I purchased a copy of Natural Magick, by Kathi S. Barton.
Description from Goodreads:
Dominic Marshall is sick to death hearing about Pete. The way the women keep going on about him Dominic swears that the first time he sees the guy he’s going to punch him in the nose, then drain him. There is no way in Dominic’s mind that any one person could be that great.Piccadilly Bartholomew or “Pete” to everyone who knows her is in trouble. She had to do some work for the man she’d just broken into his ‘secure’ computer system by telling him not only how she did it, but also show him how to fix it. In the mean time, she meets Duncan to help him with a computer purchase.When Pete has to deliver the twins of Sara’s in a restaurant, Dominic decides to claim her as his mate and make her his. Pete thinks Dominic is nuts and has no problems telling him so.Her family finds her and has decided to come and fetch her home. With her powerful magic and their black magic they are going to breed her with the most powerful being alive. But they didn’t expect a pack of werewolves, several thousand vampires and the Queen of Magick to be with her.Sparks, steamy sex and magic bring Diminic and Pete together and their combined strengths. But will it be enough to take on someone as powerful as a former King?
Review:
| The first paragraph of the description is great and it made me want to read this book immediately. I put it off for a long time because I haven’t actually read the first two books. I finally gave in and was able to follow the story well enough. But I think I probably did miss out some. The story here does stand on its own, but the events of the previous books are referenced and all of the characters are only vaguely described. I assume fuller descriptions were previously given and what was here was only meant as a reminder. That detracted from my enjoyment a little, but no one to blame on the one but myself.
Pete was a fun character. I appreciated her straight shooting, no nonsense attitude. Dominic was just your average PNR vampire alpha mate. (Though he wasn’t actually THE alpha vamp here. Aaron was.) There wasn’t much about him that stood out for me. He was completely made up for in the character of Duncan though. Duncan was the light of this book. I adored him. I don’t know what species he was supposed to be, but I still wanted to hug him to death. Everything in the book moves quickly, too quickly, unbelievably quick. Pete gains the trust and admiration of everyone she meets immediately. She does one job for a company and so impresses them that they purposefully overpay her and offer her a stellar full-time job. Dominic knows she is his mate within seconds of scenting her. One moment he and Pete are having their 2nd somewhat civil conversation, the next they’re lip locked and racing for the bedroom. One paragraph he’s apologising for the pain caused when he breaks her hymn, the next she is bent over a chair screaming “f_ck me harder”…and within a week they’ve moved on to what some would call kinky fetish play. She has to confront her mother, stepfather (essentially) and seven brothers. Then dispatches all nine of them in about two pages, despite never previously fighting with her abilities. It was very apparent early on, from the tone and everyone’s hearts and flowers acceptance of Pete that this was not going to be a book in which anything bad was allowed to happen to the heroine. That’s just what it proved to be, a litany of happy outcomes. Kind of takes some of the enjoyable tension away when you know the outcome from the beginning. But if you’re the type that really likes a lot of mushy affirmations and a predictable HEA this is the book for you. (I know that sounds snarky, but I was being serious.) Lastly and on a side note, I would just like to point out for the record, and I know I’m probably being pedantic by mention it, but the cover has NOTHING to do with the book. Not once does Pete or anyone else carry a sword and while the dogs are cute, her mate is a vampire not a werewolf. I’m just sayin’. |
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