Prompt; A Times Magazine interview with a witch on her complaints about declining birth rates and the harm to the “cursing newborns” industry.
The address given to me did not match the expectations of a witch’s home. The building is in the upper echelons of society, with a seven figure price tag just for an entry-level apartment. Entering the elevator, I expect to find a sleek, modern apartment.
She lives on the top floor. Not just an apartment, the entire top floor.
“A gift,” she says as she greets me at the elevator, which opens in what she calls her greeting room. It looks like an office reception, complete with a bowl of lollies on the desk. “From a grateful client.”
I say that she must have done quite the work for this client.
She gives me a small smile as she walks me through to her kitchen.
“Here is the most comfortable spot in the apartment,” she says, getting me to sit at a high top counter. The kitchen smells of freshly burnt rosewood, with a hint of cinnamon. “Tea?”
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While she makes the tea, I ask my first question. “Not many of your profession ask to be interviewed. What made you step forward?”
She gives me a wide smile, as she waits for the water to boil. “One of us has to, and old Josie won’t. Might as well be me.” She gestures to her body. “I have the look for the media, don’t you think?”
She’s dressed in the sort of clothes that you expect to find on a high-power attorney, not a witch in her home. A grey suit, tailored perfectly. Heels which give her an extra six inches of height. Her hair, curls which should not be as controllable as she makes them look, is loose down her back, held back with the smallest of headbands. The only concessions to her profession are the rings on her fingers.
I make a positive murmur in response. Luckily, she continues.
“Because, you see, we have a reputation. For evil. All a conglomerate conspiracy, I’m afraid. But what is a problem, is the declining birthrates in this country.”
I show surprise; I was not aware that birthrates were on the decline.
She nods, pouring a fresh cup of tea. “Yes, we keep close eyes on this thing. Closer than most, as you can imagine. We have quite the interest. And for the past five years, this country has had a steady decline in births. Which is a shame, wouldn’t you agree?”
She hands me the cup, and I take a polite sip. She takes this as agreement.
“The backbone of our industry, you see, is newborns. With less and less newborns, we are able to perform less and less curses. And without the curses, you have an entire industry of workers, suddenly out of work.”
I look up, in shock. Curses?
She waves a hand. “Oh, not in the traditional sense! No, no nonsense. We call them curses, but really? They’re more like guarantees. See, say you want a new car, but you don’t have the money. We give you the car, and give you five years to repay us, or we ensure that your newborn doesn’t get to go to college. See? Harmless.”
Her smile is so large, that I find myself agreeing with her.
“I knew you would agree!” She claps her hands together, like an excited child. “It’s harmless, because who knows if the child would go to college anyway! There’s plenty of other avenues. Did you know, I myself was a result of such an arrangement?”
I shake my head. No, I didn’t know that.
“Yes, yes, it was all above board. My mother, you see, she wanted to go to college herself. But there I was, newborn and requiring a lot of attention. So I went and was raised by a witch, while my mother was able to attend college and provide a future for herself.”
Wasn’t it hard for her?”
“I never asked. Maybe I’ll ask her this week. Yes, we meet up once a month to check in on each other. It’s all sickeningly wholesome.”
I want to ask another question, but the words that leave my mouth aren’t my own. “How many will be affected if birthrates don’t climb?”
“Oh, let me think?” She taps her lips, counting to herself. “There’s a hundred of us just in this coven, and we only serve a hundred square miles. Hmm, each coven is…. Carry the…. Ten thousand, give or take?”
My eyes widen, but I don’t say anything.
“I know right?” She leans on the counter, looking at me intensely. “And that’s a conservative guess! There’s probably more of us. As you can imagine, we can’t let such a large workforce just die out! What else would we do?”
I’m speechless. I literally can’t say a word, even if I wanted to.
“You’re right, we could go into other sectors,” she pushes off the table, talking as though I had asked her another question. “But I just don’t see myself doing anything else. Imagine me, a lawyer?” She laughs. “They’d laugh me right out of the courtroom.”
She moves around the table, sits down next to me. She turns my chair, so that we are facing eye to eye.
“Maybe I could be a journalist?”
She takes a sip of my tea. I watch as her eyes turn from amber to emerald, my eyes. Her nose and mouth quickly follow. Her hair becomes a dyed red, swept up in a professional ponytail. She grows a few inches, matching my height.
Before my eyes, she turns into a perfect copy of me.
I can say one word, but that’s all I need to say. “Why?”
“Why?” she says, in my voice. “My dear, you didn’t think we only collected on the young, did you? Your father made quite the bargain, and has failed to pay. Don’t worry, I’ll only be submitting the one article for you. We can’t have anyone questioning our work. You’ll get your body back, and you’ll never recall this little conversation.”
Before I can even blink, the world fades to black.
I turn in an interview, conducted in the receiving room of Miss Erin Mornington. The interview discusses her life, and how her industry is under attack due to the low birth rate of the country. It ends with the announcement that Miss Erin and her colleagues, the Wise and Invested, Tertiary Colleagues, Heavenly Enraptured Socialites, have formed a charitable fund, to help increase the birthrates.
No one finds any issues with the article; it is the first one I have written that required no revisions. I have been nominated for literary prizes, though I only have the faintest of memories of conducting the actual interview.
Any time I try to imagine Miss Erin, I see myself.
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Prompt: A sheriff is infected with an incurable disease in a secret underground military complex.
(Warnings in the tags.)
It was a sunny afternoon, and it had been twelve days since Varis had had his routine physical, with a side order of serum.
He was due to leave Earth in twelve months; at least, if various councils would stop sticking their noses where they weren’t wanted. If the plan had been followed, Varis would be enjoying his afternoon on Mars right now.
As it was, he had only just had the serum that was going to allow humans to live on Mars on a more permanent basis.
He had been told to keep an eye out for any side effects, and given a range that were “acceptable”. Thus far, nothing.
Varis had kept to his job, Sheriff for the town of Nowhere. It was a job that kept him active, let him get to know most of the people, and would be of great help in his future role as law enforcement on Mars.
But for today, in the late afternoon sun, an off-duty Varis was standing in line at a small coffee shop, waiting for his latte.
“Eight ninety, please sheriff.”
His overpriced latte.
Jamie, the barista, shrugged apologetically. “I just sell it. Though, if you don’t mind, could I ask you a favour?”
Varis paid, raising an eyebrow. “What kind?”
“Could you check in on my gran?”
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Varis thought for a moment. “Main Street, right?”
“Yes. She hasn’t answered anyone’s calls, and you’ve heard the rumours, right?”
The rumours had been the bane of Varis’s work for the past three weeks.
Phone calls from worried parents, children lost for hours, days at a time. Dogs howling at shadows, cats avoiding entire streets. The mice, all congregating around the park.
Checking in on a gran was going to be easy enough.
“Sure thing, Jamie,” Varis answered, saluting Jamie with his cup. “I’ll make sure she calls as well.”
“Thanks Sheriff,” Jamie said, before turning to the next customer.
Such a shame he’s single.
Varis turned, frowning. He’d heard someone speak, but no one was looking at him. Shaking it off, he left the cafe.
~~
It wasn’t worth driving to Main Street. It’d take longer to get his car out of it’s parking spot, and into the traffic of everyone driving home. Additionally, his car had been playing up again- he’d have to take it back to the enchanter and get it properly looked over.
A nice walk on a sunny afternoon, latte in hand. What’s the worst that can happen?
He hummed to himself, nodding to people as he passed them on the street. As he passed the ferry terminal, there was a group of students, running to catch the boat across the bay.
Shitshitshit. I forgot my pass. I’ll have to jump the gates again.
Varis turned to look at the students, but none of them were paying him mind.
“WAIT!” He called, running to get through the turnstiles. The students were through and on the boat, not paying any attention to him.
How’d he know?
What’s his problem?
In his attempt to catch up the teenagers he crashed into the turnstile. Time seemed to slow down as the cold metal winded him and his latte went flying from his hand. The almost nine dollar latte, the one he had barely taken two mouthfuls of smashed into the ground, the contents spilling dirt stained tiles.
My coffee!
Laughter and a few sympathetic words echoed in his mind.
A small part of him mourned the loss and as he looked up Varis spied the fare evading teenagers pointing directly at him as the boat pulled away from the pier. It was just his luck. He seemed destined to not be able to enjoy anything. He couldn’t wait to get back to Mars, at least coffee there didn’t cost him an arm and a leg.
Check out those buns…
Blushing,Varis straightened before he moved away from the turnstile. The voice had been female in tone and given the crowds it was impossible to pinpoint who it had come from.
With as much dignity as he could muster he left the terminal and set back out on his initial mission.
~~
As Varis rounded the corner onto Main St, the voices in his head seemed to quieten. Maybe he was going insane. Given his day so far, it wouldn’t surprise him.
Maple trees lined the oldest street in Nowhere. The green lawns, charmingly weathered homes, and the odd child on a bicycle transported him from the twenty-first century to a Norman Rockwell painting.
Alice Coulter’s house was marked by its sunny yellow colour and the overabundance of lawn gnomes that were set up in some elaborate story she would tell anyone who would listen. The first step squeaked as Varis stepped up to her door. A voice in his head begged for mercy, the Lord’s prayer running on a loop before silence fell.
Disconcerted, his hand shook slightly as he raised it to knock on the door. No one answered. He tried again. Once more no one came to the door. Peering into the window, Varis couldn’t see any signs of life.
I knew I should have gagged him. If I knew he’d be such a screamer I would have duct taped his mouth shut.
Frowning, Varis turned around to the sweet face of Ms. Coulter. A Betty White look alike, she wore a red leisure suit and the innocent smile of a well loved grandmother.
“Mrs Coulter,” he relaxed, “Jamie sent me round to check on you.”
“Oh dear… I hope I haven’t put you out.”
“No ma'am, but she’s been worried about you given all the disappearances in town lately.”
“I’ve just been at the markets getting strawberries for my jam. This year Shirley Goldman won’t take gold.”
Bit hard to take gold when you’re six feet under Shirl.
Varis assessed the elderly woman critically. There was no evidence of her shopping trip and he could see dark red splatters maring her otherwise immaculate clothing.
“Right…” He trailed off as he stepped down from the porch. “You haven’t seen anything in the area have you?”
“Me?” She blinked innocently. “Nothing out of the ordinary unless you count Deidre Flock’s sudden win streak at bridge.”
Cheating hussy. You’re next.
Her lips hadn’t moved, but they might as well have. Her smile was as serene as it was when she first answered the door, but there were the beginnings of strain.
“Does Mrs Flock not normally win?”
“Never.”
Stop asking questions.
“Hopeless at the game.”
I don’t like to prolong it.
“We all take pity on her, you know.”
Could’ve been back to making the jam already.
“She hasn’t got long to live, if you take my meaning.”
Just like him.
Varis shook his head, barely able to follow the conversation. It felt as though two were taking place; the one coming from her mouth, and the one that wasn’t.
Mrs Coulter tilted her head. “Are you okay, Sheriff? You don’t look well.”
All that exercise. You need some fat on you. It’s good for the brain.
“Why does everyone keep commenting on my body?”
Mrs Coulter frowned. “I didn’t say a word.”
A sheriff who can read minds, is not long for this world.
Varis straightened up, taking a step back from Mrs Coulter. “Mrs Coulter, it is an offence to make a threat against an officer of the state.”
“Didn’t say a thing,” she answered, all sweetness gone.
Varis realised that, no, she didn’t say anything.
A sheriff who can read minds, is not long for this world- that was her thought. And the law hadn’t quite caught up with the idea of using telepathy as evidence.
Nothing Mrs Coulter had said or done was in any way suspicious. And the fallout from arresting a ninety three year old? Unthinkable.
Go on home, before you think of taking a look around my home.
Varis put a hand to his head. “I don’t think I’m feeling too well, Mrs Coulter. Do you mind if I use your bathroom?”
Blast, I can’t just say no. What will people think?
“You know where the bathroom is,” she said, stepping back from the door. “It hasn’t changed since you were last here.”
“I’ll just be a minute,” Varis muttered, quickly making his way to the bathroom before closing the door behind him.
Get a grip on yourself, Varis. He stared at himself in the mirror. Besides the look of a man who had spent all day on his feet, he didn’t look too bad. And nothing had happened to suggest that he would spontaneously develop telepathy today.
He got out his phone, thinking to call his doctor.
They’ll stop you from going to Mars.
That thought stopped him. After all, maybe he didn’t have telepathy, and all of this was just a side effect of not having had enough caffeine for the day.
He put his phone away. No one would get hurt if he waited a day to talk to a doctor.
He ran the water, splashing some on his face. As if some catalyst, thoughts came into his head that were not his own.
He’s taking too long. I’ll just go check on my other guest.
Oh no, she’s coming back. She’ll see that I broke free, and- ohshit.
He knew he should investigate. After all that's what good Sheriff's do. Except he knew if he poked his nose where it didn't belong he would end up with an axe in his back or worse.
No no noooo…
And he so desperately wanted to return to Mars. His last sojourn there had been too short a mere five earth years. It was unfair really.
No. Varis steeled himself and came to terms with a decision he decidedly would have to live with for the remainder of his life.
Drying his hands on the hand embroided hand towel Varis waited for that pleading voice in his head to go quiet. It took all of fives minutes.
He'd counted.
Mrs Coulter liked to take her time.
His stomach rolled at the thought and he desperately hoped she wasn't lurking behind a wall somewhere ready to pounce.
"Thank you!" Varis called out as he left the bathroom, "I'll tell Jamie you're doing fine. I really must be going now."
He received no response but he still ran as fast as his long legs could carry him. Should he tip someone off about the elderly woman with the dimpled smile and the cold blood of a seasoned killer? How long had she been doing this? Who would even believe him?
As he briskly walked back down main street, everything seemed a little darker, a little less Rockwellian.
His phone rang, the ringtone a tinny version of My Humps that came straight out of 2005. His sister had programmed it as a joke and three years later and about a million online videos later he was no closer to figuring out how to change it back.
Unknown number.
It was either a scam or work, neither worth his time at the end of his day. With a sigh he answered anyway.
"Hello?"
"Ah… am I speaking to Varis Katsumoto?" A female voice he didn't recognise asked.
"Speaking."
"Mr Katsumoto, my name is Maria Liu, I'm one of the physicians at Startech Laboratories. I believe you have been attending every two weeks for the past six month to prepare for the Gamma V expedition to Mars."
Frowning, Varis couldn't recall ever meeting someone with that name. "Correct."
"Well… This is a little awkward," she paused for a moment, seemingly trying to gather her words. "You see you've been given the wrong serum and have been from the start. Unfortunately you won't be able to launch with the Gamma V. The next scheduled date for Mars is in three years, we are more than happy to-"
I opened my mouth to make a smart comment, but Darryl caught my eye and made a cutoff gesture with his hand. If I’d had a really good comeback, I’d have said it anyway, but I didn’t, so I kept my mouth shut.
Mercy Thompson “Moon Called” by Patricia Briggs (via lycanhood)
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[IMAGE ID: cover of “Moon Called”, which is written in capital letters, in white, along the bottom. The words “National Bestselling Author Patricia Briggs” are along the top, on two lines. Our protagonist is posed in front of a set of gates. Her jeans sit low, revealing a paw print below her belly button. Her top is tied up below her breasts. Her arms are heavily tattooed, and her hair is blown across her face. A quote from Lynn Viehl, USA Today bestselling author of the Darkyn series, tells us to “Expect to be spellbound”. END ID.]
Rating: ❤❤
Note to self: review books right after reading them. When a book is as big of a snore fest as this one was, you always begin to forget everything about them and in this case… Good riddance.
Sitting here and reflecting on this book after I’ve had a couple of days to digest it makes me wonder why those who live and breathe urban fantasy and paranormal romance seem to love this book. A lot of people will disagree with me on this and I totally get that I am in the minority on this one.
Real talk. I didn’t like this book. It’s not that it is badly written (it’s not) or suffers from an incurable case of the “stupids” (it doesn’t)... It’s that it’s an unimpressive, mediocre, snore fest that I could barely get through. It commits a cardinal sin. It’s uninspired, unoriginal, and wholly forgettable. Which is why there is very little for me to say about this middling entry into the Urban Fantasy genre.
Mercy Thompson is a character I should have loved. For one, she’s not a wolf, she’s a coyote which already makes her stand out a little bit. It’s pretty cool and the concept would have been refreshing if I wasn’t coming into this off the back of reading other vastly superior shifter novels that had done far more to subvert this trope. I liked that she was a mechanic and I’m all for female representation in male dominated fields - though again, I have read superior novels that do the same thing and do it much better so…
Briggs bogs down the book with a lot of boring descriptions and the same carries through to her character descriptions. Why do I need to know Mercy has a history degree? It serves no purpose to the story and is a superfluous addition. There are a lot of these additions, such as her being church going, that don’t add up and make her character feel disjointed and flat. Giving a character a degree doesn’t add depth when they don’t apply that knowledge. Maybe she uses this knowledge in future books? I wouldn’t know. I have no desire to stick around in this world and it isn’t a burning question that keeps me up at night. Also the fact Adam has a picture of her in his trailer is really creepy and that fact this only a passing mention is very concerning to me.
While the premise and the mystery elements of this book were enough to keep me moderately interested, the book as a whole was, as I’ve already said, one big borefest. I think I might keep a copy of it on my bedside table to read when I can’t sleep a night. This book is the ultimate cure for insomnia I swear. Stock standard vampires, werewolves, and fae, there is nothing original in their roles, descriptions, or personas which would have been fine if they were at least interesting characters. Combined with a slow paced plot and overly detailed descriptions and mind numbingly dull male characters you have a recipe for one of the most formulaic and creatively uninspired novels I have ever written.
The only thing worse than a dull, uninspired plot is a dull, uninspired love triangle. If loathing love triangles was an Olympic sport I would be taking home a gold medal so already this concept already had me off side. We’re expected to cheer for and decide between Alpha Adam and Doctor Samuel for Mercy’s other half. Personally I would volunteer as tribute and sign right on up for a full frontal lobotomy if it meant I never had to choose between two men, who combined, have about as much personality as a plank of wood. There wasn’t anything to love here and I definitely wasn’t invested either way.
The love triangle, much like the book as a whole, was one long flatline. I don’t care about the relationships because there is no depth of emotion and ultimately this was the final nail in the coffin for me. When your characters express as much emotional range as a rock and are as deep a puddle you just don’t care. Where is the passion? The fear? The love?
If I wasn’t so desperately bored insolation I would have set fire to this crushing bore and exorcised it from my life.
Does anyone remember the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. Like there was so much vampire romance in the YA genre in those days and Marr was like "fuck that, yall fantasize about being whisked away to the faerie realm and made queen of the summer court because the faerie prince has fallen for you but its complicated because you're already in love with an emo boy who lives in an abandoned train, right?" And we did.
Aka: World weary teenager learns first hand that her weariness was warranted.
I read this book as a teenager, and I loved it. It was my first introduction to the urban fantasy genre, and teenage me adored every minute.
Aislinn knows about faeries, and wishes she didn’t. She has her rules for avoiding them, but you can’t avoid the King of the Summer Court if he wants you. And, oh boy, does he want Aislinn.
There’s a whole bunch of destiny and expectations, but Aislinn fights back against them at every opportunity. No, Keenan, she won’t just pack up her life and be your queen.
Over the course of the five book series, Aislinn refuses to do what’s expected of her, instead wanting to choose her fate. And for any teenager, it presents a hero we can all relate to. It’s young adult, but leaning to the upper edges of that. There are some themes within the series that might not be suitable for younger readers.
Aislinn is a hero that you just want to read more of. The world building and supporting cast help to build a marvellous story that is ridiculously hard to put down once you start.
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C - Curran Lennart; Former Beast Lord / God Killer / Lion of Atlanta / Guild Master
↳ ““One last thing, Your Majesty. I’d like a name I can put into my report, something shorter than typing out ‘The Leader of the Southern Shapechanger Faction.’ What should I call you?”
“Lord.”
I rolled my eyes.
He shrugged. “It’s short.”
This was turning out to be a difficult night, and it showed no signs of being over. I climbed out, over the heap of rubble. Jim was gone.
Something touched my shoulder. I whirled and saw the Lord of Beasts looking at me from the gap ten feet away.
“Curran,” he said, as if granting me a boon. “You can call me Curran.”
[IMAGE ID: the cover of “Magic Bites”. The title is in yellow letters, halfway down the page. A red haired woman holding a sword stands to the left, a lion’s face is on the right. A city is seen in the background. A quote from Patricia Briggs is below the author’s name- “Splendid... an edgy, dark fantasy touched with just the right amount of humor. END ID.]
Rating: ❤❤❤
Move over Buffy Summers...
When the new lockdown restrictions were announced I did what any sane human being would do - poured a massive gin & tonic, dusted off the ol’ Kindle, and started on an old favourite. Who needs reality when there are whole other worlds waiting for me in the pages of a good book?
Magic Bites is the first book in the amazing Kate Daniels series. Each book in the series is better than the last and it is an immensely fun read and one that I recommend wholeheartedly. It's been a long time since I have read a book that engaged my imagination in such a way. The descriptions are vivid, the characters interesting, and the world is wholly original.
While Magic Bites is the official starting point, I definitely advise you to read the preceding novella’s first as it may affect your enjoyment of the book as it did mine on my first reading. This is where the book primarily loses points for me. As the first book in a series it shouldn’t rely on novellas to fill in the gaps in the story and it was something that bothered me alot. Let me get this straight, that issue is enough for me to deduct points but it is not enough to ruin my experience of this otherwise great book/series.
The world building in this book is absolutely incredible. An alternative Atlanta where magic and technology are unbalanced and therefore upsetting each other? Sign me the Hell on up. It is such a simple yet compelling premise and one that Ilona Andrews delivers on tenfold. The setting is so fundamental to the plot but doesn’t overshadow it if anything the fluctuations and issues that it causes characters make it more interesting. The world is full, vibrant, and wholly unique that makes an otherwise stock standard plot shine.
There is so much to love about this book and what really starts to shine from the get go is the Pack and shifter dynamics. For someone who reads a lot of shifter novels, I was so excited to see this type of thing presented in a different light. It's an aspect of the series that gets explored in great detail and it is worth every single moment. Not only are the members of the pack diverse they also embody their animals in their human form, for example, Curran who as a cat shifter likes high places. It's such a fun way to really help understand their characters especially that they are not separate entities, like many shifter’s are portrayed, but instead one cohesive person. These are not your everyday shifters.
While the shifters in the book are really fantastic, Kate Daniels, as a character, shines brightly. From the moment she appears on the page you are instantly backing her. Deeply flawed but a character that you want to find happiness and peace, she has sealed her place as one of my favourite heroines. Yes she’s selfish, emotionally constipated, and a little self absorbed yet she is so brilliantly written that you understand her reasons for being so. Utterly alone in the world, she is a badass who never gives up on herself. There is never that moment where you stop liking her or stop wanting her to succeed.
From the first scene they share, I was captaining the SS. Curran and Kate, a ship that I will go down on. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough Curran in this book but what we do get, boy howdy. For a minor character he makes a lasting impact and honestly I can’t think Kate Daniels without thinking of Curran.
The chemistry between the pair is electric and wanting to see the development of their relationship is a driving force behind wanting to continue the series. Yes, the world is incredible but as a romantic at heart I’m all about those relationships.
Relationships in general is something Ilona Andrews excels at. They feel real, dynamic, and are the beating of the book/series in general. You want to learn more about the friendships, the lovers, and the villains. It's absolutely spellbinding if you are like me and like your novels more character driven.
I’ve said it a million times. This is a series that deserves more love and a TV show - I would binge that hard. Even though as a first entry into a series it’s a little rocky, it’s a series that continues to improve and keeps your attention to the very end. If you’ve never read Ilona Andrews this is a great starting point and it’s what cemented Andrews as one of my all time favourite authors.
Thought 1: It’s not going to be a physical fight. They’re both going to spend a couple of months scoping each other out, testing each other’s boundaries, looking for any weaknesses. Using their lieutenants and allies to find out everything they can, without openly engaging in fighting.
An intellectual battle, if you will. This will probably end up, six months down the line, in an epic chess battle, or other suitable strategy game.
“Hugh got up. “Would love to stay and play doctor, love, but duty calls.” He headed for the door.
Play doctor? “Jackass.”
“Harpy.”
“Thank you for saving me in the woods,” she said to his back. “And for healing Alex.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll see you downstairs in ten minutes.”
― Ilona Andrews, Iron and Magic
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[IMAGE ID: The cover to “Iron and Magic”. A man dressed in black, holding a sword. Behind him, a woman in white, with magic in her hand. A castle is seen in the background. END ID].
AKA: Resident sad boy teams up with resident sad girl for mutual profit.
Ilona Andrews writes a new book, and I’m #there. This book was no different.
Hugh is your typical Sad Boy: cast aside by the only mentor he has ever known, and suddenly having to decide for himself what he will fight for. He makes the decision, but finds himself unable to help his people. Not without…..
Elara, a Sad Girl; she should not exist, with powers that she uses to help her people to survive. Only, she is not enough any more. Her people need an army.
Luckily for Elara, Hugh’s army needs a base.
“Marriage of convenience” would be the trope to apply here. This is book one of a trilogy, so I’m ready for the “convenience” to move to “love.” The world building is superb, and really enhances the story here. You can believe that this is a real world; everything about it is crafted to perfection.
Iron Covenant is a spin off of the Kate Daniels series. If you love that world, you’ll love this one. If you’ve never read it, this is a great starting point. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. Join me in line waiting for book two to be released.
