving, the world-building is solid and the characters are interesting. When I read the prequel I wanted more world-building and this book delivers that desire. Though there is little about the magical system, there is more about magical society. We learn about it as Kasey does because she’s been estranged from it since she was a teenager and she wilfully ignored it’s existence, despite still seeing her family regularly.

I like the format of this book, making the individual mystery Kasey has to solve actually being the start of the larger story arc over the series. It was an engaging mystery and told us a lot about Kasey and her place in the world. I could stand to learn more about Kasey and her personality rather than just being a vehicle for the story, but this is urban fantasy and it’s a common issue in the genre. I’m hoping as the series develops we’ll see more about who Kasey is.

This is a really great start to a series and I can’t wait to read the next book.

Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Expired (Sundance Series Book 3.5) by CP Rider

Expired by C.P. Rider
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Urban Fantasy At It’s Best

This is a sort of spin-off from the main Sundance series as it focuses on Chandra rather than Neely and Lucas. You really need to read the rest of the series to understand the characters and history, but if you miss it I don’t think it will disrupt the main storyline, but you miss out on some amazing writing, and some key character development.

I love this series so much. The characters are vivid and engaging. Their histories are fascinating and their personalities are fully explored. In this book we learn more about Chandra’s failed relationship with Cynthia when she comes to her ex's rescue after her niece goes missing. Chandra reluctantly helps out with help from Fiera and Neely, and of course in the final showdown Earp and Lucas help too.

In this book we meet Cynthia and her family and people from the leadership of the pack her niece belongs to. It gave an insight into what a pack could be if they weren’t run by someone evil, just someone a little self-centred and focussed solely on his species to the exclusion of everyone else, whether they are married to or children of pack members. I think this is a common attitude in their world which is why Blacke’s Group is so unusual in that it accepts everyone.

I love how this author carefully constructs storylines that explore the people as much as the events. There is no lack of urgency when it’s required, but she also spends time exploring emotions too.

I love that Chandra is now running the Dusty Saloon. She’s a perfect fit as an ex-assassin, second alpha, bar owner. This book really shows her moving on with her life and working out what makes her happy rather than simply doing what is necessary. I also love her friendship with Earp, who is a wonderful character. It's so refreshing that this author has a rich catalogue of characters who are over 60 and still enjoy life to the fullest, with adventures and love lives of their own. These older characters are friends with the younger characters rather than having to fulfil the mentor role that they normally are forced into.

This is such an enjoyable read, so I recommend that you start the series if you haven’t already and if you’ve started it, read this book rather than ignoring it because it’s an aside to the main plot. You’ll be missing out if you ignore it.

Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: A Date With Death (Conjuring A Coroner Series Book 0) by SC Stokes

A Date With Death by S.C. Stokes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Murder and Magic

I got this book for free and it was only when I reached the end that I realised that this is a prequel and written after the original books. This resolved my major complaint that there wasn’t much world-building in this book, just tonnes of plot.

Kasey Chase is a coroner in NYC. She’s a really good one because she’s also psychic. Kasey is flying under the radar magically speaking and isn’t registered and changed her name before entering the mundane education system. When her boss sends her out on a mysterious ‘errand’ she finds herself face to face with the magical elite and she is there to determine if there has been a murder.

Basically, this is a magical whodunnit that is fun and interesting. It kept me engaged all the way through the book and made me want to read the rest of the series so that I can actually get the world building that this book is missing. I really hope it’s there, but if it isn’t I think it will probably still be an entertaining read.

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.

Review: Double the D (Capricorn Cove Series Book 2) by Evie Mitchell

Double the D by Evie Mitchell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sweet and Sexy Poly Story

This is the second in this series but can be read as a standalone. This book is about Blue, Dane and Drake. Dane and Drake were fostered together by Blue’s parents when they were teenagers. They’ve been lovers ever since, but they always wanted Blue. They joined the Marines when they turned 18 and have only just come back 12 years later.

When Dane and Drake left it hurt Blue but she understood. When they didn’t come back, despite their promises, she was devastated. Now Dane and Drake are back and she wants to avoid them at all costs. Dane and Drake are not letting her run away because now they have made something of themselves they can all have a life together.

Though technically this isn’t an insta-love book because they all were sort of together as teenagers, it has a similar vibe to it. The men sweep Blue off her feet and she’s pretty happy about it. There doesn’t seem to be much working through their problems. They explain why they never came back and she accepts it. She’s a little too forgiving for my tastes.

Other than that the characters are 2 dimensional, which isn’t unexpected as it’s a novella and there isn’t a great deal of time for in-depth character building. They are still likeable though.

There’s plenty of steam in this polyamorous relationship, but there’s also plenty of love and affection too.

This is a short and sweet book that you can devour in one sitting.

Borrow Free From Kindle Unlimited

Buy From Amazon UK

Buy From Amazon US

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, made after using the above links.