Hidden Magic (Touched By Magic: Dragon #1) (2024)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

This was a nice book, but very similar to some others that I have read. Too similar, in fact, I had to pause and think about whether I had read this book before and just not reviewed it.

The heroine has dragon blood in her, which makes her an outlaw. The hero is from a powerful magical family who woos her.

This is a mediocre (at best, some of the writing is terrible) ripoff of the Linsey Hall series -- the Hall books have basically the exact same premise, MUCH better writing, and more likable characters. I am shocked that this is not being called out more. Even the covers are pretty much the same.

This is gross.

This book just reminded me too much of Linsey Hall's Ancient Magic (Dragon's Gift series).
I am going to read the second book just to see if it gets more original, but for now I am giving it a one star rating.

DNS at 8%. I've heard of instalove and I'm not a big fan of it. But I never realize it could pertain to Insta sister as well. This girl has just gone from "I'm so scared of you you're going to kill me!" Two cool we're family. We're sisters! We suffered under the same man and now we're bonded."

This was within half an hour. About two minutes of book time. It just felt way too abrupt

Two extremely generous stars

I already read this story 2 or 3 times now, supposedly by a different author, and the story with a slightly different cover, and title is still just not getting better. I suffered through this one, but no more for me. Fire born is apparently a lot like dragon born. And they have fairy side kicks and super powerful mage “boyfriends” that are in line for council seats. That council always persecuted their kind and so the H has to “hide” her magic and be badass with a sword. Oh, and the sexy mage boyfriend always offers to teach the H how to use her out of control powers. BTW, “snarky” is like...SO cool...like really....mature and stuff (NOT!). I could go on but think that should do it. 2 stars in case this was the author’s first book and they are just practicing by copying off other crap stories. It would be 0-1 stars if it happens to be the same author with different pen name.

Couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this book and then read the description. This author is totally ripping off Linsey Hall, the ACTUAL author who came up with the ideas presented in this book. Even the name is the same as one of her books. For anyone who would like to read the legit work instead of the plagiarized one, the first book is called "Ancient Magic" by Linsey Hall.

I couldn't read past chapter 1. This is a complete rip off of Linsey Hall's Mirror Mage series. I don't waste time on "authors" who plagiarize.

I really liked the beginning of this novel: young girl waking up with amnesia and escaping her chains. She meets a fairy, who also escaped, and they flee together, bonding like sisters. All they know is that Sophia is Fireborn and will be killed or imprisoned if caught. Great setup!

They end up bopping around, never regaining their memories and hiding because of Sophia's secret. I loved the close relationship between Sophia and Fiona, and I liked the way they fought together. I even liked the complication of Sophia being hired by someone dangerous to her in a way she couldn't refuse, putting her in danger. And then, the story lost me a bit.

There is a lot of banter between Adam and Sophia, which I'm usually a fan of, but by the end, it was too constant and all in the same tone. He wants her. She pretends she doesn't want him.

Consent is a big deal for me as a reader, and this has a few uncomfortable moments for me (as someone sensitive to this, others might not notice it at all). Sophia says no quite a bit and is ignored. The fact that she secretly (or not-so-secretly) is attracted, etc. doesn't excuse Adam and even Fiona of not respecting that. She's scared and uncomfortable, and if she wants space or to keep things professional, he should take her at her word. In novels, this is on the smaller side of transgressions, but I wish this behavior wasn't normalized. The berating of her to date Adam is non-stop in the form of the banter, and it got on my nerves toward the end, especially.

However, the story had a great pace, cool magic, and an interesting mystery. The climax was a bit early and a bit light, but the story ended well enough to not feel like a cliffhanger, but still leave the story open for more.

I actually read all 4 books that are in currently available in the series and it is a pretty standard book for the genre even the covers look just like at least 2 other series that are "Dragon Magic" focused it was hard to tell them apart so much of the basic premise is identical that I keep mixing the books up. I did enjoy reading them and anyone looking for a good urban fantasy book would enjoy these.This review was originally posted on Books In Brogan

When Sophia Sinclair returns to consciousness hanging by the chains locked to her wrists, other than the blinding pain in her arms and shoulders, the first thing she notices is the smell of dark magic in the room resembling a prison cell. As Sophia tried to take an accounting of her situation it also dawns on her that she has no memories of why or how she came to be locked up; worse still, she has no recollection of who she is. She doesn't remember what her name is or even how old she is. The only saving grace is the silver looking key on the ground beneath her feet. Although she's hanging a few inches off the ground, it appears she may have been a gymnast, as she notices thankfully that she is able to contort her body enough to grip and raise the key using only her toes. As she finishes unlocking herself from the chains she hears the noises of the two approaching men she can only assume are her gaolers.

Its then that she notices the next most important thing, for as they near her room a hunger calls out savagely from a fire in her belly; demanding that she latch on to them and devour their magic for herself. Like a vampiric need for blood, Sophia's own body screams at her to syphon away their magic and satiate her own nearly debilitating hunger until they have nothing left to give; empty husks on the floor as their life sputters out. As she hears the guards talking she hears of her special status as a prisoner and that it relates to some unknown significance of the brand burned into her upper thigh. But none of what she hears does anything to help her remember. She only knows one thing, she must escape or face the kingpin mentioned by the guards; a man who eats and devours his victims.

Once the guards leave again, Sophia begins fleeing from her imprisonment, buckling at the waste and dry heaving as she gets higher from the supposed dungeon; debilitating sensations wracking her body at the fact she'd not fed some sort of Ember within her body that's reacting to the fact that she resisted consuming the magic. Its during her escape that Sophia learns her name and the greatest clue about what she is, but not who she is; that is to say, anything more about the 'who', other than her first name. That clue comes from a fairy met in the kitchen of the castle-like place she was being held. The fairy, whilst slinking away in fear whispers one word that conjures much information advertised by the Council of Magic and their Council Inquisitors who hunt her kind: Fireborn. Sophia knew the publicity that Fireborn were supposed to be power hungry abominations. Descended from dragons, they were supposed to be addicted to the euphoria and strength gained when other magical beings directed their magic at them, only to have it absorbed with no detriment to the Fireborn. She now understands the sensationswracking her body, but she'd be damned if she was going to give in to that need. As magic is tied to the wielder's soul, when Fireborn captured and drained the victim over and over again, it was said to be torturous; the very reason why Fireborn made the horrible pinnacle of public enemy number one, and were feared ever before people got to know the person they'd see punished.

Sophia knew what the allegations of Fireborn entailed, but looking within herself she could not accept that that's who she is. Even if the evidence of the fairy's magic slung at her was absorbed, she knew deep down that she isn't the monster the Council of Magic would have people believe. She was a girl someone around the age of sixteen-years-old, being beaten and held in an evil castle. As reality dawns and she collapses to the floor, tears stinging her eyes over the situation she finds herself in, the young fairy seeks to console her. It turns out Fiona too awoke in a cell, remembering little more than her name, wearing the same brand. Her only recollections are those of fear, solitude, and sadness. At having now discovered each other and realising their shared predicament, the fact that each other are no longer entirely alone brings with it a bit more strength to resist and fight for their escape. So it is that Sophia and Fiona create a sisterhood of choice and bonding, fought for through their escape from hell. Being chosen instead of by blood, their bond stands strong and will be forever resistant to the test of time.

Eight years later the story picks up with the sisters now living in the magical city of Santa Fae for the past three years. Now employees of the Mercenary Guild, both women had normally kept moving around to ensure anonymity because of Sophia's outlawed nature, and to keep from any notice by the hunters that might be looking to return them to their old gaoler. Sophia has no memory of obtaining the requisite skills now used as an effective mercenary, but she has nonetheless found an appropriate outlet. Admittedly, mages earned a higher rate of pay but that would've drawn attention to having magical abilities, something Sophia is looking to avoid. Being sentenced to the lowest dungeons of the Black Citadel for being Fireborn was a fate she needed to avoid at any cost. For the Council also imprisoned harbourers of Fireborns, often irrespective of whether those people knew or not, a fate she must also protects her sister and friends from. The extra funds would be nice but they earned enough to live lean, and living free is the most important thing. Using her magic meant there'd eventually be someone who'd detect it's flavour, at which point they might be forced to kill in order to remain free.

Sophia is adamant that she'll prove the publicity about Fireborns wrong, if for no other then at least for herself. Its not that she doesn't experience the desire to destroy everyone she passes by, its more that she refused not to fight it. She'd tried at times early after their escape to harness the natural talents of being Fireborn, those of an elemental mage. But after a few disastrous attempts she'd given up for safety's sake. So now her repertoire included enchanted weapons and some serious ass-kicking instead of mimicking the magic she could absorb and the power of earth, air, fire and water. As long as Fiona used her fairy magic well, then between them they had almost all things covered that they needed to get the job done. But as you might expect, if you stay in the one place too long, working for a boss who's aim it was to create the contacts with the highest paying jobs, then at some point it becomes inevitable that your paths might cross with the sorts of people you'd been living your life in ways to prevent their fears from happening. So it is that Roger, operator of the Mercenary Guild in Santa Fae, is approached by the most powerfully equipped family representative from the Council, Adam Pierce.

He is dangerous for so many more reasons than just his family's connection to the seat of power in the supernatural world. Sure, he had the washboard abs, cut and bulging muscles, chiseled face, deep eyes, and the sort of mage powers that move mountains and demolish whole cities. And whilst his enormous well of magic screams at Sophia's Fireborn Ember to be absorbed, it's flavour screams out to what feels like her very soul. As Roger forces her to take a seat at his office desk Sophia can do nothing but deliberate on the ways she can escape without drawing attention; taking any job, irrespective of the pay, that involved working with or for the Pierce's can only lead to everything her life has been shaped by and designed to avoid for as long as she can remember. Seeing as her boss's door was open and he and Adam were awaiting her, all Sophia could do was "to get through this meeting, go home, and throw up". By the end of said meaning, Sophia is contracted to find a missing magical artefact not found when Sophia and Fiona caught the perp, Cyrus, earlier that same day. Working with any Pierce is a surefire bet to end up on that trip to the Black Citadel. However, with the choice already made for her, there is an outcome later learnt of, that the artifact may be associated with a user in her's and Fiona's past. Having already detected what most mages cannot, that Sophia has some type of tantalising magic the Pierce's have nether encounted before, Adam is determined to stick to her like glue. In an ideal world Sophia would take up the offers plied on her, but if she does there's a better than average chance he'll work out what she is.

Sophia has that totally appealing way of seeing the world. The naughty and nice of the Pierce brothers show another side to their writer's way of seeing the world as well. If imagining how thoughts are made for the characters of any book then its possible to infer some of the ways their author sees the world as well. The snide and quick witted dialogue is one of the ways it can be achieved in Hidden Magic. There is a significant amount of hilarity built into the specific use of words, and how either their innuendos or alternate spelling makes them funny in the ways they're used herein. For example, Adam says he is going with Sophia on the job because he is very hands on. Sophia asks what being handsome has to do with anything; Adam thanks her for the compliment and reiterates in italics that its 'hands on'.

This is just one of many frequent play-on-words that suggest Ashley is a bit of a word wizard in her writing techniques. Whilst Sophia's around people, something I imagine she's less practiced in than others because of the need to maintain passing anonymity, the number of smiles on a reader's face is a notable experience of the story. Its just too easy to fall in love with Sophia's innocence, which contrasts sharply with her chosen profession and the things she's been called on to do. Perhaps its the juxtaposition of the two that creates the splendour of her interactions with most other characters. Thick with one liners the story provides many moments of comic relief. The nature of Sophia is bound to collect a significant reader following in any who come across the Magic Touched Series. Having read the Spire Chronicles I already knew of the quality of Ashley's material. But for readers who haven't then Hidden Magic is a perfect introductory novel sure to create an author following as well.

Taking a chance, or any chance, on someone after a life of clamming up and keeping your inner self hidden from public and private eyes is an enormous step: but its the very step Sophia needs most, and fears most. To Adam, he sees a vivacious and extremely capable beautiful woman he can see nothing untoward enough to explain the ways Sophia goes about interacting with the world. In a totally enticing way she thus becomes a beguiling puzzle to solve. Fiona knows all too well the how's and the why's, and although she's understanding of it, she nonetheless wishes with all her heart and soul that Sophia can find the strength to let go. Despite this, it is very hard for any person, save perhaps another Fireborn, other than Sophia to fully comprehend the dynamics and forces at play which prevent her metaphorical leap into unknown waters. Perhaps the saddest observations detail the ways by which Sophia's life has been utterly and completely affected by the heritage she holds in secret, despite not living in the ways of a Fireborn as seen by archaic prejudices. Surely its understandable that in many, if not the majority, cases Fireborns end up taking the mantle society puts them on. Its all to often that if you call and see a heart as a spade, the heart grows up being a spade. It is these and a plethora of other factors that lead a reader to know the story is more than just a novel, its an analogy for certain difficulties of real life! If you enjoyed Ella Summers Dragon Gift: The Huntress Series then make sure you read this, and whilst your at it, get stuck into the Spire Chronicles as well.

Really great

What a great read If you haven't read the spire chronicles there easily as good as this book, I love the dynamic they. Have going on Sophia and Adam can't wait to see how it plays out I'd recommend this to any UF/PNR fan,so excited for the next one, please don't take too life long

Wow new song and dance

fresh, funny and suspenseful, what nore could we ask for? Delightful smart mouthed characters, Ollies found sounds yummy and there are a bunch of hot men and side mysteries tio boot...

The Past can be haunting

I've read several stories by this author and she continues to entertain me with her amazing ability to create awesome stories that allow me to dwell in her Worlds so I can escape the real one.

The characters are very believable and have the right amount of snarkiness, faults of all kinds, but always seems to go beyond to help others. The flow was smooth and steady with loads of action throughout the story.

Now imagine waking up chained in a dark room having no memory of how you got there. No memories of who you are, but knows what you are..Fireborn. This is the ability to absorb all magic. Abby will escape and finds another who she will take with her. They both will make a life together some eight years later. Working as mercs they will meet all kinds of magical beings. This life will ultimately bring them closer to finding answers about their past.

Want to know more? Then get the book, read it and then you will know. I've already got the second book in the series to find out what's happening next.

I would recommend this story for all readers who love urban fantasy with supernatural aspects.

I chose to review this story on my own.

Happy Reading!

It does have a fast pace and makes a good read.

However, this book seems to have a lot of the Ella Summer’s FireBorn series (with Saraphina and Alexandra) as well as elements of Lindsay Hall’s Fire Soul series and wraps it up with characters reminiscent of those from the Ilona Andrews Kate Daniels series. Since I loved those sets, and have most of the books in the sets and spin-offs, it does stand to reason I would like these.
I particularly like the tension between Sophia and Adam, the mental as well as the sexual. It makes a story mean more to me when there is s tension and a mystery and the book is not just sex scenes or swinging swords. It’s not easy to keep a book at a fast and easy pace while inserting a meaty background. This book does it making it, in my opinion, a good book to read.

Sophia is a mercenary and also happens to be Fireborn. She and her sister, Fiona work and live together, taking care of one another. Adam hires Sophia for a mission and insists that he tag along.
He also just happens to be a Phoenix.

I really loved this book. Sophia and Fiona are both so strong and loyal to one another. Yet they call the other on their crap the way only your closest family/friends will do. I can't wait to read the next book and hopefully learn more about their early childhoods as well.

I voluntarily and honestly reviewed this advance reader copy and was not compensated in any way.

Hidden Magic is the start of a new series by the amazing Ashley Meira. The main character, Sophia, is currently employed as a mercenary along with her sister Fiona. She is a quick witted, smart mouthed, kickass girl with a secret. I hate getting spoilers so I am not going to give any, but you have got to read this. If you liked Ms. Meira’s previous series, you will love this one. I can’t wait for the next book.

Yes yes yes!

I'm a huge fan and I'm an even bigger one after this book! I love her other series but this one has to be my favorite. I don't ha e a bad word to say, no critiques or things I wish would have or hadn't happened. It was perfect. The tension between Sophia and Adam was perfect, the sisterhood was perfect, the friends were perfect and the evil was perfect! Did I mention this book was perfect?

The story was a great read. I couldn't put it down. The magic was fun and two of my favorite mythological creatures was in it--or at least one was and the other mentioned. The interactions between the characters was entertaining, especially the flirting. The story has a bit of mystery in it which kept me wanting more and since not all was answered in this book I will definitely be reading the next.

Loved it

This was a fantastic book...lots of action, kickass characters, great storyline and a little romance,can't wait for the next book..

😻

That was actually refreshing! A whole lot of mystery with a lot of good snark and humor. The interactions between characters is very good! Def will read more!

Sooooooo good!

Do yourself a favor and read this now!!! Such a fantastic start to a series. I can't wait to read more. Sophia is a delight, seriously funny and a bit sparky.

I admit the cover caught my eye at first but finding out it was about a woman with no childhood memory who has to hide what she is while forced to work with a guy that is rich, sexy, powerful and would most likely turn her in as a criminal if he knew what she was definitely snagged me. The constant battle between her attraction to him and trying to push him away so he can't find out was fun to read about. Also tossed in is a brewing conflict with the people from her mysterious past that both lure her so she can find out about herself and scare her to death. Such a great mix of conflicts wrapped up in often snarky dialog had me turning the pages and there was never a dull moment.

The side character, Fiona, is a faery and has her own mojo like portals and faery beams. She was also a captive with the heroine and they bonded as 'sisters' when they managed to escape and have been living together, trying to scrape up enough to live on by being mercenaries for hire. They work well together and have some really fun, snarky back and forth like you'd imagine two good friends would have.

The hero, a phoenix shifter, is good looking, rich, and powerful. At first he comes off as arrogant but as the story delves into his character you find a man who gives to the community and is loyal and definitely swoon worthy. Hence part of the trouble our heroine has with him. She's attracted to him not just because of lust but because he's a nice guy. But since he's part of a powerful family on the magic council, he'd either have to turn her in or suffer serious consequences for hiding her if he ever found out her secret. I felt pretty bad for him because he wants to date her and she has to constantly avoid him or tell him no to protect him. But he doesn't know that. It gave the story a great sub-conflict.

The magic system is pretty much based on elements, nothing life altering here. Though we don't learn a whole lot, I expect the next book will get into it more. Same with the world building - pretty much our world but with magical people tossed in. I liked some of the additions like Santa Fae - a city for faeries. Some thought went into the idea of how magical people would live in with non-magical people and there was a nice mixed breed side character that had some depth to him. It was subtle but I liked it.

With all the conflicts going on the book was never boring. It had plenty of fights as well as character building moments. The fight descriptions were also decent and our heroes didn't just mow down the enemies, it took work and sometimes quick thinking, and sometimes running away. I enjoyed the snark-talk during and after the fights. The villains were left rather mysterious except for one drug addicted mage. He was pretty one dimensional but the masked woman more than made up for that. It was left up in the air as to how into the evil machinations she was. We'll have to discover more in the next book.

The only real negative for me was the ending. It left off with the bad guys winning and the good guys accomplishing little other than learning more than they knew going in. However, it did force the heroine to make a difficult choice which will set up what she'll be doing in the next book.

Overall, if you enjoy urban fantasy with a side of romance, you'll enjoy this story. Just know that you'll definitely want the next book!

This is another example of a pretty entertaining first book in a series that plummets in quality.
The biggest problems were exaggerated emotions. A sad thought is usually accompanied by intense crying, happiness is usually expressed as extreme giddiness, etc. It's just way too much.
In the first book, it's still tolerable all in all but in the second one, this issue becomes much worse.
Together with already extremely corny scenes, this becomes a cringe-worthy gathering of clichées.
Just be warned. If you are on the fence about this after you read the first book. Just don't continue. It gets so much worse.

If you are looking for grey and nuanced characters this is not the book for you. While calling them two-dimensional is maybe a bit harsh, they aren't particularly complex by any means.
The book initially seems to aim for at least some ambiguity in morality but that's just a setup for very naive and forceful lecturing about prejudice, friendship, loyalty, and all that stuff without even a grain of subtlety which leaves very little space for moral colors beyond black and white.

The series reads very much like YA with many of its worst flaws.

Something less important that somewhat annoyed me was the missing smut tbh. The book has no problems with characters talking dirty and conjuring all kinds of fantasies.
They smolder, they melt, they kiss, they lick and touch and rub and all the things but there are no actual bedroom scenes. They are just skipped and the protagonists talk about them afterward, teasing each other. I very much felt left out. It's really weird because the series is very forward about intimacy and sex otherwise. I don't think even PNR necessarily needs smut but it very much depends on the rest of the story. If you explicitly tease sexual intimacy for hundreds of pages I think it's reasonable to expect actual smut eventually.

The world itself seems very interesting (much more interesting and complex than most UF) but the magic system, despite being very soft by design, doesn't hold up to scrutiny and regularly changes its rules to perpetuate the plot.

Beyond the inconsistencies in the magic, I can't really tell if the worldbuilding really is as extensive as it seems or if the author just exceeds at hiding its shallowness and is just making most of the stuff up on the spot. Considering how many books are planned for this universe, it might really be as well-planned as it seems.

this feels REALLY similar to a series i've already read "Ancient Magic (Dragon's Gift: The Huntress, #1)" or "Mercenary Magic (Dragon Born Serafina, #1)" and i love those series so i don't know how to feel about this book... if this didnt feel like such a carbon copy of them i wouldnt think twice about giving it 4/5 stars - its in my favourites as i'm trying not to let that interfere but until i decide how i feel i'm leaving it unrated... i mean its not just a couple similar themes as most genres have repeating plots or troped but its like the same book with a few details changed and even then its more surface stuff then any deep or story altering changes... i'm left with an underlying icky feeling yet i really love the book like i did the older series, at first i thought i had read this and forgot to mark it as read or maybe it was by the same author but no ... just super alike. hmmm.

putting that on the backburner for the minute - the book made me laugh out loud quite a few times which not a lot of books or authors manage to achieve. the author is definitely good at an effortless writing that pulls you in, and entertains you if i hadnt been thinking of the fact that "hidden magic" was more like "ancient magic" than i could believe fireborn/dragonsoul rich powerful hot dude hires merc, merc with amnesia who would be killed, escapes with female who becomes her sister - has same personalities same world, same missions, same character development, in fact i struggle to find a great deal of difference even the title & cover look like they belong in the same series. ahh i feel like i owe it to the story to at least give it a second chance... after all its not like popular books/ideas arent often copied or reconstructed hollywood remakes & parodies things almost religiously. i often end up reading a series and imagining it in my own style with some adjustments or additions so fingers crossed for the series! at the very least i got some laughs & a new writer to follow!

Good

Sophia is fireborne, a magical type that actually absorbs magic, and that is something automatically incarcerated just for existing.
The thing is, that’s about all Sophia remembers about herself. At the age of sixteen, she and her best friend Fiona, escape from the clutches of someone evil. They don’t know who they are, they don’t remember why they were there, they just know that they need to escape, so they do, and become mercenaries.
When a case involving a missing artifact comes up, Adam Pierce, son of one of the council members, asks Sophia to get involved.
The case takes them all over the world, facing dangerous enemies, and powerful magic.

This is the first book in a series, with a strong, if distrustful, heroine, and a strong, and dedicated hero. The romance is fairly slow burn, and in this book it’s pretty clean.
The pacing of the story is well done, very action packed, and if the globe trotting seemed a little excessive, I guess we can blame the magic!
While the book didn’t end on a cliffhanger, it did end with an unfinished story, continued in other books.
This is an urban fantasy, so would be suitable for those who enjoy urban fantasy, and heroines that fight with more than just magic!

Wonderfully different

Here is some text from Ashey Meira at the close of TOUCHED BY MAGIC:DRAGON BOOK 1
"It’s a case of “guy saves girl” but also “girl saves guy.” He needs her as much as she needs him. I hope I can do their relationship justice with these books."
This is such a refreshing change from most authors where all the characters are completely good or completely bad. I loved this books. It was fillwith lots of unexpected quirky characters that I'd love to knw more about
And finally my standard comment to all authors, PLEASE consider the reader when naming your characters. Cate, Cade, and Conway (no relationship to this book)are wonderful namesIt’s a case of “guy saves girl” but also “girl saves guy.” He needs her as much as she needs him. I hope I can do their relationship justice with these books. just like Sue, Sally and Sindy, however they only contribute to a slow and sometimes confusing start to any great book. Please add some memorable variation to the names of your characters. Anyway that's my soapbox. Not directed to Ms.Meira, just fiction writers in general.

I liked the story for what it was. The problem is I had a hard time believing it. I had a hard time buying into the relationship between our protagonist and Adam. Adam is supposed to be a CEO from a highly refined family but comes across as a teenager with raging hormones. As a matter of fact almost all of the characters come across as teenagers with raging hormones. Not to mention that when the stakes are high (like when their lives are on the line) I get pulled........... no yanked out of the story when even the characters don't take the situation seriously and start talking about things that are not related to the situation at hand. Another issue I had was the fact that only a few characters had a distinct voice. Sophia had a distinct voice, Symeon also had a distinct voice. But almost all the rest of the characters all sound the same. As if they are the same person speaking. I think the story has promise but I just can't take it seriously when the characters themselves don't take things seriously. OH AND THE IDEAS ARE SIMILAR TO LINSEY HALL, ELLA SUMMERS BOOKS!

Where to begin…I enjoyed the story, but it was deja uv…have read this book before??? Nope…But let me just say it was almost identical to a book I read in August of this year. So much so that I knew what was going to happen, there were absolutely no surprises  some small things were changed but not enough to make an original story. Relationships were the same, personalities were the same, plot was the same ect…..
I still gave it 3 stars, because I do like the story, and I’m hoping the next book will be original.
Hidden Magic was published January 23, 2017 the other book was published April 4, 2016…..

Barely made it through this book. While I totally dug the background and potential for interesting pasts for the lead characters, the male characters were creepy as hell. I have listened to plenty of urban fantasy, but never one that was so cringe-worthy that I needed a shower after. Here's a quick litmus test: if you supplanted the leading man's lecherous personality into that of an average or less-handsome man and he comes of creepy as f*ck? Then he is still creepy as f*ck. Being drop dead gorgeous is no excuse for being a handsy douchebag with no real personality. C'mon ladies, aren't we trying to teach men to be better and teach women to expect more?

dnf

What is this.

The first chapter, really the prologue was so boring. So many words to explain so little. I got it the first time, fireborns are bad.
And the memories nit being there is so convenient. So overdone and boring. I should have stopped there.

But as train wrecks go you can stay and watch it burn or walk away. I really thought maybe it would salvage. It didn’t.

When you start skimming chapter 2 then you know that it’s not for you.

I immediately dnf any book that has poor editing.

“Petty? Me? I managed stole from the most powerful families in the world. Their security systems make the Pentagon look” what is this. Managed stole … come on.