Industrial Magic (Women of the Otherworld #4) by Kelley Armstrong + giveaway

"In the aftermath of her mother's murder, Paige broke with the elite, ultraconservative American Coven of Witches. Now her goal is to start a new Coven for a new generation. But while Paige pitches her vision to uptight thirty-something witches in business suits, a more urgent matter commands her attention.

Someone is murdering the teenage offspring of the underworld's most influential Cabals—a circle of families that makes the mob look like amateurs. And none is more powerful than the Cortez Cabal, a faction Paige is intimately acquainted with. Lucas Cortez, the rebel son and unwilling heir, is none other than her boyfriend. But love isn't blind, and Paige has her eyes wide open as she is drawn into a hunt for an unnatural-born killer. Pitted against shamans, demons, and goons, it's a battle chilling enough to make a wild young woman grow up in a hurry. If she gets the chance."

Type: Urban Fantasy, Witches
Heat: 1 out of 4
Rating: 3 out of 5

Industrial Magic had so many good things going for it. Armstrong created a richly intriguing world filed with action, danger, and an interesting mystery that will keep you guessing on the who and whys of it all. I loved that this time we got to delve into the oh-so-twisted family life of Lucas and were given a horrifying glimpse into the different Cabals (think sorcerer mob families) as Paige and Lucas help his semi-estranged father investigate attacks against Cabal teenagers. The Cabals were both fascinating and frustrating all at the same time. Filled with men who have terrifying powers, few morals and are more inclined to bicker like teenagers than work together to stop the senseless and brutal attack against their children. It really was an interesting storyline. 



The secondary characters were fabulous. The investigation into the attacks brought television psychic Jaime Vegas into the mix and I was so digging her character. She's wild, a little out there and being haunted by one scary ass spook. Cassandra the vampire was back again and I loved finding out more about what makes her tick. She never sugar coats things and says exactly what she's thinking which I just love. Armstrong incorporated these ladies into the investigation beautifully and gave you just enough to leave you wanting more.

Then there's Paige and Lucas. Man, do I love these two. They're just geeky magical perfection. They're relationship/romance isn't all hot and heavy and really there's very little sex involved in the book even though they're very much a couple. But the two are charming together. You can see how much they care about each other, how much fun they have together and how they want to take care of one another. They're comfortable and sweet and I just love getting little bits of their relationship.

I snatched the scroll from him, unwound and read it. "So how are we doing this? Straight-up spell-casting? Or fun and games?" 

"Do you need to ask? The decision, though, should really be yours. If you're too tired, or too sore--" 

"Oh, I feel fine." I grinned. "Fine enough, anyway. Strip spell-casting okay?" 

"Better than okay." He looked down at my kimono. "Although you would appear to be at an initial disadvantage." 

"You arguing?" 

A slow grin as he pulled me to him. "No, not at all."

Alright so why only 3 stars if I loved the characters, the plot and so much about the book? Honestly because my attention span just flat out gave up about 2/3rds of the way through. The investigation had them constantly changing locations, briefly introducing new characters and settings and then had them on the move again to repeat it all over again in a new locale (I quit counting at the 9th cross country flight). After a while the book ended up feeling tedious instead of entertaining despite all of the wonderful aspects of it. Still though I loved getting to spend time with Paige and Lucas and getting to meet a couple new characters that will hopefully show up more in the future and with a lot less travel involved.

Find Your Copy:   Amazon    Barnes&Noble    

Have you read Kelley Armstrong before? Have a favorite character? Ever read a book that would have been fantastic if it wasn't quite so long? 

Yeeah. This one had absolutely nothing to do with Christmas so we're gonna give out gifties since that's pretty Christmasy :) 

One USED copy of BITTEN (book 1) is up for grabs. 

Giveaway is International and open until 7/31

Just leave a comment and a way to reach you!