A Damsel and a Demigod by Annette Marie, narrated by Nelson Hobbs
#.5 Guild Codex: Spellbound or #4.5 Guild Codex world
Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Published: 10.13.20
Time: 2 hours 29 minutes
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: audio
Source: Library borrow
Sellers: Amazon
ADD TO: GoodReads
GoodReads Synopsis:
Only one thing matters to Kai: getting the job done, and doing it better than anyone else.
But when a beautiful thief crashes his security gig, claiming she's trying to protect the valuable artifact he's guarding, all his careful plans go up in flames. He doesn't believe a word she says—until the item is stolen right out from under them.
Recovering the artifact before the real thief can unleash its ancient magic requires insider knowledge—information the mysterious trespasser possesses. Teaming up with a stranger isn't Kai's idea of smart, but he'll need all the help he can get to take on a notorious rogue and arcane power from the time of the gods.
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This novella can be read as part of The Guild Codex: Spellbound series, as an introduction to The Guild Codex world, or as a standalone adventure. All proceeds from its sale will be donated to youth and youth literacy charities!
Originally published in the limited-time charity anthology, Love Potion.
Sophia Rose's Review:
On a security job with Aaron and Ezra, Kai is guarding an artifact exhibit and his team is on the outside perimeter. This leaves him poised to intercept when he captures a would-be thief. Only, she swears she isn’t a thief and is there to prevent a theft. This leads to Kai getting an adventure with this mysterious damsel and the demigod they are tracking.
Though time-wise, A Damsel and a Demigod is the second prequel in the Guild Codex: Spellbound series, I was glad to read it until well along in the series after the first four books. I’m sure this is good at introducing the series just fine in a limited way, but I got so much more out of it after reading Demon Magic and a Martini when the Guild Codex Spellbound world and the principal pair, Kai and Izzah, along with his friends/partners Aaron and Ezra, were already known to me and I could appreciate this first Kai and Izzah encounter all the more.
A Damsel and a Demigod is from the stoic and controlled, yet powerful elemental mage, Kai’s point of view. Not much of his background or the background of the Guild Codex world is delved into- that’s why I recommend reading after Demon Magic and a Martini where more is known of him and why he is the way he is. As to Izzah, her background is given more here since she has to explain away her amateurish, bumbling attempt to break past security to ‘save the Greek mythological artifact from the real thief’.
Izzah is a rookie water mage just taken on by her guild so they leave her at home for this important job hired to partner with a few other guilds like Kai’s Crow and Hammer to guard the magical artifact from the infamous and wanted thief Icarus. She knows from her interest in astro-mystical studies that this is the night this artifact can be powered to its greatest strength which can then be wielded by the possessor. The artifact has to be powered by all four elemental magics- water, earth, fire, and air.
Her story checks out and Kai takes a chance by splitting so Ezra and Aaron can check out some of the elemental power nexus around the city while he and Izzah take the ones she’s researched and believes are the most powerful.
She tries being disdainful and superior because she has some book knowledge right up until she learns fieldwork can be scary, demanding, and very dangerous which makes her drop the attitude and rely on Kai against a formidable opponent who is clever and has some nasty tricks up his sleeve.
The focus is the need to thwart the thief, but also gives Kai and Izzah a chance to learn to respect each other’s skills and gel as a partnership with a low buzz of attraction building in the background. A Damsel and a Demigod is a shorter piece and covers only one night. It ends with little resolved except the mission they were on. I thought there would be more and stronger hints of a romance, but that must come gradually after this first dramatic meet-cute.
Nelson Hobbs was a first-time narrator for me, but I liked the way he voiced Kai and brought this character’s personality further to life for me. He did a pretty good job with Izzah and the overall story, too.
All in all, for fans of the series, this was a fun early adventure in the pre-Tori times and I was glad to be inside Kai’s head and get more of his motivations and feelings.
Author Bio:
Annette Marie is the best-selling author of over thirty books, including the expansive urban fantasy series The Guild Codex, epic urban fantasy series Steel & Stone, and romantic fantasy trilogy Red Winter.
A 2015 Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist in Fantasy and an Amazon Charts Bestseller, Annette has sold over 2 million books. Her books have been translated into French, German, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian, with readers coming back again and again for her addictive blend of fast-paced adventure, tantalizing forbidden romance, and unforgettable characters.
Annette lives in the frozen winter wasteland of Alberta, Canada (okay, it’s not quite that bad) with her husband and their furry minions of darkness. When not writing, she can be found elbow-deep in her garden or an art project while blissfully ignoring all adult responsibilities.
To find out more about Annette and her books, visit www.annettemarie.ca
Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose
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