Sophia Rose Reviews - Lost Talismans and a Tequila by Annette Marie

 

Lost Talismans and a Tequila by Annette Marie

#8 Guild Codex: Spellbound

Urban Fantasy

Publisher:  Dark Owl Fantasy

Published:  7.10.20

Pages:  346

Rating: 5 stars

Format: ebook

Source:  KU borrow

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: GoodReads 

GoodReads Synopsis:

You know that squirmy sensation in your gut when you have no idea what you're doing and you're about to screw everything up?

Yeah, that feeling.

I thought I was a good judge of character, but recent events proved me very wrong. Now, in a brilliant demonstration of my newfound caution, I'm putting all my faith in a demon--a demon who's tried to kill me before. The squirmy feeling is making sense, right?

Unfortunately, I don't have any other options. Ezra's time is almost up, which means I need answers and I need them fast. So it's time to toughen up, pack my gear, and find me one of the most illegal, reviled, and scarce mythics out a demon-mage summoner.

And all I have to do is follow a demon's instructions on where to look. How could that go wrong?

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

Talk about your tough life and death decisions, Tori is up against a few, for sure.  Does she tell Ezra the whole truth about her plans including how she feels?  Does she take others like Robin who knows an awful lot about a certain forbidden subject into her confidence?  Does she trust an outsider, nearly an enemy, to help?  And, does she give her brother a second chance to stomp on her heart?  Annette Marie has up the stakes exponentially in Lost Talismans and a Tequila as Tori and her friends get closer to the mega-watt powerful enemy lurking in the shadows and nearly ready to deploy his plan.

 

Lost Talismans and a Tequila is book eight in the Guild Codex: Spellbound series and the twelfth book in the Guild Codex Universe.  As I’ve mentioned (a few times) before, reading all the Guild Codex series as one is the best way to experience this urban fantasy series- especially now with Tori and Robin’s storylines tangling so closely.  Lost Talismans and a Tequila takes place during Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped (#3 Demonized).

 

To quote Dylan Thomas, Tori is determined to not let Ezra ‘go gentle into that quiet night’.  She will do what it takes to separate him and the demon in a way that saves Ezra for sure.  The demon inside him is willing to cooperate because he wants to live and go free, too.  But, convincing Ezra and his friends about this?  That’s not such an easy sell- okay, it explodes things sending Tori and Aaron off hunting down a possibility from a clue in Ezra’s past when he was turned into a demon mage and sends Ezra to really decide if he’s going to simply give up or horn in on Robin’s hunt for a certain demon contractor to find his own answers.

 

Tori is joined by a surprising new ally that she isn’t sure she wants around after he hurt her so badly, but her brother’s presence is nothing to the Keys of Solomon earth mage whom she and Aaron can’t seem to shake.  And, if anyone ever told her that she’d tolerate Kai’s ‘keeper’ ahem, fiancée along for the hunt, she’d punch the person in the face. 

 

Soon enough, their hunt takes a killer turn and she’s glad for any and every heavy hitter on the team when Ezra’s past is alive and well and has been insidiously lurking in the shadows ready to spring a horrific evil plan.

 

In the past, when Tori got mopey about being the ‘weak, human, sad sack’, I got frustrated with her for her pity parties.  She has another relapse in that direction, but this time, I was moved with compassion because her issues are coming from a need to protect her friends and keep them all, especially Ezra out of harm.  After losing all her powerful artifacts in the last big confrontation with villains, she is particularly vulnerable with only a few potions, her fairy companion, and the weird demon artifact she picked up at a fight scene.  I loved how her brother came alongside and bolstered her into realizing that human is what she is, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a valued member of the team- after all, her stubbornness got them this far.

 

I loved this one from cover to cover with both the action and relationship plots taut with suspense and full of all sorts of amazing page-devouring scenes.  I couldn’t put it down and now I am itching for what comes next.

 

 

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.

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GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose