Dark Arts and a Daiquiri by Annette Marie
#2 Guild Codex: Spellbound
Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Self-Published
Published: 11.16.18
Pages: 308
Rating: 4.5 stars
Format: ebook
Source: KU borrow
Sellers: Amazon
ADD TO: GoodReads
GoodReads Synopsis:
When I found myself facing down the scariest black-magic felon in the city, practically daring him to abduct me, I had to wonder exactly how I ended up here.
It all started when I accidentally landed a job as a bartender--but not at a bar. At a guild, populated by mages, sorcerers, alchemists, witches, and psychics. Good thing this lame-o human is adaptable, right?
Then my favorite guild members--three sexy, powerful, and intermittently charming mages--asked for my help. Did they want access to my encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails? Oh no. They wanted to wrap me up in a pretty ribbon and plunk me in the crosshairs of a murderous rogue to lure him out of hiding.
So that's what we did. And that's why I'm here. About to be kidnapped. Oh, and our grand plan for safely capturing said murderous rogue? Yeah, that completely fell apart about two minutes ago.
Why did I agree to this again?
--
Note: The three mages are definitely sexy, but this series isn't a reverse harem. It's 100% fun, sassy, fast-paced urban fantasy.
Sophia Rose's Review:
Tori is starting to settle in as bartender at the Crow and Hammer, including finding her own digs with the steady income she has now. Her new best buds have a tricky bounty-hunting gig, capturing a shadowy figure named The Ghost who has a dark rap sheet a mile long and they want Tori to put herself forward as bait.
Annette Marie’s compelling urban fantasy series The Guild Codex: Spellbound continues with book two Dark Arts and a Daiquiri building on the world, characters, and relationships established in book one.
Tori, “a mere human” is going undercover for Aaron, Kai, and Ezra’s latest bounty hunting gig. Normally, she’d have to pass as only guild members can work these, but the haunted eyes of the missing teen girl The Ghost has taken compel her to dive into this one. Her role is to pretend to be a homeless teen and hang about the teen center where Nadine was last seen and they suspect one of the workers tipped off The Ghost. That’s a cinch because Tori just has to draw on her own past history to make the character she portrays feel real.
The plan works all too well and goes awry leaving Tori in the Ghost’s hands far from the other’s reach. She has to rely on her own resourcefulness to survive and make her way back. Things definitely took a big twist and Tori is in the thick of things once again.
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri have some wonderful surprise twists that I don’t want to address so readers can experience it for themselves so I’m going to be vague and skip some big elements in this story as a result. Not to fear, I will at least say that its tension-filled with a nail-biter climax. Tori and the three mages are at it again. But, in between, I loved seeing Tori’s personal story and a little about the guys get sketched in. Her past was not good and she’s been letting it dictate her life until now to bad effect. She showed some real healing and growth as a result of events in this one. I can’t wait to see how she continues to grow over the long haul of the series.
And, exciting additions to the Guild Codex world are introduced. There aren’t just magic users out there. Tori encounters a fae scaring people away from the house she wants to rent and it was fun seeing how this was dealt with.
I’m excited to press forward for more adventures for Tori and friends and see where the more expanded worldbuilding takes things. Urban Fantasy lovers really need to put this series on the reading list.
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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