"Cursed Magic" (Rejected Fate Trilogy Book 2)

                               by Jen L. Grey 

Review by Katy Grant

 

 In trying the free Ember’s sister, Briar, from her captors Ryker was wounded and is quickly bleeding out. They need to escape to heal their wounds but with the Shadow beings closing in on them Ember fears none of them will make it out alive.  In hopes of saving Ryker and the others she orders them to head for the cars while she stays behind to fight off the Shadows.  Suddenly a shrill whistle sounds and the Shadows start to retreat. With some help from Raven’s vampires, they make it back to the vampire’s strong hold, but all are injured.

There has been a balance in the supernatural world with vampires, shifters and witches normally not mixing. With the attacks upon the wolf shifters, and so many lives lost, there is fear it won’t stop with them. With a tentative alliance between the vampires and wolves another ally comes forward. The Shae pack has also been violently attacked losing many of their people. Bruce, their alpha, has come to ask to join them, offering his help. They need a plan to stop these creatures, learn who they are and the reasons behind the attacks.

 It all seemed to start with Reid Blackwood’s rejection of Ember. They are certain the Blackwood pack is behind the attacks with the help of a witch using spells. However, in spite of their alliance with Queen Ambrosia and her vampires there are some vampires that make Ember uncomfortable. There appear to be no outright lies or overt actions but a feeling that something isn’t right. And while she wants to trust Ryker, since they have grown closer, he is hiding something too. So much mistrust, uncertainty, feelings that Ember is struggling to deal with when it comes to Ryker. In several instances Ember finds herself in control of magic she wasn’t aware she even had. She sees Ryker’s eyes change, something others don’t seem to see, then a coldness comes over him. Also, she is the only one who can sense/feel and somewhat see a wavering image when the Shadows are close. There is a shimmering in the air, but it isn’t formed clearly enough to recognize any one shape.

 Some of the shifters and vampires are happy with their alliance. Staying ahead of the Shadows, stopping them from killing more shifters, discovering for certain who is behind all the killings and why may be the answer to survival. If Ryker’s pack members learn that he is hiding something from them, they could well lose even more who are willing to stand with them in the fight.

Traditionally, witches have kept to themselves, not wanting to get involved with the other supernaturals however, being certain that the Shadows are being cloaked by a spell means they need the help of a witch. There is such a one who owes Queen Ambrosia a favor. When a small group driven by Raven visit with the witch, they find her house in array, and she is no where to be found.

 I felt that this tale was built on hidden layers readers will peel away as the story continues but each layer hides patches of secrets, answers that can’t be attached to the right question and emotions that flow and ebb like the tide, with an occasional storm stirring up. Ryker swears that he and Ember are mates, but she can’t read him, he refuses to admit that there is a change that comes over him at times. Raven doesn’t always share information with the others as if she too is hiding something. There are truths, half-truths, lies, secrets, and mysteries while Ember and Ryker run afoul of trust in their feelings for each other.

 I felt like I was on a slip/slide with this next part of the story. Things I thought I knew turned to smoke drifting direction or did an about face. Maybe people aren’t who I thought they were. Lies can be hidden within twisted words. But through it all I still wanted to hold on to my conviction that Ryker and Ember were meant for each other even if they struggled to agree on the actions they needed to take, the half-truths they shared and those they could trust.  I am eternally grateful to Jen L Gray for giving us a softer cliffhanger this time around since I had to do a quick step to keep up with all the action and deviltry.  Things will come about, in the last book in the trilogy, I am sure.

 For myself, I am really enjoying all the action, suspense, the romance that is slowly playing out, the mystery of who and why. And in the end what is to be gained?  While the pain and heartache of all those who were lost make this a poignant tale it adds to the gauntlet of emotions that run through it.  Loaded with questions to savor, characters to befriend, to love, the need for justice and a final resolution it is not one I want to rush too quickly to an end.

 

 

 

Love, Hate & Manhattan 

       by Marcia DM

Release date March 27, 2025

Review by Katy Grant

Compelling story of feelings locked away, desire disguised as hate, becoming the nightmare that walked the high school halls and made Lauren’s school days a living perdition. While Silas Walker was the instigator, the tormentor, he was the leader others followed.

It had taken years of therapy and distance from the teen who had overshadowed her last years at school to find the confidence, the drive to complete her education that would get her the job she so desired. It was the experience she needed that would make it possible to open her own business in real estate. Taking her ideas and plans for solutions to build more environmentally friendly structures in her city, she only needed the right person to listen to her. She had set her sights a job working at the most prodigious real estate business in New York. Becoming an assistant to the CEO of Property Group was her dream job. Or at least it was until she came face to face with the CEO, Silas Walker, the relentless bully who had hung a target on her back in high school. The minute she saw him she realized that he had recognized her too. Turning, she walked out without saying a word. Silas had known the minute he’d seen her name on the application who she was, and he wasn’t going to let her walk away from him. Not again.

And so, follows a tale told from both Lauren and Silas’s alternating point of view with a few flashbacks to their years in high school. On the surface during those years Silas had been a wealthy privileged jerk, a bully others followed without fear of retribution. However, as we hear his voice, listen to his thoughts, we begin to see a different picture. A teen from a dysfunctional family that allowed him to do as he pleased, always feeling alone uncared for. The one person he wanted to impress seemed uninterested and he lacked the words to tell her how he felt. So, got her attention the only way he knew how, by antagonizing her.

It's been more than a decade. Wanting to prove to Lauren he had changed to show her how important she is to him. He went after her to convince her to take the job she had so desperately wanted. For Lauren, she has no reason to trust this new version of Silas. She still lives with the fallout of his actions, and those who followed him. However, she did need this job, the experience and the money would all help.

Compelling story of feelings locked away, desire disguised as hate, becoming the nightmare that walked the high school halls and made Lauren’s school days a living perdition. While Silas Walker was the instigator, the tormentor, he was the leader others followed.

It had taken years of therapy and distance from the teen who had overshadowed her last years at school to find the confidence, the drive to complete her education that would get her the job she so desired. It was the experience she needed that would make it possible to open her own business in real estate. Taking her ideas and plans for solutions to build more environmentally friendly structures in her city, she only needed the right person to listen to her. She had set her sights a job working at the most prodigious real estate business in New York. Becoming an assistant to the CEO of Property Group was her dream job. Or at least it was until she came face to face with the CEO, Silas Walker, the relentless bully who had hung a target on her back in high school. The minute she saw him she realized that he had recognized her too. Turning, she walked out without saying a word. Silas had known the minute he’d seen her name on the application who she was, and he wasn’t going to let her walk away from him. Not again.

And so, follows a tale told from both Lauren and Silas’s alternating point of view with a few flashbacks to their years in high school. On the surface during those years Silas had been a wealthy privileged jerk, a bully others followed without fear of retribution. However, as we hear his voice, listen to his thoughts, we begin to see a different picture. A teen from a dysfunctional family that allowed him to do as he pleased, always feeling alone uncared for. The one person he wanted to impress seemed uninterested and he lacked the words to tell her how he felt. So, got her attention the only way he knew how, by antagonizing her.

It's been more than a decade. Wanting to prove to Lauren he had changed to show her how important she is to him. He went after her to convince her to take the job she had so desperately wanted. For Lauren, she has no reason to trust this new version of Silas. She still lives with the fallout of his actions, and those who followed him. However, she did need this job, the experience and the money would all help.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A richly told tale that pulled me into their lives, through the gut-wrenching years, to the painful missteps, and the uncertainty that either of them would ever be able to heal from the past. Written with heart, understanding, of the emotional disorders teens and adults sometimes face, it was still hard for me to excuse what Lauren faced because of Silas’ inability to understand or even control his emotions and behaviors at time. But especially what he saw as another rejection from someone he cared about. Lauren suffered from her own personality disorder that compounded the situations driving her to obsessive compulsive disorder.

The bullying behavior can be a trigger for some, but the author delved into both characters allowing me to get a better understanding of the emotions that ruled them, their take on what was happening at the time and how they interpreted the actions and dialogues around them.

The story is complex, it was hard for me to not be pulled in feeling Lauren’s pain and then feeling sorry for Silas while still wanting to smack him in the back of his head to wake him up. Their adult years allow them to follow a slow path to healing, opening up, revealing that at the heart the pain both had felt, was their feelings for each other that they were unable to express and, in the end, building a connection that brought them together and Lauren’s dream to life. I sincerely recommend this story since not all stories of bullies offer such insight or such satisfying endings and hope with a real treat of an epilogue. richly told tale that pulled me into their lives, through the gut-wrenching years, to the painful missteps, and the uncertainty that either of them would ever be able to heal from the past. Written with heart, understanding, of the emotional disorders teens and adults sometimes face, it was still hard for me to excuse what Lauren faced because of Silas’ inability to understand or even control his emotions and behaviors at time. But especially what he saw as another rejection from someone he cared about. Lauren suffered from her own personality disorder that compounded the situations driving her to obsessive compulsive disorder.

The bullying behavior can be a trigger for some, but the author delved into both characters allowing me to get a better understanding of the emotions that ruled them, their take on what was happening at the time and how they interpreted the actions and dialogues around them.

The story is complex, it was hard for me to not be pulled in feeling Lauren’s pain and then feeling sorry for Silas while still wanting to smack him in the back of his head to wake him up. Their adult years allow them to follow a slow path to healing, opening up, revealing that at the heart the pain both had felt, was their feelings for each other that they were unable to express and, in the end, building a connection that brought them together and Lauren’s dream to life. I sincerely recommend this story since not all stories of bullies offer such insight or such satisfying endings and hope with a real treat of an epilogue.