Saturday, February 24, 2018

3.5 stars-- Veiled Magic (Veiled Magic #1) by Deborah Blake

A new urban fantasy series by one of my favorite authors? Yes, please! Veiled Magic definitely caught my attention and was a fun time as a ragtag group of misfit paranormals are tasked with, well, saving the world.
The Gist: Donata's a bit bored at work. All her time is spent in the precinct basement and, well, she's ready to spread her wings as a cop and get out in the field. And then one minute you're talking to a dead man like normal and then ya find yourself stealing an enchanted painting with the help of two hunky yet damaged men and on the run from, well, everyone other than them. :facepalm: Yeah. Be careful what you wish for.

I enjoyed Donata and her men. She's determined to do the right thing and doesn't back down from chaos thrown in her way. And the men are oh so tempting. Peter's a somewhat broody and reclusive art forger and just finding out that he's maybe kinda a dragon. And Magnus is a shifter trying to keep his beast from taking over. He may be all smiles but he's got an inner wildness. All three are so different from one another but worked well as a team. I liked seeing their mission light a fire in each of them and spur them on where some tough personal choices were concerned.

There's a slight potential love triangle with tiny teases of potential with both men and one fade to black sex scene. But nothings too grrr argy with the triangle at this point.

There's a lot of on the run action as they try to figure out the mystery behind the painting and the danger it holds and simultaneously avoid a fanatical human group and a paranormal council who both want the painting for their own. Lots of threats, betrayals and such that kept things exciting and lively.
The call from the Chief, late on their first day at the monastery, didn't go much better.

He said, "I suppose you know your apartment building burned to the ground." She said something clever like, "Um, yeah, I saw it on the news." He then countered with, "I suppose you know what you're doing," to which she she answered, "Oh, I seriously doubt it."
I did have a couple small hitches. I found myself skimming some of the magical bits. I'm just not into spell casting and that was a bit dull for me. And the ending didn't totally work for me as far as the final showdown was concerned. But teasers for book two may change my opinion on that. Hard to know.

All in all, though, a good time was had and I enjoyed checking out one of Blake's earlier works. Veiled Magic was an exciting taste of Blake's newly released world and has me ready for more.
Since Witches came out of the broom-closet in the early 21st century, they have worked alongside humans as police officers, healers, stock traders, and more. But they aren’t the only paranormal entities in our world…

Police officer and Witch Donata Santori spends her days interrogating dead witnesses by summoning their spectral forms. Normally the job is little more than taking statements and filing reports. But when she’s called in on the case of a murdered art restorer, she finds herself suddenly in possession of a mystical portrait that both the human and paranormal communities would kill to get their hands on.

Unable to take on the forces hunting her alone, Donata seeks help from two unlikely and attractive allies: a reluctant shape-changer and a half-dragon art forger. But as the three of them hurry to uncover the truth about the powerful painting, Donata realizes that she’s caught in the middle of not one but two wars—one for possession of the painting’s secrets and one for possession of her heart…
Amazon | Goodreads | Blake on HCBS
 
*covers link to Amazon


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