Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was fun, and I am very invested in the relationship between Adrian the witch and Bex the demon and the fight to save everyone from Gilgamesh and free the demons, especially, the witches as a side bonus .
Immediately upon starting, I could tell the writing and characterization would be solid. It starts with Adrian and his prissy familiar, Boston, and then a broom with personality. Just overall, the world and lore was rich and fun. The world's concept of demons and naming demons was also fun.
My only gripe was that Bex seems really terrible at things.This lack of skill and ability to consistently make one bad decision after another and suck at bodyguarding were somewhat explained by her being weakened from over a hundred reincarnations. Nevertheless, the reincarnations keep her muscle memory, so she can play music but still kind of sucks at fighting? Sure, there is a mental and emotional component of fighting, but that is true of music. It seemed just convenient and threw me out of the story.
Immediately upon starting, I could tell the writing and characterization would be solid. It starts with Adrian and his prissy familiar, Boston, and then a broom with personality. Just overall, the world and lore was rich and fun. The world's concept of demons and naming demons was also fun.
My only gripe was that Bex seems really terrible at things.
adventurous
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Okay, I'm not going to lie. For the first 10% or so of this book I was having trouble getting into it. Some of it may have been the writing, but I think I may have just been too distracted, and also going from a super dense epic fantasy novel to this lighter urban fantasy fare might have had something to do with it also.
That out of the way, the book finally clicked in and the rest of it was really good. You know the deal if you've read any urban fantasy. This book doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel or anything. The two main characters were quite well written, and the side characters had their moments.
The book does have it's own unique twists on demons and angels that was well thought out and consistent to the story logic. I also liked that one of the MCs is a male witch, something you don't see a lot of. His magic is all tied to his forest grove that he is attempting to grow. Also, he has a talking cat familiar. Win.
The fight scenes were well done, the dialogue flowed, and I give it some personal bonus points for taking place in the Seattle area, because it's always fun to read books that take place in your own backyard.
There are currently two more books in the series and I don't know if it's a trilogy or if it will be a longer on-going series, but I'm definitely going to keep reading to see where it all goes.
That out of the way, the book finally clicked in and the rest of it was really good. You know the deal if you've read any urban fantasy. This book doesn't exactly reinvent the wheel or anything. The two main characters were quite well written, and the side characters had their moments.
The book does have it's own unique twists on demons and angels that was well thought out and consistent to the story logic. I also liked that one of the MCs is a male witch, something you don't see a lot of. His magic is all tied to his forest grove that he is attempting to grow. Also, he has a talking cat familiar. Win.
The fight scenes were well done, the dialogue flowed, and I give it some personal bonus points for taking place in the Seattle area, because it's always fun to read books that take place in your own backyard.
There are currently two more books in the series and I don't know if it's a trilogy or if it will be a longer on-going series, but I'm definitely going to keep reading to see where it all goes.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Audiobook listen.
Sped through, the pacing was to my liking.
The characters well fleshed out and the plot is interesting and just beginning.
Plot summary without major spoilers.
Adrian moves to Seattle to establish his own witch wood. He hires Bex and her team for security, since he expect his former unwanted warlock master to pursue and try to catch him.
Adrian spends a few weeks growing his wood and preparing defences against the New England warlock cabal. Incidents occur, the former master gains more minions, and Adrian and Bex must now battle a larger than expected force to defend themselves against the denizens of Gilgamesh.
Sped through, the pacing was to my liking.
The characters well fleshed out and the plot is interesting and just beginning.
Plot summary without major spoilers.
Adrian moves to Seattle to establish his own witch wood. He hires Bex and her team for security, since he expect his former unwanted warlock master to pursue and try to catch him.
Adrian spends a few weeks growing his wood and preparing defences against the New England warlock cabal. Incidents occur, the former master gains more minions, and Adrian and Bex must now battle a larger than expected force to defend themselves against the denizens of Gilgamesh.
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Oh, this one was FUN. Adrian Blackwood is a witch on the run (with his talking cat Boston) who just wants to build his magical grove, free from the Eternal King Gilgamesh, who has outlawed any magic that doesn’t serve him. In aid of this, he’s hired demon Bex and her crew to protect him – and what follows is an action-packed adventure with found-family and some really, really well-thought-out demon lore/world-building.
What really made this for me, though, was the rapport that the characters had with each other. They’re all SO likeable and easy to root for!
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a fun, fresh, tightly-constructed book! I'm so glad I allowed the striking cover and punchy summary to pull me in. Luckily, the contents matched the exterior presentation.
The writing is proficient and clean, the characters are vivid, the worldbuilding is engrossing and unique enough to titillate, and the found family vibes are fully present.
My main issue is how quickly Bex and Adrian became devoted to one another, but honestly, I was looking for a cozy series--a bit of insta-friendship isn't the end of the world.
There are hints of romance in here, but nothing romantic actually occurs in this first book, which I appreciated.
I'll definitely be checking out the next volume.
The writing is proficient and clean, the characters are vivid, the worldbuilding is engrossing and unique enough to titillate, and the found family vibes are fully present.
My main issue is how quickly Bex and Adrian became devoted to one another, but honestly, I was looking for a cozy series--a bit of insta-friendship isn't the end of the world.
There are hints of romance in here, but nothing romantic actually occurs in this first book, which I appreciated.
I'll definitely be checking out the next volume.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced