Touched by Magic(Razor’s Edge Chronicles, #1) by Celine Jeanjean – Review

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5 stars, Adventure, Book Review, Celine Jeanjean, dogs, fantasy, magic, series, talking cats, urban fantasy

About Touched by Magic by Celine Jeanjean

I’m Apiva.  No, I’m not a badass magical asassin.  I’m a barber to the supernatural.  My magic is very weak and very niche — it works best with keeping things clean.  I know.  I can sense your awe at my power already.  And I’m sure you can see why barbering suits me well.

Although now that I’ve mastered the art of trimming a weretiger’s regrowth, my biggest challenge is fielding the insults of the shop’s cat. Sometimes I wish I had enough magic to go deeper into the city’s magical underbelly.  You know what they say—be careful what you wish for.

Everything changes when a pair of forest fae come into the shop one night, asking for help to protect their youngling. Something’s got them properly spooked, but they won’t say what. If it’s big and bad enough to scare the fae, it’s most definitely powerful enough to make a mouthful of me—probably a small mouthful, at that. And now that the fae have come to me, whatever’s after them is also after me.

My weak magic and a sarcastic cat for backup are unlikely to be enough to keep me alive and save the fae youngling.  There is someone who’s willing to help me—Sarroch. Arrogant, unpleasant, wealthy, and I don’t even know what kind of magical creature he is beneath his human form. Or what his motives are in offering to help.  I have no idea if I can trust him, but I’m so short on allies, I might not have a choice. I just hope I’m not making a huge mistake…

Grab Touched by Magic to see if I make it. Oh, and don’t get offended if the cat insults you…

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Review of Touched by Magic

I was very excited to get this first book in a new series by Celine Jeanjean.  I loved her Viper and Urchin series, so I have high expectations for this new one.  Book 1 did not disappoint!

The author has created a lovely detailed vision of Panong, the city where Apiya lives and barbers. The east Asian influence is evident in many ways: food, dress, transportation and, most importantly, in the folklore – the magical creatures, also known as the Mayak.  Many of the terms were not not familiar to me, prompting me to do a little research.  But the story gives plenty of definition and context so you will not need to do that research.  The Mayak is comprised of many different magical beings, each with their own agenda.  Those Mayak agendas will play into the story not only in this first book, but in the ongoing story.

Apiya is, as the title says, touched by magic.  That means she is not very magical but seems to be very lucky around things that are familiar to her.  Which explains why Hunter, the dog she loves, mostly sheds outside.  All this animal lover can say is Wow! What a great idea.  As a touched human, Apiya is also aware of all the other more powerful magical beings.  And while most of the Mayak believe Apiya to be beneath notice, a few do notice her.  Which is how she gets into a sticky situation.

Along for the adventure are Mr. Sangong, her magical mentor, her touched friend Chai, and businessman/Mayak Sarroch.  I found Mr. Sangong to be mysterious and not yet worthy of my loyalty because I’m not sure of his loyalty.  Chai is an artist with a talent for shaping any type of metal into whatever he wants.  And he is a great friend to Apiya, so, good guy.  Sarroch is the big question.  Is he good?  Is he evil? Will he help Apiya or eat her?  He is, I must admit, interesting.

I enjoyed Apiya’s relationship with her with parents.  They live in London, so she talks to them by phone.  Dad is a geeky scholar who barely knows how to use a phone and Mom is the calming voice of reason in the family.  Their family sense of humor is delightful!  Humor also comes in the form of a cat.  Timothy is a magical cockney cat, who doesn’t take orders from ‘inferiors’ (humans).  As Apiya says: ‘But that’s cats for you — tiny animals with enough arrogance to think they rule the world.”

The book ends on what I consider to be a cliffhanger.  That is, a major part of the storyline concluded and then the story continued, without the word ‘epilogue’ in between.  So I was a truly disappointed when it ended somewhat abruptly.  Touched by Magic is just 195 pages long and it was over too fast.  The next book is out next month though, so the wait is not long.  I am looking forward to more of Apiya’s adventures!

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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Shadows of the Heart (The Fae Files, #2) by Cecilia Dominic – Review

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4 stars, Book Review, Cecilia Dominic, fae, gargoyles, mystery, paranormal, series, shifters, urban fantasy

About Shadows of the Heart by Cecilia Dominic

She has one “simple” task to complete to earn her way back home. Too bad the monster she needs to capture is hunting her, too.

Nobody said Fae life was easy…

Reine has one minor loose end to tie up before she’ll be allowed to return to Faerie — an invisible soul-eating creature is on the loose at a major fantasy convention, and the hotel manager doesn’t believe in the paranormal.

As if living in a horror movie isn’t bad enough, Reine’s brother Rhys and the gargoyle she’s becoming too attracted to have some sort of history between them.

Instead of a “loose end,” Reine is dealing with the unraveling of her life. Can she embrace a side of herself she’s afraid to acknowledge and defeat the soul-eater in time to meet the conditions of her bargain to return to Faerie? Or will her life – as well as those of the convention-goers – be sacrificed for greed, ambition, and a good performance review?

Or worst of all, will love tempt her to stay on Earth?

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Review of Shadows of the Heart

Shadows of the Heart is a continuation of the story of Reine’s journey to get back to her home.  Even though the Fae has lived in the human world for several centuries, she considers the Fae world to be her home.  Her mother has given her a quest.  Complete the quest and you can return home.

Does anybody have a problem with this?  We all know the Fae are not known for their forthrightness.  We are into book 2 and still, there is no homecoming in sight.

As of the end of the first book, The Shadow Project, Reine seemed not to embrace the Fae persona, perhaps due to the influence of her life among humans.  However, in Shadows of the Heart, Reine takes up her Fae personality a little more, thinking it will help her get what she wants.  Reine waffles between her Fae and human-like personalities.  She will need to figure out which is a more potent weapon against her adversary, the soul-eater.

This book also continues the romance between Reine and the gargoyle Lawrence.  Lawrence’s viewpoint has been added to the saga, with alternating perspective changes between chapters.  I appreciated getting a different viewpoint.  Having said that, I’m not feeling that Reine and Lawrence are meant for each other.  There is such a lack of trust.  I hope, eventually, I will be proved wrong.

Reine’s Fae brother is also a big player in this story.  Pick two words out of that last sentence.  “Fae” and “player”.  Rhys is a thorn in Reine’s side in more ways than one.   You can’t pick family.  By the end of the story, I still don’t know what to make of him.  I just hope Rhys does not break Reine’s heart.

Shadows of the Heart relies heavily on the reader having read The Shadow Project.  Attempts to bring the reader up to date lack details and therefore seem disjointed.  However, knowing everything that happened in book 1 is not critical to understanding events in book 2, so it is okay to jump into the series with Shadows of the Heart.  The third book, The Shadowed Path is anticipated in early 2021 and I will be ready to see how Reine’s mission progresses.

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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The Shadow Project (The Fae Files, #1) by Cecilia Dominic – Review

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5 stars, Book Review, Cecilia Dominic, fae, gargoyles, lycanthropy, mystery, paranormal, series, shifters, urban fantasy, wizards

About The Shadow Project by Cecilia Dominic

A banished Fae. A veil of lies. One chance to return home…

Reine will seriously do anything for redemption. Exiled to Earth after failing to protect her brother, she leaps at the chance to get back into Faerie when her scornful mother proposes a pact. But Reine knows she better be careful, because Fae bargains are always loaded with tricks…

Ordered to smoke out a traitor on a team of supernatural scientists, Reine barely survives an attack by a vicious intruder. And after discovering a shadowy manipulator is intent on seeing her fail, Reine must confront a deadly conspiracy that could spell the end for her kind.

Can Reine unmask a sinister cabal and finally make her mom happy?

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Review of The Shadow Project

The Shadow Project has a direct tie to the author’s Lycanthopy Files series as it picks up soon after Blood’s Shadow left off. There is also an indirect tie to her Dream Weavers and Truth Seekers series. I imagine all Dominic’s supernatural beings to come together eventually.

So, Reine was the enigmatic Fae from Blood’s Shadow. In that book, I liked her, but, as with all Fae, did not trust her. In The Shadow Project, we get to see her personal viewpoint, which is not nearly as arrogant, self-confident and all-knowing as the image she tries to perfect. In this book, Reine (also known as Doctor Renee River) seems almost human.

Reine is tied to the earth. She loves and communicates with the earth, with plants, with the natural world. She gets her energy from nature. Her love and care of all things natural is a lovely part of her character.

There is a mystery at the CPDC (Center for Paranormal Disease Control) in Atlanta. Stolen DNA samples. Reine is specifically asked to travel from Scotland to Atlanta to help investigate – for some mysterious reason. In the meantime, her mother asks her to go to Atlanta on a Fae mission and in return, upon completion, Reine will get to go back home to Faeland.  Going home is something she wants more than anything. So, my question is: Are these two missions related?

Reine ends up working with Selene Rial (from Blood’s Shadow) investigating the theft. They really make a terrible team due to a lack of trust. And you certainly can’t call them friends. So, since the story is Reine’s she will be the star mystery solver. There is a very attractive Gargoyle, Lawrence Gordon, to guard and assist. It should be noted that Reine does not like Gargoyles at all. Some family history thing, which needs to be made a little clearer. Maybe it will be in a future installment, since brother showed up at the end of the book.

There is a soul eater on the attack and nobody knows why, but it appears to be threatening Reine from the very beginning. The threat begins even before she leaves Scotland. So, the soul eater appears to be a mystery separate from the DNA theft.

The other mystery that started in Scotland is a kitten. A very mysterious kitten. An adorable kitten. A How-can-you-resist? kitten. Oh, and the kitten teleports. So, I say again: A very mysterious kitten.

The CPDC mystery takes up most of the story, with character development as the really interesting background. Reine’s family is going to be fun, I can tell.

After reading The Shadow Project, I am more inclined to appreciate the Fae Reine as a protagonist. She does not embody the image of her arrogant, conniving Fae family. Living near humans may have tamed her. Though with the Soul eater out there, I doubt we have seen the complete works of Reine as far as her supernatural powers go. And the relationship with Gargoyle Gordon is interesting. The potential Hate/Love thing could go anywhere.

In terms of the ending, the CBCD mystery will be solved. However, Reine’s Fae mission is not complete. Plus, there is still something hunting Reine. So – much more to come! It looks like the next two books are scheduled for release in the near future (August and November). So, binge reading will soon be possible – if you are so inclined.

Thanks to the author who provided a copy of her book in exchange for my honest review.

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